Our African Dream - Johannesburg - Kruger National Park

November 6th, we arrived at the Protea Waterfront Hotel in Johannesburg and met our fellow travellers at a briefing.  This time we had 15 passengers, 11 of them Canadian.  We have never experienced so many Canadians on a trip!  The remaining poor sods were two young women from Germany and two "mature" women from New Zealand.  We had been told by Adam (our guide on the first safari) that we would love our guide on this Kiboko trip.  His name is Kembo and he too is from Zimbabwe.  Lezanne, a Kiboko reservations specialist with Kiboko, was along on this 17 day safari to learn about the trips and what pleased (or not) the passengers.  Both Kembo and Lezanne are delightful and we decided early on in our excursion, that we would adopt them in addition to Adam and his family.

We were up bright an early, just like all mornings so far, and headed off to Mpumalanga (Place of the Rising Sun) Province that adheres to a quieter pace of life.  This inland province is South Africa's smallest and is where the plateaus of the highveld begin their spectacular tumble onto the lowveld plains at the dramatic Drakensberg Escarpment.  Many travellers zip through on their way to Kruger National Park, but it was well worth taking some time to explore a couple of historic towns.    

At our morning stop, one of our fellow passengers approached me and told me that I looked familiar.  She did as well, however I figured I didn't know her because she and her husband live in Ottawa.  As we asked each other questions to get to the bottom of the mystery, it was discovered that she had worked at Royal Bank Business Banking in the downtown Toronto Plaza branch, while I worked on the 39th floor in the same tower.  She handled a couple of the advisers in the Harbour Group where I worked, proving once again, that we are never far from home and people who know someone who knows someone.  Although Bob and I tried really hard to be on our best behaviour, it was a lost cause and we continued on as usual....pretty much rabble-rousing along the way, unafraid to further tarnish our reputations.

Our tribe

Initial sighting of the Drakensberg
Escarpment

Our first stop was in a pretty little town called Pilgrims Rest, which was declared a National Monument in 1986, as a living memory of the early gold rush days in South Africa during the late 1800's/early 1900's.  Since then a dedicated team of historians, architects, curators and special interest groups closely monitor all developments and refurbishments in the village to maintain its historical appearance.

Old buildings in Pilgrims Rest

Lezanne and I had a bit of fun
playing hopscotch

Sign on another safari truck

We left the town after a few hours of shopping, and drove through wonderful scenic mountains and valleys.

 

Next stop - God's Window

The best garbage bin sign!

When we arrived, the canyon was
filled with mist...then suddenly it
cleared 

Carol, Jiri and Maureen

Vendor huts

Our hotel in Graskop, a lovely old
hotel with garden suites

Following a leisurely evening, we were up early to head on toward Kruger and to have a look at Blyde River Canyon and Bourkes Potholes.

 

Cheeky Jean got into trouble

While Lovely Lezanne found
a special place to "Om" and pray
for his soul

Jean's partner Lucie, bartering in the
parking lot market 

Mr. Kruger

No sooner in the park when we see this
big fella'

This is a Boomslang.  It is dead.  If it were alive
it would be potentially deadly

The awkward stance necessary for the
giraffe to drink

It didn't matter how many times we had seen the animals, we found them fascinating, each and every time.  The greatest surprise was that Kruger National Park was lush and green.  We had imagined it to be dry and fairly barren and we could have not been more mistaken.  On our first day in the park, we were returning to the fenced-in area that housed our accommodation, and were right outside the gates, when Kembo stopped the truck and we saw this beautiful sight.  The most beautiful pride of nine lions.

We were so excited after our day of discoveries.  Maureen and Jiri invited us to their cottage to have a glass of wine and review the events of the day.  As we sat on their patio, listening to the night noises and animal sounds, something caught my eye just off of the patio.  A genet was quietly making its way along the edge of the patio, watching us as though we were the wildlife.  Perhaps we were.

Genet