Discovering the World Sans Valise: South Africa (2) - Safari in Kruger National Park

We were very excited to sign up for a 6 days safari in Greater Kruger Park with a company from Johannesburg. Greater Kruger park refers to Kruger park (the south part of Greater Kruger) and 3 private reserves (north of Kruger park).
We decided to spend 3 days in Kruger park and 3 days in a private reserve. The difference is that in private reserve, off road driving is allowed and it is therefore possible to get very close to the animals.
In Kruger park, we stayed at the Skukuza lodge. We had a very comfortable bungaloo (South African style) and we either ate at the restaurant or our guide would cook for us. We were with an Australian family of 6 (2 parents + 2 adult children and their respective partner). We would go on safari rides at 5:30-9:30 am and 3:30-7:00 pm. One day we went out the whole day. Our guide Simon was extremely experienced and was very fun. He showed us many animals, even very small ones, many birds as well. He could spot them from far away and could name them all.
Here are the pictures from the safari in Kruger park with Simon as a guide.

Statue of Paul Kruger who was responsible for the establishment in 1898 of the Sabie Game Reserve (later to be called Kruger National Park) to protect all the wild animals in this area. The park is 19,633 square kilometers and hosts 753 species of animals.

Our guide Simon

Our bungalo

Ready for our first safari ride in an open vehicle

Hippos, the most dangerous animal here. They charge when outside the water...without warning!

Male kudu

Female kudu

Steenbok

Red-billed hornbill

European roller

Warthog (also know as Pumba)

Wahlberg's eagle

Impalas

White rhinoceros - Can be distinguished from black rhinos by shape of the mouth - Black rhinos are very endangered due to poaching for the horn (grounded and sold for a high price in Asia!)

Dung beetle pushing a ball of elephant excrement used as food source and breeding chamber - The ball is pushed by the beetle and gets bigger as it rolls. We saw one ball being pushed uphill, the beetle using its hind legs to push it. Very impressive!

The bird is an oxpecker - this bird grazes exclusively on the bodies of large mammals, like giraffes

Hamerkop

Glossy ibis

Wild dogs - rare sighting since they are only 250 wild dogs left in Greater Kruger

Baboons - The 3 wild dogs stopped running when they saw the baboons on the road - they do not like baboons

Male and female nyala

Pumba

Klipspringer

Female kudu

First 2 female lion spotting - They were well fed after eating a kill close by. We saw it with binoculars. There were still 3 hyenas eating the kill. Hyenas are the scavengers. They eat everything that the lions have left behind, including the bones.

The three hyenas from very far away. The pictures are not great

Saddle-billed storks

Young female lion resting on the road :))

Zebras are so photogenic! They are very curious too.

Intimidating elephant!

Blacksmith lapwing

Pied kingfisher

Velvet monkey

Doesn't this little one look like a Royal waiving at the crowd?

Well, waiving with his foot and not from a car :))

Female waterbock

Steenbok

White storks

The female matriarch leads the elephant pack. Elephants use their trucks to throw dust onto their backs to protect themselves from insects and sun. The youngest elephants are always in the middle of the pack in between adults to insure their safety

So cute!! Probably only one month old.

Rare sighting of hippos out of the water during the day. They are usually in the water during the day to protect themselves from the sun and they graze at night. They are vegeterians.