FOUR WEEKS TO GO!

Where did the last week go? So let us give you a little more detail about our SA trip and what we will be doing in the first week. On Aug 29th we fly from Atlanta to Johannesburg, SA (subsequently referred to in the colloquial as “Joburg”), leaving Atlanta about 4.00PM and after an 18 hour journey (we have to stop to refuel) and a 6 hour time difference, we arrive at 4 PM the next day! We will be recovering for the next 22 hours before returning to the Joburg airport at 2.30 on Friday to pick up our good friends and one time work colleagues from Pittsburgh, Chris & Linda Umble. Chris and Linda are flying South African Airways (SAA) from Dulles to Joburg and their flight is direct and less than a 15 hour flight (both our flights are longer than Melanie & David’s flight to China!).
Also arriving in Joburg around the same time as Chris & Linda will be our long time friends and our hosts for the next two weeks and beyond, Vic & Carol Wolff. Vic & Carol will be flying into Joburg from Port Elizabeth, our old home town in SA from 1968-1985.

Also meeting Vic & Carol, and completing our four couple group, will be Ted & Marilyn Turner from Johannesburg. Ted & Marilyn were also with us for our trip to Kruger in 2002.
After what we are sure will be a good night's sleep, we will be out and about in the Sandton (a Joburg suburb) Shopping Center purchasing the necessary goods for our trip to Kruger Park (beer, wine, spirits, etc…). On Saturday evening we join Vic & Carol for dinner at the Montecasino complex which will be followed by a night at the theater to see the SA stage production of “The Lion King”. We are looking forward to this event, which apparently has had rave reviews.

On Sunday morning we leave Joburg in a two vehicle (SUVs) convoy and make the journey to the Kruger National Park, about 250 miles north east of Joburg.
Once we are in the Park, we make our way to the Berg en Dal Restcamp (bottom left) and we have to be there before 3PM. At 3.30PM, we will be picked up in a “bush wagon” by a game ranger and his tracker. We leave our vehicles at the main camp and are driven to the Wilderness Camp (Bushmans, west of Berg en Dal) in an area of the park which is off limits to the general public. We only take a couple of changes of clothing (but all the beverages!). The camp is securely fenced and only has accommodation for the four couples and the three park personnel (the third is a cook who also makes the beds and stays at the camp while we walk with the ranger & tracker). In the evening, we sit around the fire and have a couple of sundowners (fortunately, the sun takes a long time to go down). The cook brings the supper (also cooked on the fire), and we sit around the fire and eat & drink under the African sky.

Here is an “official” description of the Kruger Park “Wilderness Trail” option:
Established in the world-famous Kruger National Park, wilderness trails allow adventurous visitors a close personal encounter with nature by traversing large areas of unspoiled wilderness on foot, under the guidance of armed and experienced trail rangers.In keeping with the wilderness atmosphere, sites for the trails camps are carefully selected for their scenic beauty and diverse plant and animal life. Groups spend three nights in four rustic two-bed huts. Ablution facilities comprise reed-walled showers and flush toilets. A covered lapa serves as a dining/socializing area where the campfire’s flickering shadows encourage stories of adventures in the African bush.Simple, wholesome meals are provided. The day commences with coffee and rusks in the crisp morning hours. A light meal is enjoyed in the bush and brunch awaits the group when they return at noon. After a “siesta”, the group leaves the camp once again for an evening stroll in the wild.Evening meals comprise either a hunters’ stew or barbecues, supplemented with salads and vegetables.

Here is a "stew" delivered by the cook! (note: all pictures of the camp, etc. are from 2002 - at a different wilderness camp we were at.

They get us up early in the morning and after coffee and rusks, we will either leave the “compound” on foot, or be driven in the bush wagon to where we will start our walk. We now walk in single file with the ranger and tracker leading the way (and carrying big guns). I have to admit, having done this once before, it sounds scarier than it really is. In truth, the animals are very wary of humans on foot and if they see you, they will run away. It would need to be a very unusual situation for us to be in any danger.

The "Trail Gang" in 2002

On Wednesday morning, we will be driven back to the main Berg en Dal Restcamp http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/camps/berg-en-dal/ (There are 12 main rest camps in the Park) where we will then move into the most luxurious accommodation in the camp, the “Rhino Donor Guest House” which can be seen in the top right corner of this map and will be a far cry from our “rustic two-bed hut” at the Bushmans wilderness camp. We will spend the next two days driving ourselves within the Park on various routes on both tarred and dirt roads, hoping to catch sight of some of the more elusive game in the park such as rhino, lion, leopard, wild dogs and cheetah. We are guaranteed to see elephants, hippos, buffaloes, giraffes, zebras, wildebeest and much more. It is a wonderful experience. Our time in the park comes to an end on Friday morning Sept. 7, when the next leg of the journey begins – but you will have to wait for the next posting to hear about that!

Victor Max Wolff

Couldn't resist adding this one great picture of Vic and his magnificent catch!