June 11th & 12th, 2016 - Last Days in Kruger NP

For our last full day we left a little later after not having much success with the early morning game drives and had high hopes for a route that would take us by several watering holes and out to a dam. Things started out well enough spotting several Hippos in a pool and one that was out at the salad bar, the first we’d seen out of the water .....

We then saw the Blue Wildebeest for the first time, though got a much better view of one the next day as we drove out of the park .....

At one of the watering holes we came upon a group of Impala and a pair of Waterbucks that were nuzzling .....

We also saw an eagle of some sort (probably a Martial Eagle) chowing some carrion in a tree. This was probably about where the dam was, but with no water in it we did not notice it and kept driving. By the time we realized we had missed the dam turning back would have lead to a really long out and back drive through terrain that we already knew had no water so we continued on to make a large loop, in hind site this was probably a mistake because of what we would find out happened just outside our guest house later. We did however get to see some interesting things. Zebra for just the second time, they are flighty creatures and difficult to shoot as they run from the slightest sound. We also saw  Lilac Breasted Roller which is a beautiful little bird .....

and a horn that had been lost by an Impala probably ..... 

Once we were off the dirt we stopped to get a bite at snack stop and shortly after came across a pair of Warthogs making sure the grass on the roads shoulders was kept nice and short .....

On the drive back to Skukuza we passed through another herd of Buffalo including this pair with the one ominously licking his lips at the sight of our Rav4 .....

We then had to pass through the same point where we’d seen the Hippos in the morning, they were still there, but so was this Kudu, right off the road (I probably could have touched him with my hand still on the car if I’d opened the door and cared to get out, big no, no) .....

On our way into Skukuza we also saw these Marabou Storks up in a tree, goofy looking birds and not what you’d expect to see in the tree tops ..... 

Greg and Magdel had taken the kids out for an early drive along the Sabie River then returned to the guest house about 1-2pm to find a herd of buffalo right outside the fence that were then chased off by a herd of elephants. That evening another group of buffalo rolled up to spend the night not 10 meters from our yard fence, cool.

The next morning, after the buffalo had left in the early hours we took the requisite groups shoot of the two families ..... 

On the drive out of the park we finally made our way to Transport (a watering hole that I’d wanted to get to since the first day after hearing about a lion kill in the open there). On the drive in, off the main paved road we saw the above Blue Wildebeest as well as Giraffe and Impala. Once at the watering hole we finally got an opportunity to see Zebra standing still drinking alongside a Rhino and a lone Impala .....

We also got to finally see, after watching them hunt but not being able to see the water, an African Fish Eagle make a catch ..... 

There was certainly something else in the area based on the behavior of the animals, the Zebra kept a couple of lookouts and there were a pair of Impala that approached to within 10 meters of the water and spent about 10 minutes fidgeting and eventually left without taking a drink. However, with our flight that afternoon and a 4+ hour drive to Johannesburg to get there we had to leave without finding out what was making the prey so nervous. So we leave Kruger NP having seen 4 of the big 5 (Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard) and an ear (of a Lion) flipping as it slept behind a low bush.

June 10th, 2016 Full Day of Game Drives

We headed out in the morning to an early drive at 6am, when the rest camp gates first open with high hopes of finishing out the Big 5 sightings (Elephant, Rhino, Buffalo that we’d seen and Leopard and Lion that we’d not). We sadly came up empty during the day on the big ones, however we did see a handful of different things that were quite cool to see/watch. The sunrise was quite nice this is becoming a theme .....

Early in the morning we saw a Impala carcass hanging from a tree that an eagle or falcon was going to works on, which means a Leopard had been in the area .....

Later we saw a Crocodile, much closer than we had before .....

As well as several interesting birds such as this little guy that shows, in Africa everyone is a hunter .....

 a very pretty Kingfisher (though these guys are pretty small even though the name makes them sound big) ..... 

We stopped as a snack shop by the Sabie River to grab a bite and let the kids stretch their legs, naturally they seemed most interested in what Dylan was drawing in his journal .....

After our stop, we followed the Sabie River back to our rest camp and got to catch a pair of African Fish Eagles hunting, one came up with a fish while the other was unsuccessful while we were there, the one on the stump has a fish under foot while the other is still on the hunt over the river .....

Naturally we also saw several of what is now becoming “normal” animals such as Impala, Kudu, Giraffe, Baboons, etc. As well as is young pair of male Impala play fighting .....

