Day 262 - 268

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RSA 19th - 25th August 2007, South Africa

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Day 262 19/8. Malelane Golf Club campsite, Malelane, South Africa
25°27.96'S 31°32.52'E. Miles today 252, Total Miles 25173
Just have to leave today before we explode from all this lovely food. Off to the Kruger National Park in search of the elusive leopard. Turns out the accommodation in the park was choc-a-block, so we had to camp just outside the Malalane Gate at the golf club. (€5pp) Not the most glamorous of places but since when did we become fussy? It'll do for the night.
Day 263 20/8. Serangita Trout Farm, Hazyview, South Africa
25°02.67'S 31°06.50'E. Miles today 117, Total Miles 25290
Up at sparrows fart again and into the park. Spotted loads of game, including cheetah and rhino. Still no space in the park for accommodation so had to camp outside the Paul Kruger gate at the Sarangita Trout Farm. (€5pp) Cool little place with nice bathrooms. buffalo
bird rihno cheetah
Day 264 21/8. Andover Nature Reserve, 25km W of Kruger NP Orpen Gate, South Africa
17°52.32'S 37°07.33'E. Miles today 175, Total Miles 2546
oh god more tourists hornbill birdMan, this leopard hunting stuff is exhausting. Up early again and spotted heaps of lions and rhinos and other cool game. Sadly, still no blinking leopard. Photographer is in a huff! Park still full (lesson learnt here….book camps way in advance) so camped at Andover Nature Reserve just west of the Orpen gate. (€4.50pp) Fairly quiet, basic place with a water problem but they looked after us well and gave us a bungalow to use the shower and loo.
Day 265 22/8. Lantana Lodge, Phalaborwa, South Africa
23°56.76'S 31°08.09'E. Miles today 152, Total 25617
jackall zebraLast day in Kruger. More fantastic game. Have given up on the leopard hunt. Just not meant to be, I guess. There goes the million dollar photo opportunity. Bye bye fame and glory, luxury house in the Cotswolds, double eye level oven…… Camped at the Latana Lodge just outside the Phalaborwa gate. (€5pp) Nice place, quite busy
Day 266 23/8. Pilgrims Rest Campsite, Pilgrims Rest, South Africa
24°54.14'S 30°44.91'E. Miles today 136, Total 25753
Long drive south to the old mining town of Pilgrims Rest. Really picturesque little town but at the same time, very touristy. I'm talking busloads of scary Americans here. Had a delicious lunch at the pancake café and wondered around their old shops, doubling as museums. Very cool! Camped for the night at the vast town campsite. Seriously massive place and very quiet. (oops, can't remember the price…reasonable, I guess?)
Day 267 24/8. Twana Lodge, Pretoria, South Africa
25°48.51'S 28°23.28'E. Miles today 242, Total 25995
Drove back to Pretoria and back to the Twana Lodge. Whoa, it's only been a week but geesh, that Great Dane has grown already. Rob took advantage of their full on site workshop and did a last oil change. I opted for something slightly cleaner by surfing the net on their speedy internet. Man, it's cold at night here! Just where did we pack those thermals?
Day 268 25/8. Capsite, Riverton (30km NW of Kimberly), South Africa
28°30.96'S 24°41.98'E. Miles today 348, Total 26343
Time to move on and Kimberely was our next stop. Arrived too late to visit the "Hole" but we had a waypoint of a camping spot next to it. Turned out to be nothing more than an open space, which doubles as a carpark. It didn't appear to be the safest spot to set up camp, so we drove 20km back out of town and stayed at the Riverton Campsite. Cheap and nasty.
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