Saturday, June 1, 2024 - Saturday, June 15, 2024
Kruger NP,
International,
South Africa
Much more than an African safari, this trip with internationally recognized educators and guides encompasses wildlife tracking, animal behavior, cultural anthropology, field ecology, and bushcraft (wilderness survival skills). And, of course we will enjoy many walking and vehicle safaris! Explore the varying landscapes, witness the extraordinary light, and immerse yourself in the culture of the South African Bush. We will sleep in comfortable tents or lodges, within fenced bush camps, surrounded by over 50 large mammals and hundreds of bird species. Close to camp, we will hear cackling hyenas, leopard coughs and hippopotamus laughter, and look outside at creatures great and small. We'll see animals such as lions and elephants virtually every day - in fact they are very often right outside our tents! Most of our time will be spent in the Kruger Park Ecosystem. Among our planned activities are a day touring the famed Kruger National Park and a possible visit to an anti-poaching unit whose goal is protection of endangered rhinos. This program begins and ends in the South African metropolis of Johannesburg, but our time will be spent together in the Drakensburg ("Dragon") Mountains, and in the area of the small and busy bush-town of Hoedspruit ("Hat River"), which is on the doorstep of the vast and wild Kruger National Park, an area that encompasses over three million hectares of public and private land, and where animals are free to roam as they wish. Our first night will be at a comfy B&B in Johannesburg, so we can recover from our flight and adjust our body clocks. We meet our guides the next day and begin our adventure by traveling to our first venue, where we spend eight nights near the Makalali Game Reserve. Our second stay will be two nights at a private camp within the Manyeleti Game reserve, and then three nights in the Mount Sheba Nature Reserve. Our daily program will vary depending on wildlife viewing and tracking opportunities in each area. A typical day: We will do at least two major activities each day, such as a morning walk and an afternoon game drive, giving you opportunities to see (and track) some of our charismatic African wildlife! We'll have tracking lessons, discussions on wildlife and African hominid history. We will learn about local tree types, medicinal plants and organisms. At night we may sit around the campfire listening to hyenas laugh or the other night sounds, sharing stories or chatting about the stars overhead. Sometimes, we are awakened in the middle of the night to the sounds of roaring lions or the calls of leopards.
