(lowveldboy May 23, 2012 AW entry)
In the 1930’s there were no bridges in Kruger Park. Instead, all the major rivers were crossed using pontoons. There were four pontoons - two crossed the Crocodile River, one at Malalane and the other at Crocodile Bridge, one crossing the Sabie River at Skukuza, and one crossed the Olifants River at Balule.
Col. Reitz selected the spot where the pontoon should cross the Olifants at Balule, and another member of the National Parks Board, Mr. Paul Selby, an American mining engineer, built the pontoon. (There is a plaque commemorating the event in the camping area at Balule).
The pontoon was in use from 1929 to 1937, when it was replaced by a causeway. The causeway was extensively damaged in the massive floods of January 2012 and had to be rebuilt.
"The repairs to the low-level bridge at Balule are finally complete!"
(Flutts May 20, 2015 AW entry)
Though the S90 has already been a Flavor of the Month, it didn't really contain material on the Balule low water bridge, which I visited for the first time in September 2017. I really found it a delightful little spot to pull over into one of the cutouts, and observe the birdlife in the area.
Though we weren't fortunate enough to see Pel's Fishing Owl, we did see a nice variety of birds.
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:? It had caught a Terrapin, but instead of trying to eat it, it set it free as if it had saved the poor thing from drowning. I couldn't believe this behaviour, maybe one of the bright members could explain why it did this. It even went back to check on the Terrapin. 
