22/1/2011

All of except Anke rose at 4.45am to see of we could find anymore exciting wildlife. It was still a bit dark but our first spot was the supposed hardest of the Big Five (rhino, elephant, lion, leopard and buffalo) to spot. We saw a leopard prowling the road but didn't want to drive too close and scare it away. Only negative was we didn't get any good photos.

I spent most of the day breaking the laws of the park by hanging out of the window and holding onto the roof looking out for animals in the bushes, fields and woodland. At a get-out point we had found out from other tourists that they had seen lions which was now, pretty much all we wanted to see. On the way out from this point, we came across a huge clan of baboons moving through the park with babies on their backs, all jumping on the signs, eating the berries on trees and disagreeing with us taking photos. One of the big males walked up and around the car so we dived back in because they are vicious animals!

Along the road, new spots included some big hawks and eagles, vultures waiting for something to be killed and hornbills. More rhinos and elephants were bashing through the bushes and we had to turn around at one point because a family of rhinos with their babies had decided they wanted to sit and relax on the road! Later we came across a big herd of elephant and a baby, again the matriarch looking towards us angry so we kept our distance.

We went back to the camp to pick up Anke before diverting out of the park on a long route. We had no luck finding lions but we had a mental last half-an-hour where on some plains we came across zebras, wildebeest, lots of deer, giraffe (which we had only seen one in the distance this morning), more rhino and another herd of elephant. We also weren't sure if we could see a buffalo in the distance. To top it off, just as we got out of the gates, there was a hippo out of the water walking along the riverbank next to some houses! To think all of this was seen in about ten hours of driving around a small section of the park!

It was time for them to go back to Mozambique, I wish I could have stuck around longer but they had to go and they dropped me off in Mlalane.

Still 60 km away from Nelspruit, I decided to hitchhike after getting my soft drink and chocolate fix. Less than a few minutes and already a nice Volvo pulled up to offer me a lift. In the car were two black girls and a guy. I got in and they were all drinking and smoking! The girl was a bit if an eccentric driver but I didn't mind as long as they got me to Nelspruit! The guy was Mozambican and they were speaking in Swazi whilst replaying their favourite songs on a CD. The girl was a bit weird asking me if I'd ever dated a brown skin after hearing the words spoken in a song!

They dropped me in the perfect place where I enquired about buses to Swaziland and caught a taxi to my backpackers. I'd struck a deal with the people I went to Kruger with because all the food I'd paid for and not eaten I managed to take with so I lived off egg and tomato sandwiches for the next couple of days! Also managed to change my remaining meticals with Cam because he could use them in Mozam and he gave me a fairly decent amount of rand!

The day was a Saturday and the yids were on so I flicked the channel to Supersport at Funky Monkeys and watched the match v Newcastle. I screamed when we scored the late equaliser probably scaring everyone else in the hostel. Got chatting to a Scot living in Aus but having been working in Kruger and for less than like £20 he had seen all the animals including wild dogs, cheetahs, everything because the guys from the park knew where everything was and did naughty little routes for him. Lucky chap.

A Swiss couple gave me a fish-cooking utensil (which I left) and a beach towel which was very sweet of them.