Today we had a fairly late start, as we didn’t need to be out of our accommodation at Berg-en-Dal until 10am. The four of us headed up to the restaurant and had a nice lazy breakfast. It was quite nice not having to rush anywhere and knowing that we had plenty of time to get ourselves organised before leaving.

After breakfast we went back to our room and started the usual mission of trying to get all of our possessions back into the same number of suitcases that they somehow came out of. We really don’t know how we manage it. Everything fits perfectly well when we arrive somewhere, but a few days later it always seems almost impossible to get it all back in again! Eventually though, we managed to get everything packed, loaded the car and said goodbye to Berg-en-Dal.

We didn’t need to be at our accommodation in Marloth Park until around midday, so rather than heading straight out of Kruger we spent our last couple of hours slowly driving around the southern part of the park. It was actually one of the nicest drives we had done. For the first time we weren’t really trying to find anything in particular. We had seen the Big Five and there was no list of animals that we desperately needed to tick off, so we could just drive slowly, stop when we wanted to and enjoy being in the park. We saw plenty of zebra, giraffes, buck and all sorts of other wildlife along the way. Instead of seeing something and then immediately wondering what we might find around the next corner, we could stop for a bit longer and just watch. It was a really nice way for the four of us to spend our last bit of time in Kruger.

Eventually it was time to leave, so we made our way out through Malelane Gate and started heading towards Marloth Park. The drive there was interesting in itself. Once we were on the N4 we started coming across trucks parked along the side of the road. Then there were more trucks. And more trucks. There were literally hundreds of them, all stationary along the side of the road. We assume they were waiting to head further towards the border, but whatever they were waiting for, it made for quite a sight. Thankfully we were able to get around them without too much trouble and continued on towards Marloth Park.

Before arriving we had been warned that the roads inside Marloth Park were in pretty bad condition. Apparently flooding and storms a few months ago had caused quite a bit of damage and washed out sections of the roads.

Being from Northland, we thought we knew what bad roads looked like.

It turns out we have finally found somewhere with worse roads than Northland! We were very pleased that the owner of our accommodation had sent us some very specific instructions on which way to come in. The directions took us on a particular route to avoid the worst of the damaged roads. Even with those instructions, and despite having a small SUV, there were still some pretty challenging sections to get through. Eventually we made it and arrived at our accommodation at around midday.

This accommodation is a little different to the places we would normally stay. It is more of a lodge setup, with a large communal kitchen and living area, but we have our own big private room with an ensuite bathroom and plenty of room for all four of us. The communal kitchen has pretty much everything we could possibly need, and we even have a full-sized fridge dedicated just to us, so the setup actually works really well. While the owner was showing us around, she explained a bit about the wildlife that wanders through the property. Apparently there had been zebra grazing around the lodge earlier in the day. There were already a few buck wandering around while we were there, which was a pretty good introduction to Marloth Park.

We spent most of the afternoon settling in and having a fairly quiet time. The rest of the family had travelled further north in Kruger for the day, so we knew they wouldn’t be arriving back in Marloth Park until quite a bit later. Before dinner we all went for a short walk down towards the river.

Marloth Park sits alongside the Crocodile River, with Kruger National Park on the other side, so you can stand on the Marloth Park side and look straight back across into Kruger. While we were down there we could hear hippos somewhere in the river. We couldn’t quite manage to see them, but there was absolutely no mistaking the noise, so we know they were down there somewhere!

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After our walk we headed out for a quiet dinner at The Tin Shack. The food was good, although there was a bit of a wait for it to arrive. Waiting for dinner feels considerably longer when you have a one-year-old and a three-year-old sitting at the table with you! Eventually everyone was fed, and after what had been a fairly relaxed day we headed back to our accommodation for an early night.

So that was the end of our four nights inside Kruger.

We had an interesting time, saw far more wildlife than we could ever have hoped for, and it was really nice to finish our time there with one last slow drive rather than racing around trying to find something.

Now we get to see what living amongst the animals in Marloth Park is like!

Happy Birthday Chris!

Day 16 started early and Chris and Dan were on the road by 7.30am.  We left the boys with Nana and Poppa for the day as we intended to do the big loop, including gravel road, about 8 hours total driving.  The goal; finishing off the Big 5.

First we started by going along the bottom area of the park, but saw very little.  Well, little of interest.  There were still plenty of Elephants and Warthogs and of course the Bok.

Then we headed north along the sealed roads (how good was it to be on the seal again!).  We stopped half way up for a coffee and snack, and were stopped further up the road by 5 buffalo casually walking down the road in a line.  Between them and the Elephants, no one was getting past in a hurry!  Before we found the Buffalo, we came across another animal, very similar, but a bit smaller.

