1st October - 4th October
So after an early flight from Port Elizabeth to Joburg and a night's stay in a "city" hostel we were packed and ready to head off on the first stage of our Overland Tour/Safari.
We knew it would be a long day, but 11.5 hours drive was a little longer than we thought. We got to the first stop, the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre where we saw a programme to help the endangered species of the region, this was mainly cats (and big ones). A successful place and have increased the numbers of cheetahs and leopards in the wild.
Here we had a drive round the game reserve to see the various cats and the other animals - the ones that were slightly unnerving to see where the wild dogs. Apparently one of the most efficient killers in the wild, even more so than lions, cheetahs and leopards. Yep as you can imagine Kip was slightly nervous with the sight of a pack of 20 wild dogs, some few feet away !
After this we headed to our home for the next few nights, an open campsite in a private game reserve on the outskirts of Kruger National Park (Gurnsey Region). This was a series of tents set up on the edge of a small river, in the middle of the game park. All around the tent and paths leading to it, were the signs of giraffe and zebra. What they didn't tell us (until we had left) was the presence of Leopards in the same camp the week before. Luckily we would be so tired from the travelling that the sounds of the night were quickly forgotten. Especially the hundreds of frogs burping.
We finished our first day with a night drive at a neighbouring game reserve. Now if you were ever unsure about being in an open sided vehicle, with a whole load of wild animals running around you, try doing it in the dark (pitch black dark). The only saving grace was the poor bloke stuck on the front of the van. Literally on a seat mounted on the bonnet, with a large torch to spot the animals. All in all a very good experience, but sadly we didn't get to see many animals.
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