A very good break...

Sometimes it does you so much good to switch off for a moment and just relax.  A break in the bush, for me, is the ideal way to get in touch with nature and really get away from everything.  Our trip began last Tuesday night.  We flew out of Cape Town at 8pm, meaning that we only arrived in Johannesburg around 10pm.  Jake was excited at the prospect of missing a day of school and couldn't wait to get back to the Kruger.  Thursday was a holiday here, which meant that school was closed on Friday, giving everyone a nice long weekend.  By the time we'd been collected from the airport and sorted out a car, it was after midnight when we crawled into bed.  We were up at 5 on Wednesday morning, to head off in the direction of the park.  Danie was lucky enough to have arranged a round of golf with a friend in Phalaborwa for Wednesday afternoon, so while he was playing golf, Jake and I did the grocery shopping and got ourselves signed in at Kruger.  We did a little drive around and then went to fetch Danie.

Our first night in the park was spent at Olifants rest camp.  It's my favourite one, so I was really pleased that we managed to get in for this extra night (we were originally sleeping in Phalaborwa on Wednesday night).  We lit the fire and had a simple braai for dinner, before crashing at about 7:15pm...

 The next morning we were up early, we had a long drive down to Skukuza camp and didn't want to be rushing at the last moment.  The camp gates open at 6am, when the air is cold and fresh.  Generally, this is said to be the best time for game viewing, but it was a pretty quiet time of day for us.  As the sun comes up, the scenery changes and it is just gorgeous.  Below is a hippo in the waters of the Olifants River at dawn...

 The birds in the park are simply beautiful.  We don't get birds like this in Cape Town and it's such a treat to see so many beautiful birds.  Jake loves it and I think even Danie began to see that birds aren't exactly boring.  This little guy is a lilac breasted roller.  When they fly, the underside of their wings is the brightest blue...

 This is a Bateleur.  It's Jake's favourite bird and we were very excited to see him circling above our car, before landing in the road just behind us to eat something off the tar.  He's so handsome...

 Generally in the mornings, we'd get up early (5:30am), have milo and head out into the park as soon as possible.  We'd drive to the next camp for breakfast and carry on driving.  I am still dreaming about the delicious toasted cheese sandwiches I had most mornings.  Probably explains a few things...

 Ellies in the road...

 Croc baking in the sunshine...

 The perfect end to a day - a magical African sunset...

 This is a brown snake eagle...

 We were very lucky to spot two young lions on the road one morning.  Sadly, they were the only lions we saw during our stay, but it was amazing to see them so relaxed and just trundling down the road.  They are amazing cats, just so big...

 Can anyone please explain to me how they can do this???

 They're so beautiful and we have lots of photos of them...

 Unfortunately, most of our pictures are from behind though...

 See?  That guy in the Audi on the left must have THE most amazing photos...

Another breakfast stop...  I'm not used to being in the photos, but it's really nice to have some of Jake and I together.  Thank you Danie ;)

As soon as we stood up from our table, it was bombarded by these little yellow jobs (some kind of canary, I think.  We haven't looked them up yet)...

 A lazy hippo (I feel a bit like her today)...

 After breakfast, we went back to see if we could find our lions again.  We did, but they were snoozing on some rocks in the distance.  They'd left a meal behind for the vultures though, which was also something nice to see.  This super ugly (but beautiful) guy is a lappet faced vulture...

 Warthog running next to the road.  They're funny and their tails are like aerials...

 We did a night drive one evening.  At R180.00 per person, it's not such an expensive outing, but we were a little disappointed in not seeing very much.  That said, we did see 2 wild dogs, which is a first for me and made the rest of the very quiet 3 hour trip worth while.  Unfortunately, I didn't have my camera ready, so no pics.  We also spotted a scrub hare, 3 hippos running along the road, a hyena family, a few giraffe and buck.  Oh, and a porcupine...

 Another sunset (sorry, I can't resist them)...

 Sunrise...

 Kerryn the Heron... 

While Danie and I were taking photos of this grey heron sitting on the fence of a bridge, Jake spotted something in the grass nearby.  He yelled "lion" and we looked up just in time to see this guy pouncing on some Guinea Fowl.  He missed them and they flew to the safety of the nearby trees.  I'd been praying to see a leopard, I've never seen one this clearly before.  We were also the only people at this spot, so we were able to enjoy the leopard on our own.  2 nights earlier, our first night in the park, we'd seen a leopard just outside another camp's gate with a fresh kill, but there were so many cars, we could hardly see him.  This one was super special, especially since Jake spotted him!