We stopped at a number of little water beds on the way up in the hopes to see cats drinking, but there were none.  What there was were hippopotamus and turtles and even a crocodile or two on the bank (they looked like dead animals to Dan).

We were following Crocodile river, and on the other side of the river was a high bank, so we were keeping an eye here for cats.  Again, no cats, but lots of Giraffe and Zebras.  And Hippo/ Elephants in the water. 

Chris downloaded an app (of course) which shows local sightings, and so we knew some Lions had been seen near the road about 2 hours north. We doubled back (we passed the spot without realising) and were rewarded for our efforts.  Three Lions (though hard to see), a bigger and a smaller one sitting under a tree facing away and another lion on its own sitting in the grass.  Not the best viewing and not the best photos, but definitely Lions, and definitely marking off the Big 5.  You can always tell a Lion or Leoapard sighting, as all the cars are crammed tougher parked all over the road, and no one can move forward or back and everyone is fighting for the best spot.  Remember, you can’t get out.

We stopped for lunch in Shukuza (2 hours north and the top of our loop) at a lovely restaurant with lots of delicious food and fantastic views of elephants playing and relaxing in the ravine below.  it also has a train parked on a bridge over the ravine which has been converted into a restaurant.  We didn’t check this out, but would have liked too.

Home time again, and so a straight two hour trip down the country, stopping when there were interesting things to look at (including Dan’s interesting rock that she swore looked like an animal when passing). There were two or three leopards that crossed the road a minute or so before we arrived, but we couldn’t see them, they had taken off when we got there.    

The monkey above tried to bite Chris then stalked us around the camp. We had to fend it off with sticks and a water bottle.

Back to the camp to purchase some post cords from the shop and another Braai dinner.  Packing up in the morning as we head out of Kruger and to another park over the river, but not within the conservation land.

Good night

Chris, Dan, Karl and Issac

The day started early with Chris going out the gates at 6am. He didn’t have much luck but did with the help of Olivia’s (Gary and Ashleigh’s daughter / Karls cousin) keen eyes did find a Hippo for Karl. Chris returned to camp to collect Karl to see “his” hippo and a day out exploring.

After the Hippo we travelled north via a few side roads seeing 30+ Giraffe. A quick stop for morning tea for Karl, breakfast for Chris and a few snacks had us set for a 4 hr round trip looking at animals. Karl was really good keeping himself amused with a water bottle that was both a plain, runway, telescope and my favorite, a camera so we would both wind our windows down and each take photos with our respective cameras.

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Dan’s day…

Dan and Isaac remained at camp for the day to have more of a R&R day, We went for a walk along the buffalo walk in front of the units through to the reception area and the waterhole where we found more deer and then back.

Issac had a nice long sleep during the middle of the day and Dan had a nice relaxing time sitting outside listening and watching all the wildlife pass by. 3 different herds of elephants went to the watering hole, there were plenty of squirrels (or what counts for squirrels here), plenty of lizards and one very persistant bird that kept trying to get into the unit by flying into the window.

After Chris and Karl returned from their day trip all kids went for a swim in the camp pool (it was very cold) before a sleep over with Reghard and his parents. The adults went out for a Bush Braai.

A Bush Braai is literally that, a Braai in the bush. First we are driven around in one of the camp buggies hunting out animals while the food is being cooked. 5 minutes from camp we found a Rhino. We didn’t see too much on our travels, but did see some Bush Babies, Warthogs and other smaller animals. We drove around for about an hour and a half. It is quite different being out with the animals after dark, much different than during the day with others around.

We then arrived at the Braai location, a lovely flat area lit with candles, complete with drinks table, a dinner table elegantly set for 7, roaring outdoor fire and a very long table laden with food. Oh, and the ranger with the big gun to ward off any unwanted animals. We had a lovely dinner underneath the open sky with more than enough food and a very nice dessert. Dan was quite nervous being out in the open, but Chris was quite relaxed.

Back to camp, we managed to pass Issac off to his Nana and Poppa for the night, so a good night sleep all around!

Chris, Dan, Karl and Issac

After a decent nights sleep, and catching up with family, we hit the road to see what we could find. 

In Kruger Park you are on the lookout for the Big 5, the five hardest animals to hunt/kill. These are; Lion, Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Elephant and Leopard. Day one and we crossed off three of these, Rhinoceros, Elephant and Leopard.

We also saw plenty of Bok (which are like Deer) Giraffes, warthog, and a moving rock (which turned out to be a tortoise). We drove up the park for about an hour (plus animal stops) and met up with the family for lunch.

