On Tuesday May 24th we left Berg-en-Dal and travelled up to Skukuza, where we met up with the Anemas, Borchardts, Dekkers and Youngers who had all arrived from PE the day before. We had never been to Skukuza before and were looking forward to yet another new experience. The excellent go! magazine guide to the Kruger refers to Skukuza as 'HQ' and thats exactly what it is.
There are two banks, a Post Office, two restaurants, a very well-stocked shop, full time doctors, research and teaching facilities, and the very impressive James Stevenson-Hamilton Museum. The museum houses an excellent reference library and many interesting exhibits. When we visited, the winning entries from the Agfa Wildlife Photographic Competition were on display, and there were some absolute showstopping pictures.
Whil wandering around the camp I saw these wide-eyed pre-schoolers (above left) being given a talk by a ranger (far left) and dutifully chorusing out their responses to what he was telling them.
We also visited Lake Panic bird hide a short distance from the camp, and even if you are not a birder it is well worth the visit. I managed to catch this African Jacana just taking off.
As we left Skukuza early on the morning of Sunday 29th, we spotted these three hippo in a pool next to the causeway across the Sabie River. It was so cold that you can see a puff of breath hanging above the hippo in the middle, and the mist hanging over the river in the pic below.
There is a lot of history connected with Skukuza, much of it to do with James Stevenson-Hamilton who was Warden there for 40-odd years. He was originally a big-game hunter who morphed into a passionate conservationist. The tea-towels in the gift shop have it that his nick-name was Skukuza, meaning 'he who organises'. When I checked this with the young lady at the museum, she told me it was a Siswati word meaning a removal, or a clearing away, referring to the original hunter trbes who lived there.
The train in the top picture is parked at the original Skukuza Station and dates from the time when the railway line ran through the (then) Reserve. Sabie was a popular overnight stop, with passengers disembarking to light their braai fires next to the train. The story is told that one night, on the way south to Komatipoort, the driver stopped at Newington Siding but on seeing no waiting passengers, steamed merrily on. Unfortunately, the passengers were all up trees taking refuge from hungry lions. They spent a very uncomfortable night in their trees, and thereafter the railway management installed permanent ladders at the trees in case of need! The growing rail traffic and the increasing number of animals being killed be trains led to the re-routing of the line outside the park boundaries and the last train ran in 1972. This was Selati 3638, which is now the focal point of the Selati Station Grillhouse. Off to Manyeleti tomorrow for a totally different experience!
On Tuesday May 24th we left Berg-en-Dal and travelled up to Skukuza, where we met up with the Anemas, Borchardts, Dekkers and Youngers who had all arrived from PE the day before. We had never been to Skukuza before and were looking forward to yet another new experience. The excellent go! magazine guide to the Kruger refers to Skukuza as 'HQ' and thats exactly what it is. 
There are two banks, a Post Office, two restaurants, a very well-stocked shop, full time doctors, research and teaching facilities, and the very impressive James Stevenson-Hamilton Museum. The museum houses an excellent reference library and many interesting exhibits. When we visited, the winning entries from the Agfa Wildlife Photographic Competition were on display, and there were some absolute showstopping pictures. 
Whil wandering around the camp I saw these wide-eyed pre-schoolers (above left) being given a talk by a ranger (far left) and dutifully chorusing out their responses to what he was telling them.
There is a lot of history connected with Skukuza, much of it to do with James Stevenson-Hamilton who was Warden there for 40-odd years. He was originally a big-game hunter who morphed into a passionate conservationist. The tea-towels in the gift shop have it that his nick-name was Skukuza, meaning 'he who organises'. When I checked this with the young lady at the museum, she told me it was a Siswati word meaning a removal, or a clearing away, referring to the original hunter trbes who lived there.
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