The Western Cape was very comfortable for us. It was very cosmopolitan
and tolerant, everyone spoke English, the terrain resembles the
Arizona/Southern California area, and the visitor services were
similar to (but better than) those that we have here in the US. Unlike
more exotic places that we have been to in the past, there was little
adjustment to be made. We just enjoyed it.

But it would be a shame to leave Africa without seeing something a bit
more exotic -- something from the Africa of legend; something really
different. Mpumalanga had all that. So we started taking our malaria
prevention pills, grabbed our rented VodaCom phone (which worked
everywhere), and off we flew to the old eastern Transvaal, Afrikaner
culture, serious bush country, and lots of big dangerous wild animals.

The summer rainy season had started up there and flooding was on the
news the day we left. The mosquitos were breeding and the first
reports of malaria were streaming in. The bushveld which had been
drought-stricken and barren of grass just a few weeks earlier was
suddenly coming to life in a carpet of green. Trees were leafing.

The rains would make animals harder to spot. We also learned that when
there is plenty of water around game animals don't congregate at the
waterholes and are more dispersed. That also means that the big cats
who prey on them can't be easily found at those same waterholes.

Also, it seems that the cats don't like to get their feet wet, and so
aren't so active in rainy weather. Plus we would be there during a
full moon period, and predatory animals are more easily spotted by the
prey during full moons, so stay hidden. Good thing that seeing lions
killing a pretty impala wasn't one of our goals on this trip (my wife
was quite relieved). And predictably we didn't see any big cats.

The dirt roads in Kruger were closed due to mud, and five days simply
wasn't enough to tour a park the size of Massachusetts. So rather than
rent a car and try to do Kruger National Park on our own, we opted to
place ourselves in a lodge and relay on a guide to show us the
terrain. That turned out to be a wise decision because with a guide we
were able to be taken to the most interesting places by a local
expert. It was more expensive, but very cost effective considering the
limited time we had. It turned out to be well worth the cost.

We would also be very close to other countries -- Mozambique and
Swaziland, but didn't know if we could go to those places and re-enter
South Africa on our single-entry temporary residence permits. So it
was an adventure in many ways.

On to Nelspruit and KMIA.