A couple of months ago my brother (Jonty) phoned to say he was coming out to SA in January and really wanted to go to Kruger. He left South Africa for the UK 20 years ago, and his last trip to Kruger was about 30 years ago!! During his time in the UK he got married, had two kids and then sadly got divorced a couple of years ago, but he said he was bringing his new girlfriend with him, who has been so SA a few times but never been to a game reserve. Turns out his girlfriend (Anna) is only 28....my brother is 52!!
Anyway there was much excitement to organise the trip and I booked the safari tents at Lower Sabie and a guest house at Satara. They arrived on the 21st January and we were leaving for Kruger on the 25th. Unfortunately the Brat would not be joining us as he was flying back to Italy on the 24th. 
There was then much debating about what time to leave for Kruger. My dad wanted to leave at about 2am but my brother had specifically stated that this trip to Kruger was not about ticking off the Big 5 and staying out all day, but more about relaxing, spending time together and just enjoying being in Kruger after such a long time. Jonty suggested we leave at about 8am and I was happy to go along with this, but my dad was not, and even said he would not go if we left so late!!
Looking back now, we should have jumped at that offer! Finally it was agreed that I would fetch my dad at 3.30 and my brother at 4am. The Brat's flight was at 8pm on the 24th. We got to the airport at about 5pm and he checked in. A massive storm then broke over the airport so we went to have a coffee to wait it out. When the storm had subsided we said our goodbyes and drove home. At about 7pm the Brat phoned to say that the flight had been delayed as their plane had been struck by lightening!! 
I immediately phoned my brother (who is a pilot) and asked him what this meant. He said it would either be delayed for a long time or the flight would be cancelled, but told me not to worry as they would not fly if there was the slightest doubt about safety. The Brat kept giving us updates, that they were running safety checks, but eventually at 10pm he phoned to say the flight had been cancelled. I know the Brat was disappointed but I can say that I was very relieved! 
SO then had to drive back to the airport to fetch him. However, they had to go back through passport control, collect their luggage and then wait for information about their rescheduled flight. They stood in a queue for two hours and were then told that they couldn't tell them anything and would receive an email confirming all the details! They only arrived home at 1am! In the meantime I had phoned my dad and told him there was no way I could fetch him at 3.30am and that I would fetch him at 5am instead. He wasn't happy, but my brother was! 
I arrived at my dad's place at 5am only to find him still in bed without a single thing packed!!
So after all that fussing about leaving early he wasn't ready. He got in the shower and I packed his bag and we eventually got to my brother's hotel in Sandton at about 5.45. My brother then couldn't find his sunglasses so there was more fussing about that, and we eventually left at about 6.15. 
ANYWAY....after all that preamble, time for Kruger.....
We had a nice drive up to Phabeni, an easy check-in, and we were in the park. Our first animal was an impala and Anna was very excited.
We had to stop for every impala so she could take another photo and we then told her we would see plenty and she didn't need to take photos of every single one! 
My first pic was of some buffalo not far from the gate.- 002.JPG (191.08 KiB) Viewed 437 times
The water level at Nyamundwa was quite low!
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A peaceful scene.
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The park is so green and there are flowers everywhere!
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Then a nice sighting of a Dark Chanting Goshawk.
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Our first ellie....Anna was now even more excited!
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This is not a great pic as it's heavily cropped but I would guess at a Steppe Buzzard.
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Drive up to Shingwedzi...you'll see lots of baobabs! 
