Saturday morning began with a much needed sleep in, after two full days with little sleep it was nice to finally get a chance to relax and do things at a slower pace.
Our accommodation, Kruger Inn Backpackers, is located within Marloth Park, a small town/region located quite close to the entrance to Kruger. Within Marloth, all the 'good', or supposedly less threatening animals, roam free. Inside Marloth, you have your giraffes, zebras, impala etc. roaming about, and then on the other side of the fence, there are elephants, lions, hippos etc. Granted however, the only thing separating the two sides is a wire fence, and if you're a cheetah or something, a fence is nothing. We were advised not to walk around at night because of this very reason! It was very cool to be so close to so many wild animals though - on our first night you could hear lions roaring in the distance.
On Saturday morning we took a drive around Marloth Park, sticking close to Crocodile River where we were sure to see animals have a quick drink. It was there you could see herds of elephants walking by, as well as the usual impala (which are literally everywhere). After being so close to elephants the day before it was not as exciting as it could have been, however, just being able to watch such large animals in the distance can't ever get boring.
On the other side of the fence we were greeted by three wild ostriches having a bit of a feed and a run around ...
The fence separating the animals from us ... not all that reassuring if a lion were to come running at you!
Warning: crocodiles
That night we had dinner at 'Marloth Park Amazing River View Restaurant', which definitly lived up to its name! However, we only got there just before the sun set, and we only briefly got to see a hippo and some impalas before it got dark. We had a rushed dinner as we had to make it to our night safari.
We had booked a 2 hour night safari in Kruger the day before and were all anticipating a lion spotting. We drove to the Crocodile Bridge entrance at around 7pm to meet for the safari at 7:45pm. Basically we were piled into a vehicle that had spotlights attached to the side. The people who were seated next to the spotlight got to shine them out into the dark in the hope of spotting an animal, who would then call out to our guide if he hadn't already spotted it. I got to use a spotlight at one point, but when you're searching for animals in the dark, every rock or tree is a creature.
It was an enjoyable evening where we spotted giraffes, many elephants, impala as well as a mongoose (of which I hadn't realised is not a bird ...). as well as multiple other unidentifiable eyes out in the distance. We were all really hoping to spot a big cat, but it didn't occur. At one point our guide stopped the vehicle entirely and we sat in silence. It was somewhat eerie, but really nice, to just sit in the dark and listen to the nature around you.
The tour ended up being longer than 2 hours, and then we had to head home, with myself driving. The Kruger Park entrance at Crocodile Bridge includes a one way bridge with very short barriers ... meaning that there isn't much room for mistake if something goes wrong. If you do go over the edge you literally plunge into crocodile infested waters ... that put a little bit of pressure on my driving skills!
I was driving the car back to the accomodation, on the lookout for animals (I put my kangaroo spotting skills my dad had drilled into me to the test - it's quite common to spot kangaroos on the side of the road back home, especially those that have been run over). Luckily I was careful, because we passed several impala, as well as giraffe on the road! It was pretty cool driving past giraffes, no tour guide or anything, we were on our own with this group of giraffes on the side of the road.
On Sunday morning the adventure was over, we had to pack and get ready to head back to Johannesburg for another week of uni. It was very easy to forget all weekend that I actually have to study and do work whilst here in South Africa.
We left Kruger at around 12:30pm, and had a lunch break at Nelspruit. Afterwards I continued driving. On Thursday evening we had passed by this region in the dark, so it was nice to be able to look out the window and experience the landscape.
On route home we had a spontaneous stop at a roadhouse that we had passed by on the way up but hadn't stopped at. It was just off the highway and had a little lake. It was 5:30pm and we decided to have mini picnic and watch the sunset over the lake. We spent quite a bit of time there taking pictures and relaxing. It was a really nice, basically perfect, end to a weekend of being with some great company.
After that we were driving home in the dark. One of my complaints about the roads here is that there aren't many lights - I'm used to driving on roads that have light reflectors that bounce off your headlights and show you were to go. There weren't any here, and when you couldn't have your high beams on, you had to concentrate very hard on where you are going (and in some areas the white paint on the road is faded, making it even more difficult).
We arrived safely in a chilly Johannesburg at about 8:30pm that night where we were warmly welcomed home. Kruger was a wonderful weekend away from responsibilities and life, where we could just appreciate the beautiful country we are living in! Next trip, Cape Town?!
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