An early morning bush drive

Early morning game drive

When invited on an early morning hike in a nature reserve, it's wise to anticipate it being icy cold on the back of an open LandCruiser. :) Our hike in the Balule Nature Reserve (as I mentioned previously, part of the Greater Kruger Park) started off with an icy drive to the starting point. The air was cold, crisp and the kind that makes your nose feel a little wet and ears a little numb... it was the kind of cold that makes you feel alive - it was awesome!

After the short drive we arrived at a spot somewhere in the middle of the bush. Mark, our guide in the photo, grabbed his huge-calibre rifle (just in case), explained the rules of the bush to us, and all in tow we headed out on our four-hour bush walk. We spent the morning looking at plants, insects and small animals - learning how the ecology works together to join the larger animals in the great circle of life.

We learned the most amazing things about the thorny Acacia bush, the nasty-tasting Millipede, the shy Baboon Spider and industrious Termites. If you have the opportunity to take a walk with someone who knows the bush well - grab it. After the experience you'll be in awe of a part of the ecology that many have no idea exists.

Click here to see a few more photos that I took on the our morning bush walk while on our Cape to Kruger adventure.

4 thoughts on “An early morning bush drive

  1. Caroline

    Hope you saw some interesting things on your drive. You are in my most favourite place in all the world! Enjoy it.

  2. Eleonora

    Oh, my. You actually got OUT of the jeep?
    See any wildlife? Giraffes? I love giraffes.

    I shouldn’t come here this often, it makes my heart ache for Cape Town, Africa, that sky and the smell of the red dirt…

  3. Paul

    Post author

    Caroline, indeed we did! :)

    Firefly, does Port Elizabeth have places (close by) where you could go on game drives?

    Elorana, I’m glad that CTDP is having the desired effect on you. ;) Yes, we got out of the 4×4 – it’s safe (enough) as long as the guide has his huge-calibre rifle at his side. Yes yes, of course we saw a lot of wildlife! Plenty of giraffes! I’ll post them in my next article. :)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *