Kroogs
Kruger park, here we come.
Moriah, Matt, Tim, and I pile in the car and begin our weeklong excursion to Kruger National Park, South Africa. We hit the ground running seeing lions on the first day.
And they scared Tim. Ha!
The weather was great and we were feeling good. Moriah did a great job monitoring the creeks and waterways.
I've been to Kruger a handful of times, but I love that there are animals I still haven't seen. We ran into a flock of massive ostriches on our second day.
As gnarly as they can become, hyenas make pretty cute cubs.
There was still plenty of water if you know where to look.
Tim with a cool shot! Nice photo, buddy.
On day three we woke up to mist, but pushed on with the morning safari anyway. I think the cool temperatures and colors made it noteworthy.
The sun eventually broke through and we enjoyed seeing the most powerful of land mammals in their element.
But these hyenas have their eye on something in particular.
Very cool. And be grateful we don't have the technology to transmit smell. The air felt rancid.
Back to the non-scavenging animals.
Time to stop for lunch!
After a healthy meal, we loaded up and were on our way.
Driving safaris should usually only go for 3-4 hours. Even though we're sitting in a car looking out windows, there is an element of fatigue. We all paid close attention to our health and remained hydrated throughout the hot, sunny days. For some reason, Moriah found the inevitable consequences of our healthy choices amusing and decided to document it.
The elephants would agree with us: hydration is the name of the game.
As the day came to a close, we decided to skip dinner at camp and instead dine at a restaurant inside one of the park's gated camps.
Two days left and we were back out on the road. We were relocating and the route took us to the top of a hill. We found it stunning and it seemed local animals shared the sentiment.
After dropping down this hill we cruised relatively flat land for a bit. While on safari, it is everyone's job to keep a lookout from their respective vantage point. With the exception of the driver (who does his part looking straight ahead), there should be a lot of ground covered with three other people. If you slack off a bit and get distracted (failing to man your post), Tim would come down on you hard and remind you to do your job. He would ream into you. "You have one job! Do it!" It was fierce.
I say this in jest, of course, but we would tease each other about staring out the window. It was exhausting! Looking isn't the same as seeking, and seeking takes energy.
Regardless, as we continued on our journey, Moriah and I were on one side of the car, and Matt and Tim were on the other (with Matt driving). Somehow, some way, Matt spotted a leopard on their side of the car, while driving! This isn't to rip on Tim at all. We are well aware that he is an apex specimen, but Matt transcended anything Tim or Moriah or I could ever hope to be. His laser-focused hawk eyes caught a tiny glimpse of the beautiful animal, causing him to promptly stop, and reverse until we found it.
Unreal.
Matt, in his modesty, took it all in stride. Just another day in the office for him.
Moving on.
It's really fun to get caught in the path of a pack of baboons or monkeys. They are lively and entertaining. They are curious enough about you to stare you down, but smart enough to keep their distance. All the good photos were taken by Matt.
We wrapped up the week with a nice sunrise visit to a hippo-filled lagoon.
Time to head out! Kruger never disappoints.
Packed into the car and ready to go, it was time to jam.
