Kruger Park – Part 2

The uncertain elephants I mentioned in part 1.  (Also, for those of you not from the south Mrs. Winners is a fast food restaurant.) 

 If you put your curser on the pictures and click, they will get larger.

We learned quickly to go wherever there were cars stopped.  It took awhile to see the animals they had spotted.  Can you see them?

There are actually lions sound asleep in the grass!  After thoroughly exhausting our eyes trying to see the lions, it was time to head back to camp and start the fire for dinner!  Dauw fixed us some lamb chops, baked potatoes, roasted carrots, and sandwiches grilled with cheese, onion and tomatoes!  Very tasty.  We of course saved room for roasted coconut marshmallows on digestive biscuits!  Ok – if you haven’t had them, wow – you should . . . Just ask Annie!  She had had them in India . . . buttery cookies made with whole wheat flour (hence good for the “system”) with a nice coating of chocolate on one side!  As dinner was cooking, there were spotted hyenas watching (there was a fence between us). 

Again still on the Musgrave Family Vaca, so we headed out the next morning at 6:00 (not sure why we slept in – maybe because the gate didn’t open until then??)

How could I have forgotten – the rhino Doug spotted while driving (on Day 1)!  It looks close to the road, but wasn’t!  The man can multi-task!!

We had a South African treat – instant coffee – in the car that morning with our cereal and Ouma Rusks (google them).  While eating breakfast in the car, we spotted our first of many buffalos.  We had to eat with the windows up part of the time since monkeys were wanting to join us!

Here’s another “see if you can find the animal” picture.  Annie’s camera could really zoom in which makes them a little easier to see.

We were very surprised to see a leopard.  This one we saw only because someone pointed it out.  We saw very few zebras, but lots of elephants.

My most exciting moment was spotting a leopard!  We could have so easily missed him.  I was so speechless, all I could do was point and say, “there.” 

God truly blessed us!  We saw the “Big Five” – something that is not common!  And we did it within the first 24 hours we were in the park! 

Here are some other animals we saw:

And though small, I’d go back just to see the  birds!

And some not so small . . . Vultures

Loving, thoughtful monkeys

Up close tired lion

See what you’re missing!  Don’t you want to come to South Africa!!!!

Kruger Park with Annie — Part 1

Since this was a Musgrave Family Vacation, we got up at 4:00am and left the house promptly at 5:00am.  Dauw Briedenhann, a friend from Pretoria accompanied us and served as an excellent tour guide!  After around 2.5 hours of driving, we stopped at Milly’s for breakfast.  (That sentence makes me laugh – reminds me of  back in the ’80′s when my sister, Debbie told my mom that she had a sausage biscuit every Saturday morning at Mrs Winners.  My mom was so pleased that this lady would fix breakfast and have Debbie over!)  FYI Milly’s is a restaurant overlooking a small lake – possibly for trout fishing??

Dauw had told us that he planned a stop at a mall!  Annie and I perked up and were impressed with his thoughtfulness in letting us shop for awhile.  Then he explained that the stop would be for grocery shopping.  While Dauw and Doug selected the meat for the braais, Annie and I rushed to our favorite aisle.  Yes, Megan – the cereal aisle!  The Musgrave Women know what is important!  I think Dauw was hoping for eggs and bacon . . . .  Milo and Muesli!!  WooHoo!!  (Milo is like Peanut Butter Puffs only without the peanut butter and with extra chocolate.)

We enter Kruger Park at the Mulalane Gate.  There were crocodiles under the bridge and elephants crossing the road!!

We arrived at our campsite around 3:30 that afternoon.  For some reason I didn’t take any pictures, but Annie and I slept in one tent; Doug and Dauw in the second.  The tents were on concrete floors, had doors and electricity.  Someone even came and made the  beds in the mornings!  Showers, etc were in a building a little way down the road. 

We unloaded/unpacked, then went out for another drive.  We saw lots of “deer-like” animals.

And giraffes . . . then were delayed by a large group of elephants who did not know whether they really wanted to cross the road or not.

Trip to Botswana

Baboons along the highway (taken from car)

Landscape of SA from the car

Keeping Up with the Fam

Megan, Charlie & Rick

Auntie Annie & Ruthie Just Chillin'