A Three Hour Tour - Kruger National Park, South Africa
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Sun 15 Jul 2012 16:25
| 23:36.22S 31:33.20E June 26, 2012 From the Blyde River Canyon, we moved on to Kruger National Park. We only had time for a quick three hour visit as we had a long drive south ahead of us on that particular day. However, three hours were all we needed to meet and greet some of the best Africa has to offer (and unlike Gilligan, our three hour tour ended well and involved no movie stars). Yup, you drive slowly through Kruger, eyes scanning the scrub for animals, and poof! a giraffe's head pops through the bushes right next to your car. And if you're lucky, one giraffe head is sometimes followed by the rest of the giraffe tower. At Kruger, we were treated to three or four of these graceful creatures grazing nonchalantly not more than fifteen feet from the road. We've seen quite a few giraffes so far, but their presence always comes as a thrilling surprise. Although we know this is their home, it still seems like they were placed here for our amusement by some clever movie director perched in an elevated position (just out of sight) from which all animal movements are orchestrated. Once again, we saw the cars stopped ahead and wondered what was in store for us. This time? Zebra crossing. Aren't they lovely creatures? We never realized until now that a Zebra's stripes carry though to their mane. Nature's attention to detail never ceases to amaze. The elusive nyala, one of the larger antelope varieties found in this area. Last, but not least, the African elephant. Tourists are warned to be wary of elephants as they can be unpredictable, and have been known to push a car over on its side if the mood strikes them. Kruger Park elephants are used to tourists gawking at them, so are not apt to toss any cars around, but, when we saw this one grazing happily on the road's edge, it still seemed prudent to inch by as carefully (and quietly) as possible. Not bad for a three hour tour, eh? Next up: Rorke's Drift Anne |