South Africa
Skukuza

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    • Day 5

      Durch den Krüger nach Skukuza

      July 28, 2017 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

      Heut morgen ging's um 7Uhr durch die Tore des Letaba Restcamps wieder raus in den Kruger auf die festen aber auch schottrigen Pisten!
      Ziel heute: 100km mit max.erlaubten 50km/h zum weiter südlich gelegenen ältesten, größten und bekanntesten Restcamp Skukuza!
      Für diese Strecke planten wir mal sechs Stunden ein, denn wie die beiden Vortage gezeigt haben, gibt es wunderbarerweise ständig was zu sehen (z.B. der gigantische Affenbrotbaum) und zu beobachten📸🔭
      Man fährt den ganzen Tag (pünktlich zum Sonnenuntergang muss man aber im Camp sein!) die Routen des Parks ab ganz wie man möchte...mit der einzigen Aufgabe Tiere und vor allem die Big Five zu entdecken (Löwe/Elefant/Büffel/Leopard/Nashorn)! Total spannend!!😍
      Es ging kurz hinter dem Camp heute direkt los mit einer Elefantenherde beim Blätter-Frühstück🌿
      Paviane am Straßenrand, Herden von Impalas, Zebras und Gnus, eine riesige Büffelherde am Wasserloch, Krokodile am Orpendamm, Giraffen am Flussufer und dicke Nilpferde im Fluss!
      Highlight des Tages waren die beiden in der Sonne chillenden Löwen☀🦁🦁☀
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    • Day 8

      Skukuza

      May 14, 2017 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

      Next camp. Still raining. Decided to take advantage of an available bungalow and Cindy's generosity to stay indoors for a couple more nights until the rain subsides. We figure there will not be too many opportunities to sleep in a real bed over the next 5 months so we need to enjoy it when we can. 2 nights here. Went on a night drive with a ranger, but not too many animals except a close encounter with some elephants a couple of rhino and a hyena. Amazing night sky!! And as we were leaving camp to drive to Satara, we saw a pack of wild dogs -- these are extremely hard to see, endangered and at the top of Christy's list for wanting to see -- perhaps Cindy's visit has brought us good luck.Read more

    • Day 5

      Bushwalk Safari:)

      July 28, 2017 in South Africa ⋅ 🌙 16 °C

      Heute Nachmittag stand dann noch ein weiteres Highlight auf dem Programm: eine 2-stündige Walking Safari durch die Wildnis mit zwei Rangern.
      Mit Gewehren im Gepäck konnte der Spaziergang auch schon losgehen:
      Relativ schnell stießen wir dann auch auf diverse Spuren von Nashörnern (Haufen💩), Löwen (Erbrochenes Fell und Knochenreste) und Elefanten (Haufen💩 und Fußspuren🐾) sowie dem Schädel einer Giraffe. Seeeehr beeindruckend!
      Während wir zu Beginn des Walks noch einem kleinen Trampelpfad in Richtung eines Wasserloches folgten, an dem wir leider keine trinkenden Tiere sichten konnten, nahmen die Ranger ab dann die Fährte einer Elefanten Herde auf und versuchten uns in ihre Nähe zu bringen. Mit Erfolg! Knapp 30m Entfernung äh Sicherheitsabstand😱🙈Wahnsinn!
      Auf dem Weg sahen wir auch immer mal wieder verschiedene Antilopenarten und Zebras, die aber schnell die Flucht ergriffen 😀
      Nach etwa 8 Kilometern Fußweg wurden wir dann schließlich zurück zum Jeep (because it's getting dark! ) und ins Camp begleitet....
      Echt ein mega Erlebnis!
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    • Day 2

