on the border with Mozambique remains in a pristine state. It had never been settled by the colonizing Dutch, Boer or English because of the deadly tsetse fly – now thankfully eradicated – so the landscape looks as it has for millennia.Today, the park is the place to go to spot the “big five” – Elephant, Buffalo, Rhinoceros, Lion and Leopard – and hundreds of other animals and birds, but to do it in comfort.
The park’s accessibility, only a 4 or 5 hour drive from Johannesburg, gives South Africans a nearby opportunity to connect with the land from the comfort of their own vehicles. Most of the main roads are paved, and even the dirt side roads are graded on a regular basis. So we share the roads with families in Audis, Toyotas, Volkswagens and BMWs.
We are spending 5 days here, moving from Satara Camp to Skukuza Camp and finally to Lower Sabie Camp. Our accommodations are rustic compared to the “Private Reserves” that many well-heeled tourists stay in, but are downright luxurious compared to accommodations in our own Provincial Parks. Each 
party is assigned a Rondevaal, a round brick bungalow with a steep, conical thatched roof. Inside, the living space has twin beds, a ceiling fan and air conditioner – welcome relief from the 40 degree mid-day high – and an en-suite bathroom. On the porch is a little kitchen with a sink, 2-burner hotplate and fridge, and a cupboard equipped with 2 of every type of plate, cup or glass you could want as well as a small slat table and two chairs.
party is assigned a Rondevaal, a round brick bungalow with a steep, conical thatched roof. Inside, the living space has twin beds, a ceiling fan and air conditioner – welcome relief from the 40 degree mid-day high – and an en-suite bathroom. On the porch is a little kitchen with a sink, 2-burner hotplate and fridge, and a cupboard equipped with 2 of every type of plate, cup or glass you could want as well as a small slat table and two chairs.Most importantly, there is a ‘brei stand’ in front of each rondevaal – a shallow waist-high pan with rotating grill on which our South African neighbours burn firewood down to red-hot coals and barbeque their evening meals. After the sun sets at 6:30 and the gates in the encircling fences are closed, the 25 brei-stands in front of the 25 bungalows in our circle are virtually all alight and leaping with flame, and an hour later, 25 couples sit at the 25 identical tables on 25 identical, dimly lit porches around the circle and eat their evening meal while discussing the game they had spotted that day.
And the game is there to be spotted! On our 4-hour slow drive today from 
Satara to Skukuza, we spotted all of the ‘big five’: NB all photos by Francisco Juarez.
1. a massive Square-lipped (or ‘White’) Rhino squatting in the shade of a thorn-tree while a herd of Impala meandered by in the fore-ground,
Satara to Skukuza, we spotted all of the ‘big five’: NB all photos by Francisco Juarez.1. a massive Square-lipped (or ‘White’) Rhino squatting in the shade of a thorn-tree while a herd of Impala meandered by in the fore-ground,
2. a Hippopotamus lolling in a small river rolled over on his back and waved all 
four legs in the air, pink belly exposed (our experienced guide had NEVER seen that before),
four legs in the air, pink belly exposed (our experienced guide had NEVER seen that before),3. two male lions resting in a grove of trees by the side of the road, panting and grooming their paws,
4. a leopard, very difficult to spot, stretched out in the crook of a Sausage Tree, tail twitching, occasionally glancing over his shoulder to see what we were up to on the road, and of course,
5. elephants in the bushes, elephants on the roadside, elephants at the waterhole, elephants tearing down trees.
While spotting all of the big 5 is a badge of honour, we had a great deal of fun watching:
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a road-side mother giraffe orchestrate the stately withdrawal of her yearling and 2-year old babies,
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a road-side mother giraffe orchestrate the stately withdrawal of her yearling and 2-year old babies, = waterbuck tentatively stepping into the knee deep mud by the side of a river to drink as massive Nile Crocodiles floated on the surface only a few meters away,
= huge Ground Hornbills, a meter in height, wandering onto 
the road, with brilliant red neck pouches, their glossy black feathers fluffed to admit a cooling breeze,
the road, with brilliant red neck pouches, their glossy black feathers fluffed to admit a cooling breeze,= A tiny adolescent Steenbok, usually skittish, standing calmly under a thousand year old Baobab tree and posing for a wonderful shot, and
= Endless herds of sleek Impalas (or as our guide Steven calls them “Nafi”s – Not another F’ing Impala) everywhere.
And we see all of this, dressed in sandals, t-shirts and shorts, sitting in the Africa Outing touring van, with Steven, our Mel Gibson doppelganger guide at the wheel, me in the front seat, camera and binoculars at the ready, and Francisco in the back seat, sliding from side to side to take shots every time we spot an animal and stop. And with his 18 times zoom, his shots are amazing. So good, that I generally leave my little 10x zoom in the case and simply watch.
As I write this at 4pm and it is a bright hot 40 degrees. I’m seated at the table on the porch of our Skukuza rondevaal, watching a dragonfly float by on the warm breeze coming off the Sabie River. Fran is taking a nap (of course), Steven, his duties completed for the day, has discretely slipped away, and I’m looking forward to a dip in the swimming pool before the other visitors return from their afternoon drives and the camp gates are locked for the evening.
