On Safari in Kruger Park

We planned an impromptu trip to Kruger Park last weekend. Five hours from Johannesburg (and apparently only an hour or so from Mozambique), Kruger became Game Reserve in 1898 and is one of Africa's largest reserves at 7,500 square miles.

The Trip

Jess: Our plan was to spend a relaxing weekend laying around close to nature and drinking great cocktails, without the detours we took on our drive to Durban. The good news was that the route was much more straightforward; the bad news was the ridiculous city traffic we got stuck in on our way out of J'burg, and the scary (and bloody) accidents we passed once we were in the winding mountain roads. We finally reached the lodge around 10:15pm (after stopping for some of the best spinach-feta pot pies I've ever had).

TJ:  It's become a joke for Jess that she tends to get the "easy" driving while I get the "harder" driving -- generally untrue (especially since she drove the entire way back in record time) but that trip included some of the most stressful mountain roads I've ever driven, and some of the bloodiest accident scenes I've seen.  Very thankful to have arrived in one piece.

The Lodge

Jess: I decided to surprise TJ by booking us a "luxury tent" instead of a room. The best part of the surprise? The promised outdoor bathroom. (Remember, it's winter here!) Sadly, all that was outside was the shower, and there was a second indoor shower for the faint-of-heart. The Lodge itself is located just outside of Kruger Park on the bed of the Sabie River. We spent much of our time there lounging on the deck, an electric fence just a few meters past our feet, watching animals trek to the watering hole just beyond the fence as the Sabie River flowed by.

TJ:  The tent was incredible!  As a guy who grew up on Hemingway short stories, staying in an over-sized but still old-fashioned safari tent on the edge of the river / watering hole was surreal.  We sat on the riverside watching hippos lounge, impalas scamper, and a herd of elephants move about only 100 meters away while sipping gin and tonics.*  Jess planned a fantastic weekend!

While we were lounging on the deck, we met Wade, the founder and owner of the lodge.  A banker in the credit industry, he apparently started the lodge only 2+ years ago as a family retreat; the lot was larger than needed so he started building it out into a hotel grounds.  In the process, he hired a good number of local unemployed labor, first to haul away the dirt from the construction site, then as gardeners, then as waiters, shift managers, guides, etc.  Most of the staff have been with him from the beginning.  AND he came up to us (knowing where we are working) to ask if we knew anything about establishing a workers' trust:  he wants to eventually pass on 80% of the equity to the staff.  (Plus he has a chicken farm on the side, started to help out a few families, and is getting involved in supporting one of the local doctors in building a new care center.)  A really impressive and friendly guy, who made me feel very lazy as I lounged on the deck, drink in hand.

On Safari

Jess: Saturday morning we were off on safari at 5:30am. It was just us, our guide Sydney (who grew up in the bush and has been leading game drives for 9+ yrs), and the Scottish nephew of the lodge manager. It was definitely a wise move going on a game drive rather than cruising through the park on our own. There aren't sufficient words to describe Sydney's eyesight or his skill in identifying animals hundreds of meters away through bush and trees as the Jeep cruised down the road at 30 mph. We were back at the Lodge by 2pm and enjoyed a lazy afternoon lounging and drinking a multitude of "Night on Sabie River" cocktails.




TJ:  We didn't see any rhinos or leopards, but ran across the four other members of "The Big Five".  Actually, I can't believe Jess didn't mention the lions.  She spent the next three days telling people that "we saw lions sneaking through the bush!!!".  It's true -- about four to five female lions (plus one male) stalking low to the ground, hugging the terrain, passed only 200 meters from us.  Separately, the giraffes were almost cartoon like at first glance, but incredibly (surprisingly!) graceful in motion.  Especially compared to the impalas, several of which we saw wipe out as they ran along.

Elephants!!!

Jess: Sunday morning we got up bright and early to be at the Elephant Sanctuary by 7:30. We groomed  Kasper (26 yrs old) and Kitso (13 yrs old), enjoyed a truly remarkable overview of elephant anatomy, tracking, and social structure, and got an up-close guide to elephant anatomy - including touching everything from elephant toes to elephant tusks and tongues - before walking our elephants. It was an amazing two hours.


TJ:  Kitso was awesome.  He was my guy.  Right up until he covered me in elephant mucus.  

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* I always kind of wondered why the plural was "gin and tonics" instead of "gins and tonic", much like "surgeons general".  The whole point is the gin, and the amount of gin is what defines the multiple drinks (unless I'm the one bar tending).  The tonic is just there for the malaria.  Oh well.