On the way from Pretoria to Mozambique, we stopped first at Witbank, now Emalahleni (Boat & Caravan Club at the dam), then near the Sudwala caves which we visited the next morning (very nice Mankele Campsite). After our visit to the caves, we passed White River, where we found a car museum and finally we reached the Kruger Park. We had booked Pretoriuskop Camp for the first night ( which has a fantastic pool!) and Crocodile Bridge Camp on the other end, so that we could spend a day meandering through the park.
Despite the heat, we managed to spot a lot of animals, especially all the elephants were gathered along the Sabie river. Many other animals were using every available shade to avoid the hot sun.
The elephants really enjoyed to be in the water during these hot days. We watched them submerging themselves completely in the river, with just the trunk tip above the surface, or just playing around with their mates.
Before we reached the Kurger NP, the Sudwala Caves were a good place to get out of the heat, as the temperature was only about 20 degrees inside the cave.
Sudwala caves are set in Precambrian dolomite rock, which was first laid down about 2800 million years ago. The caves themselves formed about 240 million years ago. This makes them one of the oldest caves in the world.
There are many stalagmites and stalactites and also flowstone formations, some have been dated to 200 million years old.
On the way to the Kruger NP, our last stop was at White River, where we visited the Casterbridge Lifestyle Centre, a cluster of lovely shops and restaurant, but also a car and motorcycle museum!
After spending our last night at Crocodile Bridge Camp inside Kruger NP, we will quickly reach the border and Mozambique! More soon!!