And on the final installment of our neverending honeymoon…Kruger National Park! Okay, we did have one more stop after, but I’ll get to that later. If you’re new here, you can start at the beginning of our adventure to South Africa.

After a slightly terrifying, but mostly fine drive, we made it to the Hoedspruit airport near our next. I say terrifying because the potholes were next-level and could fully put your car out of commission. They were also EVERYWHERE, but especially paired nicely with the blind turns and blind hills. Passing another car usually happens within the same lane, though we were fortunate to have a few cars coming directly at us in the same lane. Thinking about the drive to and from Kruger makes my chest tight and has me searching for the nearest safety bar to grab. 

Thankfully, we were fine. The lodge where we would be staying doesn’t allow any outside vehicles, so we had a driver meet us at the airport to take us on another hour-long drive into the center of the Greater Kruger National Park in the Balule Nature Reserve section. We knew that we’d be seeing wildlife on the safari, but even the drive to Ezulwini Lodge featured zebra, kudu, and impala (also known as the Mc Donald’s of the bush because they’re everywhere, and “fast food” ha ha ha).

The lodge itself is truly a one-of-a-kind experience intertwined with nature. Our suite was stunning. Not only because of the views of the river and private plunge pool (White Lotus season 1, anyone?)  but also because of the surrounding monkeys, warthogs, and, yes, I saw a herd of giraffes running at top speed while using the outdoor shower. At night, we could hear lions roaring, elephants trumpeting, and hippos grunting by the river. 

Honestly, everything about the place was amazing, and I cannot recommend it enough. We had three home-cooked meals a day, including a traditional South African feast one night, tea and coffee with biscuits during the early morning game rides, wine and cocktails with snacks on the evening game rides. We certainly didn’t go hungry. Everyone working there was so kind and knowledgeable about the surrounding, land, animals, and every other question we asked. I think the best part was seeing how passionate all of them are about the animals and their wellbeing. Our guides on all of our safaris were especially brilliant, tracking the animals and explaining their behavior. 

We stayed at Ezulwini for four days, and I’m pretty sure I cried at the end of our time there. Our schedule was so peaceful, full of good food and incredible animals. Every day, we went for a morning game ride from around 6 AM until 9 or 10 AM, with a coffee/tea stop in between. Then, we’d come back and have breakfast. We’d spend the afternoons walking around the resort, looking for animals, taking pictures on the sky bridge, running away from monkeys, testing out the ice-cold plunge pool, or just relaxing. We’d head over to the main lodge to have lunch while someone with a slingshot kept the naughty monkeys at bay,  and then head out for the evening ride. On our evening ride, we’d stop halfway through for a cocktail (did you know they used to drink gin and tonics to treat malaria?) and some snacks, and then head back to the lodge for an incredible dinner. We’d end each day listening to the wild sounds surrounding us. 

We managed to see all of the big five– lions, leopards, elephants, Cape buffalo, and rhinos during our safaris, along with wild dogs, monkeys, giraffes, chameleons, dozens of different kinds of birds, And we saw baby animals of all of them too! (besides lions) So many babies! There were baby rhinos hiding behind their moms and rolling in the mud, baby elephants trumpeting and pretending to stampede us, baby giraffes skittering around their moms, and even baby leopards nursing from their mama. 

Our actual last stop before we returned to the U.S.A. was Dulstroom, which is a small town located about halfway between Kruger and Johannesburg. It’s also known as the flyfishing capital of South Africa. Fun, I know! We spent less than 24 hours there, but thoroughly enjoyed our last night relaxing at Walkersons Hotel & Spa. In the morning, Jack went fly fishing, and I got a nice scrub down at the spa. It was our last bit of relaxation before heading back to Johannesburg and over 24 hours of traveling back home! 

We loved our time in South Africa, and I certainly hope to visit again and explore more of this beautiful country.