(c) Cynically Jaded
Scenes from the Kruger National Park in 1997. Scanned in from prints captured by my very old 35mm point-and-shoot camera. We wandered too far into the park and ended up being about 80km (50 miles) away from the main gate when it was close to sunset. In our rush to exit the park, we came across a pack of hyena that literally brushed past the side of the car. Their glowing eyes at night was enough to scare the crap out of you, especially knowing that they were completely wild and not raised in captivity either.
As we drove further on, I braked sharply at the sight of a massive towering shadow in front of me. There were no streetlights, so all I saw was this movement of huge proportions crossing the road. I soon realised it was an elephant bull followed by a calf. I had to crane my neck to see the top of it. By far the biggest animal I’ve ever seen in the wild. We eventually made it in one piece to the gate, and after a brief search of our vehicle, we were allowed to leave the park.
If you haven’t been to or heard of the Kruger National Park, to put it into context, it’s size is big enough for the whole of the UK to fit in it, with room to spare. It’s huge, untamed, and beautiful. It’s one of the biggest eco-tourism attractions in the world. On this same visit, we saw lions, giraffes, monkeys, numerous species of buck, zebras, hyenas, snakes, tortoises, wildebeest, crocodiles, hippos, and so much more. The best part is that we saw it in their natural habitat, not behind a caged enclosure in a zoo. We drove at slow speeds for almost 10 hours through the park to find these beautiful animals.