      Chegando no Kruger

      March 11, 2018 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

      Pousamos em Johanesburg as 9:20 da manha (horário local - 04:20 no Brasil).
      Logo na saída do finger já tivemos que mostrar os passaportes em uma verificação de segurança. Em seguida passamos pelo imigração oficial rapidamente e fomos pegar as mochilas.
      Enquanto esperávamos as mochilas trocamos alguns dólares na cotação de 11,55 (11,19 considerando as taxas).
      No saguão do aeroporto compramos um chip de dados por zar279 com 2gb, para garantir o funcionamento do Maps, e uns snacks para a viagem.
      A retirada do carro alugado na Budget foi tranquila, mas vale destacar que não aceitaram minha habilitação internacional e pediram a CNH brasileira. E como não fui parado em nenhuma blitz, não usei essa habilitação internacional nenhuma vez.
      Foram 6 horas dirigindo (depois de 10,5 horas de voo). A estrada é muito tranquila, sendo grande parte duplicada. Quando existe apenas uma pista os carros mais lentos invadem um pouco o acostamento para deixar você passar. Ah, e dirigir na mão inglesa é relativamente tranquilo, principalmente em estrada.
      Chegamos no Paul Kruger gate as 16:20 e assinamos o termo de responsabilidade (tudo na África do Sul é "at your own risk"). Fomos em direção ao Skukuza Rest Camp, nossa casa pelas próximas três noites. No caminho, de uns 10km no máximo, já avistamos zebras, impalas (muitos impalas... Everywhere) e um rinoceronte solitário.
      O check in no Skukuza foi bem rápido e fomos para nossa cabana (nr122) estilo africano, que é bem confortável, com banheiro limpo com água quente funcionando bem, armário, ar condicionado bem barulhento, toda telada para evitar a entrada de insetos, e uma mini cozinha com geladeira do lado de fora para evitar que os animais tentem entrar, principalmente os baboons. Inclusive deixamos toda a comida do lado de fora, na geladeira ou na prateleira em cima dela, pois fica fechado com grade.
      Fomos conhecer o acampamento e a vista do rio Sabie, que é muito bonita. Na hora a Lessa já pediu uma foto sentada em uma mesa com essa vista, mas assim que ela sentou surgiu uma cobra sei lá de onde caindo bem em cima da mesa, apenas alguns centímetros do braço dela, que pulou da cadeira ao perceber a cobra. Depois de ver as fotos que tiramos dela e pesquisar na internet, descobrimos que o susto deveria ter sido maior ainda, pois tratava-se de uma Southern Vine Snake, um cobra raramente vista em locais cheios de pessoas e extremamente venenosa, capaz de matar um ser humano com seu veneno comparado ao da famosa Boomslang. Foi muita sorte ela não ter se assustado com a Lessa o suficiente para atacar.
      Depois do susto jantamos hamburguer com cerveja comprados na lanchonete do acampamento e fomos descansar depois de um dia bem puxado, já que as 04:15 da manhã do dia seguinte sairíamos para nosso primeiro game drive.
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    • Day 3

      Krüger National Park

      October 5, 2019 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

      Durch das Malelane Gate ins Krüger rein!! Unsere Tour ging am Crocodile River in Richtung Lower Sabie!! Ein Traum 😍🐊🦓🦒🐘🦛🦏 Alles was das Wildlife zu bieten hat..

    • Day 9

      Sabi Sands - Final Day

      November 28, 2015 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 82 °F

      Having already spotted the Big 5, the last drive was for bonus points. Unlike the previous 2 drives, this one did not start slow. Right off the bat, a tower of giraffes. Shortly thereafter, a small dazzle of zebras. Then more giraffes! And not far from them, we saw four juvenile giraffes that seemed to be more aware of us than their taller family members. They stood as still as possible, mimicking the nearby trees, in an attempt to not be seen.

      We drove on and found a large herd of wildebeest. The group included baby wildebeest which are a lot cuter than the adults. One female looked uncomfortably pregnant; our guide said she could give birth that day.

