Kruger National Park Visit.

It was raining, windy and overcast as Greg and I drove North from Nelspruit, our plan for the day was to enter Kruger National Park at the Numbi Gate and then travel South through the park and exit via the Malelane Gate. It turned out the road to Numbi Gate was closed due flood damage so we entered a little further North at the Phabeni Gate. We then followed our planned route to Skukuza
 before turning South to Malelane. It was along this stretch of road we had our first animal encounters with us seeing, Elephant, Buffalo and Zebra. I was originally a little worried the wind and rain would keep the animals tucked up sheltering in the bush, but I needn't have worried. We stopped at Skukuza and got something to eat and drink, and it was here that Greg had his first encounter with a Blue Tailed Skink.

Elephant doing a very good job of hiding, there were over a dozen of them in the group.

A fast moving Blue Tailed Skink.

After eating a little and stocking up on water then walking around a bit we continued South and encountered even more Elephant, Zebra, Giraffe, Wilderbeast, and Wild dog's. During the drive the rain cleared but the sky remained a little overcast keeping things cool, which was nice.

Zebra and Giraffe in the same location, we got lucky with this sighting.

Wilderbeast browsing by the side of the road.

African Wild Dogs.

By the time we reached Malelane we had seen an amazing variety of animals despite things not looking so good early in the morning.
We drove through an amazing array of landscapes from open plain to rocky hills and river valleys, and were treated to sightings of some of Africa's rarest animals, and some of the more curious such as a giant green Caterpillar and numerous Tortoise's.

We then left the Park and headed back towards Nelspruit stopping along the way to browse some roadside stalls selling carved wooden ornaments and fresh fruit. We ended up buying a few small carvings and a massive amount of fresh fruit for a ridiculously low price, we were all going to eat well for the next few days that was for sure.

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We arrived back in Nelspruit late in the day having had a very rewarding day out in the African bush. I was happy to have been able to share the experience with Greg, it was great to see him enjoying every minute of the day, watching the bush intently looking for the next encounter whatever animal may be just around the next bend.

We sat around the dinner table that night recounting our journey over a couple of beer's and some more of Africa's amazing food before settling in to bed for a well deserved sleep.