There were many people, mostly women, dressed in their Sunday best going to and returning from the numerous churches in the small towns between Nelspruit and Kruger. Some had capes and others wore green badges with a star in the centre and someone had previously told us that they were Zionists.
We had booked a campsite by phone and they could only give us one night so we decided to take it and see if there were any cancellations.
Between the gate and our camp at Skukuza, we were fortunate enough to spot a cheetah resting in the shade of a tree. It didn't take long before we were joined by dozens of other vehicles all jostling to get a view and photos. It is so much more crowded than any of the other parks we have been to so far.
There are discounts for pensioners during the week so there were lots of retired folk with their caravans, motorhomes and huge tents. Many stay for several days. We were able to find a spot that could fit our tent about 20 times over.
We met our neighbour in the camp and he and his wife were spending two weeks in the park and visit the park twice a year. Arbie was a retired teacher and he taught in South Africa with Irene Van Dyke who lives in our area and plays netball for the NZ team. Irene and her family now live permanently in NZ. Arbie and Nonnie were very kind to invite us to join them for a braai by their tent. We showed them our books on the Bay of Plenty and NZ scenery and talked about many things over a glass of wine. They cooked boerwors and paps with a tomato sauce. Paps is a ground maize flour when cooked looks like lumpy couscous but tastes good. We had some delicious preserved quince for dessert. When we told them that we could only get a camp site for one night he offered to let us use his booking code as he was allowed up to 6 people on his site. That was such a relief. We had met others who told us to just stay and not worry about it but everyone has to have an exit permit to leave the park and we didn't know what the penalty was if we didn't have one.
One night we drove to Lake Panic Hide and saw lots of elephants eating grass from the lake and just as the light was fading we saw a leopard come to check us out.
On the way home we came across a pride of about 10 lions sitting in the middle of the road enjoying the hot tarseal as the day had been a hot 32 degrees. We were getting a bit anxious as the camp gates close at 6pm and if you are late you have to pay a late gate opening fee. Luckily the lions moved to the side of the road as dozens more vehicles came in both directions and we could take a decent shot of this guy under their headlights. What a sight!
We visited Mlondozi Dam and saw more hippos.
We visited Mlondozi Dam and saw more hippos.
Every night this hyena with his partner would walk along the fence behind our camp. Someone told us that people feed them so that's why they come around although there is a huge fine for feeding the wildlife.
Saw quite a few birds at the Orpen Dam Loop including the large secretary bird and a green parrot.
Our binoculars fell apart after about 20 years of use so had to invest in a new pair. Luckily John can still use half of the old binoculars as he can't see through his left eye anyway.
In the picnic areas many South Africans cook up a big lunch on the gas barbecue plates that the park supplies. It was popular to have bacon and eggs with bread and tomatoes. The food stuck on the barbecue plates when they had finished cooking attracted dozens of thrushes and monkeys and they were a real nuisance. Some of the aggressive monkeys grabbed at peoples' cool boxes, and even cameras. Other monkeys tried to snatch food from peoples' hands coming from behind where they couldn't be seen. Even though there are signs telling people not to feed the animals it seems impossible not to in the picnic areas.
We left the park in the direction of the Malelane Gate heading for Swaziland.
