We Start Our Safari at Kruger National Park

We were up early to finish packing our suitcases and have breakfast before heading for the airport to begin the safari portion of our tour.

Our plane

We had a short bus ride to the airport, and a fast group check-in. we were at the gate almost 2 hours before our flight. The skies were overcast and rain was predicted for Cape Town which might help alleviate a very severe drought they were suffering. Our flight would be to the small village of Skukuza located inside the Kruger National Park.

At Skukuza airport

Our accommodations would be at the Lion Sands Game Reserve, a privately owned reserve inside the park. A regional airline would take us to the Skukuza airport.

After landing, the Lion Sands staff quickly collected our bags, and we were whisked off for a 15 minute ride to the lodge.

Collecting our bags

Those 15 minutes stretched into 45, because no sooner had we left the airport than we begin spotting wildlife. A tower of giraffes was spotted grazing tree branches right next to the road.

A tower of giraffes

The cameras were blazing away as we thought this was indeed a unique moment. Turns out that these gentle giants are very common and we would hardly take another picture of them for the remainder of our stay.

A lone elephant

We drove on so the cameras could cool down and 3-4 minutes later a dazzle of zebras was spotted. This is a rarer sighting, but capturing images of these creatures proved a little more difficult as they were more concealed than the giraffes, and they were moving constantly. Their striping in the thicket brush always seemed to conceal as better portion of their bodies making it difficult to get a good shot.

A dazzle of zebras

Driving a little further we spotted a herd of impalas, another animal commonly sighted in the park. More pictures of these which would also be about our last.

A herd of impalas

We drove on, crossing the Sabi River, which has not dried up for over 60 years and is the lifeblood of this ecosystem, and onto our lodge.

A bushbok

Arriving at the lodge we were stunned to find how luxurious the accommodations were in the middle of this rugged environment. Situated adjacent to the Sabi River, the lodge is luxuriously rustic in amenities and is designed for constant animal viewing with expansive, river-facing decks and an elevated walkway to the guest units.

Our bed

We were escorted to an al fresco lunch on the deck where we enjoyed a fabulous lunch and bushbok and elephant viewing along the river. It was at lunch that we started to establish new friendships as we chatted with our fellow lunch mates.

We were assigned to unit 8 which turned out to be about as far from the main lodge as one can get (we need the exercise!). We entered our unit and our mouths went agape.

Our sitting room

The place was unbelievably furnished: king bed with mosquito netting; two showers (plus another outside) and huge soaking tub (Jane was all smiles); free mini-bar with a liberal stocking of beers, wines, liquors, and mixers (even a fresh lemon!); coffee and tea service and snacks; a private deck and spa overlooking the river; and free Wi-Fi in the middle of nowhere!

Jane's tub

We found all of the furnishings and décor to be elegantly casual and culturally adapted to the locale. But we only had a short time to soak this up as we had to get ready for our first game drive.

Our deck and spa

Reporting back to the main lodge dressed in our safari gear (Jane is so cute!); we found that we would be riding with Dave and Linda from Canada, and Paul and Sharon of New York. Our driver was Mark and our tracker Emanuel, both from South Africa. Two three-hour game drives occur at 0600 and 1600 each day.

The main lodge deck

Each Land Rover Defender can carry 6 guests in a theater seating configuration for best viewing. The drives are conducted on dirt roads maintained in the reserve, with off-road pursuit when an animal is spotted.

Maybe don't need quite that many!

Every drive has a .458 caliber “if all else fails” rifle that he or she must qualify in each year. Drivers and trackers all must pass courses and tests to be certified in their trade.

After introductions were exchanged, Mark gave us a quick rundown of the “do’s” and “don’ts,” all practiced for our viewing enhancement and safety, and we headed out.

Now we're talkin'

Mark was headed for a place where signs of a pack of African wild dogs had been spotted earlier that morning. We got to the spot and did find the dogs, but they were lying around the base of a tree surrounded by thick underbrush.

Lookin' for dem' dawgs

After Emanuel had chopped some of the brush away, we did see them, but they blended into the shadows and none of us could get a good picture. We left after 20 minutes and set out to find something else. Mark told us that the dogs are a rare spot, because of their wide ranging habits, and said that he had probably only seen them perhaps 15 times before.

A memory of elephants

We moved on riding a circuitous route along which we saw our first memory of female elephants, some giraffes, and birds that Mark and Emanuel pointed out. Suddenly, Mark got a report on the radio that the wild dogs were on the move. Off we went tearing along to the reported location. Arriving near the location, Mark veers off the road and crashes a trail through the thick brush.

Running African wild dogs

We spotted the dogs running along the river, but they were moving so fast it was hard to keep up with them (they have the advantage in the brush). Another vehicle reported that they left the river and were heading our way. Mark stopped the vehicle and waited. Sure enough, the dogs passed by us on a fast trot.

Ready to start serving

With the cameras in burst mode we shot many pictures, but their speed, the brush, and the autofocus focusing on brush around the dogs only yielded a few fairly good images. But the chase was worth everything! With the sun low in the sky, Mark returned to the road and drove us to his favorite spot for viewing sunsets.

Sunset over Kruger NP

He and Emanuel quickly broke out some liquor and set up a bar on the Rover’s bumper. Emanuel produced some snacks and it was a sunset happy hour. We drank to the sun and the day’s viewing as we watched the sun set. We returned to the lodge and were ushered to dinner replete with dust, sweat, and mosquito repellent, and enjoyed a delicious 3-course dinner on the lodge’s deck. Everyone exchanged stories about the day’s events, and after dessert, we headed to our unit, cleaned up and turned for a fitful rest.