The night kept us busy with all sorts of animal sounds. We never saw anything through the window, only heard a lot.
However, we have no idea what it was....
But probably not lions.
Our safari house is called 'Savanna Pride' and is a rustic holiday home in the middle of the Marloth Park steppe.
While there are all kinds of accommodations here in Marloth Park, from futuristic concrete buildings to luxury lodges, tree houses, or hostels, I deliberately chose a more 'typical' accommodation.
Our focus is on observing animals and experiencing the African feeling, so a concrete building with a pool and a 60-inch TV didn't seem suitable....
We feel very comfortable here and are thrilled with what our host Laurika has prepared for us as a 'welcome gift'.
In addition to sufficient drinking water, there is a bottle of wine/cider in the fridge, a fruit bowl, and sweets waiting for us.
We also received a message via WhatsApp that there is a surprise waiting for us at the bakery in the town center.
We want to pick it up after breakfast. We need to do some shopping for the next 3 days anyway.
Last night, the kids chose the two bedrooms with their own bathrooms on the ground floor.
One of the 'kids' rooms' Corresponding bathroom with shower
The other room also has its own bathroom, but instead of a shower, it has a bathtub.
On the first floor, there are two double beds on the left and right under the roof, with a shared bathroom.
Sitting area, double bed on the left and another double bed on the right
Once again, the sun is shining outside, and we go to the fenced terrace to check out the area.
Apart from an ostrich sitting in the sun at a safe distance on the ground, we don't see anything.
Well, then we'll have a leisurely breakfast outside in the sun.
As soon as we have all our things on the table, our first visitor appears in front of the veranda:
Pumba
a huge warthog.... not beautiful, with a broken 'tooth' and a rather intimidating appearance!
So that's the 'monster' from last night!!!
I have to admit, I would probably be scared too if this creature suddenly stood in front of me in the dark...
But on closer inspection, it's not so terrifying anymore, and it seems to be afraid, as it keeps a safe distance from the fence but apparently hopes for something from our breakfast plate.
I remember Laurika's hint that we can buy bags of pellets at the town center to feed the animals.
So the little piggy is 'lured' and was probably hoping to be fed last night...
However, we still have nothing - just a few grapes that Pumba, as we call it, enjoys.
Then Pumba sits in the sand in front of the veranda and watches us.
Kind of cute!
And when Pumba lies down right in front of us and falls asleep, we are delighted!
Sleep, Pumba, sleep
We discover a yellow-billed hornbill in the tree next door, and a small hummingbird-like bird hovers over the flowers right next to us.
In daylight, even the 'dangerous snake trap' doesn't look soooo lively anymore.
Fake snake
But last night, when it was dark, it was quite eerie...
While we have breakfast and Pumba lies a few meters away in the sun, we hear footsteps.
When I turn around, I look straight into an ostrich's face, which stands in front of the veranda and stretches its long neck towards the table - it seems that even the ostrich is used to getting food here.
Ahhhhh, I'm not comfortable with these animals!!!
And it's not just one ostrich - shortly after, 3 more come trotting around the corner
We finish breakfast and hurry to the car as soon as the ostriches are out of sight. I don't like to get too close to these animals with long necks...
We drive to the town center, where we picked up our keys from the security company yesterday.
There are a few small shops, a supermarket, a larger restaurant right next to the 'Atlantis' leisure pool - a water slide park that is even open (well, at +35 degrees yesterday, I would have immediately gone in).
Concrete hippos in Marloth Park
We buy some things for grilling and also take 2 bags of pellets with us.
At the bakery, we receive Laurika's welcome gift: a delicious cake and a whole pack of freshly baked cookies!
That's really nice!!!
During the day, it's quite exciting to drive around here in Marloth Park.
However, we don't see any animals... they're probably still sleeping.
We drive to the viewpoint where you can look from Marloth Park into Kruger Park, right on the Crocodile River. But here too, we don't see any animals, except for a few birds in the tree and impalas in the distance.
View of the Crocodile River and Kruger NP
Back at the house, we can get a better overview of our house and property - there are no ostriches in sight!
Our house from the front with veranda at the bottom and balcony on top View from the balcony above Small pool for cooling off with a campfire place on the right The two ostriches are lying in the sun at a safe distance Panorama
As soon as we bring our shopping into the house, the ostriches visit us again.
Those animals are really persistent!
We test if they eat the pellets - oh yes - they gulp down the pieces with their long necks and eagerly stretch their heads over the fence.
Not even 5 minutes later, a whole flock of the little 'chickens' that we saw in the Pretoriuskop Camp in Kruger NP in front of our bungalow appears in front of the veranda.
Our little petting zoo grows further when a family of warthogs joins in and begs for food.
The kids are thrilled - our own little zoo right in front of the terrace.
With loud grunting, the pigs enjoy the pellets.
The ostriches jostle each other out of the way to get to the treats.
Eventually, our one-toothed Pumba joins again.
We spend the rest of the day chilling on the veranda, with my son, and I dipping our legs in the pool - a small refreshment - and we play a few games on the veranda or enjoy the panoramic view from the balcony.
After all the safari trips and early starts, a rest day is quite nice.
Dinner outside is not as relaxing as we had hoped. We bought sausages and potatoes and wanted to grill them over the campfire.
However, both the pigs and the ostriches are very interested in what we are doing and constantly crowd around us...
As a result, the planned campfire with bread grilling is cut short. None of us feel like walking from the campfire to the fenced-in veranda in the dark while the glowing eyes of the pig family are right next to us.
After dinner, the pigs get a few more pellets in the light of the flashlight, and then we go to bed.
Tomorrow it's time to get up early again!
We are planning another day in Kruger Park and don't want to wait in line at the Crocodile Bridge Gate...
