The first Game Reserve we visited was the Kruger National Park, but stopping en route at Blydepoort a holiday resort for a couple of days in order to visit Pilgrim's Rest and other sites of interest (Burke's Luck, God's Window)

Pilgrim's Rest, now a Museum Settlement, was originally a mining area worked by migrants from Cornwall and South Wales. Their working conditions could not have been so much different from those that they had left behind, the ages on the tombstones in the Cemetery being in the early twenties.

Our first stop in the Kruger was Oliphant's Lodge, self-catering and reasonably cheap. Being in a small car we were obliged to stick to the tarred roads and traveling at night was forbidden. The Chalets (rondavals) are modeled on Tribal Dwellings. The Kruger is malarial so we used plenty of Insect repellent.

Although we had no evening drives the view from the Lodge adequately made up for that as below various animals visited the river below.

Each morning we moved on to the next Game Lodge before having breakfast and were fortunate to encounter plenty of Game including a Pride of Lions and a pair of Cheetahs. Traveling at very low speeds was essential (seeing a Jackal in the rear view mirror led us to the Cheetahs) the only one of the Big Five we did not see was a Leopard (still looking!!)

Then after three days back to Johannesburg having been indoctrinated to a love of the Wild Life etc. and yet to have more enjoyable as Guests at a reserve sited in the Kruger.

Ingwelala Game Reserve.

My nephew Mike's in Laws had invested in a Rondaval (Chalet) in a share owned Game Reserve (Ingwelala-- Leopard sleeping). We were able to rent the Rondaval next door and shared the facilities with them. There was water but no electricity laid on and the kitchen was outdoors. Fine mesh ventilation with insect repellent worked well. Our meals were outdoors, in the evenings a Braai (B.B.Q) Breakfast was cooked on a mushroom shaped B.B.Q called a scottle braai. The Braai in the evenings was a concrete surface on which logs were burnt, Mike always made a bread using beer and other ingredients. These were baked in the middle of the fire in an iron pot. We illuminated with oil lamps.