July 6, 2016

 Woke up at 4:30 AM, made breakfast eggs and bread with cheese. J was fine however about halfway through, I knew I was not. I will spare you the Details but it was touch and go on whether I would go on safari.

By 5:10 am I was toughing it out in a very chilly, windy, and bumpy safari truck. But at least there were blankets to keep me warm.
We were on the tour with a family from Isreal, a Rabbi(originally from Albany NY) his wife and 2 of their grandsons--teenagers.

We entered the Kruger @ Orpen Gate, about a 40min drive from our camp.  Once in the gate, we started to see animals right away. An elephant greeted us, followed by some wildebeest.  Before officially entering the park, there was a place to stop for a snack, J  got the cappuccino, I stuck to ginger beer on honeycomb candy--having a Justin from departures moment eating only candy in foreign countries.

After the first sightings, the morning was a bit slow, until after stopping for breakfast. The family with us, shared their breakfast, though I was still not eating much. After that the day picked up.
The animals we saw are listed below. Photos will be online by the end of the week.

Lions- a whole pride had taken down a water buffalo and they were going to town on it.

Leopard- a very rare sighting in the wild, we were lucky enough to find one in a tree with its kill

3hippos- due to the drought, the current population could be down by 3/4ths within the year.

White Rhino- one of Js many superb sightings, he spotted a family in the bush.

Elephants- we saw a lot of them, from beginning to end and very close to the truck.

Giraffes- plentiful, and being our spirit animal we were very happy.

Water buffalo or African buffalo- abound, they are everywhere, and crossing the road without any concern for surrounding cars or trucks.

Zebras-we saw a few families, including a prego mama.

Impala-- the white tailed dear of the Kruger, all J and I wondered, was if they taste good.

Warthog-- pumba from lion king-- faster than you'd think.

Baboon-- just running away from a bird and crossing the road in front of us.

Nile crocodile- another J spotting, just chilling on the beach.

Ostrich- J found this one too.

We got back to camp and napped for an hour, before making stew for dinner. Thanks J!! A spot of tea to keep us warm and chocolate to keep us happy.

J had a freezing shower, something I was not willing to do, so baby wipes it is. 8:30pm and after a long day , I am off to bed.

*photos and links will be put up Friday the 15tj when I have access to my computer again.