Sunday was our last full day in Kruger NP. What an amazing experience it has been for us. The sheer diversity and abundance of wildlife is startling. To cap this off was the wonderful surprise we received on Saturday evening when we were dining at one of the restaurants here after the guided Sunset Drive which had arrived back in Skukuza at 7.30 pm.
Mary and I had just sat down and placed our meal order when Nick, our son, and his wife, Lee appeared at our table. We were flabbergasted. They'd flown from Cape Town that morning and picked up a hire car at Johannesburg then driven all the way to Kruger to surprise us.
I had to rise before sunup on Sunday to go hiking with a small group guided by two armed park rangers. The walk itself was enthralling but was made even more interesting by a close encounter with two white rhinos grazing peacefully and unaware of our presence around 50m away.
So the remainder of Sunday was mainly spent touring the park with Lee & Nick. And what wonderful sights! On this one day alone we encountered four of the Big Five: lion, buffalo, rhino, elephant. And all viewed from our little hire car driving on bitumen and gravel roads. The highlight was undoubtedly an encounter with two rhinos which were wallowing in a muddy waterhole. Ours was the only vehicle present for most of the time and we were within 20 metres of these fantastic creatures as they cavorted and interacted, apparently unconcerned at our presence.
I'm writing this while sitting up in bed, sipping a Monday morning coffee. The sun's just risen so we're off again for a couple of hours with Lee and Nick before our checkout time of 10am. Then Mary and I will leave the park for the mountain town of Graskop, about 150km west, where we will spend the next two nights.
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