Kruger is absolutely one of our favorite places. It is so rich in animal, bird, and plant life that we are in constant amazement every time we are here. Our time in the southernmost part of the park was by far the best game viewing we have seen. I think we saw more animals last month, but the types of animals this past week have been spectacular. In one afternoon, we saw more than ten white rhinos and six lionesses, all in fairly close proximity. The lions were actually moving around; one morning we followed a lioness for about twenty minutes as she was searching for the rest of the pride. Her teets were so swollen, I hope she still her cubs were still around. We saw lots of elephants, particularly a few elders with significant tusks and several kleintjies (little ones), which I especially enjoy. They are so playful. The range of elephant emotions really fascinates me. Russ noticed two mornings in a row these designs in the sand looking like large squiggles. We were told it was an elephant with an artistic streak!
We also saw for the first time ever, a small pack of wild dogs, of which there are just a few hundred in the whole park. That was definitely a highlight. They are supposedly some of the most vicious hunters in Africa but they look like the sweetest, prettiest housedogs. Also seeing so many rhinos at close range was completely unexpected but unlike the elephants are quite boring. Nevertheless, their girth is impressive. We never tire of seeing scores of giraffe, zebra, kudu, warthogs, and impala either. I really feel like we have been blessed to have this opportunity to spend time watching them.
It seems to me that summer is starting to wane, much like mid-August in the Berkshires with shorter days and cooler nights. Truth be told, I feel as though I have been living in one long perpetual summer, having left the US at the beginning of October and arriving in Botswana just as things were heating up.
Here in Kruger, there is not as much daylight as there was six weeks ago, but the days seem extraordinarily long. Long enough to go out on two or three game drives, take a nap, read, walk, and prepare leisurely meals. I am reading James Michener’s The Covenant right now (for about the tenth time). Every time I read this saga of how South Africa came to be formed by so many people groups, I feel I learn something new while at the same time think that the book so well explains why things are the way they are in this country. It is a vivid, if not sometimes painful, window into the past.
We have been camping in the park, but after the rainy debacle last month, instead opted for camping inside safari tents. Oh what a difference! We still have had intermittent showers every day, but it is dry inside with comfortable beds, a fridge, and best of all we don’t have to pack up a bunch of wet things. And it’s kind of free*, as we are using credit from our last stay on an error that was made (*free in the way when you return something you bought with a credit card and get cash back).
We had a family of warthogs in the camp, and an elephant who visited the perimeter, eating fermenting marula fruit that fell over the fence. There is marula fruit all over the place, and the monkeys and elephants are crazy over it. We like the liquor made from it, Amarula.
We braai’ed one afternoon, and that is also an excellent way to kill two or three hours - building a wood fire to grill meat and wors, drinking beer, and talking to people who are staying closeby. We’ve met some really interesting people here such as a local professional wildlife photographer, a couple who are trying to unify religious organizations around the world for the upcoming climate change conference in Durban, and a paramedic who spent time in Joburg emergency rooms to get his trauma experience (there apparently is not much in Sweden).
We are sitting now on the edge of the Mozambique in the border town of Komatipoort, still with a view of Kruger, and expect to head into Maputo tomorrow. If all goes as planned, the next time we are in South Africa will be when we fly into the Johannesburg airport en route home in May.
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