Just north of the Swaziland border are several banana plantations. There are large sugar cane fields on both sides of the border.

We picked up Jonathan about 6:15 and made it to Mananga (Border Gate) about 7:30.  The roads in the north part of Swaziland are like superhighways compared to the bone-jarring gravel roads that we traveled less than 30 years ago.  The speed limit is some places is 120kph (75mph).  There are pedestrian congested areas that the speed limit is reduced to 60kph (37mph) with speed bumps for which one needs to slow to a crawl to avoid damaging the car’s suspension.  Sometimes these are well marked, but not always!

We reached Crocodile Bridge before 9am where we entered Kruger Park for a two day stay.  Here are photos of a few of the animals that we saw:

Shortly after entering Kruger Park we saw this elephant.

Can you find the second rhino in this photo?

One of about eight elephants in this group

On this cloudy, cool day, most of the hippo were out of the water.

One of two small crocodiles on this sand bar. We saw larger ones at a distance.

This is the closet photo the we got of a hippo.

A blue-eared glossy starling picking up crumbs (not ours!) at the Lower Sabie Camp picnic area.

A simple, neat way to keep baboons, and other animals out of the garbage. The pipe is slotted to keep it from swinging out of the way until it is lifted about two feet.

Hippos and crocodiles together. One of the crocodiles is on the move.

More Hippos

Baboon on roof at Nkuhlu Get-out point — one of the few places, apart from camps, where you can get out of the car.

Bushbuck

Warthog

Giraffe

Giraffe

There were over 100 buffalo in this herd.

This is the closest I have ever been to one of these buffalo. They are so huge that they can chase off lions.  Buffalo are responsible for the death of many people throughout Africa.

After a stop for a picnic lunch at Lower Sabie Camp, and a break at Nkuhlu Get-out, we arrived at Skukuza Camp about 4pm, where we checked into our bungalow.  We then went on an hour drive along the Sabie River, where we happened to pass through a herd of over a hundred buffalo.  In the past, we have only seen a few in the distance, but these were close up and they are huge and look dangerous!