FINALLY WE MADE IT TO KRUGER PARK AND JUST SURVIVED

The time had finally come and we were off to Kruger Park. We joined some families from work and rented a lodge inside of the park. Other than two fenced in compounds, that accommodated about 4 families, no one was allowed to remain in Kruger Park after 6:00pm at night. As I mentioned before, this park was big. It was 2,000,000 sq hectares and about the same size as some countries. It was 220 miles from one end to the other. The animals lived in their natural habitat. No one fed them, cared for them or otherwise interfered with their daily quest for “survival of the fittest”. You were either the toughest or the fastest, if not somebody ate you. Hmmmmm seems a lot like my work. Anyway we piled into our cars and met at the compound inside of Kruger. The accommodations were small huts, built in African style but with most of the modern conveniences. They served breakfast and dinner and packed you a bag lunch to eat during the day. The first morning we were up early and headed out in a caravan. This was good for the leader of the parade, as they got first look at all of the animals. Being third or fourth in line was less fulfilling. The procession lasted about one hour before Deysi, the girls and I left and went on our own quest for animals. The only rules to follow were “DO NOT GET OUT OF YOUR VEHICLE” and “MAKE SURE YOU ARE LOCKED IN A COMPOUND OR OUTSIDE THE PARK GATES BY 6:00 pm”. Shouldn’t be too difficult, right?

Rule one was easy to follow. Once you have seen the size of these animals, only the completely mad would get out for a selfie with any of them. Rule 2 we will investigate after our tour. The main quest of most visitors to the park is to see the “big five” wild animals. That being an Elephant, Black (or white) Rhino, Lion, Cape Buffalo and Leopard. These are considered the five most dangerous animals in the park. They are also probably the most elusive, with the exception of the Elephant that is so big, it goes wherever it damn well feels like it. Now to this grouping I would add the giraffe, although maybe not as ferocious, it is seriously big. It could easily eat out of a second storey window in an office building. The body was as big as a car, held up by these long stick like legs. The pelt on one of those badboys would weigh 5 – 600 pounds. Their legs are long and if one took a kick at you, he could do it from second base. Some of the other animals that rate honourable mention, in my mind are the Wildebeest, A full grown Eland, a pack of Hyenas (or a pack of wild dogs), a Wild Pig with family, Cheetah, and some major nasty looking Buzzards. Each one of those was impressive in their own right.

So off we go on our quest. We had no idea of where to go, what road, what speed, what time was best for what animal. We just went happily on our way. One turn left and a couple right and I was lost as usual. Good thing was that there were very few roads and each seemed to have some kind of markings that, I suppose, correlated to a park map. This time we had the map out and Deysi was guiding us. I think it took the girls about 10 minutes to become bored out of their minds and to then spend the rest of their day asking us “if we were finished yet”? From the outset we spotted lots of animals. Deer like animals such as Springboks, Gemsboks, Reebok, Steenbok, Grysbok, BokBok (haha that was a chicken just seeing if you are awake), Water Buck and Duiker to name a few. Some of the bigger bucks were also quite easy to find. These such as Eland, Impala, Sable, and Kudu were somewhat harder to locate but we did manage to see an impressive number of these also. It made me think that for the most part they must have been awful fast because there were quite a few of them, wandering around amongst the lions and other meat eaters. Our camera was smokin’ hot from that shutter going off like a machine gun.

We spent the morning driving up and down roads and started to stumble on somewhat more exotic game. It was with great surprise that we came upon a small herd of Zebras. Now we have all seen them in nature documentaries, but nothing really prepares you for the sheer beauty of a black and white horse. Set against the lush green background, the sight made you stop and pause for a moment. I think the Zebra had the biggest impact on me. I felt ashamed when my thoughts turned to “I wonder what they taste like?”. It must have slipped out loud because Deysi says “how could you”? Now I am feeling quite happy, even if I never seen anything else, when round a corner we encounter a huge giraffe straddling the road. Now that is a sight. It makes your heart beat a little faster and lets you know that you are still alive. Big is an understatement. Its belly was above the roof on the car! That made those girls in the back, pay attention. No cages, fences, moats or rails, just you and this huge animal. Now I am good for sure and would die happy if I never seen another animal. We pass a few hours like this and look at sights, see an animal or two, explore some roads and thoroughly enjoy our tour.

Once again we make a turn onto a road that we hadn’t been down and are confronted by two big big Elephants, just off the side of the road munching on a tree. Now I thought the giraffe was big until I see the elephant, geezus. They were a few feet away from us and you know for sure that they are in charge of this part of the viewing. If they don’t want you to go, they are just going to pick up your car and throw it into the bush. I have no doubt of that, magnificent, spectacular and unbelievable come to mind. TV cannot possibly do justice to these guys. Of course now that we have seen our first Elephant we can now spot them around each corner. Time stands still while you watch them and minutes seem to go as seconds. We continue our journey and run across a huge water buffalo who also is not in the least impressed by us or our car. He’s chomping away looking for someone’s ass to kick. Not mine I think, I keep the car in gear ready to sprint at first movement. These animals stay close together and if ever attacked by lions, will fight as a group to defend each other. The horns on these badboys would make a serious hole in you. The afternoon is now fading and we realize it is time to head for the compound. Hmmmm now which way was it? (this is even putting me to sleep to be continued later)

WATCH FOR THE EXITING CONCLUSION IN PART TWO COMING SOON: