After collecting some of the operators at the Johannesburg OR Tambo airport who arrived from Cape Town, and would be joining us on the tour operator’s tour to the Kruger National Park, we proceeded to make our way to the Kruger.

Arriving at the Phalaborwa gate we were greeted by the San Parks staff as well as the other operators who where already waiting for us at the entrance gate to the Kruger Park.

A brief introduction and itinerary explanation, and we all entered into our vehicles and proceeded into the Kruger.

The drive down to Kruger, from Johannesburg takes around 5 hours and we arrived during midday, not much chance of decent sightings in the middle of the day in the Kruger Park, it is usually too hot and the animals are seeking shelter from the sun and generally remaining inactive.

1836 – Great Trek
Louis Trichardt was the first white Voortrekker to trek through the present-day Kruger Park to Delagoa Bay (Maputo) in Mozambique. Most of his party succumbed to malaria on this journey.

1898
President Paul Kruger proclaimed the “Gouvernement Wildtuin on 26 March 1898. Its boundaries stretched from the Crocodile River in the south to the Sabie River in the north and from the Nsikazi River in the west to the Mozambican border in the east.

1899 - During the Anglo Boer War, the proclamation of the Sabie Game Reserve was nullified. This was reinstated in 1902.

For me, every day in the bush, especially in Kruger National Park, is “good”, but every now and again a day stands out, for many reasons, but usually for the combination of excellent sightings and the company one is seeing them in. On my last safari, I had one of those days. Here are some of the highlights ………