Jo'burg & Kruger !!!

Lion waiting for Buffalo
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Arrived in Jo'burg after an overnight flight from cairo, it was early and got an airport transfer to a lovley hotel in sandton, we decided to try and stay awake for the day to sleep properly that night and headed over to the Nelson Mandela Mall, it was a fab shopping place but pure torture for me because I couldn't buy a thing :0(  We had  a lovely lunch and caught up on a few emails.  Chilledout on sat night and then on sunday Headed to the Apartheid museum near soweto.  I really didnt think that I would spend so long in a museum but I have to say it was really good, we spend 4 hours there going around the exhibitions which were quite powerful.  After that we just caught a movie back at the hotel because we had a 5 am pick up the next morning.

Lioness
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For years I've wanted to go to Kruger to see the lions and finally we were on our way.  The driver picked us up at 5.15am and then proceeded to drive in circles around jo'burg trying to pick up the rest of the group, he was seroiusly lost and eventually after 3 hours we got out of jo'burg and we were on our way.  We got to the camp after a long drive and I was pleasantly surprised, my experience of camping is lying on the hard ground and having rain seep into the tent but the tents here had beds and duvets and the main tent was really big with a bar and seating areas, a pool and jaccuzi.  Tough life this backpacking!  We went on a twighlight drive where we came accross a few old Buffalo's and seen some Zebra's accross the river.  But the highlight was following 2 female Giraffes along for around 20 minutes while they slowly walked around 30 metres away eating leaves, it was cool!

Impala jumping over Monkies
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Over the next 2 days and after early starts of 5:15am wake up calls!  we managed to see the big 5 - lions, elephants, rhinos, buffalo and leopard - so called because they are the hardest animals to hunt on foot.  The highlights were seeing the elephants up close, spotting a crocodile in the river and watching it flow down stream and the main highlight was on the night drive we came upon 7 lions tracking a single buffalo for dinner, by the time we got there, the 5 lionesses and the 2 male lions had inflicted a few wounds on the buffalo and then they were sitting back waiting for it to tire.  As we watched Dale thought it would be a good time to take a pee and he got out of the jeep - I nearly died, he was with this old dude that lived near the park and he said it was perfectly alright, I was eh I dont think its fine with 7 lions about 30 metres away but hes still safe and sound.  After that the old dude had to leave the park because it closed the main gates at 9pm but he drove around the outside of the fence and thought it a good idea to have him and his wife leave their jeep and walk up to the fence,  We couldnt see him do this but when the 5 lionesses left the male Lions to keep gaurd of Buffallo and started tracking the couple outside the flimsy broken fence!  So one of the guides worked out what they were doing and had to charge down in jeep to stop Lions attacking and certainly killing the old couple,madness! They then went for the buffalo again and the buffalo ran into our jeep - was so scared, thought they were going to jump in with us!!

We decided to go back to camp for dinner cause by that stage we had interfered too much but later that night we found them again and this time they were outside the Kruger fence with the buffalo - the guide had to then alert the rangers cause there were communties just a couple of hundred feet away - have to say was like being in something on the discovery channel !!

The next day we had a morning drive and we left Kruger and went to stay in a lovely 5 star lodge where the Jane Goodall Chimpanzee sanctuary was, had a lovely dinner and great shower and slept in a massive bed ! we went out the day after and met all the chimps, they are all rescue animals and the stories of the cruelty they endured before being saved was heartbreaking, one of them tho was very playful and raced me along the fence, the guide told us because I am female, he didnt find me a threat and when he won he did tumbles and clapped his hands laughing, Dale then raced him and Dale won and Nicky the Chimp went into a sulk and wouldnt play anymore :0)