Copyright 2000
by Phillip Martin
All rights reserved.

South_Africa

Cheetah

African Wild Dog

White Rhinos

Leopard

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK    My tour made several stops on our drive from Jo'burg to Kruger, including the Nyani Shangaan Village and the Kapama Cheetah Center. x

I'd been told that Kruger Park was amazing for both animals and scenery. xIt certainly had the reputation as one of Africa's best parks. xNobody mentioned just how big it was. xI spent an awful long time inside the van crossing long miles.

Shooting pictures from a van meant waiting for your turn. xI didn't always get my turn, but I had a great view most of the time. xWe had a really nice view of an elephant. xMaybe too nice for him; he charged us trumpeting.

My favorite section of the park was in the south. xWhen we neared our destination, one of the girls let out a scream for the van to back up. Right next to the road was a leopard. xHe didn't stay long, but it was long enough to get us very excited. xThat was one animal I never expected to see in the daylight.

Later we headed out in search of rhino. xSeveral were spotted at a distance and eventually we found two close to the road. xOf course, I finished off my roll of film.

Southern Africa had what are called the Big Five animals. xWe'd seen buffalo, hippo, elephant and leopard. xWe wanted to see number five - the lion - on the morning safari. It never happen.

Instead there was another leopard. This fellow posed long enough for us to get great photos. xOur guide said he'd never seen two leopards in such a short amount of time. And, there was more. xA little further on we saw several vehicles clustered together. xWe suspected lions, but it was just another leopard. xHe'd made a kill and pulled the impala up into the tree tops. xToo hungry to let tourists disturb him, he feasted while we photographed.