C S & M in SOUTH AFRICA, 2013, A.D.: KRUGER NATIONAL PARK

We just wrapped up three days in Kruger National Park, one of the most famous tourist destinations in South Africa. We stayed at three different rest camps throughout the park... but "rest camp" is pretty much an understatement. They were really like small towns, with gas stations, stores, restaurants, laundromats, and cabins to rent! We spent every day driving the paved and dirt roads through the park, holding our binoculars and cameras and waiting for animal sightings. We were worried there wouldn't be much to see from the road, especially in a park as huge as Kruger... but we were wrong. Within ten minutes of entering the park we encountered THIS GUY.....

...and the trip just got better and better after that! We have so many photos we have decided to just upload a handful of the best ones on this blog post. Later in the trip, when we have a we hope to create a more thorough post with a photo of EVERY different species we saw in the park. Enjoy!

We also participated in a night tour, driving through the park with a safari group and guide. Aside from how boring and freezing the majority of it was, we did manage to see a couple cool animals at night:

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porcupine!

African wildcat

elephant feeding alongside the road

The next morning, at 5:30am, we went on a morning bush hike with two experienced guides (with rifles). MUCH cooler than the night tour and we saw loads of cool animals there!

THE KRUGER FINALE:
We were heading to our rest camp on our last full day at Kruger when we pulled off to watch two elephants drinking and a herd of impala and kudu (deer-like animals) grazing by a reservoir. After a few minutes, I saw through the binoculars that the elephants abruptly finished drinking and began walking away. The rest of the animals continued grazing but, suddenly, all of them stopped. It was eerie - an entire herd of animals was standing completely still, staring in the same direction. Right at that moment, Sean pointed to the opposite end of the reservoir and asked, "What is THAT?" I scanned the binoculars over and saw something amazing. "That," I said, "is a LION." The perfect ending to an amazing stay at Kruger.