Friday, March 28, 2008
North to Parfuri Border Post and Crooks Corner: Tuesday, January 2, 2007
(Crocodiles on a sand bar -- Crooks Corner near the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers, Kruger National Park/Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park)
Anticipating our trip to Mozambique, we drive north and east to the Parfuri Border Post. The antelope we spot along the S63 loop are among the finest I see in Africa (for variety). We are advised (unofficially) at the Border Post to have our papers for the truck in perfect order as the police on the other side will seize upon any reason to confiscate the vehicle and sell it as a side business. The visa has been increased to 170 Rand (about USD $25) per person plus 200 Rand for the truck and so forth (more Third Party Insurance is required too apparently).
(Female bushbucks east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Female bushbuck panting from the heat -- east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Male impala on the S63 Loop Road on the way to Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Impala fawns under a tree on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it appears that they share a strategy similar to springboks -- leaving the very young semi-hidden while the adults graze nearby)
(Male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Close-up of a male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it is distinguished from the kudu "in that the male's horns are shorter and twisted" whereas those of the male kudu are spiralled and "the white bar between the eyes is broken in the middle" -- Visitors Guide)
At the Crooks Corner picnic and "Get-out point" we help a group with a dead battery. We jump off their Land Rover successfully (with our battery and their cables).
(Vervet monkey at the Crooks Corner Get-out Point and Picnic Area, Kruger National Park)
We end the day discussing Mozambique and the practicality of going all the way to Tofo based upon the amount of time we have allotted for this portion of the trip. I am reluctant to give this up but agree because I plan to go to Mozambique when I return to Africa and maybe we will be a bit of an embarrassment for Will and Jeff: "Ma and Pa Kettle visit Cancun" or some such travesty...
(A warthog tinted with local red soil trots into view, on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Elephant close-up -- north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(African fish eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(Tawny eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
At this point we are still on for the Covane Lodge in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park on the Mozambique side but I sense that the information we got at Parfuri has put a damper on things. My arrests in Zambia didn't bother me but it did bother the rest of the family.
(Nyala in profile on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Crocodiles on a sand bar -- Crooks Corner near the confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers, Kruger National Park/Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park)
Anticipating our trip to Mozambique, we drive north and east to the Parfuri Border Post. The antelope we spot along the S63 loop are among the finest I see in Africa (for variety). We are advised (unofficially) at the Border Post to have our papers for the truck in perfect order as the police on the other side will seize upon any reason to confiscate the vehicle and sell it as a side business. The visa has been increased to 170 Rand (about USD $25) per person plus 200 Rand for the truck and so forth (more Third Party Insurance is required too apparently).
(Female bushbucks east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Female bushbuck panting from the heat -- east bound on the S63 Loop Road toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Male impala on the S63 Loop Road on the way to Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Impala fawns under a tree on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it appears that they share a strategy similar to springboks -- leaving the very young semi-hidden while the adults graze nearby)
(Male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Close-up of a male nyala on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park: it is distinguished from the kudu "in that the male's horns are shorter and twisted" whereas those of the male kudu are spiralled and "the white bar between the eyes is broken in the middle" -- Visitors Guide)
At the Crooks Corner picnic and "Get-out point" we help a group with a dead battery. We jump off their Land Rover successfully (with our battery and their cables).
(Vervet monkey at the Crooks Corner Get-out Point and Picnic Area, Kruger National Park)
We end the day discussing Mozambique and the practicality of going all the way to Tofo based upon the amount of time we have allotted for this portion of the trip. I am reluctant to give this up but agree because I plan to go to Mozambique when I return to Africa and maybe we will be a bit of an embarrassment for Will and Jeff: "Ma and Pa Kettle visit Cancun" or some such travesty...
(A warthog tinted with local red soil trots into view, on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
(Elephant close-up -- north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(African fish eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
(Tawny eagle north of Punda Maria Rest Camp, Kruger National Park)
At this point we are still on for the Covane Lodge in the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park on the Mozambique side but I sense that the information we got at Parfuri has put a damper on things. My arrests in Zambia didn't bother me but it did bother the rest of the family.
(Nyala in profile on the S63 Loop Road east bound toward Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park)
Labels: Crooks Corner, Kruger National Park, Parfuri Border Post, Punda Maria Rest Camp
¶ 5:41 PM
