I'm in Durban, the second largest city in South Africa. I've recently ridden two of the toughest cycling days I can remember. Pedaling into Hazyview totaled 111 miles with 8800ft of elevation gain. The route was longer and hillier than planned because the scheduled route had bridges destroyed by recent flooding. The second day out of Hazyview, into Swaziland, was 106 miles with 8850ft of elevation gain over two passes, the second of which I called "No Shade Pass."
In between, we had a few days in Hazyview. At 5am, Saturday, February 19th (my sister's birthday), two ten passenger jeeps left for Kruger National Park. Almost everybody else had signed up for safaris long before getting to Hazyview, usually for more days and definitely for a lot more money (at $52 we were at least $30 cheaper than other one-dayers and 1/3 of the overnighters). The twelve of us were driven 1-1/2 hours to the nearest unflooded entrance to the park. It's a HUGE park hundreds of kilometers long.
Immediately inside the park we saw lots of zebras, wildebeest and
impalas. Thanks to the radio communication many others didn't have, we headed straight (except when we were delayed by a troup of baboons crossing the road) to where some lions were seen. Three were lying on or near the road. The road is dryer and, being kitty cats, they hate wet. We watched these tremendously powerful beasts stretch, yawn and groom themselves. The nearest one being twenty feet from my side of the open jeep. I took a roll of photos. Our guide/river told us of two Taiwanese tourist couples. The husbands got out so the wives could take their pictures with the lions. The lions killed them. We were very quiet and tried not to make eye contact with an animal that could break your neck with a swipe of its massive paw.
Before breakfast we saw giraffe, elephants (one with a bent ear), a
dung beetle rolling a ball of elephant dung, a LOT more impalas, and lots of incredible birds. My favorite was the translucent cobalt blue Lilac Crested Roller.
After breakfast, we went looking for rhino. We saw a lot more birds, including eagles, purple headed grouse, ugly vultures, and the colorful Carmine Bee Catcher. We also saw more impalas. Impalas love the road because it's easier to run there than thru the long grass and bush. In full flight an impala could clear the two-lane road. With many impala herds we saw more zebras and wildebeests, but no rhinos.
After lunch we saw more birds, impalas, zebras, a couple of wort hogs, jackals, a one tusk elephant, and more giraffes (especially tall ones in the distance which is far more impressive than seeing them in any zoo). As we were heading for the park exit, we got the radio call - rhinos. We were able to get to the dirt side road where we could watch three massive grass eating "white" rhinos munch away totally oblivious to our existence.
At the park store there is a sign:
Every morning in Africa, an impala
wakes up & knows she has to run
faster than the lion or die.
Every morning in Africa, a lion
wakes up & knows he has to run
faster than an impala or starve.
In fact, no matter who you are,
in the morning in Africa,
you better start running.
On Odyssey, you better start riding. Half the "riders" aren't riding. A lot are taking buses to towns days down the road and doing "whatever" until Odyssey catches up. They are going to have a hard time riding when/if they decide to rejoin the ride. Their legs won't have the mileage.
They weren't with us the day we pedaled to the Indian Ocean. OK, it
looks like any other ocean, but there's something wonderfully symbolic
about getting your feet wet in the INDIAN OCEAN. It's not something I thought I'd do.
Happy Trails,
Bruce