15th – Kruger

The alarm went off at 0415 and half an hour later people were gathering in the common area for a quick morning drink before heading to Kruger where we arrived a bit past 0600. Here we split the group into two separate vehicles in which we drove around in the park until we were picked up at around 1600 to return to the lodge. The vehicles were open in the sides, i.e. apart from a room there were nothing shielding us from the outside. Apart from breakfast around 0930-1000 and lunch around 1300-1400 we drove around and looked for wildlife without stopping for breaks.

Zebras.

European roller securing its breakfast.

Saddle-billed stork.

Impalas having a drink.

Southern yellow-billed hornbill.

Lilac-breasted roller.

African grey hornbill.

There was a lot more thick growth than what I am used to from Maasai Mara and Serengeti (they did recently have a very wet week, though) so the visibility was low and therefore chances for seeing wildlife even at great distances were pretty much non-existent.

Blue-cheeked bee-eater.

Buffalo.

African fish-eagle.

Rhino!

Giraffe. Notice its one broken horn and the ox-peckers on its front right leg.

Southern ground-hornbill.

Red-backed shrike.

But one animal did make the experience fairly mindblowing; we saw 2 rhinos at two separate occasions (the other car apparently saw 4-5!) – already more sightings than I usually get on safaris, and this was just the first day! We also saw lions (though from a distance partly hidden). Buffalo, several elephants, a lot of birds that at times did get quite close, baboons, giraffe, a snake, monitor lizard, crocodiles, hippos and obviously multiple antelopes of different species. We did not get to see a leopard, but neither did anyone else; we were told by the day’s guide when saying goodbye that no such sightings had been announced over the radio. No cheetahs, either, but that didn’t surprise me due to the lack of open areas.

Small elephant.

Fork-tailed drongo.

Woodland kingfisher.

Tawny eagle.

Egyptian geese.

Another rhino.

As predicted it did get quite hot today – up to mid-40s. But because the vehicle was covered and open on all sides it meant that we were getting a constant breeze when driving which made the weather very tolerable. But when stopping for meals and stepping out it was obvious how hot it actually was.

Not so small elephant.

South African tree squirrel.

Baboon.

Coming back to the lodge a bit past 1700 we had time off before dinner a few hours later; BBQ with chicken and wildebeest. The latter was just like beef that wasn’t quite as tender as one might have liked, but otherwise very tender.

Sunset at the lodge.

We have a late start tomorrow – breakfast at 0800, departure at 0900. Lunch will be had at the next lodge we’re staying at, followed by a conservatory lecture (primarily on cheetahs) around 1500 before an afternoon drive in open vehicles. If the success rate is as high as today it will be very promising. Let’s see.