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..............now then..............I need to take real care that this trip report doesn't take me longer than the actual time I spent in the part between yesterday and 6am this morning. Fact is......I have been suffering so badly from Kruger Fever, that when half a chance (literally half a chance) came up for me to get into the Park........well the rest is history.........so I made it a one-night-stand ......a quickie........a Kruger Quickie.

I had some work to do in the Lydenberg area yesterday (19 April 2021) and managed to get out of Lydenburg at around 12.......bee-line Kruger !! Since I was due to leave Kruger very early again this morning I chose Pretoriuskop as my target, but though I would use the opportunity and head for Kruger Gate, so that I could do some mid-afternoon (wishful) game searching from Kruger Gate down towards Pretorius.

I had to take the customary Kruger Gate Pic:


And that is all for now......will write the next installment of my quickie action tonight........

Woke up and saw all these posts........now I'm starting to think I may have created unnecessary anticipation, which could lead to disappointment and rebellion if this "Quickie" doesn't live up to your standards.

Anyway......on with the story.......if you decide that this is a boring "Quickie" then that's your problem.......I'm having fun.

Before I go any further......on this trip I saw more rhino than rooibokke.......and I know I can't post a word about where I saw them due to the poaching issue. Being a quickie I'm not really sure how I am going to tell you about all these . Mods - am I allowed to post rhino pics without location, or is that also off limits?

OK then - at Kruger Gate I was. Perhaps important for you to know that this quickie was all about my own pleasure. As you can recall, I did some work in Lydenburg in the morning and now found myself on my ace with this beauty stretched out ahead of me (Kruger that is). The fever had driven me to delirium, which meant I gave the hippos under the Kruger Gate bridge only a glance (almost drove over a German tourist on the bridge however). And yes (cheetah2111), can you believe I didn't even stop for a fishy pic on the bridge - feeling quite bad about it now

Still firmly under the spell of the fever I bought a packet of chips and a cool-drink at Kruger Gate and writing this now I realize that the first seeds of my new philosophy about Kruger were planted here and given water by what I saw at the gate. Nothing bad, people were friendly...........but............something was brewing in my mind. More about this later.

Immediately right onto the S3. One part of me was saying I need to get off the main road to Skukuza, another was saying that driving so close to the park boundary was silly.........and around the first corner I came across this little magician trying to run over the road.

I say magician becuase if this little tortie knew what effect he/she had on my fever he/she would be sending me a bill

Ok peeps - more later. I need to go hoist the yellow for the Rietvlei braai later today........

OK OK OK.......back to the quickie.
My worst fear has become reality....this TR is taking me far longer to complete than the actual deed

The salient points from earlier: I was alone in Kruger with just a few hours to do my quickie, on the S3 and I had at least seen a psychic tortoise that was helping me out of the fever. I was starting to take Kruger into my soul and the fever was most certainly abating by the time I pulled over to watch and listen to a White-browed Scrub-Robin. This is the sort of bird I would have driven past in years gone by and I would not have given it a second glace - to be delegated to that list of uninteresting LBJ's. But nowadays, as I savor and passionately engross myself in all things big and small, I find myself enjoying moments such as these. I was hoping to give you a glimpse of this beauty, but she had no plans of sticking around to be incriminated in this quickie.......

Now then......I said earlier that there were horny beasts aplenty.......but I suppose the sun would not rise tomorrow if I told you I did not see at least some of the fair red ladies / babes (rooi bokkies ). They were so keen to get into this quickie report that they stood neatly in line........


Now then......being my own personal lone time with me lady Kruger, I had the freedom to stop when, where and for how long I wished and I could do, say and maneuver any which way I wanted to in the car........but more on that in the next installment

Once again apologies for the wait - they say all good things take time. Lets just say this is a slow and deliberate quickie
Now then before I carry on - the hornies: I did not get any good shots, but I was fortunate to have five sightings of different white rhino individuals / groups in less than 15 hours, eight of which I spent sleeping Sorry for the poor pics.
This lone male was the width of a Volkswagen Beetle

These guys had no interest in me or my quickie trip - had to use my cell phone camera as some sod forgot to put the data card back into the camera

Contemplating the patterns made in the dust by the air blowing out of his nostrils

This guy was intent on testing my nerves and whether my tires could handle the thorns on the verge of the road. I had to pass and did so slowly slowly nicely.

Now for you that have given up on me ever finishing this quickie (perhaps turning it into a long-winded affair), I have good news: I have realized that the only way I can get through this quickie is to back it up with another quickie . Surprise, they say, is the essence of life........and quickies!. So, I am sitting here (on a Monday evening) in Addo after having masterfully designed my program to get in a one night stand here in Addo.

I will be writing (I hope) the rest of this quickie (including the second quickie) this week.......and hopefully I will get to the crux of what I want to say.......that being that I have a gut feeling we, as South Africans, may need to think where Kruger is headed in the decades to come.

As it is with a quickie......I am rushing out of Addo now (Tuesday) to get to a meeting. Trying to have the last of my provisions for breakfast (nuts, wine, chocolate, liquorice and tea) and then I am heading off. So let me leave you with some appetizers of this great Addo quickie.......
The medicine

The onlookers

It got wild in the room