After breaking down camp at 4:30am, we decided to head south into the park, near the Berg-en-Dal area. On our first main road we passed cape buffalo, giraffe, elephant, rhino, and impala – not a bad start!
We made a pit-stop for breakfast and went on our way. We were driving and chatting when all of a sudden John told us to reverse as slowly as possible. Somehow we drove right past an old lioness breathing heavily on the road! Right next to my window. We watched her for a long time, taking her in and admiring her beauty. This moment was extra special, as I knew that this was my final game drive in South South Africa.
When I thought that the lioness was going to be the last exciting moment of the day, we came upon two bull elephants play-fighting. As per usual, they were absolutely captivating and I couldn’t believe we were witnessing all these incredible wildlife moments without any other vehicles around.
While making our way to exit Kruger at Crocodile Gate, we stopped at Panic Lake. An area that requires absolute silence, it is so serene and peaceful. There were quite a bit of birds and marine life; I could have sat there taking it in and reflecting on my experiences of the previous two months all day.
Minutes before we were to exit Kruger National Park, we saw four lions. Well, John and Teragni saw four lions, I just thought they looked like rocks. The laughs that this produced were the perfect end to our Kruger experience, as it illustrated just how awful I was at spotting game.
The quote of the trip was oh-so-fitting: “I’ll look left, you look right, and Sarah look wherever because you won’t spot anything anyway” – John
