Day 17

Day 17
Saturday, October 4, 2008
A glorious night of rest at the Airport Grand, a wonderful breakfast (included), and then we’re off to the Kruger National Park, a 7 hour drive, mostly on freeway. Along the way we are struck by the contrast between the apparent prosperity of South Africa (freeways, large houses, shopping malls, lush farms, mines, nuclear power plants, etc.) and the poverty of Zambia, or at least the part that we have seen. We arrive around 4:15 and decide to take advantage of the late afternoon light to see if we can see a few animals. We are not disappointed (more on that tomorrow) as we quickly spot many impala and a wonderful herd of elephants, all free roaming, which seems so amazing. But there is no time for further exploring as we need to check in at our camp. We are booked at Berg-en-Dal and they close the gates at 6. You dare not be late or will be fined. Our accommodations are a two bedroom cabin made all of brick (including the floor) except for the thatched roof, complete with clean sheets and towels, kitchen, living room, shower, bath, toilet (three separate rooms) and outdoor BBQ with table and chairs. Beth cooks a delicious pasta dinner with salad and wine and we are off to bed for a 5:30 start to see the animals. This is camping???
Bruce and Paula