Kruger National Park

Kruger National Park, South Africa

 My African Safari trip started from Capri, SA which is in the deep south part of the country. I traveled using a Lyft to the Cape Town airport traveling by air to Johannesburg where I stayed overnight at an airport hotel.  I then spent a six-hour trip on a bus to Kruger National Park.

Kruger National Park, South Africa

 During the trip, it rained most of the time.  The countryside was absolutely beautiful with many neatly groomed farms.  The only African animals I saw along the way were baboons.  If you have followed my Facebook page (Rick C Rusch), you already know I had my share of encounters with the alpha male baboons in my bedroom, more than once.  That is another story.

 I stayed at a small section of the park, Viva Safaris, for my sleeping accommodations where I needed to keep an eye out for the monkeys trying to get into my room.  They are known to steal whatever they could get their hands on.  I was told to guard my passport, cell phone, and wallet.  Past guests, unfortunately, didn’t heed the warnings from the guides.

Viva Safari

Greetings from Mama

 Every morning we had the Vervet monkeys visit us while we were drinking our coffee or tea. The alpha male would make his presence known to us most every morning, acting out some pretty lewd behavior just to show us his dominance.  Let’s just say he was a colorful site to see him exposing his you know-what in full bloom.  Grey fur, with bright blue, and red…

Viva Safari

Vervet Monkey

 My hut was very much what I had envisioned an African hut would look like.  It was rustic with a thatched roof, a simple sleeping area, and a shower area.  The weather was just perfect.  We had just missed the heavy rains and the extreme heat that had hit the area a few days earlier.

 Because of Covid, there was hardly anyone visiting the parks which aided me in getting some great pictures.  The park had just opened up after being shut down for some time.  Because of the lack of tourists, I was able to get an upgrade in living accommodations.  Instead of living in a tent, I was able to live in a hut.  Yeah!!!

Viva Safari

My Living Quarters

My Bed

 On my first night there I was with two other Americans.  One was a CEO working remotely traveling throughout Africa, and the other tourist was a student traveling from the United States to Brazil and then on to South Africa.  They both planned to travel up the eastern part of Africa.  At that time the restrictions to enter into some of the other African countries were stricter than it was to get into South Africa.

Traveling during Covid did not go smoothly for any of us, however, we all just went with the flow of life, enjoyed the moments, and saw some beautiful sites along the way.

 My first experience on safari was a night tour, traveling through the bush.  We saw a lot which I will be showing here with pictures.

Viva Safari

First night at Dusk

After the several-hour trip, we went to camp for an authentic South African meal.  Delicious, yet heavy.  I gained weight.  Having beer every night didn’t help the weight gain.

The next day, we met up with a small group comprised of two ladies from Poland and one gentleman from the UK.

The ladies were mid-wives, and the guy worked for a finance company.  His boss didn’t know he had left the UK to travel.

Viva Safari

First night at dinner we had a traditional African meal, eating some of the game from the Park.

 The first full day with our extended group was a four-hour walk through the bush.  Before we started the walk, we had instructions on how to scare off a male lion.  Also, the guides (who carried rifles) told us about never getting in the way of a black Hippo traveling to water.  Well, we missed a Hippo by minutes of traveling to the river.

Oh, and we were told we had better be by a tree to climb since the Hippos could outrun us, and hoped the Hippo wouldn’t knock that tree down.

Of course, we all laughed while looking for the closest tree nearby.

Viva Safari

Walking tour through the Bush.

For those who do not know, Hippos are in the top five of being one of most dangerous animals on the planet.  We had two encounters with Hippos.

The jeep we traveled in was comfortable, that is if you consider bouncing up and down, right to left, with every bump or hole in the road; and it goes without saying, there were bumps and holes continually.  For me to get some great pictures I needed to sit in the back.  The last section of the jeep has the most ups and downs.  Fortunately, I had my Ibuprofen with me.

We had a great time.  I made some nice friends whom I have contact with to this day.

