Safari Time! by Susie (May 10-15)



Les and a Greater Kudu

 I know Noa really wants our Round the World trip to be a "Surfing Safari" like the movie Endless Summer, but for now we are heading inland to Kruger National Park for a real Wild Animal Safari! But where to go? Where to stay? Fortunately, our good friend Laine Pepper said, "You can stay at my place!" It's in a place called Marloth, which is literally right next to Kruger Park, about 4 hours drive from Johannesburg, in South Africa. What luck, as you soon shall see, the wild animals don't really know if they are in or out of Kruger boundaries, therefore we can't really believe that what we're seeing is for real. Laine's place is amazing, a 3 bedroom brick house in the bush with a splash pool, full kitchen and air mattresses all ready to go. But we have to also thank Joe Wade, another great friend that lives in Cape Town, and keeps an eye on Laine's house for him. Joe clued us in on all the little details we needed to know, like where to turn on the water, light the gas pilot, and set the alarm system for the pesky baboon break-ins.


Which was right on, because the first morning there, waking up, we see a troop of 10+ baboons clambering up the neighbor's house and peering in their windows looking for snacks on the countertops -just like Joe had forewarned us. From then on, we followed Joe and Laine's advice to the letter.



Susie pets a zebra!



As we are eating some Cheerios for breakfast and deciding what road to take our little mini rental car off-roading on, we see the cutest little duiker spying on us from the "bush." Just so you know, a duiker is like a small impala, about the size of our dog Tiki.

Noa and "Tidbit" duiker

Noa bends down low and reaches out his hand gently toward it, and we are all stunned as the little fellow cautiously approaches...it's a wild moment, all in the first twelve hours of arriving here! The little duiker, which we soon name "Tidbit," gives Noa a sniff, a kiss, and tries a Cheerio. He becomes our little best friend for the whole week we are in Marloth. Everyday, Tidbit visits in the morning, naps at noon with us while we read under the palapa, then explores the house curiously. We love him! But that's not all...the first morning "game drive" we come across a herd of wild zebra, about 8 of them with a few foals too. Well, I am elated, to say the least. I have to explain that when I was young, I had dreams of taming and training a zebra to ride in the equestrian olympics when I grew up. I know, I'm weird, but that's what dreams are for when we're kids. (and I'm living this dream I also had of traveling around the world right now! So some do come true!)

Anyways, I whisper to Les "Stop the car!" and open the door quietly to try my luck. I want to get a little closer for a photo of my favorite animal, these awesome stripey zebras ... creepin up ... slowly... quietly ... I'm 5 feet away, and a zebra looks at my outstretched hand and comes TO ME! It's crazy! "Give me the apple on the backseat, Noa," I whisper anxiously. I hold it out to the zebra and two more walk over! What in the world? This is my dream come true to be sure, I am petting a wild zebra. Not only that, but the next night, one even clip-clopped right up to our back door and I got to pet him too! I love Laine's house! Everyone is so friendly here. Les was enamored by the the enormous Kudu that ambled up one afternoon to say Hello. All of these amazing animals all around gave us great hope for the future of the world.

Buddy & Oliphant

After two days, we decided to venture out into the big time and try Kruger Park. Now since we didn't have an official guide or safari package it was hard for us to believe that we could just "drive around" like Lion Country Safari old days in Irvine, but we did just that.

We entered at the "Crocodile Gate" for $40 per person, still in our mini rental car, and stayed on the tar or gravel roads towards a campground called "Lower Sabie." Our plan was to be in Kruger from dawn to dusk. (which by the way, they lock those gates at 5:31pm sharp!) First, the hippo ponds, which had a ranger with a rifle (in case lion came too near people) and about 5 snorting & splashing hippos floating & farting. A couple small crocs lounged nearby, but the hippos could care less. Then, we see a giant Elephant, or two or ten, just walk across the road behind us. OMG! This is so cool. Giraffes, with their long spindly legs stroll over for a drink by the Sabie River, some have darker brown splotches than others. They look so awkward and yet graceful simultaneously, their long tongues eat the tiny leaves on the super sharp thorn trees. Noa gets bored trapped inside the car and climbs up on the roof with binoculars, just in time, for Les spies two big gray rocks in the distance...rhinos? Yes, RHINOS! By the end of the day, we see over a dozen rhinos, with their glorious horns intact! Thank God. At the campground we see the terrible pictures of poacher's snares and butchery for the wild animals in the park, but the rangers seem well-trained and pretty protective.  Noa wonders about the so-called "Big 5?" I think we've seen (and/or petted) them all... except the Lion. Where are those lions? None to be found this trip. I guess that is okay, since I fed an apple to a wild zebra. It's always good to have something left to come back for next time.  My heart still skips a beat in excitement and pure JOY for ALL the ANIMALS! Life is good, the grass is plentiful, and the zebras are my friends! Africa is one amazing continent. "Oh Best Beloved" -Rudyard Kipling.

Kruger Park

Laine's house in the "bush"