Safari in Kruger National Park

Okay, my title may be a little misleading, BUT at least half of this post will be about Kruger, The OTHER half will be about our experience at Bongani Mountain Lodge ( which is just outside the national park .)

A little about Bongani.
Bongani sits in its own game reserve. Staying here you will receive included in your booking price three meals a day, two safaris, wifi and a good time!
( you can find more information about Bongani Here

Arrival.
After a domestic flight from Johannesburg we landed at Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport ( Nelspruit). This is at the south of the national park and on a map close to Eswatini ( Swaziland). It was around an hours drive to the bottom of the hill and the entrance to the hotel. We then swapped vehicles and took the ride up the the world’s bumpiest hill in a safari truck. ( we did this in the pitch black and the whole way up I thought a leopard was going to jump onto us out of the darkness… Thankfully this was not the case) . We arrived in time for our buffet dinner. Seeing that bottles of wine started from £12 we thought it best go get one of those too.

An early wake up call.

Safari, I tell you, is not a lazy man’s activity.
It also isn’t ideal for any woman, man or child that is more night owl than morning cockerel.

Our morning started with an alarm, half a cup of coffee and a bumpy ride down the hill, out into the reserve. We were first met by a family of zebras, closely followed by buffalo and of course impala ( which might I add, makes a very nice stew.) During our morning drive we had yet more coffee and some biscuits before returning back to the lodge to find that breakfast was being set up. (Simple but delightful, I can’t complain about the food here )
We spent the afternoon around the pool with a few drinks, and yes..a very needed nap! Oh and lunch!!!

Our evening safari was spent chasing lions , literally over to the back of back and beyond,
stopping on our way back to have a glass of wine each poured out of flask.

HERE IS SOME ADVICE

Never sit at the back of a safari truck. You will literally almost get thrown out.

At Bongani, they advise that you don’t walk by yourself around the complex in the dark ( is this a bit scary.. um yes) Dinner was a buffet ( all meals here are. )

The Next Day

If yesterday was early, then today might as well have been the day before. 3am starts will never be the one for me. Most of the journey to Kruger was in the dark and I was beyond freezing (despite been given all sorts of blankets). When we finally arrived our guide had to register us and we were able to enter.
For the first portion of the day, I am not gonna lie. I was 100% asleep. ( although I did wake up every time we stopped to see an animal.)

The main highlight of day funnily enough also revolved around lions. We were lucky enough to witness a lioness and her cubs feeding. Apparently this is a rarity and something which our guide had not seen before ( or maybe this is just something they say to please the tourists.. who knows.) Either way it was incredible to see three cubs bound down the road after their mother to eat their lunch.

After returning to Bongani we relaxed by the pool, got organised for our next day departure and got ready for our Boma Dinner, something which is also included by the lodge. I can best describe a Boma like an outdoor BBQ with singing, dancing and fire, although you can probably find a better explanation on google! Either way it was a perfect send off for our time in big 5 land.

For a more dynamic story telling of our time at Bongani