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This 14-day South Africa journey wrapped up in Kruger National Park with a night in the Skukuza Rest Camp Guest House – Wild Fig Guest House. If you need a recap or have missed any of these South Africa posts – we have a full itinerary with links to each post below!
We packed up early, moved out of our Lower Sabie Rest Camp, and headed back to where we started this adventure- Skukuza Rest Camp – only this time, we will go BIG before we go home!
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Driving from Lower Sabie to Skukuza
The drive from Lower Sabie to Skukuza was eventful. It looked like a stampede or herd of angry elephants had come through as so many massive trees were just pushed over and crushed. One of the biggest lessons learned from our trip is how incredibly powerful and dangerous elephants are. I always held my breath when they were near, and we never got too close to them.
We stopped at the Nkuhlu General Store, a lovely gift shop and cafe conveniently located between Skukuza Rest Camp and Lower Sabie on the H4-1 in Kruger National Park. We made sure to stock up on any last-minute souvenirs and unique items we hadn’t seen anywhere else before having a very unexpected and exciting leopard sighting!
Moments after we got back on the road, we started to see many cars blocking the entire route, and many of them were facing in the wrong direction, so we knew there must be something special ahead. There was a roundabout area off the side of the road overlooking an empty river bed, and as we entered the roundabout to see what the fuss was about, we saw a tail dangling out of a tree. I was so thankful that we had seen two leopards already on our trip (here here)- but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sad that I hadn’t seen the iconic leopard hanging out in a tree… but there he was (even if he was facing the wrong way)! He was tough to see, and we only had a few moments to admire him because of all the traffic, so I thanked him for being my dream leopard in a tree, and we continued to Skukuza for our last night.
As you may recall (9 posts ago), our first night in Kruger National Park was spent in the Skukuza Rest Camp in the Riverside Bungalows, but this time, we did it up BIG by staying in the Wild Fig Guest House.
Skukuza Rest Camp – Wild Fig Guest House
Skukuza has four guest houses in prime locations around the camp, which offer accommodations for larger groups of up to 12 people. The units have four air-conditioned bedrooms, each with two single beds in each room and an en-suite bathroom with a bath, washbasin, separate shower, and toilet. Moni, Nyathi, and Waterkant guest houses sleep eight guests in 4 bedrooms each, while The Wild Fig Guesthouse sleeps 12 guests in 6 bedrooms. Here are images of the grounds, our room, and view, and below are all the common spaces as of 2022.
And yes – that is a Bushbuck within the camp’s fences hanging out directly outside our patio!
The common spaces included a dining room, lounge, kitchen, and veranda with inside and outside bar, braai (barbecue) facilities, and a river view. The kitchen had a stove and oven, refrigerator/freezer, sink, cooking utensils, crockery, and cutlery. There was so much space that I felt guilty we only had six people. It was pretty unbelievable and most likely a once-in-a-lifetime stay. We would probably never stay there again unless ten people wanted to return with us – but it was epic! A couple of us made it a game to sit in every seat in this place, and it took all night!
Kruger Station
Our last dinner in Kruger National Park had to be unique, so we made reservations at Kruger Station within the “walls” of Skukuza Rest Camp. Kruger Station is positioned along the historical Selati rail line in the renowned Kruger National Park, situated in the same spot as a makeshift boma that hosted a feast for visitors when the park first opened.
“The entire Kruger Station experience is centered around the magic of the station’s past, paying homage to a significant piece of South African history. Known as the railway that saved the Kruger National Park, the Selati line is one of the most expensive railways ever built connecting Komatipoort with Tzaneen during the gold rush heydays. The construction of the line started in 1892 and was only completed in 1912. In 1923, the South African Railways took over and introduced a “Round in Nine” train tour through the Lowveld, with a stopover at Sabie Bridge, today called Skukuza. The tour soon became very popular for its game viewing, and Kruger was established as a national park in 1926.
Trains still ran through the park up until 1973 after which most of the tracks were removed, leaving the bridge as is and part of the Skukuza scenery. The old South African Railway Class 24 steam locomotive number 3638 that sits at Skukuza has been stranded there for a while, with only one carriage in tow. This specific carriage has had a fascinating journey and you can read more about it here. It was eventually donated to the National Parks Board (SANParks), and from 1984-2014 it housed a restaurant. Originally the lounge was paired with a kitchen and dining carriage, but sadly these burnt down in 1996. What was once a beautifully preserved train and purpose-built station had been off limits to visitors for a while until now”. – Information from their website
After some inquiries with staff, our group was greatly honored – we were upgraded to enjoy our dinner and drinks inside the train carriage, which is only reserved for special events! We had our dedicated wait staff, and they pulled out all the stops to give us first-class service for our last night in Kruger. It was a fantastic atmosphere, and the food and drinks were the best of the trip – see the menu and more photos on their site. Kruger Station offers much more than you could imagine, especially inside a National Park that isn’t exactly known for gourmet food.
Overall, they have the 3638 RESTAURANT – a family-friendly eatery. ROUND IN 9 BAR – A fully-serviced bar, DEPARTING SOON CAFÉ – Soft serve and coffee shop. EN ROUTE GRAB ‘N GO – A quick bite to eat. KRUGER 360° CINEMA – Experiential circular cinema. LI’ GRICERS – A haven for kids. CURIOSITY CABINET – Kruger Station trinkets and gifts. Skukuza was one of my favorite camps from the beginning of the trip, and this restaurant sealed the deal at the end. If I am ever lucky enough to return to South Africa, this will be on my next itinerary.
