Kruger National Park

I came to South Africa with a mission to fall in love with life all over again. I want to reconnect with myself and nature, visit my good friends, just take a long break from work and computer, celebrate life and my birthday. Obviously I've been dreaming about South Africa since my Disney days years ago, still find it hard to believe I made it to Kruger National Park - Sabi Sands - Durban and Cape Town...the best two weeks in my life! Overall, my birthday trip this year has been beyond perfect, way beyond my imagination. I left South Africa with such a heavy heart, but all the memory still remain fresh on my mind so let me share pictures and stories with you all, hoping the pictures will inspire you to go one day if you have a chance.

I landed on Friday afternoon in Mpumalanga airport. After more than 18 hours flying, it was quite the journey to get to Sabie Bush River Lodge but totally worth it. My driver picked me up and we drove about an hour to the lodge. Sabie Bush River Lodge located about 20 minutes away from Kruger National Park. Not only the rooms are pretty and clean, excellent service, friendly staff and they offer affordable shuttle ( USD 70 per one way from airport ) and one day safari starting at 5.30 am until 3 pm for USD 100 per person but also...oh can we talk about the food please? It's sooo good! I had grilled impala on my first night and more braai ( bbq ) for the next two days. But honestly nothing beats waking up early only to search for the big five! Except I wasn't prepared at all for the cold in the morning, but back on the road and take pictures again are sort of good therapy I need. We saw giraffes, buffalos, elephants, rhino, impalas, warthog, and zebra on the first day safari. Again, it was surreal to be in Kruger National Park, driving for hours with our ranger without radio and basically no expectation at all, but just enjoying the park, the warm sun and winter weather. Okay maybe pretending like I was in Lion King movie

If you're planning to visit South Africa and maybe want to do safari, the options out there can be extremely overwhelming. Is it expensive? Well, there are many options. After some researches, I found Sabie Bush River Lodge, located pretty close to Kruger National Park and the room rates aren't bad. USD 50 including breakfast and dinner, the lodge also has swimming pool and beautiful garden overlooking White River which sometimes you can spot bunch of hippos swimming. And they also have their own safari trucks with 3 different kind of safaris you can do: morning safari start at 5.30 til 12pm, the one day safari start at 5.30 am til 3 pm, or sunset safari which starts at 3.30 pm.

I spent about 3 days 2 nights with Sabie River Bush Lodge then continue my journey to Sabie Sands Private Game, staying at Elephant Plains Game Lodge. Stay tuned for my next post about game drive experience at Sabie Sands....