January

Nice waves in Del Mar, California.

February

Rugby Sevens in San Diego, California.

Rare powder at Mt. High, Wrightwood, California.

March

Noodle Scrabble in San Diego, California.

April

Crazy weather on Mt. Baldy, California.

White out at Mt. Baldy, California.

May

Hayley graduates with a Masters Degree in Journalism. San Diego, California.

June

Bellagio at night, Las Vegas, Nevada.

July

Visiting friends in San Francisco, California.

Epic surfing at Pipes in Cardiff by the Sea, California.

August

Tower Bridge in London, England.

Don’t stop! Somewhere north of Johannesburg, South Africa.

Elephant crossing in Kruger Park, South Africa.

A hyena and vultures feeding on a dead giraffe in Kruger Park, South Africa.

Just before one of our many elephant scares in Kruger Park, South Africa.

Impala horns in Kruger Park, South Africa.

African sunset over the bush in Kruger Park, South Africa.

Wine tasting in Stellenbosch, South Africa.

“Jackass” penguins- after you know what- in Boulder’s Beach, South Africa.

Hiking up Table Mountain on beautiful winter day in Cape Town, South Africa.

Monster surf at Sea Point in Cape Town, South Africa.

Protea at Kirstenbosch near Cape Town, South Africa.

Kudu Crossing in northern South African farmland.

Cheetah sighting at Pilanesberg, South Africa.

Trampoline at Sun City, South Africa.

Township homes outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

Playing with lion cubs in the Lion Park, just outside Johannesburg, South Africa.

September

First cockatoo sighting in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Sydney, Australia.

Flying foxes in the Royal Botanic Gardens. Sydney, Australia.

Dust storm in Kings Cross, Sydney, Australia.

October

Destroying my only surfboard. Sydney, Australia.

Walking to Cremorne Point, Sydney, Australia.

November

Ford Ranger Cup. North Sydney, Australia.

Balmoral Beach, Mosman, Sydney, Australia.

December

Opera House, Sydney, Australia.

Work holiday party at the Watson’s Bay Hotel. Sydney, Australia.

Attacked by cockatoos in the Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia.

NYE Sydney, Australia.

The drive was mostly fine, aside from an accidental two hour detour through who knows where. We took a wrong turn after stopping for gas and ended up driving through a “Hi-Jacking Hot Spot” and Belfast, an ultra sketchy town somewhere north of Pretoria. With the help of Stuart’s GPS and by following some guy in a BMW, we were able to navigate ourselves back to a main highway.

We arrived at the Orpen Gate around 4:30 PM. There were two checkin points: one at the park entrance and one at the Satara campsite. We were informed at the first point that the final checkin time for Satara, the second checkin, was 5:30 PM. The confirmation email recommended two hours for driving from the gate to the camp. We had just under an hour. Damnit.

Driving on the main paved road through Kruger, we nearly ran over two snakes crossing the road. We saw plenty of baboons, buck and giraffe. We noticed a gathering of cars at one point. Two guys tried to point out the cheetah to us, but we just didn’t have the quality binoculars to see it or the time to wait. Unfortunately, we didn’t see another cheetah the whole trip. We arrived at 5:28 PM and Hayley ran straight to reception to check us in.

Our unit number was F150, situated in a circle of fifteen or so thatched huts all surrounding a flat area of dirt and tall thorny trees. The rest of the night we relaxed, ate dinner, unpacked and read. Gates open at 6 AM around Satara, so we set our alarm for 5:30 AM and had an early night.

Up at the crack of dawn, we brushed our teeth, ate a small breakfast, and drove into the bush. Our first encounter was with five or so grazing Buffalo, one of the animals that comprise the “Big 5″ most dangerous animals to hunt (now known as poaching). The others include elephant, lion, rhino and leopard. To see all five in one day is very rare, but we were already off to a good start.

We passed many different types of buck: water buck, impala, kudu, nyala. We also saw plenty of exotic birds, giraffe and zebra grazing near the side of the road. About an hour into the drive, we spotted a rhino, our next “Big 5″ sighting. We sat for a little while and watched, but he wasn’t doing anything exciting so we moved on.

Another hour later and we had our first elephant encounter. We spotted a family off to the left side of the dirt road, grazing under a few trees. They were absolutely enormous, the male was probably triple the mass of our VW Polo. We waited for a little while until one of the younger (although still enormous) elephants walked our way. We cut the engine to avoid any trouble, watched it move within thirty feet of us then head up the road a little ways. It stopped to eat the bushes on the side of the street and we wanted a better look, so we started inching closer. The elephant was using its tusk and foot to break thorny branches and scoop them into its mouth. It was an absolutely incredible sight. We were probably within ten feet of the elephant driving slowly past when it waved its trunk and ears aggressively at us, blowing air through its trunk. We stopped, let it do its thing, then slowly inched past it. I kicked the accelerator a little hard at the end and I think I spooked him a bit, but we pulled away safely so all was good.

Adrenaline fading, we drove another few kilometers before noticing a few cars parked on the side of the street, implying something good to be seen. We pulled up to one car, and they pointed out the pack of lions relaxing under a distant tree. We stopped and took some photos and video. Relaxing in the shade to avoid the hot sun is typical of lions, but also fairly boring to watch from a distance. We watched for fifteen minutes or so before heading back to camp for lunch.

