Blyde River Canyon Natural Reserve - South Africa - November 2021

We're on our way to Johannesburg after leaving Kruger National Park. It's about a half day bus ride. We made a stop at Blyde River Canyon Natural Reserve in Eastern Mpumalanga. The reserve protects the Blyde River Canyon, including sections of geological formation around Bourke's Luck Potholes where the Treur River merges into the Blyde. 

Bourke's Luck Potholes entrance.

On the pedestrian bridge with another pedestrian bridge in the background

Pedestrian bridges connect various overlooks of the potholes and the gorge downstream

A beautiful lizzard.

Potholes and plunge pools of the Treur River

God's Window, a popular vantage point, in the background

A southward view from God's Window 

God's Window in the background

We stopped for lunch at Dullstrom, a charming village nestled in the Mpumalanga Highlands. It's the highest village in South Africa with altitude of 2,100m above sea level and a popular destination for trout fishing and outdoor activities. 

A fruit stand in Dullstrom

A main road in Dullstrom

Our restaurant for lunch

Group lunch

Kruger National Park - South Africa - November 2021

 The long day of our luxury African safari adventure came to an end. Our Big 5 safari game drives in Hluluwe Game Reserve and Kruger National Park were fun and great success. Besides the Big Five, we were pleased to see many other magnificent wildlife in their nature habitats.  

Blue ball monkey

Mycteria ibis (yellow-billed stork)

Crocodiles by the water's edge/riverbank 

in the lake

Crocodiles found in Kruger National Park is the largest species of crocodile in Africa and the second-largest in the world. Only the salt water crocodile is bigger

More elephants

Giraffe crossing

Back to the hotel, I took a leisure walk to the Kruger Gate. On the way back, I stopped at a street vendor to buy a few tourist souvenirs before getting ready for dinner at the hotel. The buffet dinner was a fun get-together with our group. We were outdoors under the clear beautiful night with firepit nearby and various stations for food, just like the evening before. Then came an intense rainstorm with fierce thunder and lightning that lasted for a long time. We took refuge inside the restaurant to finish our dinner.  We were lucky and grateful that the rainstorm had waited until the evening so that we had a dry, beautiful day in Kruger National Park. 

In the hotel ground

Time to say goodbye to Protea Hotel at Kruger Gate. We had a very nice stay!

Kruger National Park - South Africa - November 2021

 We started a new day with a bus ride from Hluluwe to our hotel. For the next two days, we stayed at the Protea Hotel, just outside Kruger National Park Gate. It was a pleasant day to relax and enjoy the scenery from the comfortable bus. A stop for lunch in  Eastvaal District Council made me happy. I finally had a taste of "bunny chow", a popular street food of South Africa that I was looking for since arriving in Durban. 

The bakery that sells "bunny chow"

Bunny chow for lunch - A soft loaf of bread stuffed with curried beef

Our hotel at Kruger (National Park) Gate

The Marriott Protea Hotel is a very nice hotel with excellent accommodations and delicious BBQ/buffet dinner. The safari jeeps picked us up early the next morning from the hotel. It was another wonderful day game driving through this famous park. We hoped to see all of the Big Five, especially the lions and leopards.  Our guide and park ranger, Lawrence thought it's a high probability to see lions and leopards here. We will see!. 

         

Entrance Gate 

Statue of Paul Kruger at Kruger Gate

Our safari jeep

African wild dog.
Per Lawrence, our guide, when we spotted the wild dog shortly getting in the park, it will be our lucky day. Fingers crossed that he is right and we might see the lions and/or leopards which are difficult to see. 

A relaxing leopard, a rare find in the park. We're very lucky to spot one. 

There are two leopards! 

Cape buffaloes

A tower of giraffes from distance.

A herd of hippos on land, another rare find.

Impala and Greater Kudu.

Male impala

A kudu with only one horn.

This Lion made our sighting of  all the Big Five of South Africa complete!

 Lion and friend.

A lion cub

Mama lion watching her cub from a close distance.

Later in the afternoon, we followed a lion walking from the bush toward a big tree for a "siesta".

Lion checking out a place for his nap

Afternoon siesta.