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)
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? Onto the pics:
4 Comments
Melissa
1/9/2022 04:43:33 pm
If you want Julie to look at you like a wild cat in heat, just pay for the luxury train.
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Mark
1/23/2022 12:59:30 pm
I have many comments for this comment, and will save them all for the next time we are in-person, and my parents are not present in the discussion
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Colleen
2/1/2022 09:09:32 am
Highly rated breastfeeding read.
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Mark
2/7/2022 11:24:01 am
I've been told that my blog inspires people to have babies for this very reason!
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PRIOR BLOG POSTS: Year Abroad Intro: • Welcome to our Newest Blog! Again! • The Move - Dissected, Probed and Then Probed Some More • The Voyage (Part 1) - If At First You Don't Succeed, Trying Again Won't Work Either • The Voyage (Part 2) - The Layover to Rule All Other Layovers • A Personal Life Update - Establishing Our Shallow Roots A Guide to South Africa: • How to be an Expat When You Aren't Technically an Expat (Part 1 - Bank Accounts) • How to be an Expat, When You Aren't Technically an Expat (Part 2 - Health Insurance) • Load Shedding - Keeping the Lights Off in South Africa Since 2007 • 195 Ways to Fight a Pandemic - The South Africa Edition • Halloween in South Africa - Playing Catch-Up Since 2016 • SnapScan - South Africa's Glimpse into America's Future • Thanksgiving in South Africa - Where My Turkeys Be At? • Life at the Epicenter of Omicron - A Different Type of Cancel Culture • Playgrounds - The Starbucks of South Africa • Cost of Living in South Africa - An Exploratory Journey of Everyday Expenses Trips: • Namibia Roadtrip (1 of 3) - Driving a Shake Weight to Sossusvlei • Namibia Roadtrip (2 of 3) - Searching for Souls in Swakopmund • Namibia Roadtrip (3 of 3) - Getting our Safari on at Etosha National Park • Weekend Getaway in Robertson - A Trip Down Pleasantville Lane • Summer Holiday Trip (1 of 3) - Glamping Without the Glam in the Drakensberg Mountains • Summer Holiday Trip (2 of 3) - The Historical Chronicles of Kruger National Park • Summer Holiday Trip (3 of 3) - Searching for Whales and Spare Tires in the Overberg • Visitors Round 1 - The Woodmans - An Expedited Exploration of Everything • The Great Wildebeest Migration - 15 Years of Waiting Decided in 15 Minutes • Ngorongoro Crater - A Pre-Migration Layover Inside an Inverted Volcano • Ndutu - The Safari to Rule All Other Safaris • Serengeti National Park - Seeking Out Simba at an Abandoned Pride Rock • Zanzibar - The Island of Sugar, Spice and Most Things Nice • Visitors Round 2 - Let's Ignore Our Sanity & Do All The Things • Wild Coast - A Little Tatse of the O.G. South Africa Cape Towning: • Spring Break in September - Just as Strange as it Sounds • A Day in the Life of a South African Expat - The Visual Edition • A Wrinkle in Our Spare Time • Our Final Week in South Africa - A Bittersweet Symphony of Bucket Lists The Other Stuff: • This is 40: The South Africa Version |