Kruger NP

Kruger National Park is home to many of the exotic African animal species I can think of. It almost seems too exotic to real to think that I would ever be in a place where they live in the wild. Driving through the park in our rental Renault, we saw giraffes, hippos, rhinos, elephants, sable antelope, buffalo, wildebeast, warthogs, zebras, kudus, eagles, storks, and guinea hens. The big cats--lions, cheetahs, and leopards--were more elusive and we were not fortunate to see them. But driving the paved roads through the park made it seem all too easy.

The animals were so tame it almost seemed like we were at a zoo. We would approach a jam of cars in the road, their passengers gawking out the windows and the prattle of their diesel engines disrupting the peace, and we'd be sure to find a goup of animals at the side of the road, unfazed by it all. The only time I saw an animal react to the clown posses on the road was when some moron yelled or whistled and a giraffe looked cautiously in our direction. The animals were so abundant and docile, it really did seem like everything was being staged for us after a while.

We drove Monday morning to the eastern part of the country, where Kruger is located. We planned to stay in Kruger that night and tour it the next day, and then we would stay at a backpackers lodge in a town called Sabie the next two nights. We would return to Am Hang lodge on Thursday so we could attend the USA-Slovenia match in Johannesburg the next night.

The landscape along the drive east reminded me of Montana but with a milder climate. The blacktop road is in good condition and there are lots of cars and mining trucks plying the way. Aside from the occasional mine, toll booth, gas station, or nuclear power plant along the way, the signs of human occupation seemed sparse. Everyone was going somewhere, but there was nowhere to go.

The approch to the Numbi gate on Kruger's southeastern border is surrounded by what we were later told is Africa's largest squatter camp. It was a bizarre sight to see, with the shanty houses dotting the hills as far as we could see and an occasional steel shed on the side of the road selling cell phone minutes. People would walk at the side of the road as though invincible to cars. As the sun went down, it became hard to see them. But we were cutting it close and we didn't want to drive too slow. The gate closed at 5:30 and it was about 5:20. I drove in the middle of the highway so I could maintain speed without hitting anyone.

When we arrived at Pretoriuskop camp, where we had three two-person huts reserved, there were monkeys, springboks, and guinea hens wandering about amongst the kids and cars. The temperature had risen to around 90°F, up from the 45 or so we had felt back at Am Hang that morning. We had picked up some sausages and pork to grill at an earlier stop, so we sat under the star lit sky grilling and drinking crappy South African beers. It felt like a perfect Michelob commercial.

The next day, after taking part in a 5:00 AM open-sided bus dawn drive and later heading out in the Renault, we drove an hour out to the town of Sabie. We stayed there two nights at Sabie Backpackers, a hostel-type place. Sabie is a tourist town surrounded by various waterfalls, game reserves, and geological formations. We spent the days exploring these, and Steve did bungie jumping. I had originally planning on joining him, but I was too chicken after seeing the setup up close. I am afraid of heights. Still, after seeing how easy Steve made it look, I do sorta regret not doing it.

Next we are headed back to the Am Hang lodge so we can make it to the USA-Slovenia match in Johannesburg.