Adventures of Life

Kruger National Park

In general male lions only hunt big animals like elephant.

Pride of females is about 6-7 and are responsible for most of the hunting

Lions sleep about 20 hours a day

I left Charlotte, flew to Atlanta, and flew to Johannesburg South Africa on a 16 hour flight. My luggage arrived, and customs were simple. Two answers to prayer. After finding the taxi driver, a couple from Chicago who were on their honeymoon and I piled into the car. The first thing we noticed was the driver got into the "passanger side." I will say it was quite interesting the first night riding on the opposite side of the road, making a right turn requires a turn signal, turning left is usually a yield on red. We rode through an area with mansions and cement security fences topped with electric fences. We arrived at WayBury guest house. My bags were carried to my room. My room contained a double bed and twin bed with firm mattresses and fluffy comforters, sitting area, and bathroom with a shower with warm water. The house had an outdoor pool and patio, dining room, library, den.

Dinner was served to all people in the house. The first time I met who would be going to the safari with Kalinda and I. The couple from Chicago (late twenties/early thirties), a couple from Germany (just out of university), an older couple from New Zealand, Kalinda from Canada, and me from the United States. Once at the lodge, we were joined by a young lady from Turkey and a young couple from Brazil.

After an early morning start, we were driven for 8 hours to Kruger National Park. When we arrived to the game preserve, we immediately spotted giraffe, baboon, the back end of an elephant. Upon arriving to Sunset Lodge, we were greeted by zebra and eland (on the the largest in antelope family) in the front yard. We were also given ice tea. We had a fabulous lunch with quiche, chicken kabobs, fresh fruit, and more. We were then taken to a neighboring game preserve for a late afternoon game drive. We saw a family of lions, giraffe, a couple of hippos in the water, an old buffalo and birds. We stopped for drinks and finger foods at sunset. Upon arriving back to the Sunset lodge, we had dinner by candlelight in the BOMA (British Operation Mess Area). These are wooden and tall circles with a cement fire platform in the center. It was made to keep the humans and their food away from the animals. We were treated to traditional South African food" braai" which is barbacue which includes meat, meat, and more meat. We also had bread. The meal was finished bananas flambe. We all hit the sack early due to early (5:30AM) departure time.

Braii in the BOMA

Kruger National Park was about an hours drive away. We all wore all the winter items we brought, wrapped in blankets, and hunkered down in the open air vehicle for the bumpy ride. We were on the drive for 12 hours total which included a break for breakfast and lunch. After seeing many animals, we stopped at a picnic area near a waterhole for breakfast. Breakfast included bacon wrapped dates, fruit kabobs, kabobs with cheese and tomato, coffee, tea, biscotti like things and fruit yogurt. We saw herds of animals. After lunch we stopped at a waterhole which could have been dropped out of a movie. Three separate herds of elephant came, baboons were playing and eating, zebra walked in, crocodile out of water cooling himself with his open jaw, hippos in the water, and intermittent birds. The longer we watched, the more animals came. We were once again treated to traditional South African food for dinner in the BOMA. Butternut squash was the appetizer. We had a traditional stews. One with chicken, one with kudo (antelope), and one with vegetables. We had koeksister (fancy funnelcake pieces) with homemade ice cream for dessert.

Breakfast in the Park

female kudo

fully grown male kudo

Fun with shadows in the late afternoon

The birds eat the bugs off the giraffe, hippos, rhinos, and elephants

Find the lion cub :) Nice camouflage

The next day we had a full "English Breakfast" on the balcony which included scrambled eggs, potatoes, sausage, yogurt, cereal, coffee, tea, juice, and milk. We went for a tour of a local rehabilitation center for animals. After listening to a very informative lecture, we pet a cheetah and eagle, saw different types of vultures, lions, leopard, wild dog, baby giraffe and baby rhino, and hyenas. After lunch in town, we went for a walk around the property where we were staying. This enabled us to be closer to the animals. We saw a male ostrich sitting on eggs, stuck a stick into termite mound to see them, got with in 15 feet of zebra and giraffe. saw different flora, ended up at a high tea spread. We continued walking back as the sun was setting and came upon several giraffe eating in the trees. One of them drank from small waterhole there. We had supper on the balcony.

Baboa Tree

A Little nervous petting the cheetah. It was not soft.

Leopard

Giraffe drinking. He has to split his front leg prior to flexing knee some.

The last day we were on the rode by 5AM. This time, it was only Kalinda and I and the guide.We were able to put all of the sides down to enclose the vehicle while driving to the park which made it a little warmer. This day we saw many birds (5 types of eagles), a huge herd of buffalo, elephant of all ages and both genders, a male ostrich looking for a mate, and more giraffe and zebra. We knew where a leopard was in high grass, but we did not see him in the 20 minutes we waited. This last night we ate dinner with the family who ran the lodge and guides there together. Kalinda and I requested this, so just the two of us were not served.

Giraffe usually sleep only 20 minutes a day. They are often seen alone until evening when they gather together for protection

Male worthog. Puma in Lion King was a female with a male voice. Males have 4 tusks; while females have two

Outfit to stay warm in open air in morning...fleece jacket, fleece blanket, hankerchief to keep ears warm and hair out of eyes and ears.

Afternoon outfit...airing out the feet in the sun and breeze

adult rhino

Baby rhino

Zebra and Wildabeast are often seen together. Zebra see well; wildabeast hear well

Camouflage at work. It is hard to see when one body ends and one begins

Elephants are in breeding herds of female and young females and males. At adolescence the males are kicked out of the herd. They are taken in by the bulls that live alone to be shown the ropes of living on the safari

Hippo is pink as it is hot and secreting a pink serum

Open jaw. Hippos can bite through a crocodile's body

It's a pile of rock...No it's hippos

After a nice English Breakfast we began the trek back to Johannesburg. We stopped by the reputed and disputed 3 largest canyon in the world. It was large. We stopped for lunch at a tourist town known for trout fishing. I had fresh trout for dinner. We had an uneventful flight from Joburg (Johannesburg) to Cape Town. Now you are caught up on my adventures:)

Type of bird in Lion King

Ostrich males are black, females are brown. Males always have two female (an insurance policy). If a female comes back to the nest and eggs are missing, she will lay the correct number again. The male have pink shins when they are in mating season.