Log> Sights> Kruger National Park and Jane Goodall Chimp Sanctuary

The minibus for the 4-day safari departed at 6 am sharp from Johannesburg after a night at Shoestrings Lodge. We got to Kruger, largest African reserve after the Serengeti, about 6 hours later and were greeted by a herd of giraffe even before we made it to our lodge and luxurious campground. In addition to being in one of the topmost attractions in Souther Africa, we were lucky to have a great group of travelers from the UK, US, NZ, Oz and Canada. And Finland, undersigned inclusive.

We were both lucky and out of luck in terms of animal sightings - out of the Big Five, I saw the ones I wanted to, the rarest ones: lions (and here), rhinos and a leopard. The latter was a huge win, since we tracked him down in the middle of the night, our guide Tim working his whereabouts by an earlier sighting an hour ago and the tracks he found on the sand. The photos of the leopard (and here) are hazy, taken in complete darkness with nothing but a yellowish light pointed at the cat, but better that way, since it might have been hungry. Our group, incredibly, didn't see elephants, the most prevalent of the Big Five in Kruger, but I'd seen them before up close and didn't mind much. It was fun all the way.

The safari drives took place the first and the second day, with the third day dedicated to an educational bushwalk with the guides and an afternoon panorama drive, which was certainly worth it, in no small amount thanks to Bill, an Australian geologist who enlightened us continuously with his interpretation of the landscape, the rocks and the different scenic features, such as these cool potholes. I'm sure I'd been taught a lot of that in high school, but it's not learning until you experience or put it in practice.

The last night was spent at a 5-star lodge in connection with Jane Goodall Chimpanzee Sanctuary. We played tennis, enjoyed a massive snooker lounge and had a brilliant dinner - as if the safari would've been too taxing. The next day we got up close and personal with the chimps (cute one here) and heard their stories (interpreted by the guide, yes). Many had been pets or mistreated tourist attractions in countries like Angola and Kongo, and had been brought to ZA for rehabilitation which takes many years for most of the older ones. Due to the rehab keeping them away from humans on purpose, so they'd learn to live their own lives, we only had to observe them in the enclosures, but it was delightful nonetheless, and highly recommended.

We're sharing photos with the group, so there'll be more once everyone gets theirs uploaded. I just wanted to make sure I was the first. :) Of course, there's loads more photos here.

And this I'm typing from Johannesburg, again, getting ready to fly into the thunderstorms of Hong Kong in style with Cathay Pacific. Lovely.