Kruger National Park

Viva Safari

Our Jeep

 About the Wilderness w/Viva Safari @ Kruger National Park

A small percentage of South Africa is classified as real wilderness areas. In the Kruger National Park, 49% of the surface area of about 2 million hectares (acres) is zoned as wilderness, and it is in these areas that the Kruger National Park (KNP) conducts wilderness tours.

Driving around in an open game drive vehicle much of the time, staying at the rustic, primitive camp, and experiencing the wilderness of the African bush on foot is what I had hoped for.   What I experienced was the African wilderness, with a sense of remoteness, tranquility, and peace. A big bonus we all were able to see was the “The Big Five.”  

There is so much to see and experience.  This safari focused not only on the big aspects of nature but also on the smaller things that most people miss when they only drive around.  Walking in the bush on the first day made us feel part of the environment. We saw a range of habitats with differing ecosystems, allowing us to explore unique combinations of flora.

We were taught how to eat, which leaves to use for brushing our teeth to wiping our you know what!!!  That is important to know what leaves to use and not to use.

Kruger National Park

Leaves for grooming ones teeth

Or was it for the other area?

Rose Quartz

How to start a fire with this stone

We were shown many facets of nature.  We were able to see, smell, hear, touch, feel, and even taste wild things. Driving is a visual experience – walking is a sensual experience. 

Wildlife of Kruger National Park

As far as the animals are concerned, it is home to all the usual big game. It is one of the few places in Africa where you can see:

The Big Five: 

Lion, Cape Buffalo, Leopard, Elephant, Black Rhino

I was able to capture pictures of all five.  Having an opportunity to take a picture of a leopard is rare.  

Kruger National Park

This picture was taken mid-day. We found two male lion brothers, who were napping. They looked at us, got up, and walked away to another tree.

I guess we were bothering their afternoon nap.

Kruger National Park

Cape Buffalo

Kruger National Park

It is a rare sight to see a Leopard.

Our guides told us they usually

hang around the Letaba River.

Kruger National Park

Elephants are grayish-black. An African elephant that looks brown or reddish is after they have been wallowing in colored mud.

Kruger National Park

This was the first of two encounters with a Black Hippo. We were on a walking tour of the bush and passed this section minutes before this hippo was on his way to the river. One does not get in the way of a hippo walking toward the water.

The second encounter was when our jeep had a flat tie. The jack got stuck and the tire wasn’t able to be changed for at least a good ten minutes. We were next to a pond where another hippo was resting.

It swam towards us but stopped just short of the shoreline where the jeep was yards away.

More South African Animals

Kruger National Park

Lilac Breasted Roller

Kruger National Park

Burchell’s Zebra, which is also known as the plains zebra, has black and white stripes all over its body with only a few or fading stripes on the legs. Each zebra has unique stripes that can be used as an identification character to distinguish between individuals – similar to fingerprints in humans. The stripes on the sides run down and join under the belly.

Burchell’s zebra has a short mane down the back of the neck. The tail has long black hair at the end. Males are slightly larger than females, and they have a narrow black stripe running vertically between their hind legs. In females, this stripe is wider. Which sex is this Zebra?

Kruger National Park

I thought Alligators in the U.S. were scary-looking, but African Crocodiles are huge. We were grateful for being on the other side of the river.

Kruger National Park

African Fish-Eagle

I stayed in the southern sector of the Kruger National Park, which is the most popular and has the greatest number of visitors.  Once again, because of Covid, seeing another vehicle was a rare sight at the park.

My time on Safari was a “once-in-a-lifetime experience.” It was wonderful to see nature as nature and not as a man-made environment. The sad part was the lack of herds of animals that I use to see in various magazines, documentaries, and in movies. While traveling through the country, I saw many buildings throughout with little wildlife.

Hopefully, the countries of the world will continue to protect our environment and the beautiful wildlife that habitat this earth.

Please enjoy the pictures.

Rick Rusch

My last morning at Viva Safari. With coffee in hand of course.