safari at Kruger park

Night was hopeless. first time I suddenly woke up for noices uitside. Later heard that they were hyeenas and hippos. Trying to sleep again. I was just catching up dream, when heard Edwin waking up and got up and standed on bed...looking for wc... oh jeej... I spring out from bed to put lights on and go back to bed. again eyes hardly closed when hearing weird cracking and tiking noice just next to my ears. iiiiks! catching flashlight and try to find some kind of beest, who could keep that kind of noice. could find anything. fir safety reasons I moved my pillow half meter off from wall. I think that I had slept few minutes, when alarm goes, 4.45. getting up, asking Edwin if he wants to come or stay. yesterday was swering NOT to come. wel, own choise. went to wake up kids and making bags ready. all 7 of us were ready good in time, but no guide. And he wanted to be before other at gate. we waiting and waiting. finally french guy calls to Tim. He alarmed our own Freek Vonk. He arrived. we made a joke how many times he would say sorry, just because yesterday evening he was nothing but excusing himself. I think he had finished few biers before taking us home. wel, it was cooold and we arrived to the gate far too late. took long with papers and that we could entry. He wanted to go straight to hunt lions and panthers, but they were far away. of course we stopped for eliphants, girafs, rare birds, different antiloops and other 4foots. but no sign of leopards or lions yet. pity pity! we really missed morning twilight, when cats are most active. we got brake by lower sabie, near place where leopard had its cave ( we heard that she had a little one at the moment and came out from cave only to get some food). by restaurant there was map where people could put mark where they have spotted big 5 and which day. yesterday was not so much, but this morning was even cheetah, leopard and lions seen manu place. Now I was really disappointed, but didn't want to give up as yet. we had whole afternoon until 4-5 o'clock. last hour would be the best chance. We went back on lion hunting. afternoon was quiet, less animals moving around too. I kept myself busy with making fotos of landscapes and trees. They are also so beatiful. We saw bigger antilopen, which are also quite difficult to see and our Freek was enthusiastic. He was good guide, he tried his best to show us as much as possible, telling lot of stories and habbist of different animals and ecosysteem. we learned a lot. Afternoon Evelina started to get tired, but try not to ask every 5 minutes how long time it takes still.... she couldn't understand all, so for her it was more boring few hours... until we arriving a place where we see looot of cars. Let it be lions, let it be lions, our guide was praying. andd it was! and a policepatron, who controlled that people didn't come half out of the cars to take fotos. we got complain too. uuups! sorryyy!!! But we saw lions, 4 of them and I got fotos. yes yes yes. they were really lying lazy in the grass, walki ng few meters and plonts in back into the grass. too hot, too early for them to wake. we saw only females, but it was beter than nothing of course. we heading back to poorts, I'm taking some fotos still, because now light was perfect. I was content! we saw 4 of big 5, 4 of big 6 big birds and so much more. one of my favorite was absolutely giraf. So broud and shy! list of animals we saw: lion, african civet, african wild cat, large-spotted genet, african wild dog, hyeena, hippo, chacma baboon, vervet monkey, white rhinoceros, african elifant, giraffe, warthog, burchell's zebra, greater kudu, african buffalo, nyala, waterbuck, blue wildbeest, bushbuck, impala, sharpe's grysbok, scrub hare, southern tree agama, drarf gecko, striped skink, crocodile, and hinged terrapin and the all the birds on top.