29 December
I wake up at 2:00 in the morning when I hear some droplets on my tent. I quickly get out and unplug the freezer to put in my car, but I am too asleep and lazy to go unplug my lead at the powersource about 25m from my camp and I just put the other end in my tent… what a HUGE mistake. I again wake up at 3:00 because water is seeping through my mattress and it is pouring outside. The little opening caused by the lead (yes, 3cm) let in soooo much water that my whole mattress in soaked, I take out all my dirty shirts and I try to soak up all the water inside my tent, it is a lost cause and I start packing up. I sit in my little wet tent and start praying as there is no chance I could pack up camp in this weather but by 4:00 and no end to this rain I start psyching myself up to just get out and start. It was actually really funny talking to myself and telling myself ‘to grow some balls’ and take on the rain. But I did, it took me 20 minutes to get everything into my car, I couldn’t see a thing as I had my glasses on and it was full of vapor. I was soaked within the first minute. I didn’t care that I was packing in my muddy groundsheet and my mattress was like a sponge with litres if water that I poured out before stuffing it in my car as well. I drove to the bathroom and took a warm shower, which wasn’t really needed as I believe the rain washed me down already and after getting dry I left the camp at 4:45. I was the first car to leave the camp that morning. There were no animals on the road and just rivers flowing on both sides of me, I stopped only twice on my way to LS and it was to take kiekies of the N entrance of the S130…
And the Mantivuhlungu river…
After my bathroom break it was time to make my way North to Tshokwane. I was about 16km from LS when I got a special and wet sighting. He was crossing the road and as I turned to take a kiekie, I opened up my window and got soaked all over again. I believe that you should never take a kiekie through a closed window… It was a quick sighting but it warmed my heart immediately.
A bad thing about the rain was that there were froggies everywhere and I unfortunately killed a few on my way up to Satara. I stopped to take a kiekie of one (sorry for the quality).
And just before Tshokwane I got some ellies, my first mammal for the drive. I got to the picnic spot and it was empty, I had seen no car on my way up and it seemed that everybody was all cozy in their beds still.
My last sighting just before Satara was these hyena cubs cowering under a bush next to the road.
I got to Satara and would you believe it? A fence site, but it seemed more like a mudpool at the moment, the previous occupants were pigs, there were cardboard and plastic all over this site, I quickly ran outside and took out the groundsheet, gazebo and tent, but I couldn’t find my hammer so I went back into my car. I looked outside my window and saw how my ‘neighbour’ were making coffee with his underpants and dri-mac. This is definitely a moment in which I had a Wendy thought ‘Camping is fun… camping is fun…’
I saw some bricks around the site and then decided to use it as a hammer. I went outside again and in the pouring rain pitched up my camp. The wife got out of the caravan now and she just looked at me with sympathy, I started laughing at myself and just kept on going. I was now soaked for the second time in only 5 hours. When everything was done I had a cigarette and then went back into my car. I was so gatvol that I got dressed sommer in my car and now I had to face my second predicament.
I budgeted my whole trip and I divided each week’s petrol and pocket money into envelopes. I gave the envelopes for the last 2 weeks to my mum as I was afraid I would delve into them before the appropriate time but not thinking that they would only join me on a Wednesday (1 Jan). Another blonde moment, I was sitting at Satara for 3 days with only a ¼ tank of petrol and R50 on my name… Soooo, I drove to reception, booked in, bought myself 6 hotdog buns as I can’t braai or anything in this weather and got change to wash and dry all my soaking wet clothes that I used to dry up my tent. I drove back to camp and this is what it looked like. I manoeuvred myself in the car, made myself some lunch (hotdogs) and then decided to sleep (which I couldn’t do in my tent).
a few of my campsite
After about an hour someone knocked on my door, it was my friend, Bierman, that would join me for one night and then he has to go to Pretoria tomorrow to pick is girlfriend who is visiting him from Sweden. You wouldn’t believe how his presence just changed my glum mood, I mean it was pouring, I was wet and alone and just sharing this with someone makes a huge difference. We quickly pitched up his tent as well and then he went for an afternoon nap. I went to the Laundromat to do some chores, but it wasn’t all that bad. I made an MMC, took out my book I got from Wendy for Christmas; Whatever you do, don’t run. And then I got cosy on the dry tiles in the laundry room. After 2 hours there I got back to camp all happy chappy and woke up Bierman for an afternoon drive, I was informed by Riverrat and PetraJ that all the roads are closed and they had to help evacuate some people from Balule camp. So we were to take the H6 today. It was a slow and sad drive but at least there were some animal activity.
Here is the Nwanetsi bridge
My first birdy for the day… a soaked juvenile bateleur.
And then the sad, a dead cheetah just 500m from Sonop dam.
On our way back we also got a hyena den which entertained us for a long time.
We got to camp and at least the rain was calming down, it was drizzling lightly, we started a fire and after an hour we ate like kings, we had garlic rolls with boerewors and steak. It was a long day so we went to bed early, unfortunately for me, my mattress was still soaked so I had to sleep in my car that night. Who ever said it was boring in Kruger?
To be continued…
Shame Heksie, I feel for you...nothing worse than camping in the rain!! 
Scorpions have me shrieking 
