Kruger National Park, 4

We left Skukuzu early on the  morning of September 1, driving leisurely west through the park, exiting at the Phabeni gate, driving then to Hazyview, and then north some 500k all told to the Forever Resort and Campground at Tschipise. A long drive through varied terrain, into the north of South Africa, en route to Botswana.

The camp at Skukuzu...a lodge, a large campground, shoppes,
restaurants, cafes, conference center, museum, service station,
visitor center, bank, etc. 

Washing area

Cooking

Mostly these family huts, rondels (?), scores of them

In the campground

The gate at Skukuzu

A bit of the electric fence

Aother new species for us, the Kudu; "now go do that voodoo
that Kudu so well"

Interesting birds' nests

Burrowing animal nest

Blue Wildebeeste

More hippos

Bird; there are so many of them...

Ditto

Ruins of a 19th century trading post

What they were trading

Goodbye, Kruger, magnificent place!

Kruger National Park, 3

The next day we stayed mostly in the Skukuzu camp, still suffering from jet-lag, doing the wash and other administrative things, reserving our animal watching for a sunset safari that was part of the tour.

Speed camera in the park: Kruger seemed appropriately enforced,
for the treasure it is; other parks we visited did not seem so

Solitary male; big guy too

Another of the "croppies" we found so interesting

And the sun set

And then the big hit of the day: a pack of rhinos

Crossing the road

Like most other species, they herd their young very carefully

Later, on the return, another spotted hyena

And her two pups

Kruger National Park, 2

On our second day in Kruger we arose early, got out the gate shortly after sunrise, visited various water holes, drove as far south at the Crocodile Bridge, then looped back up the Sabie River for the best sightings of the day, getting into Skukuzu Camp just before sundown. A marvelous day.

Winter is the dry part of the year, and it is soon to end; watering
holes are the animals' only means of living, and a little patience at
these sights amply rewards; the practice in our group is to rise
early, make coffee (tea), drive to the watering hole of choice, and
have breakfast there, leisurely awaiting whomever shows up

A warthog, on the way; tops among the Ugly Five

Spotted hyena; ugly and nasty

A white rhino--"white" a corruption of the Dutch word for
wide, as in wide mouth; a grazer

Impalas and a giraffe...incidental scenery now

Unidentified ugly thing on a rock by the watering hole

Hippos and wildebeestes

Impalas too

A solitary hyena slinks in, upwind, but he is seen, and everyone
else quietly exits for the forest cover

Except for Mr. Crocodile, and the hippos

Driving on, on a terrible washboard road; we were too see much
worse...

On which, for some 30k, we saw a turtle and two giraffes; so
much for "off the beaten track"

Owl helps us identify animals

High point of the road: an elephant skull

At last, we arrive at the Hippo Pool; many buffalo there too

Lots of hippos

One out of water

Another climbs out for some grass

Mr. Crocodile watches with interest

Back on the Sabie River road

For reasons beyond my understanding, the largest traffic jams
were for birds; especially vultures and the like

Lovable giraffes

More submersed hippos in the Sabie

And on the shore

Finally..hey, it's been almost a full day...a small pride of lions

Keeping an eye on...

A herd of buffaloes and a train of elephants, just a few hundred
feet away

Some of the elephants crossing the river

Others, not; not long after this, we stopped for the elephants to
cross the road and witnessed a near-collision of elephant and
SUV: the SUV swerved, the elephant reared, but then everyone
carried on as if nothing had happened

Baboon family discussion: "always walk on the side facing
oncoming traffic" "always look both ways" "stop, look, and listen"

New species: ring-tailed Waterbuck

Giraffe traffic jam

Perfect end to a great safari day