First safari day in Kruger
We had to get up very early this morning to be sure to be able to get into Kruger National Park. There was a limit of 500 cars that were allowed in through the gate that we had chosen. Unfortunately we were a bit late since there was a mix up with the breakfast packages. Another family had taken ours. We could understand that this would happen since the labelling was not very clear. But no worries, we would get something in the park :-).
We left at 6.00 am and had to drive towards the entrance of the park when it was still dark… not recommended! But nothing that we could do if we wanted to get into the park on time. When we got there, the queue was already very long, there was only one cash register open in the beginning, but in the meantime they had 2… (still very little for the big number of cars behind us). Finally we managed to get in around 8am.
The day was really packed. Koen had driven for 11 hours. Ok with some stops to drink and eat something, but still…what an accomplishment! We saw giraffes, buffalo, rhinoceroses, elephants, hippos and so much more. We had a fantastic self-drive safari :-).
Second safari day in Kruger
The next day our safari started a bit earlier. We managed to get into the park around 7am, again many cars behind us. The game drive started calmly because we had chosen the side of Pretoriuskop which was a bit greener with more tall grass, so it was more difficult to spot animals.
We saw several herds of elephants, waterbucks, a lion running across the street, several rhinos, a hyena that was eating the last of a bone etc. There was also a wild dog but he just lay down in the grass.
Bye bye South Africa
To end the day well, we went to eat chicken peri peri at Nando’s as requested by the kids. We did not have that chain in Belgium. It was really tasty.
Tomorrow was our last day in South Africa, so we had to start packing. We had to return the car around 2pm and then take the plane to Johannesburg for our connecting flights to London and Brussels. The holiday was almost over and it had been fantastic! We saw a lot of wildlife (sometimes closer than desired) and very beautiful landscapes. Africa is and remains on the top of our list of best holiday destinations. We left with 1700 photos (after having cleaned the majority already), so that will be hard work to select the best….
For those in doubt … South Africa and Botswana are truly a top destination.
