Highgrove House Hazyview

... we had a very long ride to the Crocodile Bridge Gate where we saw a beautiful lilac breasted roller, as well as lots of varied wildlife. The evening dinner was a farewell gala with the natives entertaining us. we took pictures of each other and exchanged addresses with our fellow travelers before turning in for ...

... The last animal we saw just 100m from camp was a
big heard of buffalo that blocked the road and nearly made us late.

That evening around the braai as our meat cooked, we wondered on what
tomorrow would bring, one last morning in the park and still no big
cats. Little did we know how lucky we would be.......

Brimming with excitement we were the first out the gates and were heading for
Lower Sabie. The first animal we saw that morning was ...

... cheetah sighting. Here we are with mom and the kids again. She moved about 2 km from where we saw here the night before. It is still an amazing site though. She looks so peaceful and nonchalant but one of the cubs runs behind the tree and makes a sound and she was up like a shot. After about 10 minutes the drivers is itching to go somewhere else and we're so enthralled by the site we hadn't realized so much time had ...

Our tour continued in the late afternoon to the Shangaan Cultural Village. When booking the tour, I had been apprehensive about this part but I figured it was only one night and even if it was awkward cultural tourism, the rest of the tour was worth it. I think the village serves a good purpose for the Shangaan people. It is a model village, set up to be a learning centre for Shangaan youth as well as for the general public and tourists. We were greeted at ...

... pattern that seemed pretty incomprehensible to me...a familiar sense of disorganized Latin-American squalor came to mind...Third World came to mind. This didn't happen by accident, and I would hate for anyone to think millions of people just decided to live on a mountain side with what looked like to me no work. And again to draw the picture... it wasn't like a no work: "lot's of lazy people not trying to get a job", but more like no work: NO EMPLOYMENT... no farms, no stores, no ...

... tomorrow morning. We also did a game drive today, and spent some time working on the soil erosion as well. I drove the truck for a little bit, which was really cool because I've never driven a standard before, and they drive on the other side of the road here, meaning that I'm sitting on the right and shifting with my left hand. Lots of fun, even though I stalled a couple of times. Plus, driving offroad over rocks is a lot more fun than most roads.

... us to the camp, where we relaxed, and then went out for an unsuccessful night drive. The next day we went out on safari, where we saw tons, almost the big 5, minus the lion. The park was beautiful and had a lot of different types of bush. We saw a huge herd of rhinos which was pretty neat. It was not as crowded as everyone seem to imply, and everyone was very friendly in giving us a heads up on what we should be looking out for. Our guide ...

We got up at about 5am and headed out to a place about 45 K away called Olifantfontein, where the African fellow lives. For all its poverty, the place is incredibly clean and tidy and we could see in the dirt the marks of sweeping that someone did to clean the place up. There were a couple of chickens scratching in the dirt as they came out. His wife has a terrible leg problem. She walks with a sort of back and forth movement like a rocking ...

... gate, we had another 3hr drive to get to our camp; maximum speed in the park is 50 kph. Kruger is huge; it is 300 kms long by 80kms wide (plans are actually underway to expand the park). We had booked a cottage in the northern more remote park of the park in a Bushveld Camp. These cottages have more than the basic amenities, i.e., electricity, hot water, full bathrooms, etc. However, there was no grocery store, gas station, bank and not even a ...

... liketo go and see it, but if you are afraid of bugs,I would not recommend it. Many of the Peace Corps volunteers are on Larium to combat Malaria, and it makes them halucinate, one of the biggest fears they have noticed is bugs. Anyway, Nelspruit was fun, but not sure I will go back. I am into seeing the beauty of Africa, not the nicest malls!?