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She-who-must-be-obeyed decided that we had gone far too long between safaris, and given that we hadn't yet visited the country (South Africa) that is home to one of the most famous national parks in the world (Kruger), it was time to figure out how to make that happen. At a size roughly the same as the entire country of Israel, Kruger is not to be taken lightly so we made arrangements for a guide to chauffeur the Princess and myself around for the days we were going to be there. Kruger is one of a number of parks in South Africa that allows, and almost encourages self-drives, but our past experience has been that the guides/trackers have an uncanny knack for spotting critters that we would have zipped right by (and after spotting a hapless couple jammed into a Fiat 500 trying to spot the herd of elephants that were about to squish their motorized tin can, we knew we made a good choice).
Our guide turned out to be Shoeless Simon who, as you might expect, never wears shoes in this land of snakes and scorpions. We never did get a good answer as to why he shunned shoes but after some deep dives into his personal life we assumed it had something to do with any number of turbulent experiences he has had with South African women. Even DH wasn’t able to offer up many solutions to his social life but we did decide that one of the challenges he may have was a distinct passion for birds- he recognized that we were here to see the Big 5 but he was able to fill in any dry spells with the smorgasbord of birds on offer in Kruger. His enthusiasm for feathers was contagious and pretty soon I was waiting for the lions to move so I could get a decent shot of the Lilac-Breasted Roller. Any of the encounters with the Big 5 was breathtaking and magical but my most memorable sighting might have been the chase and attack of an African Fish Eagle on a full grown Blue Heron who was then rescued from imminent death by an angry Egyptian Goose- all while hovering just over a massive snoozing crocodile- you just don’t see things like that every day (although the attempted take-down of an Impala by a charging Cheetah was another jaw-dropping experience, and any time with lions or elephants is time well spent).
Simon was also in charge of the meal preparation while we explored Kruger, and assuming he finds a woman who’s as passionate about birds as he is, he may need to expand his menu a little bit in order to keep her hooked. Everything from pancakes to pasta was cooked on the Braii (the South African version of a BBQ-like device) but the overriding ingredient was meat and copious amounts of unidentified meat at that- not since our time in Argentina had we seen such dedicated carnivore spreads. As we checked out the neighbours, it was readily apparent that Simon was not alone in his meat fixation- for hours on end, very large SA men would jealously guard the area around the Braii presumably just in case a vegetable should make appearance (although potatoes were deemed to be acceptable intruders). I didn’t actually see any of them peeing on the perimeter of their territory but the Braii is not simply a cooking event, it is a validation of SA manhood.
We really enjoyed Kruger- it gets shunned by some of the more serious safari types (often in favour of the private reserves adjacent to Kruger) because you are required to stay on the roads and it can be overgrown at certain times of the year. We’re saving the leopard for our next stop in Sabi Sands but outside of that (and the ever-elusive African Wild Dog) we saw pretty much everything we had hoped to see and a whole lot more. DH gave me another failing grade for self-discipline with respect to my photography (although to be fair there were numerous other more heavily armed camera types that were taking far more photos than I was) and is forcing me to buy dinner for anyone who is able to make it through all of the many photos I’m attaching to this entry. I’ll be more selective on the next post (maybe) but we’re heading into another internet dry spell so for now everything is getting uploaded.
'sien jou later’
- comments
Becky & Alan Borgman Loved them all! All one thousand of them. Amazing, fantastic and fabulous!!
Leigh Boddy Lovely photos. Nice to see some photos taken not too too far from our old stomping ground.
Marlene S DH, that Henna you got is starting to look like a snake bite!!
Marlene S. Really? Was that absolutely necessary?
Marlene S. Hahahaha! That's so cute.....
Marlene S. That's priceless!!
Marlene S. I love it!
Marlene S. Vic, these Pictures are amazing!! Awesome!
Marlene S. Fantastic shot!!
Marlene S. You're so right! He does look pissed off!! Ouch!
Marlene S. I want a lens like that for my Camera!!
Marlene S. It must be a relaxed place! Everyone is yawning!!
Marlene S. Beautiful!
Marlene S. At first glance I thought that was a SNAKE!! LOL!
Marlene S. Beautiful Animal! I love her long eyelashes!! I'm jealous ....
Marlene S. :((
Marlene S. Overseeing his Domain!
Amanda The Unit Commander's secretary
Marlene S I don't even wanna know what that Monkey is thinking!!!
Marlene S. Majestic!
Amanda Yoga
Marlene S. Pretty Bird!
Marlene S. They're sooooo cute!
Marlene S Is she getting written up for having "a meat lunch"??
Marlene S. WOW! That's a lot of Hippos!! You'd really have to avoid becoming LUNCH walking through there!! Aren't they considered one of the most dangerous animals in the world??
Marlene S. What are they fighting over! Don't they realize how good they have it in that Park??
Marlene S. They learned that from Humans, I'm sure!
Marlene S. Ya think??
Marlene S. That how I used to look going to work everyday!!! LMAO!!
Marlene S. I hope that Deer or whatever it is, didn't become lunch right before your eyes!!
Marlene S. And they're posers too!
Marlene S. Looks very similar to an Eagle's Nest!
Marlene S. Awwwweee! It's too cute!! xoxoxo
Amanda Now that is a great photo
Marlene S. Those eyes are so big. They also look Alien!
Marlene S. Monday morning....
Marlene S. DH, you're dressed in the wrong garb, aren't you??
Marlene S. Well they look a lot better than the first set of feet you posted!!!
Marlene S. Awwwe, I'd like to keep that little guy as a pet!!! LOL!
Marlene S. Wow! That's truly remarkable!
Amanda Now you really have seen everything
Amanda Do they have a word for vegan in SA?
Marlene S. Thats cool!
Marlene S. It's probably safer there!!!
Amanda I was imagining someone completely different
Marlene S. OMG! That is the meanest and ugliest Bird I have ever seen !!
Marlene S. Yes! I second that!
Marlene S. DH, why do you look like you're doing something wrong and you're trying to be in disguise???
Amanda Best adventure yet
Amanda That is what the officer said
Marlene S. Those are beautiful photos!! The animals are amazing. Truly an amazing and memorable experience, I'm sure! :D
CarolC I'd be giving these guys a wide berth!
CarolC Now that's an interesting traffic jam!
CarolC Wow what an amazing experience and to be so up and close to all those animals! Thanks for sharing all those photos!