Graskop

Johannesburg is a very large city, and so the prospect of renting a car wasn't thrilling me. But it was the best way to cover some biggish distance in a wandering manner. Well, apart from the obvious. Marloth park sits on the edge of South Africa's biggest national park. More affordable than lodges inside the park, or the more luxurious destinations in the middle, Marloth had sufficient facilities to support a few days of activities in areas with good animal life. Being close to Kruger National Park it was an easy decision to make it work.
The local Europcar sorted out a brand new 1.4 Corolla, 67 kms at pickup and I jumped onto the motorway in not much worse than Auckland traffic. Fortunately 30 years of driving a manual paid dividends, despite the lack of recent experience.
Azlu service centre at the 2.5 hr mark provides a game enclosure backdrop, sorting out the lunch scenario. I could see my original route covering the famous Panorama Route was going to ambitious. I wasn't comfortable at the 120km/hr speed limit in the nimble Toyota and the road and traffic had deteriorated. A smaller diversion through Dullstroon and Sabie at the bottom end of the scenic panorama trail seemed achievable though. It was still so long journey, the latter part on fairly pot hole scattered tarmac resulting in last minute swerves and deviations resembling a tightly constructed race circuit. Eventually I turned off just as darkness settled and had a wash board enduring 6 km to the hostel. A couple of days of game drives inside Kruger Park included a long Saturday culminating in a productive sunset safari. I spotted hippos, white rhino. Leopards, hyenas, elephants, monkeys, water buffalo and the ever-present impala, the food supply for the cats. The scale is phenomenal and you'd easily spend 2 weeks of you covered all of the park. Alas, not this time.
My accommodation in Marloth was a 20 minute drive from Crocodile Bridge gate. The bridge spanning a good water hole attracting a range of game, including lions. We just missed them, back far enough in the queue at the entrance despite our 5 am start. More chances in the months ahead as I work north towards Nairobi.Read more