      Not far from the wildebeest, a mama and baby rhino were feasting on grass. It was a day of babies! The baby rhino was only beginning to get one of her nose horns. We were lucky enough to hear her whine to her mom that she wanted milk. Her mom ignored her initially but eventually stopped eating and allowed the baby to get what she wanted. As put by the lady Brit, the experience was delightful.

      Next up, we saw a very large dazzle of zebras which were joined by waterbucks. Waterbucks and wildebeest frequently tag along with the zebras due to their kicking prowess versus the apex predators. Then we approached a watering hole with more rhinos and some marabou stork - the ugly birds seen in the Lion King. That meant we also saw all the Ugly 5: hyena, wildebeest, warthog, hippopotamus, and marabou stork!

      Finally, we reconnected with the male leopard from the previous day who was out for his morning stroll. After the customary coffee break, it was time to head back to the lodge for breakfast and packing. We thoroughly enjoyed our first safari experience at Notten's: the staff was absolutely fantastic and we saw more wildlife than we imagined.

      Our safari driver Geoffrey took us to Nelspruit for a quick flight to Durban. The most exciting part was Rainer struggling with driving on the left hand side. We checked in at the Southern Sun Elengani hotel on Durban's Golden Mile directly on the Indian Ocean.
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    • Day 7

      Sabi Sands Game Reserve

      November 26, 2015 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

      In the morning, we hopped on a small plane for the short flight to Skukuza airport in Kruger National Park. We spotted a giraffe on landing and were picked up with an open-top Land Rover. The 45 minute drive, along which we spotted several Impalas and a Kudu (both antelopes), took us to Notten's Bush Camp located in the Sabi Sands private game reserve directly adjacent to Kruger Park. We took a quick dip in the pool, ate a hearty lunch, and then got ready for the first game drive.

      The 5 of us hopped in a Land Rover with our guide and spotter. Since we were on a private game reserve, access was limited to those staying at the lodges accompanied by the guide and spotter. This meant seeing many animals up close. The highlights from the first drive were a pack a wild dogs, two rhinos, 5 female lions, and a leopard eating its dinner in a tree. In many cases, we were within 10 feet of the animals. After one drive, we were already at 3/5 of the "Big 5:" lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffaloes. We stopped to watch the sunset over the savannah with gin & tonics.

      The communal dinner arrangement was also great. We were joined at the lodge by 10 other guests originating from England, Germany and the US. Next up: the morning drive. Departure time: 5:30am...
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    • Day 4

      Skukuza Restcamp, Kruger Park, SA

      September 6, 2015 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Angekommen im Skukuza Restcamp. Es war ein herrlicher Tag im Park mit sehr angenehmem Wetter und vielen Tieren (tot und lebendig).
      Habe im Camp Restaurant gut gegessen (wahrscheinlich zuviel 😉) und getrunken (sicher zuviel 😳) und ausgezeichnet geschlafenRead more

    • Day 8

      Sabi Sands - Day 2

      November 27, 2015 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

      We were woken up at 5am after an impressive lightening show and sporatic rain showers that lasted throughout the night (and that Nico slept right through). The storm brought temperatures that were dramatically different than the day before. Prepared for another hot day, I wore shorts and a light sweater. However, the clouds never parted and the temperature stayed around 60F.

      The morning started off a little slow with no sightings right off the bat. Our driver must have gotten a call because he quickly threw it into reverse so he could make an earlier turn. He expertly navigated the unmarked roads at 50 km/h and then started to slow as we approached one of the Big 5. Two male lions were lazily enjoying the cool weather. One of them had a tooth hanging out of his mouth; he was most likely kicked in the mouth by a zebra a month ago. Our guide said he was probably doing well without it because the other lion was the dominant one that could hunt for both.

      After watching the lions for a while, we took off to find another member of the Big 5. It wasn't long before we were gazing up a tree at a lounging leopard. He had his front and back legs dangling from the branch as he occasionally shifted his head left and right. We stayed for quite some time and it paid off because we got to see him jump down from the tree and start roaming the bush. There was also a giraffe waiting for us in the middle of the path.

