Time to start heading north

[krugerbru]

My parents have been taking my sister and I to Kruger since the early 80's when I was only a few years old. Back then my father, who was born and raised in Germany, had left his heart in Kruger and it felt like every time we went on vacation, we would pack the car and the four of us would head alone to the park, or be joined by family from Germany.

I was born in Ballito, but we moved up to Jhb when i was very young. I don't have a memory of holidaying anywhere else than Kruger until my teenage years. I desperately wanted to holiday at the beach like my school friends, but little did I know that those early years in Kruger would shape my endless love of nature. They ultimately were an incredible privilege for me.

Now, I have two boys of my own, and we too have our own love affair with nature. My wildcard is never far from my wallet and our tent gets used a lot around all our breathtakingly beautiful national parks. We're very fortunate to be able to budget for a couple bush trips every year and despite on occasion being able to afford a trip with friends to one of the more affordable lodges in Madikwe, I still need to get my annual Kruger fix. I long to feel it's calls coursing through my ears, the smells permeating through my nose, and I need to have it now!

For my trip in November 2018, I thought it's time I break the shackles of the big 5 checklist and head further north. I thoroughly enjoyed my 2017 trip to Biyamiti and Lower Sabie, but I was in the mood for something different, and time to write my own northern Kruger legacy. I enlisted the guidance of a few regulars on this forum to help me map out my trip which ended up being Tamboti -> Balule -> Tsendze -> Letaba, and in exchange I promised to regale you with tales from that visit.



This is a memory I have from that 2017 trip, one of my favourite leopard sightings ever. It was an early morning along the H4-2, where I sat, alone with my boys for quite some time before the crowds from Crocodile Bridge gate started streaming in.

[Flutterby]

Wonderful Krugerbru!! Can't wait to hear all about it!!

Lovely leopard sighting!!

[harrys]

[Klipspringer]

cool capture of the leopard, now I am curious what the recent trip was about

[krugerbru]

As usual, the night before a trip to Kruger is filled with excitement, making lists, checking them again, packing the car and searching for your old maps that'll hopefully bring you untold luck from previous trips. I managed to find one from 2003, which set my packing back for about 30 minutes as I scrolled through the pages, up and down the roads, memories of sightings past rising up through the maps. That little trip down memory lane was more than the map could handle and I spent the next 10 minutes taping it back together because those staples were now only for decoration.

I then searched furiously online about the condition of the Lydenberg road, as there are many old folks tales about potholes on that that road being big enough to bathe in. If you're interested, the road is perfect, there are some potholes, but if you stick to the speed limit, you have enough time to navigate what they have to offer.

Morning came and we set off to Dullstroom, another of my favourite Lowveld locations, at about 5AM. Good traffic got us into the village just after 7 and after a quick stop at my my favourite store, Mavungana, to buy a new fishing cap which I would be wearing for the trip, we took a short drive down the road and found ourselves a table at the Anvil Brewery. If you've never been there, they serve phenomenal breakfasts, delicious on premise roasted coffee and world class craft beer. Because we still had a long way to drive, we could only afford a sample of all of their home brewed beers. Don't fret though, we placed some takeaways in the cooler which would definitely come in use later on this trip.



The owner said that if he could have predicted how lucrative the coffee market was, he would have never spend decades on perfecting his beer, going to world judging events and dedicating his life to the craft. It doesn't work like that though, i'm sure he doesn't mean it. The journey IS the prize.

[Flutterby]

I've been to Anvil....but we had not coffee!!

[Richprins]

Howzit, bru!

You write very well, and have a nice camera!

[Lisbeth]

I like when people keep their promises

Yes, Kruger is famous for leaving indelible memories

Beautiful leopard

[krugerbru]

Orpen Rest Camp is a very welcoming start. We were staying at Tamboti the first night, so all the check in malarky has to be done there. What I like about it though is it's all so compact, the reception, shop, swimming pool, watering hole are within a few paces from one another, so close that you don't even know what to do first. Buy ice; check in; look for animals? The Kruger high was in full swing.

My wife's uncle and father were joining the four of us on this trip. My wife's family is from Angola, and when they were forced to flee after the start of the civil war, the family scattered all over over the world. Brazil, Portugal, USA, Canada and here in SA. Along with her siblings and parents, they spent a few years in Namibia before settling in SA, and the uncle that was joining us on the trip fled to Brazil and onwards to the USA where he has lived for about 3 decades now. He's been with us to Kruger 3 times now, but booking 7 nights! for this stay was a first, and as I later learned, it was the first time he has been camping since he left Angola, which was circa '75. What a mind blowing thought!

Back to the trip though. What I was trying to get at was, I always feel quite shy when I bring foreigners to Kruger and they have to pay foreigner conservation fees. I didn't calculate, but i'm sure they worked out to more than his contribution towards the accommodation. He didn't mind though, as the USD in his wallet stretch quite a bit further than our ZAR. We also booked a river walk at Olifants for the morning we'll check out at Balule, I'll go off for a drive with the kids and the 3 of them will go search for the elusive Pel's Fishing Owl.

We were so caught up in our own world that we never noticed the 3 White Rhino's hiding from the midday sun right near the camp gate. Great Start!


They never appeared on any of our nominations for the first animal we'd spot, so the R5 was safe in my wallet, much to the disgust of my children.

[RogerFraser]

krugerbru

Great start to the TR.We will also be heading North in July so very interested to follow your report.