KRUGER NATIONAL PARK (Day 17)

We got up early. The weather was still cool and fresh from all the rain.

We set out again in search of critters. The impala were out, doing their half-hearted battles.

We drove to Meestal Dam hoping to see some hippos. Eventually they appeared.

Sometimes there are no animals anywhere... well, there were, of course, we just couldn't see them. Eventually we found some impala and were able to 'use' them to locate other animals... (the ones looking at YOU are useless).

Other times, animals abounded! We saw lots of kudus, giraffes and zebras.

These very large Ground Hornbills are entirely carnivorous (eating reptiles, tortoises, small mammals, snails, insects, etc). They had no fear of larger animals and even the impala stayed out of their way.

A buffalo wandered slowly past.

A pair of very vocal lions searched out what shade they could find. We made sure to keep our arms inside and were ready to roll the windows up at a moment's notice, but the lions took zero notice of us.

We came upon an unexpected watering hole in the middle of the road, probably created by all the rain last night. Warthogs, zebras, impala, and wildebeest all shared the spot peacefully.

An impressive male kudu wasn't all too pleased with our presence.

We spent a bit of time in the Lake Panic Bird Hide. The more we looked, the more we discovered. Birds ranged in size from the small Pied Kingfisher to a large African Fish Eagle. The area was filled with all sorts of calls and whistles. We even heard some growling! A crocodile drifted silently by then quickly vanished beneath the water's surface.

We left the park in the late afternoon through Kruger Gate. We had to stop, bring all our receipts to a desk where they were stamped, and a guard even checked our trunk. I guess I must fit the poacher profile.

Eventually we were on our way though, crossing the murky Sabie River and watching the next storm roll in. It hit hard but fortunately didn' last long. It was a surprisingly hard adjustment to now see people walking along the side of the road instead of impala and zebras!

We encountered thick mist and more rain along the way, but eventually we arrived at the Panorama Rest Camp in Graskop. It look like a prison from the outside (complete with razorwire) but was nice inside. There was supposed to be an amazing view but all we could see at the moment was thick, white fog. We were at least all settled down for the night when it REALLY began to pour.

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