Safari Time: Kruger National Park

** DISCLAIMER - PHOTO OVERLOAD **

One of my fondest memories growing up (besides our vacations at the beach house) - is family safari time.

I wasn't much older then Ian when I went the first time, and I loved it.  I still remember little bits and pieces - the things that stood out the most to me.  The older I get, and the older my parents get - I tend to cherish and hoard memories way more.

I think it was a fun experience for the kids, even though it makes for a long day, and the phases of not seeing a ton it hard on them - the tended to get a little bored when the action dwindled down a little, but we made it.

Our first stop to start our little get away was breakfast.  We had a fabulous breakfast with a view, as well as a little play ground to get all the wiggles out for the rest of the drive.

 We stayed in this fabulous little lodge, in the cutest and homiest cottage.  The lodge was simply beautiful with a golf course, a hippo hide, some other wild animals.  The kids loved it so much.  Well I loved it!

  Besides for a flat tire on a secluded dirt road - we had no other hiccups during our adventures.  It really was a blast.

Super early morning consisted of coffee and tea on the back patio with a side of rusks, and glorious sunshine.

  and  flower picking.... this should be no surprise to those who know us well.

Our days were spent on safari.  Looking for animals. eating way to many snacks, laughing and making memories.  Don't get me wrong there were frustrating moments with the kids as boredom took over during the hot part of the days, and the animals where hiding.  But we managed to make the best of it.

I was a little sadden by how extremely dry it was - given that the entire country is in a severe drought I should have expected it, but I didn't.  Almost all the rivers and ponds, and waterholes were dried up, the trees where dead, the grass was dead.  It was a little heart breaking - but I guess it's nature and survival of the fittest.

Even though it was super dry - we were extremely lucky to see a ton of animals, and we saw the big five on two of the four days.

Oh on a side note - one of the things I remember is my mom use to get a notebook before our trip, and so each day we would write down everything we saw.  We thought it would be fun to continue the tradition.

Oh, back to the animals - it was absolute amazing.

The excitement where high every time we entered a gate into the park.  We used a few different gates, for different reasons.

  Now for the animals.  Be prepared for an overload because it is so hard to narrow it down.  Like I said we were so blessed to see some wonderful sightings.

I'll start with the big five.  This is what Africa and South Africa is kind of famous for when it comes to wildlife.

rhino.

elephant and rhino crossover.

elephant.

lion.

african/cape buffalo.

I may or may not have "stolen" this picture from my dad ;)

  Some other animals we saw.

impala.

zebra.

baboon.

giraffe.

leopard tortoise.

male kudu.

female kudu.

vervet monkey (mama & baby)

mongoose.

male waterbuck.

male nyala.

capricorn.

female buschbuck.

warthog.

hyena.

  We also saw a bunch of birds, but not as many as we did before.  We concluded it might be because of the drought.  Nonetheless, the birds where still beautiful.

ground hornbill.

marabu stork.

bateleur.

fish eagle.

cape vulture.

yellow billed oxpecker.

heron.

starling.

african grey hornbill.

guinea fowl,

bee eater.

   and for the stretches that we didn't see any animals, we had some beautiful scenery.

We had a picnic lunch in the park, at different spots, and it was so much fun.  My kids love to picnic.

 
Fun fact.  Monkey hang out at the picnic spots.  And well they steal your food.  So the moment you look away, they dangle from the branches above, and snatch.  Well some people near us left some food on a little grill, the monkey actually come over, reached down to test of the grill was still hot, and boom knocked it over to get to food left behind.  Something tells me, they have learned the hard way.

   We spend a ton of time in the car.  And little miss Hayleigh got creative with nap time.  She never naps anymore - but I guess our adventure was a little exhausting.

   Our evenings were spent looking at glorious sunsets, cooking out, having beverages, and learning about animals, making smores on the back porch, and building puzzles inside before bed.  I won't lie - we also went to bed early ;)

Time goes by so fast, I can't believe that four days went by in a blink.

I am so grateful for the extra time we get to spend with my parent, because the fact is I miss them so much.  I have always missed them, but since our intense move to Texas, I miss them so much more.  I wish we could be closer to them, so they could experience all the little things with the kids.

This was such a nice little getaway to just enjoy the little things, and nature.

Our time here in South Africa is quickly coming to an end - I still can't believe it.

One thing is for sure the kids and I will defiantly tuck this experience deep into our hearts.

Till next time.

Happy Weekend.