After our morning drive we got lunch at the camp restaurant where I tried the Springbok shank which was quite tasty and the size of a turkey leg. In the evening we went out again on a sunset drive meaning that we did not need to be back in the gate by 5:30pm and instead stayed out to look for game at night and by spotlight. Of course the sunset was quite spectacular (as I said, becoming a theme) .....

And we were lucky enough to see a Leopard on the hunt, chasing a bush hare, though it was too dark to get a photo. We also saw a herd of Rhino (about 12-15) at a watering hole. When we got back it was Braai time, while the ladies sat and drank wine, Greg was the cook as usual while I took photos of them .....

the stars and the moon set over Skakuza rest camp .....

June 9th, 2016 Moving Camp to Skukuza

We packed up early this morning and were on the road from Berg-en-Dal to Skukuza. We followed the S114 pretty much the whole way. At the start of the drive we saw a giraffe across a shallow valley against a hillside which was the first we’d seen so stopped and took several shots .....

 naturally about 100 meters later we got up close and personal with another .....

and this was all before we even hit the dirt road.

New animals we saw today were the Kudu .....

 a Hyena with cubs .....

a herd of elephants with calves ..... 

and a Buchell’s Glossy Starling .....

We arrived at Skukuza Rest Camp early and hung by the cafe until our “room” was ready. Though room is not really the right word, we are sharing the Nyathi Guest House with the Crum’s (Greg, Magdel and their kids Ameli 7 and Julien 5). Considering where we are the guest house is plush. Finally, the moon set over the main village was very orange and spectacular …..

June 8th, 2016 First Full Day in Kruger NP

We got a late start in the morning, probably after 10, and headed out on a game drive with grand plans to cover some 60km on dirt to get to some Hippo pools then loop back through town to do some grocery shopping. Well, it did not go as planned and we ended up making a much smaller loop on dirt of about 33km which still took over 3 hours then headed into town. Meaning it is a good idea to plan on averaging about 10km per hour including your stops to view and photograph the animals.

Even with the late start we saw loads of animals. Impala, which you really can’t avoid seeing as they are the most populous animal in the park, elephants, warthogs, baboons, buffalo herd, zebras, and african fish eagle and a redbilled hornbill. We also several rhinos again. 

African Fish Eagle

Buffalo Herd

 Redbilled Hornbill

 Elephant and Rhinos

 Rhino Family on the Move

Zebra Traffic Jam

It is amazing how your definition of what constitutes a good photo opportunity changes. We had up-close encounters with elephants, impala, buffalo, warthogs and zebras with the smaller guys feeling a bit skittish wether that was the animal or yourself.

Buffalo Close-Up

Elephant Close-Up

We also saw what was supposedly the flipping ear of a lion as it rested in the shade of a bush, though I’m not counting it. So we are still at 3 of the Big 5, being Elephant, Rhinoceros, Buffalo, Lion and Leopard.

June 7, 2016 - Driving into Kruger NP

In the morning after breakfast I walked back to the airport to pick up the rental car and promptly got headed in the wrong direction as I followed the instructions I was given at the rental desk to get back to the hotel. After a brief episode of cursing myself out I reoriented and made it back to the hotel. Greg and Magdel showed up shortly after and we got on the road towards Kruger.

Driving on the left side of the road is not much of an issue when you are following someone or are in traffic since other vehicles tend to keep you going in the right place so I was glad to just be following, I always worry that n my own I’m going to make a right turn and end up on the right side instead of the left. Driving is SA can be pretty aggressive, you are supposed to use the shoulder as an extra lane to get out of the way of faster traffic if there is only one lane in your direction of travel. In addition, there are many times where vehicles on the road are not even pretending to go the speed limit which leads to a very start stop type of driving experience at times. 

Lots of different plants and some pretty cool flowers out here .....

We made the one of the main park gate only about 20-30 minutes before it closed after 4.5 hours on the road, right at sunset and got checked in. We began our journey into the park not realizing that the gates to the camps also closed at the same time as the main park gates, not that that really makes any sense in that you may still need to travel up to 100km to get to your camp. The sunset was incredible ......

though likely due to air pollution. We stopped several times on the drive in to view the animals that we could see. There was a large pack of Elephants .....

and we saw a Rhino which Magdel (who grew up in SA and has since moved back to work for several year before returning to the US and Intel) claims to have only seen once in her 30+ visits to the park .....

We eventually made it to the camp gate and were scolded by the ranger on duty for being late. We finished the day with a nice BBQ or Braai, of which Greg s the master in our camp (though he can't stay still enough for the 1" exposure) .....