Overall, it was a late night but a wonderful experience. At the very last moment, we all decided to squeeze in one more Safari Drive and signed up for the sunrise drive before heading to the airport the next day. We were exhausted, but I am glad we decided on that because we had some incredible sightings!
Sunrise Safari in Skukuza
Typically, the sunrise drives start at 4 AM and last about 3 hours, with most of the drive done in the dark before sunrise. This particular drive was utterly uneventful, with very few sightings of anything but just as the sun started to show itself. Everything changed, and it was almost too much excitement to handle. Just as the sky turned from black to purple to red to orange, we saw them – PAINTED DOGS.
They had been on our list the entire trip as a “must-see” because we had fallen in love with them back in 2013 when Mark happened to work with them in college. It was the last chance to see them, and they came out in droves – with so many puppies!
Sadly, my camera was not equipped with this lighting and with a moving vehicle, so all I have is the memories and these blurry, pixelated iPhone videos that I will cherish forever.
If you look closely at the above photo, you will see that one of those “dogs” is not a dog at all – but a Hyena who was stalking the pack and waiting for the pups to let down their guard – don’t worry, though, the alphas you see here were on it.
We felt so thrilled and full of excitement that the drive could have ended right then and there, and my soul was fulfilled… but then we turned down a road that followed along a dry river bed, and to our amazement – a female lion with three cubs – the tiniest cubs we had seen the entire trip. Real-life baby Simba’s, and of course, I sobbed. These photos are deceiving because they are tough to see with the naked eye. We were very high up on the bank looking down into a valley through lots of trees and tall grasses, making it challenging to see them and capture photos, but I took about 1,000 images (not really, but felt like it) in that moment, hoping that something would come out. The cubs were absolutely adorable and so playful. They wrestled, chased, and bit each other while mom listened and communicated to other lions off in the distance – likely her pride that was out all night hunting while she protected the babies.
Next, we stopped to take in the glorious view of this magnificent Kudu standing in a grassy field, and we noticed some movement in the distant grass. We realized that a male leopard was slinking through the grasses nearby! This incredible male sighting became our fourth and final Leopard of the trip.
At this point, our safari was ending, and we still had to drive back to camp. The guide said we probably wouldn’t stop for much on returning to stay within our timeframe. That flew right out the window when we made yet another turn into the beautiful sunrise and saw more LIONS. Possibly the same lions that the other female was calling to. Young mothers and teenagers were all lying around and digesting their meals from the night before and calmly let us admire them – this might be the closest sighting we had as far as the distance from them. I am forever thankful we saw so many lions on this trip that we lost count. Africa wasn’t letting us leave without a finale, that’s for sure… but don’t worry… we also had an encore on the way to the airport.
Heading to the airport
Once we packed up our things and the millions of pounds of souvenirs and wine and loaded them into the vehicles, we headed to the Skukuza airport. During our entire trip, we kept hearing people talk about always seeing Painted Dogs near the airport, and sure enough, they were there like a giant going away party. To watch them lying around ( and the one digging the hole, LOL) for the last few moments we were in the park is forever engrained in my mind. Giraffes greeted us when we arrived, and painted dogs said … until next time!
Some of the animals on our wishlist we didn’t see are precisely why we would love to return someday. Caracals, Servals, Cheetahs, and more Rhinos will keep Africa on our forever bucket list. I don’t think it’s even possible to explain why it’s so important to keep these areas safe and educate our fellow humans on how magical it is to see them living their lives in freedom instead of cages in zoos and even sanctuaries. I would tell anyone that it’s worth a few years of saving and sacrificing to support them in the wild and continue to support genuine conservation efforts worldwide. Anyone can do it if they put their minds to it – and we are here if you have any questions.
The long journey home from Africa
Our trip home was like any other journey home after an incredible adventure. We were exhausted, sad to leave, yet eager to get home to our animals.
Our massive journey home consisted of a flight from Skukuza to Johannesburg to Switzerland (I want to return and leave the airport someday!), Germany, and then to Tampa.
It was a surreal and eventful trip home, consisting of rampant wildfires surrounding the Johannesburg airport. Our flight leaving Switzerland was delayed due to weather and caused us almost to miss our connecting flight in Germany; Like in a movie, 6 of us ran through the airport, customs, and security like crazy people. We made it onto the flight just in time, but not without many passengers sass and people staring at us for holding up the plane, but we made it. Our luggage, on the other hand – did not!
Several of us were using Apple Air tags in our luggage, and we all watched as we pulled away from the gate. Our luggage was not with us – oh well, we were finally on our way home to our pets!
Once we arrived in Tampa, FL, the airline was accommodating and efficient in identifying where our luggage was and when it would be back in FL. Tampa International Airport delivered our luggage at around 3 AM the next day. -I woke up, and it was on the front porch – good as new! We felt fortunate that all of our precious souvenirs had made it home.
Our two cats (this was before Commander arrived) were thrilled to have us home and didn’t leave my side for 24 hours. It’s true that “Home is where my cat is,” and it is always difficult to leave them, but our souls need to get out and see the world!
We have already started booking our next adventure… stay tuned to see what’s next!
“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibn Battuta
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Even your luggage had an adventure. LOL.