The Big Five

Approaching the eastern part of South Africa you begin to get acquainted with terms like "The Big Five." I don't know why but that term disgusts me. It's a touristy term that game parks use to show that they have the 5 most important animals, Leopards, Lions, Elephants, Rhino's and.... Buffaloes? It bugs me because there is so much to see in these parks and people act like a park is not as nice if it doesn't have the big 5.

But, the term has been completely redeemed for me by two great people that found a new meaning of the term. The big 5, Tiffany, Nathan, Adam, and Flo and Helena.

Nathan and I met Flo and Helena a week ago in Drakensberg (far away from Kruger) and found that our paths are heading in the same direction toward Kruger Park, the largest game park in South Africa. We got along well and decided that it would be cheaper and probably more enjoyable if we joined forces, their microbus and our... gas money.... So after Tiff arrived we took a bus out to Kruger to meet up with them.

It was an early candidate for best decision of the trip. Not only did it save us money, and not only was the microbus the coolest car that I have ever stepped inside (even cooler than my ol' hermit), and not only was the park one of the greatest outdoor experiences I have ever had, but these two Germans were two of the sweetest and most interesting people that I have ever met. In fact, the two of them and the dozens of other germans that I have met in the last few months have made me decide that the Germans must be the greatest people in the world. Seriously, I have met so many great Germans in the last few months. Guten Schletzin!

But now about the park. There is really no explaining adequately the experience that I had. So I will just give highlights. We arrived in the park and spotted a few Impalas. We stopped and took soem photos and marveled over them. Little did we know that we would see approximately 5,000,000,000,013 Impalas in the next 4 days. In fact, for the first hour and half, all we saw was Impalas.

But the wait ended when I spotted an Elephant trudging through the bush about 30 meters away. Elephants are amazing! They are so huge! And seeing them in the wild is unreal. We spent the first day driving through the northern part of the park (about 100 k's or less). We saw Girraffs, dozens of Elephants, warthogs, and hippos. By lunch, we found a campsite and picniced in front of 4 Elephants splashing in a nearby river. (queue the jurrasic park music).

In the evening we saw a giant Elephant walking beside us on a remote road. We rolled down the dirt road and came across his clan. Nearly two dozen Elephants, including a few baby's! As we got nearer, the adults formed a circle around the baby. It felt very wild. They were protecting it from us.

We returned to camp at sundown and had a delicious dinner (rice bowls). Since our camp was right by the river we could hear animals just on the other side of the electric fence that kept us safe. Here is where I cannot write enough to explain this experience. Sitting by the fence for hours. Just hearing the animals move around in the night. Hippos, elephants, lions, everything! They were literally right on the other side of the fence. It is one of the best exeriences. I know that my parents and family would all love this!

Arrrrrggghhh... Time is up. To be continued. Pictures coming soon.