June 4, 2016 through June 6, 2016 - Traveling to Johannesburg, SA

Leaving Albuquerque at 6:20 pm on a Saturday, the Sunport was a breeze, not a single person in line at check-in or security. Of course there was the issue with the gate attendant not really knowing how to confirm in the system that we had all the required  documents so it would print out our boarding passes. Once that was cleared we were on our way.....

Our biggest concern for the trip out was our 1 hour layover in Dallas that was going to require changing terminals from domestic to international. In addition, the flight to Dallas was on a small commuter plane and they had us gate check a couple of our carry-ons even though the flight was essentially empty. In reality, all of our transfers went pretty smoothly and the trip was uneventful, though strange to take 2 overnight flights in a row, leaving Dallas at 10pm and leaving London at 7pm. Our flight out of London was on one of the newer Airbus A-380's, a huge double level plane (not like a 747 which is only double level in the front half), so big that the wings bow down ward when not in flight .....

Once we arrived in Johannesburg at 7am on the 7th, the goal was to avoid sleeping until that evening. I made it to the hotel and passed out face first on the bed for an hour or 2, I have no idea. Once up again we walked back to the airport to grab a late lunch.....

 

and took the GuaTrain into Sandton to walk around for a bit .....

One of the first things I noticed when we got off was someone walking into the station with a Krispy Kream donut bag and just outside the station entrance there it was green sign and all, alas I did not get one.

We headed to Mandel Square at the recommendation of Greg (who being an engineer, the last project he worked on in SA before they moved back to the US was the GuaTrain system) and Magdel. Mandela Square is not nearly as cool or cultural as it sounds, basically a high end shopping center, but there was a cool statue of the man .....

Though perhaps they are trying to make a statement with the locations of their restaurants ..... notice the one in the front in relation to the next one behind it .....

After that we all crashed out for the night looking forward to heading into Kruger National Park the next day.

3 Years Off - I'm a Slacker

At the beginning of 2013, with Dylan now in school 5 days a week, I headed back to school myself. I was not doing anything with my math degree but got talked into accounting. So I headed to CNM and went through their CPA prep program, basically a series of classes that fulfill the requirements in NM to sit for the exams. I had intended to complete the program before looking for a job but ended up getting hired by a small local firm that fall, Matts & Co. Accounting Professionals, LLC (only 5 people in the office), through a referral from a classmate. Anyway, I finished the program while working my first tax season and took the 4 exams between the end of August 2014 and January 2015 (4 total), and received my license from the state on April 15th, 2015. In the meantime, Matts & Co. merged with Atkinson & Co., Ltd., a large local firm of 50+. So I'm now finishing up my 3rd year in public accounting which has of course taken time away from many of the things I used to do, such as maintaining this blog and cycling, climbing etc.

Anyway, Dylan has changed and grown quite a bit in the interim. He has picked up and given up soccer and guitar after a couple of years doing each. He is going to the NM International School, a NM state charter that is spanish immersion and based on the International Baccalaureate program. He currently is mostly focused on learning to swim, being water safe is important to both Linda and I. I don't really care if he ends up being a good swimmer so long as he can keep himself afloat and get where he needs to if he was to fall in with his clothes on. As well as violin, which he has twice a week at NMIS as well as once a week on his own with the same instructor.

While climbing has definitely taken a back seat for a few years, Linda was eligible for her 3rd sabbatical with Intel in August 2015, however with a child in school we were unable to go anywhere until this summer, not to mention I'm not allowed to take time off during tax and tax extension seasons. We have been wanting to go to South Africa to check out Rocklands for years and with some friends that are from there and will be headed to many of the same areas we want to go to this summer seemed like a perfect opportunity. We have been working on the plans for at least 10 months and even then we were not able to reserve our first choice lodging at Rocklands.

With a climbing trip on the horizon it was time to get back into climbing shape. So, with what spare time we had through tax season, Linda and I put in many nights at the climbing gym and trying mostly unsuccessfully to climb outside. We did however make it out to El Rito for a day in May. With Dylan getting a little into climbing these days and a new hammock, Linda and I were able to get more climbing in than we've been able to recently. Below are a couple of photos of Dylan on his first completed outdoor routes, chilling in the hammock and a sunset.  

Focused on getting to the top, possibly the offer of Rebel Donuts had something to do with Dylan's enthusiasm on this day.

 Linda is the grey looking spot below

 Getting serious about and apple

Pretty colors