The Mlambane road (S119 and S118) beckons but in order to get there before the other cars we must be at the gate first. It is not good manners to leave late and then speed past others who have taken the trouble to get up early. We therefore are in pole position at 5.15am in the dark. Off we go and reach the Mlambane river road without incident.
This is real Kruger as we crawl along this most exhilarating of roads. As usual there are lots of small items of interest but the main impact is from the environment itself. It is indescribably beautiful in the early morning light.
We have discovered that our internet and communication problems in Kruger are solely because of MTN’s shortcomings. We cannot even phone from Bergendal. So when I was in Malelane town I got myself a Vodacom modem and ’hey presto’ everything is fine and I can send off large file emails in the matter of seconds. So we will be changing our phones as well over to Vodacom. What I find so baffling is why, after all my whinging, Sanparks do not just say that MTN is useless without resorting to silly excuses.
Back in camp I photograph the sunbirds and then later in the afternoon go down to Malelane where at least we can make some phone calls. Again a very pleasant day even though we were a bit distracted and did not experience the high dramas of the past two days.