On we go, two more NP’s

The weather was cold and rainy, and we had to wait at Bushbaby Lodge for a very grey and wet day to pass. The next morning it wasn’t much better but we had enough of being stuck and continued our way to Mkhuze NP. The park was beautiful with new bird hides, overlooking mostly smaller or bigger lakes. During the rain, the animals seemed to hide and we saw mostly Nyalas, which we love.

The next day, there was more rain predicted and we had another day of indoor living, this time at Ngonkoni Fishing Camp. Finally the rain had stopped and it looked better. We made our way to Ithala NP, where we stayed for one night at the campsite in the park. The area is more than hilly and the way to the campsite was very bumpy gravel with a very steep descent into a valley, where the campground was next to the river. The whole park was beautiful, but the roads were a challenge for our car.

At Ithala NP, the elephants are for some reason very nervous, immediately warning you to stay away. We respected their wish and waited patiently in a good distance until a big group had crossed the road. When we finally dared to drive past, we noticed there were still some elephants on the other side of the road, but luckily in a good distance.

We had noticed a decrease in power lately, and Edi was checking the turbo charger again. This time it definitely didn’t look good, as chips had come off the compressor turbine. The turbo charger could at any moment give up completely or these chips could get somewhere, where they would damage the engine. We just had to climb the steep hills of Ithala NP on bad gravel roads again, to get back to civilisation, otherwise they would somehow have to tow us up these hills. We prayed that we would make it.

Luckily we made it to the gate without any problem, and could continue to travel, just that we had to find a new turbo charger as fast as possible. We had asked Mercedes in Durban, but they didn’t have one and couldn’t order one either. So we had to rely on Trac & Mog Technik in Austria again, where Mathias organised everything we will need and will send it to Pretoria for us. There, LA Sports 4×4 will replace it for us. We now only have to get to Pretoria without any problem.

More soon!