Back in South Africa – canyon and Kruger

Okay, going to South Africa again. Doesnt it get too much people ask us. Well after an amazing first week of our 2013 Africa trip, we can safely say, NO!

The first stop on the 2013 South Africa tour was Blyde River Canyon, which was a new experience to us. It is the worlds third largest canyon with lots of magnificent waterfalls and beautiful scenery. We used the first couple of days of our vacation to completely unwind with a mix of hiking, driving through beautiful countryside and lying by the pool (not to mention good food and wine). We stayed at a very nice little B&B close to the Kruger park with cosy hosts and excellent views.

After a couple of relaxing days it was time for some adventure and we were very much looking forward to the planned safari in Kruger National Park. We had booked a house just outside Kruger with views over Crocodile River. It is the same house as we stayed in last time we were here and it has the best view ever (just ask our parents) – overlooking Crocodile River and Kruger. When we arrived at the house we opened the doors to the veranda and got a shock! About 3 meters from our swimming pool was there a huge elephant grassing (see photos), what a welcome. Anyway, we had a fantastic stay at Kruger and are already planning for the next trip to Kruger and the amazing house.

During the safari days in Kruger we had a very knowledgeable guide who showed us many animals and told great stories. We encountered all the animals we could want including some we had never seen before, e.g. wild dogs. We just love the African outback, – to us there is nothing better than spending a day in a safari vehicle looking a zebras grassing and baby rhinos playing.

After leaving Kruger we drove south and have just arrived in St Lucia where we are going on safari in the Isimangaliso wetland park. We have heard it should be good for hippos…

By the way did we mention that the temperature is around 30 degrees every day? How is it back home :-)’,’imgright’,’Day-5-171.jpg’,’2013-02-25 16:52:03′,2070,6),(’07-03-2012′,’Carsten’,’Exploring KwaZulu-Natal’,’We have now officially returned to civilisation after 9 days without any internet or decent mobile connections. It has been a wonderful experience to explore KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), – from magnificent wildlife to secluded beaches and majestic mountains.

We chose the first stop on our KZN exploration to be Isimangaliso; a World Heritage Wetland park, which gave us some unique safari experiences with a good guide and saw baby Rhinos and lots of hippos. At night time we stayed at a cosy lodge managed by a guy, his wife and his mother. At night we all made braai (BBQ) over open fire ¡V even though Danielle was not so good at making her own bread over the fire (after she burned it the cook smoothly exchanged his bread with Danielles, so she could have something to eat ƒº).

We have always wanted to go to a good beach in South Africa, so we booked a couple of nights on a lodge located on a secluded beach close to the Mozambique border. The lodge was owned by the local community and it was evident in everything that happened at the lodge. We had some very good days, especially a visit to the local clinic to see the progress medicine is doing in the outback in Africa and a peak into a couple of class room at the local school to meet the kids and play with them.

As we love the African wildlife, we had one last safari-adventure planned. It was in a small game reserve known for its abundant cheetah population and excellent guides. We stayed there for 4 days and had a wonderful time with Rhino tracking on foot and elephants coming to drink from the small pool in front of our lodge. An amazing experience, but also the end of our safaris for this trip ¡V we have had all the animal encounters we had hoped for and a lot more.

The last stop in KwaZulu-Natal was a three day stay in the Drakensberg Mountains. We had rented a small cottage high up in the mountains, which was only accessible by 4×4. So, we stocked up on food and drinks and arranged a transfer by the cottage owner, who dropped us of at the cottage and picked us up 3 days later. We had a wonderful time in total isolation, where we spend the days hiking on steep mountain trails and enjoyed the amazing scenery.

Our first visit to KwaZulu-Natal was an eye-opener and shows just how much South Africa has to offer. Will we come back to KZN? Definetely YES!