Exploring Kruger National Park: My First African Safari

Africa Travel Video

My First African Safari

Day 1: Into the Bush

The best part about traveling solo is meeting new awesome people while on the road, and I did just that on our first stop halfway from Jo'Burg to Kruger National Park. I met a very cool Australian group, an amazing German couple, and the wonderful ladies from Bern, Switzerland.

After a 5-hour drive, we arrived at the Tremisana Lodge, which is located inside the Balule private game reserve. Minutes after checking in, we had to leave for a night game drive.

Our first giraffe sighting was right outside the lodge! I remember how ridiculously excited I was when I first saw it. A few sightings later, I was already thinking, "I wanna see the leopard!"

My first safari drive ever! I can't remember a time when I used my eyesight (without staring at the screen all day) as much as tracking down animals at night. :)

Our driver spotted a group of elephants out and about. We shut down the engine and watched them eat. This is how animals should be observed, not behind a cage.

Dinner Under the Moonlight

After a few zebra and giraffe sightings, the guide took us to a dinner in the bush that they had prepared. I was surprised by how exquisite the dinner was. Great food (braai) under moonlight, right in the middle of the bush. No dinner can beat that!

Our guide is grilling our dinner.

How do I know that we really were in the bush? This. We even have to be escorted if we want to pee. How awesome is that!?

Enjoying my first night in the bush before waking up super early in the morning (4:45 AM) for a highly anticipated 3-hour morning bush walk.

Day 2: Walking Through the Bush

I was asked to wear natural clothing, which my bright blue fleece jacket did not qualify for. As a result, I ended up freezing my ass off while they drove through the chilling African wind.

Ladies first? Haha. They were both quite adventurous, so I let them lead.

The bush was thick enough that my Swiss friends kept getting their hair tangled in the branches. I had to help untangle it a couple of times.

When they said a walk in the bush, they really meant IN the bush. There was no trail in places, and my pants were a mess by the end.

We walked out into the open field, heading to the riverbank, hoping to see a few wild animals out for a drink.

It was a beautiful morning out in the bush.

Meet our Australian group, Anthony, his son, and Leroy. They were hilarious the whole time! Great knowing all of you! :)

We found a lion's track! It looks like it was here 2 hours earlier, hunting for some food at dawn.

As we walked along the river bank, we heard a cracking sound from the bushes on our left. The guide thought it was an elephant, so he went in and observed. Turns out, it was this Hippo charging out of the bush right at us towards the river. The guides were panicking and asked us to stick together (I didn't even have time to take a photo of when it was charging). Fortunately, it continued down to the river without looking back. That was the first time I felt a rush of the African safari. The danger is very real.

Back on the Game Drive

After a 3-hour bush walk, we went back to the lodge to wash up, had lunch, and headed out for an afternoon game drive with our guide, Chris, who looks somewhat like Orlando Bloom from the Pirates of the Caribbean. The Swiss girls didn't think so. :D

A giraffe greeted us with its long neck, towering over all the trees that surrounded it.

Zazu is a character from The Lion King!

For the first time in my life, I saw a living, walking but old-as-hell wildebeest.

The impala, not knowing that we were observing from our jeep.

As we drove by, Sabrina (from a German couple I met) saw a lone African buffalo, one of the big five. We tried our best to get closer to get a picture of this lone African buffalo, but the engine sound scared it away. We thought all hope was lost until we accidentally stumbled upon a whole herd of buffalos nearby. That awesome feeling when you spend a whole day tracking down an animal, and you find a whole herd of it, is fascinating.

After an awesome afternoon drive, we grab our things from the Tremisana Lodge, said goodbye to these monkeys, and departed to our treehouse near the Kruger National Park entrance.

Welcome to Marc's Treehouse Lodge, the incredible way to sleep in the bush.

As the sun set, we gathered around an old-school campfire, enjoying our dinner and exchanging stories of our lives back home. Nothing beats the good old storytelling around a campfire like this.

Day 3: Into Kruger National Park

It was a great morning as always until a problem struck. There were 2 German couples, the one I befriended with (Sabrina and Thomas) was awesome, but there's this other uptight couple who insisted that they sit together.

Since I was the only one traveling alone on this tour, I was asked to move to another truck. Of course, I was upset, but at that time, I didn't know that the German couple was the root cause. So, I complied as I didn't want to delay any more of our time.

As I walked, pissed and all, the Swiss ladies (Katarina and Stephanie) were also kicked out because, even when my seat was available, the German was unable to be seated together. So, the guide made a crappy decision to kick three of us to another car, whereas forcing the German couple to move to the other car would have solved everything. We combined forces and complained to the guide that they are the ones that should move, not us three. In the end, the German couple realized we were complaining, so they were forced to move instead. Thank God it didn't turn out in their favor.

Right inside the gate, we spotted our first rhino from across the river. This was the moment I wished I had that crazy zoom camera (the one that looks like a Canon).

To celebrate our victory, the Swiss ladies and I exchanged a couple of shots with the elephants. It's good to have friends to help take photos of you when you've been traveling alone for so long.

Like one big family.

Either it's their mother or father watching out for the children.

Meet Stephanie and Katarina, two of my favorite people I met during the African trip.

Our first stop, after the fight with the bad German couple. They didn't look happy at all, but I decided to just enjoy the place. After all, it wasn't our fault.

Baobab, or the Adansonia, is the largest tree in Africa.

Zebras in their habitat.

A Kudu, an antelope that can jump higher than the jeep or the fences that protect them from the road. One giant magnificent animal, if you ask me.

Bathing myself with the African sun, enjoying everything the bushes have to offer.

As it's getting darker and darker, and we have only seen 3 out of the Big Five, I thought all hope was lost. However, we spotted a whole herd of female lions sharpening their claws, readying for a night hunt. Mission accomplished!

Seeing the lions. That's all I came here for. We went back to the treehouse, enjoying Castle beers around a campfire while exchanging more stories. I can never get enough of this. Imagine, instead of people going clubbing all the time, they set up a campfire and enjoy each other's company. :)

Day 4: One Last Morning in the Bush

Our last day in the bush, we began with a 1-hour morning bush walk around the lodge (the lodge is inside a private reserve).

The golden orb spiders spread across this region.

The sunlight and the spiders make awesome photo opportunities.

After one last morning walk, we headed back to our rooms, packed our bags, and left the bush behind. Four days earlier, this had all been completely new to me. Now I was leaving with my first safari behind me, a camera full of wildlife photos, and a group of people I was very glad to have met along the way.

The journey wasn't over yet. From Kruger, we continued toward Blyde River Canyon for the next part of my South African adventure.

Continue to the next part:Visiting Blyde River Canyon, South Africa