Our sunset drive started with possibly the best sight of the entire trip. Driving slowly on the paved road, Hayley alerted me to slow down as a Hyena was running our way. I stopped the car, and it was running urgently towards something we couldn’t see, passing two feet in front of our bumper. We watched it run away then made our way around the bend, revealing the Hyena’s destination. A dead giraffe carcass lay sprawled out under a tree off to right of the road and vultures were circling above. We parked and watched as another Hyena dug into the beast, ripping skin and meat from the giraffe. A whole flock of ten or so vultures slowly inched their way closer to the kill, but the Hyena regularly snapped at them, a warning to keep their distance. We watched for a while then drove off, leaving the other cars that had collected on the road.

On our way to the main water hole, we saw an Ostrich running off in the distance. We saw several buck, giraffe and zebra before finding a huge lot of cars parked a few kilos up from the dead giraffe. Off in the distance we spotted (actually, were shown by another game viewer) our final “Big 5″ animal, the elusive Leopard. Relaxing on the limb of a tree, the Leopard seemed pretty mellow, enjoying the shade that the tree had to offer. Its tail hung limply off the branch and its head was propped neatly against a smaller branch. We drove forward to as many vantage points as possible and then made our way to the watering hole.

While the main watering hole offered stunning views of the landscape, there wasn’t really much to see. We saw many birds, including two fish eagles communicating to each other across the river. Occasionally they circled the area, looking for prey, but would always return to the limb of a tree and keep watch over the valley.

A dirt road curves around the main watering hole in Satara, and we took it hoping to see animals that we couldn’t spot from the main road. While we didn’t see anything at the main watering hole, just off the dirt road is another manmade watering hole, and at the time eight or so elephant were drinking and splashing each other around it. We were stunned by the site, and even more stunned when we realized that there was another elephant hidden in the bushes on the other side of the street, grazing on some nearby bushes. We sat next to another car for a while, watching and taking in the surroundings. After ten minutes, a few elephants by the manmade watering hole starting making deafening noises, calling towards our left. In response, we heard similar noises off in the distance. After another few minutes, a new group of elephants arrived and joined their friends by the watering hole.

After the elephants passed, the car in front of us (our scape goat) moved on. The nearby elephant was still there, but he seemed pretty occupied, so we followed the other car. The road dead ended in a small cul-de-sac, offering an incredible view of the fifteen or so elephant playing around the water hole. The large animals were drenching themselves, spraying water and drinking, while the babies played near a smaller manmade water hole off to the side. We watched for a while after the other car drove off. It was truly an amazing sight.

We decided to pull out of the cul-de-sac, which is when the trouble started. A new, large SUV pulled up next to the nearby elephant in the bush. Seeing the threat, the largest elephant by the watering hole started running toward them, stopping half way with his ears propped out and his feet set apart. The car backed up a little bit but didn’t move. We were stuck in the cul-de-sac watching this happen, worried about what would happen when the whole herd saw us. The dominant male elephant trumpeted to the young adult in the nearby bushes. Five minutes passed (or at least it felt like it) before the nearby elephant walked across the street to join the group. We were relieved. We took off and didn’t look back.

On our way back to camp, we saw Giraffe drinking from the main watering hole with their front legs spread apart to help them reach the water. We also saw another giraffe family, one of which was covered with tick birds. We had a braai (bbq) then went to bed.

The next day started slowly. We saw plenty of buck and zebra, but few big game. We spotted one elephant walking in the road and another near a creek bed. Before grabbing lunch, we drove by the main watering hole. To our surprise we found countless elephant drinking and playing around the small reservoir. They were discretely divided into three groups, and we witnessed one quarrel when a large elephant tried to join another group. The males from the group ran over and stood their ground, protecting the baby in their group. It ended pretty quickly though, with no real confrontation.

We also saw herds of impala and zebra drinking from the watering hole. Occasionally they would jump backward while drinking, spooked by something in the water. Soon afterward we saw a crocodile walk up the bank and relax in the sun.

After lunch we went back to the watering hole and saw that the dirt mound in the middle of the reservoir was moving! The hippo had been very still for the entire day or longer, probably enjoying the deepest area of the reservoir. It raised its head occasionally to breathe but would always lazily let it fall back down underwater. We saw a family of mongoose, watched the fish eagles, witnessed a beautiful orange African sunset, then drove back to camp for dinner and an early night.

The last day we didn’t see much wildlife on our way out. We followed the GPS home, which took us through a few small towns and then on main national routes. It was a much more relaxed and pleasant drive than the first. We stopped at Spur, a popular american food chain in South Africa. This one was the “Big Bear Spur”. Hayley snapped a picture of me in front of the sign, then we made our way back to Johannesburg.

We spent two days relaxing and visiting with friends, including a delicious dinner at Robyn and Warwic’s, before flying down to Cape Town. I will describe this in another post. Plans include wine tasting, visiting the southern cape, and riding the tram up to table mountain. Also I will document driving our craptastic rental car down some of the sketchiest roads in the world.