Summer Holiday Trip (2 of 3) - The Historical Chronicles of Kruger National Park

Leaving behind our semi-luxurious/partially-dilapidated hut at Thendele Camp in the Drakensbergs, our summer holiday adventures continued, with an 8-hour drive along questionably-designated highways to Kruger National Park (i.e. just like I-75, except with lots of cows, traffic lights & shoulders made of dirt).

As one of the largest game reserves in all of Africa, Kruger is home to hundreds of thousands of animals, sprawled across a land area equivalent in size to the nation of Wales (or for those geography-illiterate folks, the “left part” of England. OR, even better, to use the punching bag of measurement comparisons, 5 Rhode Islands). Alongside the infamous “Big Five” of lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo & rhino, Kruger encompasses almost 150 species of mammals, most of which are either extremely prevalent (e.g., 150K impala) or extremely rare (e.g., 450-500 wild dog). And locate (or more appropriately, hide) themselves amongst the spider web of paved & gravel roads which crisscross their way throughout the park.

Despite the almost immeasurable number of animals spread across the six (!!!) different ecosystems that comprise this vast safari haven, the one aspect that truly sets Kruger apart from all other game reserves, is an infrastructure that allows visitors to essentially complete a DIY (or “self-drive”) safari. Whether in an 4x4 Land Cruiser kitted out for the coming apocalypse, or a 1987 Toyota Corolla which peaked its odometer limit 3 years ago, safari-goers, no matter the vehicle, are equally capable of seeing all that Kruger has to offer. Which, at the end of the day, is enough to make it increasingly difficult to whittle down a blog post to only 50 images.

Now, as I have blogged multiple times in the past about safaris, whether providing a general overview of the game-viewing experience or detailing the symbiotic relationship between wealth and encounters with leopards in trees, I felt that this time around, we could take a few steps back, and understand a bit of the history behind the park which welcomes millions of visitors each and every year. In order to properly ensure that your blog experience is not only an enjoyable occurrence, but a semi-educational one at that. It's the least we can do after giving y'all the gift that is Omicron!
 
Thus, I present you with a brief historical timeline of Kruger National Park, Not Another Damn Travel Blog style:

(PREFACE - For those history buffs of the blog, or even those that find themselves binging Drunk History after midnight, this is a solid read, with lots of cool images of people doing safari-like things before the age of toilet paper… something I like to remind Julie of everytime she watches an 18th century period piece starring Maggie Smith about fancy British people who, despite eating off fine china and wearing exquisitely expensive outfits, still wipe their ass with a corncob)

• 500,000 BC – 100,000 BC - Homo Erectus roams the area. Wheel & fire probably invented at some point.
• 100,000 BC – 1700 AD – Other two-legged folk come visit the neighborhood. Decide to leave after all available caves fill up with drawings of friends being eaten by lions.
• 1873 – Gold discovered at nearby Pilgrim’s Rest. Gentrification alert sent out to local community. High demand for ivory & animal skins leads to rapid decimation of the local animal population. Karma returns the favor by sending over malaria to help quell the “exploration efforts"
• 1884 – “Restricted Hunting” zone declared at the epicenter of the remaining animal population, between the Sabie & Crocodile rivers. 2nd Amendment protesters come out in force to fight for their god-given constitutional right to murder.
• March 26, 1898 – The “Government Wildlife Park” officially declared by president of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger
• March 27, 1898 – Director of “Naming Things” retires
• July 1st, 1902 – First warden of the park, James Stevenson-Hamilton, sworn into duty. Promises to uphold “whitest name ever.”
• 1923 – South African Railways includes an overnight stop at Sabie Reserve as part of their “Round-in-Nine” tour along the Selati Railway Line. Initially a midway point to break-up the journey, tourists are soon enthralled by personal guided walks by armed rangers, followed by campfire stories of evading death. #governmentwildlifepark begins to trend.
• May 31st, 1926 – National Parks Act signed into law, officially creating Kruger National Park. Animals cheer in joy about a future of being watched by cars while they sleep.
• 1927 – First tourists arrive, forking over a whopping 1 pound entrance fee. # of cars visited = 3
• 1928 – First huts built, providing guests the ability to stay overnight / avoid being eaten in their tents. Unfortunately, huts were designed by an American who took the unique approach of excluding windows from his design (hurray for claustrophobia!), BUT did include a small open-air peep hole, which proved to be extremely convenient for mosquitos looking to spread everyone's favorite disease at the time. # of cars visited = 180
• 1929 – Huts re-designed. 850 cars visited. Something else happens across the Atlantic Ocean which makes a lot of people sad.
• 1932 – First ablution block of 4 baths built, prompting guests to inquire about the hygiene of guests from 1927-1931. 1 shilling required to “cleanse the bush” off one’s body.
• 1938 – Hot showers introduced, camps fenced off, Four Seasons status almost complete
• 1951 – Electric lighting installed, 72 years after its initial invention. Precedent officially set for South Africa to always be behind the times in all things (especially Netflix series).
• 1960s – 1st liquor permit issued, officially moving drunk drivers to the top of the food chain above a disappointed group of now 2nd place lions
• Mar 8, 2003 – Kruger officially surpasses 1,000,000 visitor mark in 12-month span. South Africa declares that nothing can stop this new age wave of tourism
• Oct 2019 - Some asshole decides it's the perfect day for a nice hot bowl of bat soup
• Dec 29, 2021 - Finn Soskolne discovers a metal cart, leading to a drastic change in his outlook on life (more on this in the photo section)

 
As of present day today, and in completely coincidental honor of the song we sang throughout the entire month of December, Kruger now comprises 12 main rest camps, 11 luxury lodges, 10 bird hides, 9 gates of entry, 8 conference centers, 7 wilderness trails, 6 “big birds”, 5 bushveld camps, 4 satellite camps, 3 bush lodges, 2 overnight hides and 1 luxury train for $500/night that Julie will not stoppppp… talkingggggg… abooooout (exit sing-songy voice, re-enter semi-sarcastic one). Quite the expansion since the days of a bunch of folks driving around in Model T's, while sleeping in malaria-filled huts that hot-boxed in the smell of unwashed humans. But hey, only cost a pound, right?
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Onto the pics: