Wednesday 29 April 2015

Can you see the Big 5 at Kruger in a small car?

The answer is YES.

This was my 4th visit to Kruger National Park and I was hesitant as to how much we would see in a small rental car on the tarred roads. We visited Kruger in September 2014 after our trip to Richard's Bay to go Whale watching.

My son and his girlfriend had already requested to go on sun rise and sun set organised drives as they were here on a holiday of a life time and didn't want to miss a thing.

The morning we entered the park, we took nearly half an hour leaving Marloth Park where we were staying due to giraffe on the road, zebra and various antelopes.




It took a further half hour to get over Crocodile River before we entered the park as we saw elephants, cape buffalo, a crocodile with it's kill, various birds and hippos.






We stuck to the tar roads and drove up to Lower Sabie, we only left the tar roads for the short drive to a hide and by the end of day 2 we had seen Lions, Black Rhinos, White Rhinos, Elephants, Hippos, Cape Buffalo, giraffes drinking, a rock monitor lizard, monkeys and baboons and we were now ignoring the antelopes.




















Suffering with animal fatigue and lack of new sightings on Day 3 we decided to identify birds and I saw more on this trip than I've ever done before.













So for those of you still reading, it appears we've only seen 4 of the Big 5, but wait....our last night as the sun was setting, I decided to go for a walk, my son and his girlfriend were in the pool. A guide called me over and on the opposite side of the river was a Leopard, stalking several Impala. Taking a quick photo, I ran back through the woods to the lodge, passing a woman with young children and I gasped 'Leopard....river.....quick' and she ran off from where I'd just come. Son and his girlfriend, grabbed flip flops and we ran back to the river, in time to see the Leopard striking for the Impala, it missed and wandered down to the river for a drink.



It was only at this point that the woman realised that she'd run in the direction of the where the Leopard was, not checking that it hadn't been chasing me and judging by the state of the fence, there wasn't a lot separating me from the wildlife in Kruger.



We finished the holiday by watching an African sunset
Needless to say my son and his girlfriend didn't book the sunrise or sunset tours as we saw The Big 5 in 3 days by sticking to the tar roads.

26 comments:

  1. Amazing photos and an amazing trip! Particularly love the ones of the giraffes against the blue sky, the rainbow-feathered bird (bit like a kingfisher with different colouring) and the African sunset. What a wonderful experience. Hope the coming weekend yields as many beautiful photos. Looking forward to seeing those too.

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    1. the rainbow bird is a European Roller, they are brown in the winter months, i have so many animal photos from various safaris, it's difficult to know what to post

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  2. What a fabulous experience! So many interesting birds and I love that shot of the giraffe where you can see her head through her legs. Such a striking sunset too. Thanks for sharing your amazing experience with us all.

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    1. we certainly had some great experiences in South Africa

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  3. Wow. What an amazing experience, and so so much wildlife! My inlaws broke down in Krugar! Luckily they got help - eventually! :D

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    1. oh dear, i got locked inside a game reserve once when i got back to the gate late

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  4. WOW! I was mesmerised by your photos - what an awesome trip! I'd love to do this with my lot - we don't 'do' zoos so I'd love them to see animals right where they are supposed to be. Perfect.

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    1. we've done so many safaris with the kids and I'm up for many, many more

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  5. The Mother says - What an amazing trip and fab photos. That one of the crocodile actually made me shiver!!! So pleased you got to see them all xx #animaltales

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    1. I've seen the big 5 on many occasions but this was the first time i saw them all in one holiday

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  6. This is amazing, I couldn't believe the animals just kept coming - lovely pics! One day!

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  7. Cooool. Now that is an animal post! Those monitor lizards are much bigger than I imagined somehow. But how fascinating to see them in action, even if that is savaging another amazing creature. Great bird pictures too. So much fabulousness!

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    1. i was surprised how big the monitor lizards were also

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  8. Oh my goodness, I just can't imagine seeing these animals in the wild. It looks awesome, I especially love the zebras. Mich x

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  9. Wow - so many new animals on #AnimalTales and a HIPPO - you've seen a HIPPO in the wild. I absolutely adore HIPPOS!! I am just a bit jealous - actually I am a lot jealous LOL. Lucky you :)

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  10. What an amazing experience and you got to see the Big 5 in one trip, amazing. This is on my bucket list, mum has been and she loved it so one day I hope to experience Kruger for myself.

    Thank you for linking up to Time Traveller, I loved your tale, your photos and living the exprience with you.

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    1. i'll be back in kruger in october when i go to visit a school i helped to build near by

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  11. Oh my word - so many wonderful pictures! I LOVE South Africa...we went there a few years ago to Umfalosi (bet I spelt that wrong), and it was simply the most amazing experience. Wonderful you got to see the Big 5 as well...we didn't manage it, but it was still awesome nonetheless. I am a tad jealous you made it!

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    1. seen the big 5 on many occasions but first time we saw them all in one trip, it was amazing

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  12. Wow, oh wow! Such incredible photos - I can't imagine the thrill of seeing all these incredible animals just wandering around in their natural setting, how exciting! I love the picture of the giraffe crossing the road - we drove through Yellowstone one year, and the bison are famous for just ambling across the road as if they don't have a care in the world, causing traffic to come to a standstill. ;-)

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    1. i really miss being able to go on safari's on weekends now we no longer live in SA, can't wait for the next one

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  13. Oh wow you were so lucky to see so much wildlife in your few days out there. Watching the leopard with the impala must have been quite chilling. Not sure I like the look of that rather unstable looking door separating you from the big 5! Thanks for linking to #MondayEscapes

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    1. no i wasn't too impressed with the security fence

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