February 2008People often find my choices of travel destination unconventional, to say the least. All I can say is that traveling to me is about discovery, a chance to leave the mundane behind, and check into a world I’ve never seen, that hopefully will bring me something unique. And places like Kruger National Park in South Africa offer the opportunity to do just that. More than a change of setting, Kruger was a change of habits and pace: I had to wake up everyday at 5 am to be able to catch animals at the peak of their activity; I had to forego things I’ve come to take for granted, such as TV and internet, and realized I didn’t miss them a bit; and, above all, I had to learn to take it slow, to sit still and welcome whatever came my way. Sometimes nothing happened. But when something did happen, it was a thrill, that one-in-a-lifetime moment that I hope to keep for the rest of my life.
Kruger is within easy access from Johannesburg, several nearby car rental agencies offer affordable rates and its accommodations cater to all budgets, ranging from campsites to luxury suites with private viewing decks. At nearly 2 million hectares, Kruger is vast so unless you have unlimited time, it’s best to focus on a few select areas. For this trip, I chose Lower Sabie and Satara.
In Lower Sabie, trees are the dominant vegetation, making it a good place to spot tall animals such as giraffes and elephants. The road margins the Sabie River, one of the few perennial in the park particularly favored by elephants. I confess that I got a bit tense on my first close encounter with them: my husband and I spotted an elephant down the road and stopped the car a few feet away only to discover it wasn’t just her; there were several herds hidden in the trees and we soon found ourselves surrounded by dozens of elephants. Some of them were almost twice the size of an SUV and I started wondering what would happen if they didn’t like having us around. But I soon realized they weren’t bothered by us and we felt comfortable enough to just stay put among them as they came to or from the river, their trumpets at times stirring the air. Watching them in their slow grace is immensely soothing, and if heaven feels like anything on earth, it must feel like these moments, when you lose all sense of time and place, when you can connect to someone/something so different than yourself, when you fully live in the moment.
Kruger is within easy access from Johannesburg, several nearby car rental agencies offer affordable rates and its accommodations cater to all budgets, ranging from campsites to luxury suites with private viewing decks. At nearly 2 million hectares, Kruger is vast so unless you have unlimited time, it’s best to focus on a few select areas. For this trip, I chose Lower Sabie and Satara.
In Lower Sabie, trees are the dominant vegetation, making it a good place to spot tall animals such as giraffes and elephants. The road margins the Sabie River, one of the few perennial in the park particularly favored by elephants. I confess that I got a bit tense on my first close encounter with them: my husband and I spotted an elephant down the road and stopped the car a few feet away only to discover it wasn’t just her; there were several herds hidden in the trees and we soon found ourselves surrounded by dozens of elephants. Some of them were almost twice the size of an SUV and I started wondering what would happen if they didn’t like having us around. But I soon realized they weren’t bothered by us and we felt comfortable enough to just stay put among them as they came to or from the river, their trumpets at times stirring the air. Watching them in their slow grace is immensely soothing, and if heaven feels like anything on earth, it must feel like these moments, when you lose all sense of time and place, when you can connect to someone/something so different than yourself, when you fully live in the moment.
Wildlife tip: when you come close to an elephant, pay attention to the ears. If they’re flapping, you’re good. If the elephant looks at you with the ears wide open, just run!
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