A MAGICAL PLACE CALLED KRUGER.: KRUGER NATIONAL PARK OR A CIRCUS?

The arrival doors at OR Tambo International airport finally opens & as hundreds of people rush trough; you start the guessing game trying to spot the family you are waiting for before they notice your printed sign with their names on it. Two twin boys are running towards me and I feel like a ice-cream salesman on the Durban beach during the school holidays.

Followed by their parents who clearly did not get much sleep on the 16 hour flight because of the two little terrorists they are travelling with. “Sir when are we going to see the elephants” are one of the first questions before I get to introduce myself. As I explain that they will have to wait till we get to Kruger National Park, I’m interrupted by my little friends telling me that Discovery channel showed that SouthAfrica has elephants! Eventually the dad takes control and we depart on our 5hour journey to paradise.

As we past the town of Middelburg we find a circus camping outside the city & the circus elephants are walking outside. The two boys immediately look at each other and ask if we are now in Kruger and the dad burst out in laughter. After what felt like 24hours travelling with the Minions of Despicable Me1, 2 and 3 we reach our destination. As we wait in line to enter they spot their first warthog and ask why Pumba is angry at Timon because they can not see him anywhere! It is at this stage that I realise that the peaceful atmosphere one can only experience in Kruger Park might change forever after these two enter the gates!

After a long day travelling we settle down in our camp for the night.
It is quiet in camp tonight like any other night in this magical place called Kruger National Park and our guests are enjoying the warmth of our camp fire as the temperature in July in South Africa is a lot lower compared to their home town in Texas at this time of year.

The two 6year old terrorists are kept busy by melting marshmallows in the flames. Earlier their mom excused herself from the fire and walked in to their chalet like a alcoholic on pay day comming from the local pub.

I was a bit surprized that one glass of wine had that immediate effect on somebody but did not want to bring this up in the conversation as her husband looked very embarrassed. Almost like a Springbok rugby supporter after the lost against Japan, so I tried my best to focus on our great lion and leopard sightings during the day.

After some time the husband excuse himself to check on his wife. He returns with a huge smile on his face that reminds me of our Mr. Zuma when pronouncing numbers during a public speech. He shows me the two bottles of tablets. One containing their malaria tablets taken every day on their tour and the other similar looking container filled with tranquilisers for the husband as he suffers from a fear of flying. That is when we realise in the dark, by mistake, his wife has taken the wrong tablets.

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