Through Swaziland to Kruger

I gave up trying to place these pictures in the proper place.

Tues, March 18^th

Today we started out to Swaziland. We went over the border in about an hour. It didn't need to take that long, but everything is written by hand, and you had to stand in line to get a form to fill out, so you could stand in line again to give it to the person who handed it to you. Thank goodness for our Wagon Masters. They ushered us through the first line where they told us we had to go inside if we had a laptop. Not true!!! And then they asked for a bunch of forms so they could pass them out to us, and people at the front told us what information was needed on the form. I hate to think how long it could have taken. Swaziland is pretty much surrounded by South Africa, so it is like a country inside a country.

It is beautiful!! Rolling fields, water, cows and goats all over the places. They have lots of women cooperatives making crafts committed to fair trade, and some of the crafts are beautiful. I bought some batik napkins and woven earrings, to support these cooperatives. I have run into groups supporting these cooperatives in the states and bought some of their goods. I loved seeing them here, knowing the women were supporting their families with their crafts and the work was superb. There has been a huge development of these cooperatives in Africa. 

 

We arrived at our campground and found a site. There were kudu and warthogs walking all over the place. It is sad, because the kudu came right up to us, even let me scratch their noses. This means, of course, that someone has fed them. They say a fed animal is a dead animal. They not only become dependent upon the tourists, forget how to take care of themselves, but also sometimes become aggressive and are eliminated. They were awful cute. But, I was extra sad since one of the mothers was teaching her young to beg.

That night we had a sponsored dinner and were entertained by dancers. The campground was located on a swamp, which had crocodiles and, we think, one hippo. We didn't know that. We thought there were several hippos. The signs all said watch out for the hippo. Stay on the lit path. When we left in the morning we saw these crocodiles (at least 4) eating what we thought was a hippo. We assumed they had killed it and were now devouring it. We were wrong. One of the horses the camping establishment had for guests to ride had died the night before, and they had thrown the carcass in the river. The crocodiles had found it, and the bloating made it look like a hippo to us. It was fascinating to see the crocodiles eating it. They kept throwing their heads back so that the meat would go down their throats. We have learned on this trip that the only thing safe to eat on a crocodile is the tail. The rest of the body may have all kinds of toxins, but for some reason the tail is immune to them. I'll remember that for the next time I am offered crocodile meat. I have also learned that hippos are brown, not gray.

 Today we arrived at Kruger, the premier national park of South Africa. I am very exited to be here. We have a safari ride scheduled tomorrow at 5:00 in the morning and another the night of the 21st. We shall drive tomorrow to another campground and that will be a game drive through the park. We had planned to drive through the park this afternoon on a game drive, but all the roads close by have been closed because of the rain and washouts. And it is hot and humid!!!!! All I wanted to do tonight was stay in the AC, but I ventured out to the campfire, and now am back in the AC. I am going to take a COOL shower and go to bed in the AC.

Thurs, March 20

It is still hot and muggy. This morning we went for an early safari drive. We started out in the dark, using spotlights to see the eyes shining back. Twice we saw eyes, but by the time the driver backed up and we focused on the spot, the animal had gone. Then it got light. The first animal we spotted was a lion lying in the road. As we got closer, he walked away and stood in the brush. Then he laid down in the brush, and we couldn't see him. Then we saw a lioness. The driver said that she was pregnant by the lion we had seen. She went back in the brush and laid down and then we saw the lion again. It was obvious they didn't want us to hear their conversation. They were probably talking about the coming cubs.

Then we saw a large herd of zebra on both sides of the road, and among them a few Blue Wildebeest. Our driver said that the Wildebeest numbers are declining rapidly, because they are stupid. They have become the lions' favorite meal. The next animal was the elephant, slowly grazing, while we watched. Next came a Kingfisher bird, and then a couple giraffes. One of the giraffes even ran for us. I don't blame him. Some of these safari vehicles are very intrusive. To top off our ride we saw a pack of Wild Dogs. It is rare to spot these. They looked fierce. I wouldn't want to run into one of them in a dark alley. It was what you would call a very successful game ride. After the ride we all had breakfast, and then went back to the rigs to get ready to go to another campground in the park. On the road to the other campground we saw a couple male rhinos. Quite a day for the animals. Some of the scenes we saw were so much like Africa. The rain has caused all kinds of problems with washouts and such, but it has improved the greens that the animals eat.

I am so grateful I had this opportunity!!!!