We then went chasing some of the bigger animals and managed to find a rhino, but not the lion or leopard that were supposedly nearby. 

Just before camp we found a traffic jam and a Leopard! 

Back to our camp for a traditional Braai of meat and more meat and time for Karl and Issac to bond with their cousins.  

The internet is very poor here at the camp inside the park, so there will be limited photos until we leave the Park.  When we get the chance, we will do a dump of all the decent photos of animals taken from Chris’ camera

Chris, Dan, Karl and Issac

Ok so Danielle will hopefully resume her regular blog updates which are clearly richer with family life etc. Today we got up at 5am after a rough nights with the kids and an evening of packing our life back into something that would get past Fly Safair’s rules and hopefully not get stolen.

We set out the gate at 6:45am from our ‘Farm’. We diverted of the GPS plotted track for a refuel stop that Danielle recommended and landed in the most crazy Cape Town traffic where I needed to push across ALL the lanes! We made it to the airport with heaps of time to spare, went back to the Police station to get the police report number and checked in. A quick breakfast then on the plane to Kruger. Flight was uneventful. Karl liked getting to be on the tarmac.

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Rental car was a bit of a mission because we were a day late but after much work we were on the road… a LOT of roadworks and a grocery stop and we pulled into the park around 4 pm.

We are all shattered so it will be a very early night. (spoiler the Kids DID SLEEP THRU!)

Chris, Dan, Karl and Isaac.

Ok another Chris update for Day 12 which is a little confusing as im writing this at the end of Day 13 trying to catchup a little bit. Day 12 was a lot of driving between Vicki & Hugh (collecting Isaac, taking Vicki to see Danielle etc) our accomodation and of course hospital. Basically the day was waiting for tests to be run, results to be read and a game of will they or won’t they let Danielle go home. Long story short by 6pm she was able to come back to the accommodation with me!

We are able to restart our trip and have the alarm clock set for 5am. I hope the kids sleep through the night… (spoiler… they did not)

Big thank you to everyone who has got in contact with me to check on Danielle / me. And a very VERY big thank you to my sister Vicki and her husband Hugh who have provided us all with massive support and have looked after Issac overnight.

Chris, Dan, Karl and Issac

Most have you will have gathered Danielle does most of the writing of the blog so it’s Chris this time with a short update. In the early hours of Day 11 Danielle suffered a medical incident and has been admitted to hospital in Paarl. We are awaiting some test results today and are hopeful that she will be discharged and we will be back on our way however a fair bit is up in the air presently. We were due to fly north tomorrow (Day12) but have changed flights until Day13 however this may need to change further.

Vicki and Hugh were able to divert our way and fly into Cape Town which has meant they have been able to look after Isaac.

Thanks,

Chris & Karl.

This morning started off with an online patrol meeting for Chris with NZ while Dan tried to keep the boys quiet (ish) for an hour. There was a bit of a storm last night which had the internet out for a few hours so Chris was happy the connection was strong enough to have a teams video call. The backup plan was to drive 20 mins down the road to a mall. After this, we packed up and hit the road.

First we tried to visit a local dam, but we weren’t allowed past the entrance gate (sorry mam, no). Then we decided to see how far over the Franschhoek pass we could go (we are aware it has been closed for a while) but the checkpoint was just outside of town. By now the rain had set in, so we took the scenic route through to Paarl (but we did get to see the green Franschhoek wine trail train on the way.

Over in Paarl, we went to Mini Ninja. This is an indoor playground made especially for kids 0-7 years old, and so perfect for our boys. We purchased a two hour pass and let them go.

Issac was a little overwhelmed and so didn’t take to the activities so much. But he loves climbing up stairs and there were plenty to climb and so up and up he went (he needed the help getting down).

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Karl got a little more into the activities and so had a good time. There are different obstacle courses, two ball pits, trampolines, an adventure course up high and lots of other ares to explore.

Karl found Issac and I in the ball pit. There was a big screen on the wall which depicted different scenes; zombie, under water, jungle animals, Wild West etc and you threw the balls at the screen to knock the characters out. One round we all got into it as a family and we think we got one of the best scores. But one by one we dropped off, except of the toddler who has endless energy of course!. The same ball pit also had a very big slide (Karl was brave enough to climb this once) and the machine where the balls were blown up into the air. This one kept Karl amused for while so Dan could continue to help Isaac climb the same set of stairs again and again.

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Chris took the kids into the trampoline area and up a longer and more difficult set of stairs (for Issac’s benefit) but it also included tunnels and extra area for Karl to explore. We easily used up 3/4 of our allotted time just exploring all the different parts.

