Kruger kicks ass. Really, that about sums it up. It totally proved to us that we are huge animal lovers. Even seeing warthogs got us excited. We left Nelspruit early in the morning with 5 Dutch backpackers. We got to the park, had a quick breakfast and then set out in our open-air safari truck. We didn't see much for the first hour, despite hearing rumours of a pride of 10+ lions roaming nearby. We saw kudus and impalas, both a type of antelope (I think). The males have beautiful horns; the kudus are spiraled and can get as long as 1.5 metres. They are very graceful and all over the park. Apparently they make a great snack for lions. We saw a giraffe cross the road in front of us. We saw rhinos less than 5 metres away, dozing in the dirt. We saw an elephant rip the branch of a tree right off, as well as two elephants greeting one another by intertwining their trunks. It was beautiful and mind-blowing that we were able to witness it. We saw warthogs, crocodiles, hippos, zebras, lots of birds, a black mamba snake, and tons more. It was a full day. The next day it got even better. Our guide, J.J., was the hero. He spotted a leopard sleeping in a tree! He was draped over a low branch and my heart was pounding as I was trying to spot him. I was so worried he'd jump down before I got to see him. Not to worry. He was fast asleep and had no clue we were ogling him. J.J. was so proud of his great eyes-he was telling everyone to go see the leopard. We bought him a beer to say thanks. It's pretty rare to see leopards. So we got to see all five of the Big 5 (leopard, rhino, buffalo, elephant, and lion). Our lion spotting was on our last day. We left camp later than usual, close to 9am. Someone told us that up the road there was a pride of lions taking down a buffalo. You can all understand that a "kill" was quite possibly the last thing I wanted to see. But, if it was going to be my only chance to see lions, so be it. I now understand how rare a daytime kill is, especially one near the road. We arrived and saw about 10 lionesses and two male cubs circling a buffalo. He was already quite wounded and J.J. said that they had probably been hunting him since 3 or 4 in the morning. He was putting up a real fight. They had sliced the tendons in his back legs, so he was having trouble walking. At one point, a lion jumped and sank her teeth into his rump, clawing at his tail. The buffalo literally dragged the lion across the road, as the rest of the pride followed them. The fight continued on the other side of the road. One of the most amazing things was how the buffalo was still trying to scare off the lions. He broke trees with his horns, scared them with his grunts. We have videos of blood-soaked lions running away as the buffalo charges. I thought they would have had no fears at that point. We watched them fight for close to two hours. The lions would take turns attacking the buffalo because they were so tired. Some would rest, the others would attack. Then they would switch. Their strategy was impressive. Eventually, the buffalo went in to the tall grass and fell down. We didn't hear any more noise for a bout 30 minutes. Then we heard grunting and knew that the buffalo's time was up. It was an amazing way to see lions. I would have been content to see them sleeping next to the road, but everyone we talk to has said that it never happens to see a kill in broad daylight. We'll be putting photos up as soon as we can. Warning: they're not for the faint of heart! Our whole time in Kruger was overwhelming. Luckily, the people in the truck with us were just as excited by the hippos and impalas as we were. We took our time staring at the animals and didn't feel overly rushed to try to find the next sight. It was worth every penny that we spent on the safari. Long story short-if you ever make your way to South Africa, go to Kruger Park! --m.