 He knew we were there, even though we were so quiet.  He sat on a rock for a moment, before disappearing into the bush.  They are the masters of disguise and my favourite cat of all...

 A close up of the grey heron.  Thank you Miss Heron for making us stop and look at you...

 We saw buffalo...

 With babies, who had milky moustaches...

 And we saw rhino...

 Another breakfast stop and time to enjoy the birds waiting for table scraps.  This is a crested barbet...

 My hungry boys getting stuck into French toast...

 And me with my toastie.  Hang on, it's already gone...

 On our way back from breakfast, we made a turn at a big waterhole, to see if there was anything happening.  We saw a few giraffe and a buck, but as we were leaving, spotted yet another leopard in the grass.  Our leopard sightings were a real highlight for all of us.  And, OK, I know he's very little in the photo, but he is definitely there.  Also, I don't have photoshop anymore, so I can't edit these pictures, as much as I'd love to.  And when I shrink them to post them, the quality gets all messed up, so just bear with me...

 A giraffe in a hurry to cross the road...

 These are super cute little birds.  This is a pied kingfisher.  We do get them in Cape Town and we often see them at Danie's house.  This little guy was busy fishing...

 Another croc.  I just like the reflection in the water...

 There's a golf course in the Kruger too.  It's right next door to the Skukuza rest camp and Danie was lucky enough to get a round in there too.  I was a bit nervous leaving him, as the course has no fence around it...

 This sign did little to calm my nerves.  Would you stay?

 Jake and I didn't, we went for a little drive on our own instead.  We did actually see our 3rd leopard for the day and 4th for the whole trip, but it was very far off and we didn't manage a photo.  Here's  Kudu cow...

 Rhino midden.  Rhinos go to the same spot to poo, making big, round, turdy dumps along the road side.  When you're game viewing, it's a good sign of where the rhino are.  Unfortunately, while we saw lots of loos, we didn't see too many rhino this time...

 This ellie looks like she's smiling...

 A rock monitor crossing the road...

 This elephant was blocking our road to fetch Danie and we had to drive behind him for a while until he decided to move off into the bush.  He made me feel a little better about the current size of my bum...

 Danie relaxing after his game.  There were real live hippos in the water...

 A view of the course from the clubhouse.  I didn't have my wide angle with me...

 See?  Hippos.  They kill about 4,000 people in Africa a year!! 

 Our last night came all too soon.  We spent the night in a semi-luxury riverside bungalow, which was really nice and we'll definitely try book one again next time.  Unfortunately, there was rugby on telly, so the boys were a bit preoccupied.  I sat on the patio, drinking Savannah's and enjoying the sounds of the bush.  I just love hearing the hippos grunting in the night...

 Jake had earned some money to take with him on holiday and bought himself this croc skull as a souvenir.  I think it's disgusting, but he loves it and was super excited to take it to school to show his friends.  Them teeth are sharp!

 Sorry to all my veggie friends, but we had the most divine fillet steak for supper...

 The moon is also so much more beautiful in the bush than at home...

 The next day, we had to pack up early (again) and head out of the Kruger.  The drive back to Jo'burg takes about 5 hours and we wanted to catch up with Danie's sister for a quick lunch before our flight at 5:10pm.  Spider webs.  These are communal webs and very, very scary...

 Lion tracks in the sand...

A misty sunrise was the perfect ending to our magical time away...

And there you have it.  Not having to edit pictures makes getting them up on my blog a whole lot faster.  But, perhaps I'm just slow at editing.  We had a truly wonderful holiday.  Thanks to our family and friends who helped out with our animals while we were away, it was great peace of mind knowing they were safe, warm, fed and loved!  To Danie and Jake, thanks for a wonderful holiday, you guys are the best.  It was just what we all needed and I'm so glad that we enjoyed it so much.  At least I know there will be another holiday in the bush sometime in the not-too-distant future.  And it'll definitely be for longer next time!

Till next time!
Love Sue X

PS.  How does it work for you guys when I load the photos bigger like this?  Just wondering.  If it's a pain to open, then I'll go back to small snaps...