Patrick one of our German guides just returned from our Walking South Africa JJa14 and had this to share from the visit to teh Kruger National park.. On my last visit to the Kruger National Park with a hired vehicle and our driver David, we had such a lovely time. First of all, we were spoiled already on our stay in the Balule Conservancy at Green Fire Camp. On our first game walk there we were lucky enough to witness a close encounter by foot with a majestic white rhino. It was starting to get dark, and our local guide Vusi took us on a game walk to get a better view of this special animal. So now you see why I say we were spoiled.

So we drove into the Kruger National Park after enjoying lunch at the Phabeni Gate. We started our game drive at 2pm, and still had to get all the way to Lower Sabie Camp, which closes at 6pm. We started off our first game drive in the Kruger National Park with Impalas, of which you can see plenty in the Kruger National Park. Along the way we saw plenty of Zebras, Giraffes and many other Mammals. But the highlight was what we saw about an hour before getting to Lower Sabie Camp. We were driving along the Sabie River, the old boundary of the National Park, where normally many animals seek refuge as the Sabie River brings them drinking water.
But, as many herbivores seek refuge along the river, so do the carnivores. They don’t just see the river as just a water source, but also as a serving plate with a variety of different delicious foods. So we were able to find such a carnivore, namely a beautiful lioness, carrying half an Impala, which she might have killed himself, or snatched away from family members, along the road. There was that moment of complete silence just after we saw her, 20 metres in front of us, moving towards us. And that silence continued until she passed our vehicle, moving away from us. The moment was about 30 seconds long, but it was so special and so stunning that we talked about it even a week later.