September 12, 2009 - Kruger Park Day 1

We woke up to bush sounds after our first night of camping. The sounds were almost overwhelming, with crickets, exotic birds, and other animals performing together in perfect unison. Before heading to Kruger National Park, we stopped at an internet café where Sami found out that there were yet more problems with the bank. This time, Visa had blocked his card. Good thing we both spent over an hour on the phone with our banks prior to departure to warn them of our travels.. After a long phone call with the bank and many transfers from one department to the other, the problem was resolved, and we were on our way, a few hours behind schedule.

We finally entered Kruger National Park at the Phalaborwa gate sometime in the afternoon. After checking in at the gate, we head out on our self-drive safari towards our first camping lodge, Letaba. The first animal we encountered was none other than the Impala, an antelope species that we would grow to be quite bored of by the end of our week-long safari. There are estimated to be over 100,000 impalas in Kruger Park, more than we would ever need to see! That said, it was quite an exciting first-sight. Shortly after that, we saw our first elephant drinking at a waterhole near a viewpoint where we could get out of the car and watch from a safe distance. We also found a cute little lizard in the viewing area.

To offer some perspective, the Kruger National Park is larger than most European countries. "Park" really doesn't do it justice. Humans can drive through this park on roads that not only connect all the enclosed "camps" where people can stay overnight in the park (usually paved roads), but also lead you through interesting detours (usually rocky dirt trails). Many of the dirt roads are recommended only for 4x4 vehicles. Our little VW Polo managed to impress us on many of these paths. There are no fences protecting the roads, you are literally driving through wild African savannah and animals are free to cross your path at any time. In the park, the animals roam free and the humans sleep in relatively small cages. Other than waterholes, there are also viewpoints in the park like the one we visited above where you can (somewhat) safely get out of your car and stretch your legs.

While we were driving on one of the dirt roads, we came face-to-face with a giant elephant. He was simply staring at Sami as we drove by, and when we stopped in shock, he slowly approached us and walked to the back of our car, and then walked away back into the bush! This ranks as one of our favorite safari moments ever.

The rest of our first safari day was spent taking photos of exotic birds, insects, and antelope. The Letaba campsite had excellent facilities, and even had Vervet Monkeys hanging out in the trees above us!