      It was a successful morning! And we were welcomed back to the camp with a hearty breakfast. Shortly after eating, we went on a very informative bush walk to learn about the smaller animals like termites and their useful contribution of eating dead twigs/branches, how wasps create egg pods on trees, and how baboons dig in the dirt to find scorpions for a meal full of protein. We also learned a lot about animal poop and how to identify the originators.

      On the afternoon drive, we were joined by newcomers - two friendly Brits. The lady Brit was a bit anxious for her first drive and to increase her anxiety, almost immediately, we encountered a hyena. While the rest of us snapped pictures, she got closer to her gent and asked our driver to proceed.

      We ventured into the Eastern part of the reserve and came across the next animals fairly quickly. We spotted a Hippo in a watering hole. A solo male elephant was the next of the Big 5 that we crossed off our list. He was quite a bit larger than his cousins we previously met in Thailand. Shortly thereafter, we found ourselves in the middle of a big herd of buffalo (50+) comingling with some rhinos. 5/5. We celebrated with the customary G&Ts. On our way back following sunset, we saw the Hippo out of the watering hole which is very rare.

      In the evening, we enjoyed more delicious food and plenty of wine.
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    • Day 4

      Ein Traum wird wahr

      November 23, 2018 in South Africa ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

      Es ist ein Punkt auf meiner Bucketlist der dort schon länger stand. Ich habe viele Dokus und Sendungen gesehen, einiges darüber gelesen und wusste : Irgendwann einmal werde ich dorthin reisen. Am Freitag war es endlich soweit. Wir haben das Blyde River Canyon Gebiet verlassen zu unserer nächsten Station im Marloth Park. Kurz entschlossen, auf Empfehlung unseres Gastgebers sind wir nicht außen rum zur Imbube Safari Lodge gefahren sondern mitten durch den Kruger Nationalpark auf eigene Faust. Werner meinte wozu unnötig Geld ausgeben, wenn man es auch auf eigene Faust machen kann. Wir haben ehrlich nicht allzu lange darüber nachgedacht und haben genau das getan. Und was soll ich sagen :Ich war überwältigt. Es war tausend mal besser als ich es mir vorgestellt habe und je hätte vorstellen können.

      Diese Tiere in ihrem natürlichen Lebensraum zu beobachten und ihnen so nah zu sein fasziniert mich. Wie unglaublich gut sie alle mit ihrer Umgebung verschmelzen wurde mir spätestens bewusst als ich eine Giraffe direkt am Straßenrand völlig übersehen habe.

      Mein absolutes Highlight war, als wir von unserer Unterkunft aus zu Fuß zum crocodile river gelaufen sind gestern Abend noch, der natürlich hinter einem Zaun liegt, da er schon zum Nationalpark gehört, und wir ganz nah eine Elefantenkuh mit ihrem wirklich noch winzigen Baby eine ganze Weile nur unter uns beobachten konnten. Dieser Moment hat mich sehr berührt. Dieser einzige Moment war es einfach schon wert, diese Reise gemacht zu haben. Dieser Moment war es der mir klar gemacht hat genau zur richtigen Zeit gerade am richtigen Ort zu sein. Diese einzelnen Erlebnisse, mit den unglaublich vielen anderen bisher und noch folgenden bestätigt mir nur, dass ich genau zur richtigen Zeit mit dem richtigen Menschen diese Reise mache und das ich unglaublich dankbar dafür bin diese Reise machen zu können.

      Zwei Tage Kruger Nationalpark waren wunderschön, beeindruckend und noch so vieles mehr. Das würde ich jederzeit wieder machen.

      Unsere Unterkunft war auch ein Traum, mit lieben Menschen die wir kennenlernen durften und tollem Essen und super Frühstücksgästen.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Skukuza, SZK

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