Before we get tied down by work we wanted to get our 'animal fix.' Besides, Vanessa isn't around to get us started on projects. So we got up early and were soon on the road to Kruger National Park. It’s the 10th Anniversary of Democracy (the end of apartheid) and everyone is on holiday. Marilyn, bless her, got us camping reservations at Skakusa and Satara, then we’re on our own. The road was fine, the scenery changing, but nice and the trip long. We passed hundreds of school kids in their uniforms walking long distances to and from school. I think they’re on half-day schedules. Young blacks in South Africa really have to work to get an education. It’s a long walk to school!
We arrived at Kruger around 11:00am, nearly 500km from De Wildt. We entered through the Nambi gate and headed for our first campsite at Skakusa, the largest lodging in the park. Before we even arrived at camp we saw a kudu cow and calf, our first family of giraffes and countless impala. These delicate antelope are considered the MacDonald’s of Africa – fast food for all the predators.
Skakusa is large, not overly scenic, and on this holiday weekend, very crowded. As I write we’re being serenaded by an accordion – at least it’s not bagpipes – competing with a soccer (or rugby!) game on Afrikaans. But the showers are hot, they have a cooking area with hotplates and wash sinks and it’s cheap - $15 a night. Interestingly, there are no picnic tables! After pitching the tent we took a short drive where we saw our first elephant who caused quite a traffic jam. He was in the middle of the road and no one (wisely) passed him in either direction. Dinner was salad greens with tuna because we had a late lunch. Weary from several sleep deprived days, I showered, downed some Tylenol PM and slept the seep of the dead.
