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I figured it would be informative to have up to date news, pretty much while it's happening....(here goes)

Staying in Pretoriuskop in a caravan, and sending this via laptop and 3G data card.

We did Pretoriuskop-Skukuza-Lower Sabie and back again today.

The bush is very dense, and green. All rivers and dams have a lot of water in them still.

Not many South Africans, but tons of international tourists (school holidays in SA over).

Had about a 65% hit rate of people waving back, when I greeted them (my 10yr old daughter thinks this is hillarious that I wave to every on-coming car)

Jeep Jockeys were very well behaved today, none pushed in on a sighting, or sped wildly around the park.

Only one "plonker" on the roads today. They got out of their car to stretch their legs on a little bridge near Lower Sabie. I stopped and asked if they needed help, and was told about the leg stretching. I asked the driver if he realized that he was not allowed to alight his vehicle, and he told me, yes he realized it. A Kruger vehicle came by just then, and instructed them to get in their vehicle and move on.

Score card for today: elephants, buffalo, giant eagle owl, puff adder, hippo, crocs, giraffe, rhino (white),bushbuck, kudu, impala, impala, impala, impala...

Cheers

Hiya Folks

Did Pkop - Berg en Dal - back again.

Greeting hit rate of about 80% today, we're getting better I think. I even had an untamed vehicle smile while he waved today...maybe the yellow ribbon.(waterproof cos it's a raincoat)
My wife tried driving my bakkie (pick-up) today, from Berg en Dal to Afsaal, and only got about a 10% greeting hit rate...I think she waves with the wrong hand
We've created a new car game for kids though, my daughter now keeps score

My YR is still only YR I've seen in the park. (Raincoats are available in all KNP shops to rip apart if you've left yours at home)

Score card: Elephant, rhino (group of 7 including a little one), buffalo (huge herd of about 100, 20km from Pkop, settling in for the night. Biggest herd I've ever seen), giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, chameleon (in the road, had to hang my arm with a cooler box lid attached to shoo it off the road...didn't get out though)

Settling in for a great meal (beer bum chicken(if there is a recipe thread, and I find it, I'll put it on...see my Avatar), roast potatoes and veggies...all while camping.
Scops sounding off, and the sun has just set, the weather is cool enough to not have many mozzies, but warm enough to be walking around with a cold beer.

Cheers

Bert, my wife says I still think I fill out a T-shirt pretty well

Todays Commentary

Did Pkop - Skukuza - Tshokwane and back again.

Hot, hot, hot...I have figured out why people don't wave; it's the heat! Mornings get above average hits, but afternoons are terrible. It seems to be too hot to lift your hand and wave.

Tried out the right hand too this morning and got fewer results than the left... no really, I'm not bored LOL

Been trying to hunt down Jazil, but still haven't seen another YR(aincoat), but we seem to be doing the same roads.

Score card: Lion (3 females and 3 cubs), Hyhena (man this guy could run, he surprized us on a bend, and overtook a car going in the opposite direction), Elephant, Kudu, ipala, .... oh and LOGS, stopped for about 10 LOGS (they were all made entirely of wood, and trying to jump out at us whilst driving past, that and the boulders and clumps of grass, that look like anything from rhino to hedghogs)

Great day non-theless, cos we're still in the bush.

Cheers

Short trip today.

Rained like crazy today, but we still did Pkop surrounding sand roads, all in good condition.

Still no YR's other than mine. I think I'm gonna remove it, and then I'll see tons, I'm sure

The only negative today, is the kids on their little bikes, screaming up and down the roads in camp, and making quite a noise...I'm thinking I should put speed bumps in the road

Score today: CHEETAH!!!!!!!(walking down the road on her own, and we had the privilege of spending about 8 minutes with her on the road, and not another car in sight for that whole period), Kudu, warthog, giraffe, impala, impala, impala...they really are quite fantastic animals.

Sun busy setting now, all has become tranquil in the camp, a couple of impala bulls practicing for rut. The sure can sound like hippo, given a few amarulas

Cheers

Hi Folks
Sorry about yesterday, but we were pretty pooped.

We made it to the gate FIRST, on 3 seperate occasions

Yesterday we drove for about 8 hrs, Pkop-Skukuza-Afsaal-sand roads all the way back.

Score for yesterday, Cheetah (same one, who doesn't seem to be car-shy), lion (same ones on the boulders at the Pkop/Afsaal/Skukuza intersection, it seems to be their morning hang out) Hyhena, Elephant, kudu, hippo, waterbuck, buffalo, another puff adder, moving across the road, the most spectaculare sighting though, must have been the Pied Kingfisher, which we caught on video, fishing, catching a fish, beating it to death on a rock, and then gulping it down hole...oh, and impala, impala, impala...awesome day!

Saw a yellow ribbon at Afsaal, walked around and couldn't find the driver...silver corolla.

Did a short run this morning, about 2 hrs and saw nothing, not even an impala, so decided to move. The Pkop reception was fantastic, and found us accomodation for 2 nights in Berg-en-Dal (not one of my favorite camps, I must say)
Getting here was great though:

Score: Lion, warthog...impala, impala, impala...

Finished dinner, and went to watch the movie, we now don't have a projecter, but 20 people huddled around a 54cm colour TV, propped up on a wall.

Got back to the caravan, and heard the most wonderful sound, coming from the fence...Lion hunting, and calling to each other. It's bone chilling stuff, but is fantastic to fall asleep listening to their roars.

Thats it for now, battery on laptop busy dying...

Cheers

Hi Folks
It's been a few days, we left Kruger on 27th, and ended up going to the Vaal river to fish for a few days.
Back at work, and wishing I wasn't.



Caroline, the road between Pkop and the intersection of the Skukuza/Afsaal split, very near the Naphi loop. We seem to have seen a lot on that road.

I seriously considered wearing my yellow poncho, but the heat and weird stares I would have got, I decided to move my YR onto the car arial, still didn't work though.

Berg-en-Dal wasn't bad
A very relaxed camp, the vervets were a bit of a problem, but nothing destructive.

The resturant was great, wow! value for money. Our last night, we had packed up already, and decided to have dinner at the resturaunt, fantastic! the food was excellent, service great, and a whole lot cheaper than I thought it would be.

We'll thats it from the almost live running commentary, another brilliant trip to Kruger, and can't wait to go again...Letaba with out a doubt though.

Cheers

Where can I find out more about the Midrand meet?