By Brent
After spending approximately one week at Kilimanjaro and taking a brief tour of the surrounding village, we flew to South Africa and went to the Kruger National Park, a game preserve in the northern part of the country.
We rented out a house in a nearby private game park and woke up early for a safari led by Arnault, an incredibly knowledgeable guide with ridiculously good vision.
Some of the first animals we saw were kudus, impalas, and (Dana's favorite) giraffes. None of them seemed frightened of us, and they were extremely close to the roads, giving us some great photo opportunities.
Arnault also pointed out several rhinos, giraffes, lions, and elephants in the distance as well as various birds. He noticed a small antelope, some mongoose, and several other exceedingly rare animals.
Kudu Crossing the Road
Our First Giraffe Sighting
Our First Close Elephant
Baby Crocodile
Young Male Lion
At the end of the afternoon, we were driving toward the park exit when we saw a large group of cars stopped on the side of the road, which could only mean there were cats there. It happened that those cats were lions (as opposed to a leopard), and everyone was trying to catch a glimpse of them. Dana pointed out that they looked like they were moving, and Arnault quickly realized they were trying to cross the road, so he spun the car around and we were able to get the best spot on the road to view them. The pride had about 15 members, and all of them crossed within 20 feet of our vehicle.
On the other side of the road, they had made a kill, and after eating, we were able to see them getting a drink at a nearby river. At one point, a couple young males went back across the road calling for another member of their pride.
As we were leaving the park, Arnault pointed out a tree approximately 0.5 miles away and casually mentioned that there were two lions under it. With binoculars, we were able to make out the shapes of two or three lions, but with the naked eye, there is no way we would have caught them.
Porch at Our Rented Home
Master Bedroom at Rented House
Dining Area at Rented House
At the house we were renting, we were told by the housekeepers to keep doors shut and locked. If you don't do that, baboons will come into the home and make a mess. In the past, they have stolen butter and sugar.
There were also several other animals we saw in the yard while there. We saw several warthogs while cooking bacon-wrapped pork on the grill outside, monkeys wandering around the property, and apparently could have heard lions around a kill if we had been outside early enough the morning of our safari.
Our housekeepers were wonderful. They built a fire for us to cook on, washed and folded our laundry, cleaned our dishes, and made our beds while we were gone.
The next morning, we got into our car and drove to Swaziland for a few nights in another game preserve and a trip to Matt's host family.
Arnault also pointed out several rhinos, giraffes, lions, and elephants in the distance as well as various birds. He noticed a small antelope, some mongoose, and several other exceedingly rare animals.
Kudu Crossing the Road
Our First Giraffe Sighting
Our First Close Elephant
Baby Crocodile
Young Male Lion
At the end of the afternoon, we were driving toward the park exit when we saw a large group of cars stopped on the side of the road, which could only mean there were cats there. It happened that those cats were lions (as opposed to a leopard), and everyone was trying to catch a glimpse of them. Dana pointed out that they looked like they were moving, and Arnault quickly realized they were trying to cross the road, so he spun the car around and we were able to get the best spot on the road to view them. The pride had about 15 members, and all of them crossed within 20 feet of our vehicle.
On the other side of the road, they had made a kill, and after eating, we were able to see them getting a drink at a nearby river. At one point, a couple young males went back across the road calling for another member of their pride.
As we were leaving the park, Arnault pointed out a tree approximately 0.5 miles away and casually mentioned that there were two lions under it. With binoculars, we were able to make out the shapes of two or three lions, but with the naked eye, there is no way we would have caught them.
Porch at Our Rented Home
Master Bedroom at Rented House
Dining Area at Rented House
At the house we were renting, we were told by the housekeepers to keep doors shut and locked. If you don't do that, baboons will come into the home and make a mess. In the past, they have stolen butter and sugar.
There were also several other animals we saw in the yard while there. We saw several warthogs while cooking bacon-wrapped pork on the grill outside, monkeys wandering around the property, and apparently could have heard lions around a kill if we had been outside early enough the morning of our safari.
Our housekeepers were wonderful. They built a fire for us to cook on, washed and folded our laundry, cleaned our dishes, and made our beds while we were gone.
The next morning, we got into our car and drove to Swaziland for a few nights in another game preserve and a trip to Matt's host family.
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