Travels Through Life
22 January 2019 | Kruger Game Park
Hippos and Elephants in Kruger
Tuesday 15 January 2019
A surprisingly quick seeming flight to Atlanta and then on to Johannesburg, a fair bit of it asleep. Met Ocean Cruising Club couple for dinner at hotel upon arrival and didn't feel like total dog squeeze. That night not bad sleep on back of clock (10 hour difference) until taking taxi to bus station downtown Johannesburg yesterday morning. No reasonable way to get half ton of accumulated purchases (slight hyperbole) on South African Airways, so arranged to take the dog, first time on a Greyhound in about 50 years. Ten hours, not awful. However, nobody should sit down this much - about thirty six hours last two days.
Airbnb is providing us a reasonably priced room beside Tuzi Gazi Marina and across canal from the yard, walking distance from good restaurants and the boat. Good to be back near home, lame though she may be, and it's warm. Speaking of lame and walking, left knee began hurting and continued to get worse. Going to orthopod in the morning for a look.
Wednesday
Particularly enraptured to report that at some time in the future Anthem may be equipped with all cyborg crew. Glancing at X-rays, doctor said left knee was beyond help and should be whacked off and replaced. Any hope he's just trying to drum up business is probably faint. Distance into future of such whacking to be determined by second opinion and how good are the anti-inflammatory drugs. As walking is often beneficial for several reasons, almost necessary at times and can even be enjoyable wouldn't be surprised to sport new hardware before end of year.
Tuesday
Going stir crazy in the apartment, unable to do any work on boat, decided to drive up to Kruger Game Park. Two nights with a day in the park. Although on drive through we saw scores of hundreds of impala and other cat food including zebra, wildebeest and warthogs, dozens of elephants, giraffe and hippos, several types of monkeys and baboons and multitudinous birds of all types, didn't see any cats or rhinos. Mild disappointment was assuaged, however, after returning to the lodge while waiting on braai coals to burn down, a pride of 17 lions trooped past to lay down for the evening across the river, a parade of elephants came up just below our fence and a couple of rhinos walked down the far hill to the water. This morning a bull elephant strolled past and a herd of more than a hundred impala spread out across the adjacent hillside to a get drink along with an apparently bewildered wildebeest who couldn't seem to figure out where to go or why he was there. Perhaps he just wanted to mingle with pretty animals and pretend he's not butt ugly. A bit surprised they walked right across where the lions had camped out until about 0500. This trip was well worth the seven and a half hour drive up from Richard's Bay, but hey, he kvetched, what about cheetahs, hyenas and wild dogs? If we ever experienced it all there wouldn't be any need to keep searching now would there?
Jack & Jan