Annika & Petr in the whole wide world: Weekend trip from Maputo to Kruger Park

There are a few companies offering day trips or multiday packages with private transport to Kruger from Maputo, but we chose to do the arrangements ourselves, to fit our own schedule. Malalene, close to one of the park gates, is on the main road from Maputo to Johannesburg, and we booked on the net bus tickets from Intercape. On Friday evening, after a bit of queuing and form filling we boarded a neat modern double-decker bus, the only complaints would be that a pair of passengers held a lively conversation across three rows of seats all along the journey, and that the bus toilet did not smell of roses.

The Rio Vista lodge we booked from home called to get an update on bus arrival, and a car took us there. No night receptionist, and the car driver did not know whether the safaris we asked for were arranged, but at seven in the morning there was a knock on the door - the safari car will be here in half an hour, and we have prepared take-out breakfast for you.

The lodge itself turned out great (and much, much cheaper than our Maputo hotel). Beautiful clean room, every day a new stylish arrangement of bath towels with a flower on the made beds, balcony with a view of the Crocodile River, the park boundary, fridge and coffee machine, pool and restaurant deck overlooking the river, even insect repellent was provided. The receptionist, once on duty, was a marvel of welcoming servicemindedness.

We were lucky with the safaris as well. The lodge contacted the tour operator late, and a free lancing couple of our own age, Chris and Pat Herbst were called in as guides. They used to have their own tour company, and turned out both knowledgeable about animals, birds and plants, and well connected - all the tour guides we were meeting were sharing their animal sightings with them in English, Afrikaans and a local Bantu language, Swazi.

On our first morning tour I was so impressed by the landscape that I decided that every sighting will be a bonus - and what a number of bonuses we got. Small herds of impala, a small antelope with beautiful twisted horns, were everywhere, soon we did not even stop to watch them. Kudu a biggish one, with as beautiful horns, only bigger, was also often seen - easy to recognize, as if someone drew chalk lines across its body. We also got to see the duiker, the smaller stenbock, and the tiny klipspringer easily jumping along steep smooth rocks, the heavy waterbuck with its toilet seat backside, and the impressive bull-like blue wildebeest. Many zebras in small groups, and giraffes standing, grazing, drinking - or just walking along the road at night.

Of the big five we got to see all, African buffalo at 15 m, hundreds of tons of elephants, some as close as 10 m, a pride of lions moving out of their shady places to clear the way of approaching elephants, a pair of young lions walking between cars, at an almost touching distance, a leopard walking along the road at night and another walking up to the roadside in the heat of the day, to find shade in the culvert 5 m from our car. White rhinos in all sizes, in the bush close by, and crossing the road in front of us. We have not seen the black rhino, but were told that they are really the same colour.

The rarely seen cheetah crouching and finally chasing halfheartedly a group of impalas, a hyena giving milk to one of its three babies next to the road, baboons holding a conference on a flat rock, vervet monkeys in a tree, warthogs, the tiny dwarf mongoose on a termite mound. On a sunset safari organised by the park, (no private cars after sunset) the guide managed to attract a genet up close by mouthing a strange calling sound.

Hippo with baby in water, any number of crocodiles, tilapia fish building nests, eagles, white-backed vultures, egrets, egyptian geese, helmeted guineafowl, red winged starling, the wonderful blue cape glossy starling - do I remember them all ?

In the ranger stations inside the park, they served surprisingly good coffee, and we tasted pap - the african polenta - really good with the dressing and a tasty kudu meat sausage.

The lodge restaurant was closed on Sunday, but the friendly receptionist offered to have us driven to town, or alternatively to send someone to get us a take-out meal. We opted for a 500g grilled beef with sallad- delicious.

On our last day, during and efter a leisurly breakfast in the deck restaurant we could see egrets, doves, geese and large birds of prey, a well as a herd of waterbucks. And just before checking out we spotted a herd of elephants at the Crocodile river just outside the lodge..