{"id":918,"date":"2016-05-15T09:26:53","date_gmt":"2016-05-15T09:26:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/?p=918"},"modified":"2016-05-15T09:28:12","modified_gmt":"2016-05-15T09:28:12","slug":"kruger-park-day-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/2016\/05\/15\/kruger-park-day-trip\/","title":{"rendered":"A Kruger Park Day Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"

A family long weekend away in Mpumalanga made way for a sneaky Kruger Park day trip as part of it. What a wonderful way to spend a day.<\/strong><\/h2>\n

My happy place! I have a few and add to my list each time I find myself submerged<\/em> in a beautiful, wild and wondrous environment. But The\u00a0Kruger National Park<\/a>\u00a0will always have a soft and squishy place in my wildlife-loving heart. It is one of my happy places, largely because we got married under its trees at our special\u00a0Kruger bush wedding<\/a>, but it was a love of ours long before that too.\u00a0It is a wild escape that grabs hold of me as I enter its gates, wide eyed, grinning and I feel that all-encompassing excitement as it makes me part of it instantly. It’s a good feeling. A feeling like “coming home.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"elephant<\/a>

An elephant, in its perfect Kruger home<\/p><\/div>\n

\"malachite<\/a>

Malachite Kingfisher at Lake Panic near Skukuza- what a gorgeous little guy<\/p><\/div>\n

A family holiday turns wild<\/strong><\/h2>\n

My family and I were recently on a long weekend getaway at\u00a0Pinelakes Resort\u00a0<\/a>in Mpumalanga, relaxing together along the lakeside, eating, drinking good wine and being merry together. On a drive out to the shops (probably for more wine) we saw a sign that made me jolt with giddiness. It was a sign for Kruger’s\u00a0Numbi Gate<\/a>, just a few kilometres from where we were. We hadn’t realised we were so close to it. The temptation was too much to resist. We planned for a day trip into Kruger the very next day, as part of our holiday.<\/p>\n

\"guinea<\/a>

A guinea fowl family cross the road in the early morning drizzle.<\/p><\/div>\n

A Kruger day is a good day<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A day spent in Kruger is a happy day. No matter what you see or which roads call to you from the rocky signposts or that trusty Kruger guide map you get at the gate. We arrived early enough and spent most of the cool and pleasant Sunday driving leisurely through that southern part of Kruger we accessed.<\/p>\n

\"kingfisher<\/a>

Woodlands kingfishers were all around, calling from the trees and just being generally gorgeous<\/p><\/div>\n

All things wild and wonderful<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We stopped to squint at birds through binoculars and veered off onto dirt roads just to see what was around that bend. We drank in the green and varied bushveld which changed continuously as we edged along the roads from the\u00a0rocky koppies<\/em>\u00a0and sourveld of\u00a0Pretoriouskop to the marula bushveld which the ellies and giraffes were delighting in, to the mixed woodlands nearer Skukuza.<\/p>\n

\"elephants<\/a>

Breakfast with the ellies<\/p><\/div>\n

We stopped for a picnic lunch at\u00a0Skukuza camp<\/a>\u00a0where we took in the views of the Sabie River from our table under the enormous trees. We spotted kingfishers, bee-eaters, buffalo and hippo all while we nibbled and toasted our luck with a beer.<\/p>\n

\"Skukuza<\/a>

Skukuza camp lunchtime, with a river view<\/p><\/div>\n

We stopped for leopard tortoises crossing the roads, but unfortunately not for leopards this time. \u00a0We also made way for an enormous black mamba snake as it meandered to the other side of the tar too. We watched elephants going about their munching business close to the roadside while my sister hid herself from their view and urged us to move on quickly.<\/p>\n

\"tortoise<\/a>

A tortoise crossing.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"elephants<\/a>

All day is meal time for the elephants.<\/p><\/div>\n

We also shared the most memorable moments with a clan\u00a0of hyena pups at their den along the road. Hyenas are possibly my favourite animals- fascinating, curious and these little ones were very sweet. It was a special visit with them.<\/p>\n

\"hyena<\/a>

This inquisitive youngster was so relaxed with us looking on nearby<\/p><\/div>\n

We also hopped out the car a couple of times at designated spots during the day to stretch the legs and take in some variety too. We appreciated the panoramic views from the rock top at a look out point (one we were allowed to get out at- don’t worry). We also spent some quiet time at the Lake Panic bird hide- a favourite amongst Kruger regulars,\u00a0twitchers<\/em>\u00a0and birding photography enthusiasts. I do love some quality time at a hide. It offers such a different perspective from a hidden vantage point and the chance to be close to nature without bothering it.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A lookout point where we could hop out and enjoy the views<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Lake<\/a>

Quietly watching as nature goes about its day at the Lake Panic hide<\/p><\/div>\n

Farewell Kruger, till next time<\/strong><\/h2>\n

On our way out the park that afternoon we\u00a0ooohed<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0aaahed<\/em>\u00a0at the sheer skyscraper height of the giraffe that passed our car as we contorted our own necks like owls to look up at them. \u00a0They were so close by and giant beauties. We also bid farewell to the zebra, birds, kudu, impala and other antelope that we encountered from our car window view point.<\/p>\n

\"giraffe<\/a>

The tallest of the tall- the magnificent giraffe.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"kudu<\/a>

Handsome kudu male, giving us a good look at him.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"zebra<\/a>

The distinct and lovely zebras, saying hello.<\/p><\/div>\n

It’s always with a tinge of sadness that I leave Kruger, whether we’ve enjoyed a long stay visit or just a sneaky day trip inside. The time spent within its territory among its wild things and the memories made and shared with loved ones are treasured. It’s that Kruger magic that keeps us coming back for more.<\/p>\n

\"crocodile<\/a>

crocs and Egyptian geese, side by side at Lake Panic<\/p><\/div>\n

All the Kruger info you’ll need is on the\u00a0SANParks website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A family long weekend away in Mpumalanga made way for a sneaky Kruger Park day trip as part of it. What a wonderful way to spend a day. My happy place! I have a few and add to my list…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":922,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,5,12],"tags":[282,74,284,195,198,283,285,98,281,99,287,286,140,149,234,227],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=918"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":950,"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/918\/revisions\/950"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bushbabyblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}