| You've got to ask yourself 'why do nearly 1.4 million | | | | We visited the Kruger in December 2009 and we |
| visitors go to the Kruger Park in South Africa every | | | | stayed in the busy camp of Skukuza. Keep in mind |
| year'? Some countries don't get this many tourists let | | | | that this is the middle of summer when the bush is at |
| alone just one national park! | | | | its thickest yet we managed to see the super-seven |
| Well, we've spent more than 13 months staying in | | | | within four days! |
| the park over the past 15 years and we still cannot | | | | This is how our four days went: |
| get enough of the Kruger. It provides so many | | | | Day-1: Wild dog early in the morning with an impala |
| choices for the visitor; you can choose to stay in an | | | | kill, then an elephant bull and a cheetah mother with |
| air-conditioned bungalows or rustic tents, you can eat | | | | her five cubs in mid morning. |
| in the restaurants or you can barbeque, you can | | | | Day-2: Not one, not two, but three lion sightings in |
| drive on the tar roads or the dirt roads, you can go | | | | the morning and elephant and buffalo later in the day. |
| on a game drive or a bush walk - you name it the | | | | Day-3: A leopard early in the morning and a herd of |
| Kruger has it. Oh, did we mention all the animals as | | | | buffalo in the afternoon |
| well! | | | | Day-4: Three black rhinos and a herd of elephant. |
| The 'Super-Seven' | | | | You'll notice that we had multiple sightings of lion, |
| In addition to the 'Big-five, the Kruger has the | | | | elephant and buffalo - these animals tend to be |
| 'Super-seven'! Cheetah and Wild Dog are added to | | | | common. The rare sightings are the black rhinos |
| the traditional big-five of Buffalo, Elephant, Leopard, | | | | (white rhinos are more common), cheetah and wild |
| Lion and Rhinoceros, making these seven the most | | | | dogs. |
| sough-after animals to photograph when visiting the | | | | Was it luck that we got to see all these animals? Well |
| park. | | | | it was a combination of providence and planning. Part |
| Some people say that animals in the Kruger are hard | | | | of our strategy is to use the sighting boards in the |
| to find and photograph as the bush is thick - yes the | | | | camps, speak to other visitors and chat to the game |
| bush can get thick especially in summer but if you | | | | guides the day before we go on our drives and then |
| follow the right advice you will improve your gane | | | | decide which routes to take based on where certain |
| viewing immensely. | | | | animals were seen the previous two days. |