A Two-Week Trip to Kruger National Park in January 2010
Dear reader,
After spending 10 great days in the Okavango Delta in Botswana with friends, I looked forward to my trip to Kruger where I would explore this Park alone. Some of you may think that going on Safari without friends or family could be awkward since you cannot share emotions about great sightings with anybody. However, I thoroughly enjoy these "one-man-holidays" as I can head for whichever place I feel like and can stay at a certain sighting as long as I choose. As I had two weeks I decided to cover the whole Park. I started at Numbi gate, went up North to Pafuri and returned to the South to eventually leave the Park at Malelane Gate. I expected Kruger to be as green as I experienced northern Botswana on the days before. To my surprise many places were quite dry and the grass had turned yellow, even though mid-January should be the peak of the rainy season. I began my Safari in the Berg en Dal area which turned out to be as exciting as I hoped for. Besides the common White Rhino and Elephant, I came across a pack of four African wilddogs lying on the S114 close to S118 turn off. After watching them for an hour or so, completely on my own, I had to move on to arrive in Berg en Dal in time for the booked Sunset drive. With the vehicle of SanParks we found them again right at the same spot. Around dusk the four dogs became more active and eventually moved off into the dark. On the way back to camp we also found four male lions on the S110 tar road - what a nice first eve in Kruger!
On the next morning I again headed for the S114 hoping to see the wilddogs. However, they remained hidden and instead I came across an adult leopard (junction H2-2, S114). Unfortunately, it quickly disappeared into the thicket. A bit disappointed that I just got a glimpse of it, I carried on driving on the S114 to Skukuza. Skuks was busy as always but birding in camp and in the surrounding riverine forests including Lake Panic and Skukuza Golf course was stunning - African
After spending 10 great days in the Okavango Delta in Botswana with friends, I looked forward to my trip to Kruger where I would explore this Park alone. Some of you may think that going on Safari without friends or family could be awkward since you cannot share emotions about great sightings with anybody. However, I thoroughly enjoy these "one-man-holidays" as I can head for whichever place I feel like and can stay at a certain sighting as long as I choose. As I had two weeks I decided to cover the whole Park. I started at Numbi gate, went up North to Pafuri and returned to the South to eventually leave the Park at Malelane Gate. I expected Kruger to be as green as I experienced northern Botswana on the days before. To my surprise many places were quite dry and the grass had turned yellow, even though mid-January should be the peak of the rainy season. I began my Safari in the Berg en Dal area which turned out to be as exciting as I hoped for. Besides the common White Rhino and Elephant, I came across a pack of four African wilddogs lying on the S114 close to S118 turn off. After watching them for an hour or so, completely on my own, I had to move on to arrive in Berg en Dal in time for the booked Sunset drive. With the vehicle of SanParks we found them again right at the same spot. Around dusk the four dogs became more active and eventually moved off into the dark. On the way back to camp we also found four male lions on the S110 tar road - what a nice first eve in Kruger!
On the next morning I again headed for the S114 hoping to see the wilddogs. However, they remained hidden and instead I came across an adult leopard (junction H2-2, S114). Unfortunately, it quickly disappeared into the thicket. A bit disappointed that I just got a glimpse of it, I carried on driving on the S114 to Skukuza. Skuks was busy as always but birding in camp and in the surrounding riverine forests including Lake Panic and Skukuza Golf course was stunning - African