Kruger National Park, More Than Big 5

---

Kruger National Park, More Than Big 5

Leaving SanWild was extremely difficult, but after 10-days it was necessary to continue our trek.  We had to move on, and what better place to transition to than Kruger National Park.  It is recognized as one of the premier wild animal reserves in the world, and a must see for anyone visiting Southern Africa.

The park is named after Paul Kruger, the fifth president of the Republic of South Africa.  Kruger created the park in 1898 and called it Sabi Game Reserve.  In 1920 it became a national park and was renamed to honor its founder.  The park is located in northeast South Africa and borders Zimbabwe and Mozambique.  It encompasses 8,000 square miles and is slightly smaller than the state of Massachusetts.

We rented a van in Phalaborwa, which is located an hour's drive east of SanWild and just outside one of Kruger's entrance gates.  Originally we were only going to rent it for a few days to drive through Kruger, return it, and then use buses to see the rest of South Africa and Swaziland.  However, we quickly learned the bus system in South Africa is not the same as we experienced in Central and South America.  Rather than being able to catch buses point-to-point as we did on the first leg of our trek, in South Africa it's more of a hub and spoke system.  This meant we had to always return to a major city like Johannesburg before moving on to the next destination.  This approach was both impractical and time consuming, so we kept the van for nearly 60 days.  It was a real budget-buster, but did give us more flexibility and allowed us to cover greater distances in a shorter amount of time.  It also made it easier to carry all of our gear, and of course three surfboards.

Kruger is home to Africa's famous "Big 5" . . . leopard, lion, rhino, cape buffalo and elephant.  During the three days in Kruger only the lion eluded us.  They blend in so well with the tawny-colored grass that we probably drove past them and did not know it.  However, there was no shortage of other animals including birds of all kinds, giraffes, baboons, monkeys, various antelope, hippos, zebras, and crocodiles.  We even had the good luck of observing a family of cheetah, which is very rare.

Even more rare is to see a leopard, especially during the day.  It was always easy to tell when an animal had been spotted, as it usually resulted in a traffic jam.  At first it was difficult to see the big cat because it blended into the huge tree.  Unlike lions, leopards are generally solitary, and this one was no exception.  He was located up in a tree approximately 100 yards from the road and very relaxed.  The leopard dozed, got up and stretched, laid down again, moved to another more comfortable limb, snoozed some more and eventually moved on.  We sat for nearly an hour mesmerized by this magnificent creature - us and the roughly 100 other spectators that had gathered to invade its privacy.  You could almost read his mind as he looked back at us and jumped down from the tree . . . "Don't you walking happy-meals have anything better to do than watch me sleep?"

Another traffic jam occurred when a herd of elephants decided to cross the road.  Unlike the leopard, we had to come to a complete stop until all of the pachyderms leisurely made their way to the other side.  Their destination appeared to be the river, but they were in no hurry and kept cars, trucks and busses at a stand still for an hour.  The matriarch made it clear no vehicles would pass until her entire charge was safely across.  The herd comprised a cross section of ages including babies only a few months old.  Several cars turned around while one small white car tried to edge past the imposing leader.  It was no match for the enormous elephant, who was constantly flapping her ears, a clear sign she's very agitated and that the driver better heed her warnings.  At one point she advanced toward the white car, which was forced to retreat.  We were not only concerned about the elephants, but having an accident as there were at least 10 cars, busses and trucks on our side of the herd all jockeying for position.  Finally, once the matriarch made certain everyone was safely across she too made her way down the embankment toward the river.  It was the most awesome traffic jam we had ever been in!

The accommodations within Kruger vary from campsites to luxurious suites.  There are several private camps, but most are operated by the national park service.  The units we stayed in were clean and well maintained.  All of the camps have restaurants; however, we chose to use the self-catering facilities, which allowed us to prepare our own meals.  All of the camps have a very strict curfew and state very clearly that all registered and non-registered guests must be within the designated compounds by 6:00 p.m. or face stiff fines.  It's for the safety of the guests and the protection of the animals.

We were in Kruger for three days and planned to exit through the south gate on our way to Swaziland.  Doing so would cause us to cross Crocodile Bridge, aptly named for the number of crocodilians residing in the waters surrounding it.  We were warned before getting there that due to recent rains, water was over the bridge and we might want to try a different route.  However, it was not until we approached the bridge that it became clear just how much water was running over the bridge.  Several other vehicles sat waiting for someone to the be first.  One driver in pick-up truck (no doubt a local) sped through as if the raging river were not there.  My family wanted to turn back, which would have meant an extra 75 miles.  Much to their collective dismay, I insisted we could make it.  I told them the trick was to keep moving and not let the van flood out.  I sounded more confident than I actually felt and "plunged" in.  I maintained a constant steady speed and exited the bridge without incident.  We were apparently an inspiration, as several other drivers followed our lead, also without incident.

Swaziland was our next destination.   The small country is famous for two things, its own monarchy complete with king, and the highest incidence of AIDS in the world.  During our first night in the country, we stayed in a village called Bulembu.  Although we were there for less than 24-hours, it left an impression that will last a lifetime.

And remember, "Travel is the ultimate education."

 

---