День 14: По пути в Национальный парк Крюгера.

July 11, 2019

Early in the morning at 8 o'clock we leave Pretoriuskop Camp. There is actually nothing left of the fire.

However, our clothes smell as if we have been in a smokehouse for days.

My husband feels a bit better, but I still get to drive the car, which is much more fun here in the Kruger NP than on the main roads outside.

Just after the first turn we have impalas on the road

We drive to a viewpoint where you can get off (hopefully the lions know that they are NOT allowed up here!?) and enjoy the view over Kruger National Park.

Along the road we also see the first elephants.

A bit further there are buffaloes in the thicket.

A few kilometers further, safari vehicles are already parked on the side of the road.

We wait until they leave and see what there is to see. In the thick bushes there are 2 small hyenas sleeping.

Next stop is a nearby waterhole where we see some hippos in the water and a herd of antelopes coming to drink.

Around 11 o'clock we drive to Skukuza Rest Camp, our overnight stop today, and check in early.

Our booked cottage is not ready yet, but we already have the key and can drive in directly this evening.

After a toilet stop, we continue towards Tshokwane.

We spot giraffes

The next elephants are already waiting for us.

We are totally excited. Although Kruger is much bigger than Pilanesberg NP, we are really successful in terms of animal sightings. We didn't expect that at all.

On the side of the road we meet this laughing zebra :-)

We make a stop at the Tshokwane Picnic Site for lunch. However, lunch is not very relaxing as cheeky monkeys hop around everywhere and don't even stop at occupied tables when it comes to snatching french fries.

After successfully defending our lunch against the monkeys, we drive to Orpen Dam.

However, Orpen Dam is almost dry and resembles a huge sea of lilies.

At the foot of the dam we discover two nyalas and in the sea of lilies two crocodiles right next to a waterbuck.

We drive back along the river towards Skukuza Camp.

Just a reminder: it is winter in Africa!

We are prepared for temperatures around 20 degrees. Yesterday's +25 degrees in terms of sweating surprised us, but today????

At 3 o'clock in the afternoon our car's outside thermometer shows +31 degrees!

That's winter in Africa???? Crazy.....

At the river, a herd of elephants is bathing - wow, they have it good!

Fortunately, we have air conditioning!

A bit further we discover a lion with a herd - with very few hairs on its head...

When we arrive at Skukza Camp, we move into a small guesthouse with 2 bedrooms (each with 3 single beds), 2 bathrooms and a kitchen-living room. The whole thing is very rustic and functional, but perfectly adequate for us.

While my husband is recovering from his cold before dinner by going to bed, I go to the swimming pool with the kids around the corner.

After the kids have refreshed themselves and changed, we go to the restaurant 'Cattle Baron' and are lucky that there is still a free table. All the others are actually already reserved.

We choose the last place in the restaurant because it is too cold for us outside.

Even though the name doesn't suggest it, there are also very delicious vegetarian dishes!

As it gets dark, numerous bats are frolicking in the big trees by the river.

The day was very nice, but all the driving has made me a bit tired now.

We quickly fall asleep - tomorrow it's 'early wake-up' again ;-)