The place was really well set out for kids, so a quick lunch break before our two hours were over. We finished the time in the other ball pit, which also included a big screen with other images to through balls at. We also discovered this screen was a slide, and so had fun going down a couple of times at the very end (you have the most fun right at the very end).

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When we arrived our room was not ready yet, so Karl went to feed the chickens and say hi to the goats again.

Back to our room for another soak in the heated tub before dinner and bed.

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Oh, and by the way, Isaac has learnt to balance standing on two feet over the last couple of days. So very close to walking now (then we will be in real trouble!).

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Chris, Dan, Karl and Issac

This morning we went into Paarl for breakfast and then Dan and the boys attended a local Catholic Sunday service, Although the order of the mass was the same as that in NZ, the songs were very different and there was a lot more music and extra responses.  But Dan is glad she made the effort to go.

Then a quick trip to the local supermarket to gather supplies and then back to the farm.  We spent the rest of the day hanging around the farm.  While Issac has his first decent daytime sleep since leaving home, Dan and Karl wandered around the farm, visiting the playground (and then moving on very quickly as there were wasps everywhere) walking around the man-made lakes to throw stones in and watch others fly fishing, visiting the Rhino statue, and seeing the animals.  The owner came out to greet us and Karl go to feed the chickens and the goats.  He found throwing the chicken food at the chickens hilarious, but was a little afraid to let the goats eat from his hand.  Instead he gathered leaves and branches from the neighbouring trees and fed the to the goats through the fence.

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We again had our soak in the hot tub, but the temperature was too warm today and so we didn’t last long.  Karl was happy enough to jump in when it was much too hot, but after a while his face was all red, and so we thought he had better get out (he was not happy about this!).

While eating a not so nice dinner (Chris’ words) the owner came to our cottage to explain that the internet was out, and that they were working on it.  We asked if they sold ice cream at their local shop (they did not) but they went back up to their house and brought us down some ice blocks instead for the kids.  This was so very kind of them.

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Thats all for today.  This post is a bit later than usual due to internet troubles.

Chris, Dan, Karl and Issac  

We started off this morning slightly later than usual (the kids managed to sleep in until after 6am – thank goodness!) and had breakfast again in the hotel (Chris had another foam face on this coffee). Then a quick pack of the bags and we hit to road heading north west out of Cape Town City.

An interesting view of the clouds falling down off Table mountain on our way north

We reached Franschhoek where we intend to stay for the next couple of days, and dropped off our bags at the ‘Farm’. Then we headed out for lunch. Google maps provided us with a suggested option on a side street off the main road. Driving along the side street we became concerned with the state of the buildings and the people hanging around the street (not an ideal place to be), then google had us turn right into a gated community. We thought we were going to be denied entry, but we weren’t and found a lovely place to have lunch. The staff were very welcoming and there was the big lawn out front for Karl to run around on (in between rain showers). The food was also excellent. It also had an excellent view of a ‘Humma Crane’ which is what Karl is calling cranes on this trip (no idea why!).

Lunch in a gated community, security scanning car, licence mobile number address etc

After lunch, we headed down the road to the Winelands Light Railway, which is a miniature railway train and tracks hand built by a train enthusiast, We managed to time it right with the weather (that had been showers on and off all morning) as we had ok weather the whole time we were there.

The small electric train pulls 6 carriages and everyone from kids to adults can ride. The loop takes about 7 minutes and it goes past animal status, over the bridge, through a tunnel of plants, and through a real tunnel which is long enough that for a moment it is pitch black and you cannot see the end. Both boys really enjoyed the train ride, and we went around 6 times. The builder has really put a lot of work into the trains and tracks, there were even train crossing signs, train signals (complete with tiny ladders for a miniature person to climb to repair).

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The place also included a playground and a sheltered area with lots of kids activities, including colouring, story books, naughts and crosses, toy bikes and the ball pit. We spent some time just chilling out here between train rides. Nearby was also a museum of old trains, cars and tractors to look at. And there were animals all around (chickens and goats and lots of birds).

Our visit to this place was really reasonable and we would definitely come back.

Back to our new hotel, which includes a wood fire hot tub which we spent an hour or so relaxing in. The place we are staying is about 15 minutes away from Franschhoek, right out in the country, so there are no houses around and it is very quiet. We plan to enjoy a few relaxing days here (especially as the weather is set to rain for the next week). Our room includes complementary farm fresh laid eggs, a bottle of wine and snacks. Oh and the possibility of a wild animal or two coming onto the property from the reserve next door.

Bye bye for now now

Chris, Dan, Karl and Isaac