August 18 to 19, 2025
Heading south-west from Tshokwane, we heard a loud racket coming from a small bird, a frangolin. Arriving at Skukuza, we settled in to the largest rest camp in Kruger. The swimming pool here was the nicest, and jet planes from Jo'burg landed at the Skukuza airport.
Our self-guide sunset drive encountered a number of cars and safari trucks stopped just east of camp, with visitors pointing to the south. They said there was a leopard in a tree off in the distance which we failed to sight. "It's coming down and walking away!" Even with the movement, no sighting. Oh well.
Turning east, we soon encountered a group of hyenas, including nursing babies. Watching for a while, we were glad the camera does not capture scent. On a dirt road just south of the Sabie, a herd of elephant crossed the river as the sun set.
On the guided night drive, we saw lights in the distance from the nearby towns outside the gates. The drive sped up to see a lion and stopped to see an owl in a tree. We spied our first klipspringer on a rock below a cliff. On the way back, a Jackal was drinking from an indentation in the rocks.
The final day in the park, we drove south towards Malelane Gate in hillier territory. Wildlife is sparser here, but there were elephants, giraffes, and plenty of impala. Outside Kruger through Malelane Gate, it was odd to drive more than 50 kph (about 30 mph) for the first time since we entered the park 6 days ago. The N4 took us back to Johannesburg and our overnight flight to Paris en-route home.
Driving south the next day:
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