We were awoken bright and early again for another safari ride around the area of our camp. Unlike the one the night before, this one was during early morning daylight hours which made for great photography. We saw lots of animals including hippos, giraffes, rhinos, elephants, zebras, and more and in beautiful morning light.
After we returned from the safari to our camp, we had just enough time for a quick breakfast and a gear pack up so we could get on to our next destination on the other side of the national park. Along the drive there we kept our eyes out for wildlife, but most were sleeping in the middle of the day. The speed limit throughout Kruger National Park is only 50km (30mph) which makes getting from one side to the other a bit time consuming. This speed limit has to do with both the animals crossing the roads at any times and the behaviour of the tourists when they see the animals and slam on their breaks.
Once we arrived at our camp we found another oasis behind a high electrified fence. This time we had a big pool nearby that we couldn’t pass up. Unfortunately, the water was very cold. So cold that I had to wonder whether it might be spring fed.
Oddly, along my walk to the pool I encountered a couple of white kids who asked me something. I couldn’t quite understand what they were asking, but it sounded like they were asking what my name was. So I told them. Then they asked me something else that I definitely could not understand and it became apparent they were Afrikaners kids. What struck me as being the most odd was their inability to understand English as long term residents of South Africa.
We were warned by our guides when we arrived in the park that Afrikaners were common in the park and could get very arrogant and territorial about non-Afrikaners on what they considered to be their turf. They would complain to the management about the slightest bit of noise. Fortunately, we were a small quiet group who were out on safari’s both evenings, anyway, so there wouldn’t have been that much to complain about, anyway. Of those other campers we did communicate with, they were very nice and helpful in guiding some of my fellow travellers how to pitch their South African made tents.
And speaking of safari’s we did head out for a second safari in hopes of finding an elusive leopard, which were supposed to be more common in this part of the park. Overall the safari did not yield as many exciting animals as the night before and we never did get that glimpse of a leopards in the wild.
