Day one in Kruger

In the morning we are up early and we decide to take the road and start going to Kruger. It’s a one and a half hour driving where every now and then there is a sign saying “attention hypos crossing” “attention lions crossing”. We arrive at crocodile gate, fill the form and enter the reserve.
Immediately we start seeing pumbas, giraffes, zebras and impalas. The view is stunning and we take tons of pictures. We even see rhinos, our first Big 5! The road is without asphalt and the car goes slow, but is fine, we have so much to see and so many pictures to take! Enthusiastic, we arrive at the lodge that is almost noon. They welcome us with a drink, show us the schedule, our room and tell us that lunch will be at 13.00.
We enjoy our fantastic room, very elegant and satisfying and we take a walk in the lodge. There are monkeys, impalas and pumbas inside the gates and at some point a green snake falls in front of us from a tree!

We go for lunch and the food is incredibile! We get to eat one of the best steaks of our life and we decide not to wonder what kind of meat is that. Beef that is just cooked in a really nice way or some other animal?
After lunch we take a siesta and I finally manage to sleep a bit after the night in Nelspruit.

At 16.00 is time for the first game! Our guide Texan introduces us to the car and the rules for the drive. We are 7 people, a German couple and a German family with two teenagers and a 7 yo kid. It will be us for the rest of the stay. Me and Fuffi get a seat in the back of the car, the highest point, and we get ready for the hunt!
Texan takes us for narrow roads in the middle of the forest, crosses grass and water and a lot of different environments. We see giraffes, zebras, impalas, a young elephant, rhinos and lions! The lions moment was incredible! Fuffi spotted one lioness in the grass and Texan went closer with the car, leaving the road and going in the middle of the grass. While we get closer we realize that there are many more lionesses that are resting with full bellies. We spend a lot of time there, in silence taking pictures and observing the animals that chill and look at us curious. They are not scared or worried, they don’t seem interested in us. They keep resting and rolling in the grass as we were not there. The moment is magic.
Before ending the game we stop in a quiet place and have a break with beer and popcorn in the middle of the savana! When it gets dark we head off to the lodge.
After the first game is now time for dinner. We are not hungry. They gave us food for all the day and we didn’t do much activity considered we were in the car all the time. We eat something and then we go back to our room.
The shower of the room is outside in a hidden corner connected to the bathroom by a door window. I take my shower outside. The weather is chilly and humid and the contrast with the warm water is very relaxing.
It is now time to bed. The alarm tomorrow will be at 5.00 for the game at dawn.Read more