Day Three of Three Kruger National Park. Flight to Durban, South Africa.
Up before the sun again this morning. Not a routine I like, or am I used to it. Especially since we had such late evenings. I usually go to bed earlier when I know I have to wake up early. But that’s not an option, so away we go.
We sat in a field as the sun was rising and a herd of elephants approached us for their morning meal. We just sat in the jeep in silence and watched momma and babies. We listened to their breaths and watched them living life as if we weren’t even there. They have no fear of humans and went about their business free from care. Just a peaceful time. I was emotional moved to tears at the grandness of all of this and in the fact that this experiences is coming to an end. We almost had to pinch ourselves it felt so unreal. I feel the sun on my face. I smell the fresh grass as it was ripped from the earth by the elephants trunks. I feel the gentle breeze blowing across the land. The morning dew is still sparkling on the grass because it is so early in the morning. And just like that the elephants moved on. I will never forget that 30 minutes of time ever.
We went to visit the water buck herd we saw yesterday. After the leopard attack we wonder if the calf survived or not. It had puncture wounds on both sides of its neck. Its mother was licking and cleaning it’s wounds after the incident. And the baby had a slight limp as well. We never did see it.
Lazarus scouting out and then forged a road for us to travel down so we could have our morning coffee at the river side. So tranquil and quiet. Occasionally we could hear the elephants in the distance up river. We finished out the rest our last animal drive once again just enjoying all the beauty of the surrounds of this majestic park. There are three lion prides in the Jock Safari area of Kruger Park which make up 6,000 square miles of land. By the time we completed our final animal drive today we had seen lions from all three prides during our time here. Once we got back to the lodge we had breakfast and then headed to our cabins to finishing packing up. We settled up our bill, tipped the staff and our ranger generously and loaded back in the bus with Edward who drove us into the Lodge two days ago. We did some final sight seeing on the way out of the park and got to see more lioness, a hedgehog family complete with babies, hippopotamuses, white rhinoceroses and more birds. We had a 2.5 hour drive to the airport from the Kruger National Park. They gave us all a boxed lunch and we didn’t even touch it. We’re so full. When we arrived at the Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport we got our tickets and then had about 45 minutes to shop. We purchased some souvenirs and some snacks. A couple firsts for today; Megan’s first flight ever on a propeller plane. I think I had been on one before but can’t say with 100% certainty. AND our first charter flight ever. 69 cruise ship passengers convened at the airport from various places around South Africa and we were the only passengers on the plane. And guess what, they fed us….AGAIN. Still not hungry but I forced myself to take some snacks to go. Smoked flavor chips, candy bars, and billtong jerkey. We bought Cashews and macadamia nuts grown in Africa at the airport so our snack stash will be well stocked when we get home. I can wait to get home. We STINK. Between the musty smell from the lodge, the dust and dirt from the bush, the layers of insect repellant and the open fires last night at dinner we smell like we have been camping for a week. When we landed at Durban airport a tour operator was there waiting for us to escort us to a private coach for the 45 minute ride back to the ship. We opted to dedicate our evening back the ship to sending out ALL the clothing we had brought back with us from the Safari. We took really long showers. We ordered in room service for dinner so we could stay in our cozies. We have some sleep to catch up on. Tomorrow we are supposed to port at East London, South Africa but the weather is not looking favorable so we will know tomorrow whether or not we’ll be able to get off the ship. We will not be sad to have a sea day and time to rest and relax. I can not express in words how wonderful this experience was for Megan and I. It exceeded any and all expectations for what I thought a Safari in Africa would be. We saw more animals then I could have imagined, experienced five star service and hospitality, we never felt unsafe, and it was a completely immerse experience. (After note; we were in bed and asleep probably by 7:00pm and slept about 12 hours straight through. I truly hope you have enjoyed sharing this experience and seeing all our photos.)!
Live Vicariously Through Debra 
Im speechless!!
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