On our way to Mountain Zebra National Park…shopping?!

It was a sad morning leaving Amakhala Game Reserve to head onto our next adventure. We had grown close with the staff at Amakhala and were really going to miss them, along with the two dogs and cat that we had become quite fond of at the camp. We had a delicious hot breakfast before getting on the road for our five-hour trip to Mountain Zebra National Park. The drive started out very noisy with lots of exciting chatter and singing, including multiple solos by Vered Krukovsky herself. It didn’t take long for it to quiet down as the students took full advantage of the drive to catch up on some much needed sleep. We took a break for lunch at a roadside food stop called Daggboer. There was also a small gift shop where many of us spent too much money African souvenirs and baked goods (seriously someone needs to take Janine’s wallet from her). Once we got to Mountain Zebra, Dan took us on the scenic route into camp so that we could get a view of the beautiful mountainous landscapes in the park. Just a few of the species we saw included; red hartebeest, black wildebeest, mountain zebra, impala, blesbok and yellow billed duck. Our camp was located in the valley between mountains and each group of students retreated to their separate chalets until dinnertime. For supper, everyone gathered at Dan and Andrews’s chalet for a delicious meal of spaghetti, garlic bread and salad to end off a long day of travel.

We started off the day with breakfast at Dan and Andrew’s chalet then headed out for a game drive at 9am. We saw numerous kudu, red hartebeest, and zebra as well as steenbok, eland and multiple bird species, all of which Janine insisted on stopping and taking pictures of. We arrived back at camp just in time for some lunch. The afternoon was spent hiking up a mountain trail to a beautiful view of the park. By the time we finished, most of us were hurting pretty bad and it appeared that the gourmet meals we had received at Amakhala were catching up with us. The group was split up for two evening game drives. Some of the nocturnal species we observed on our drive included the aardwolf, bat eared fox, black backed jackal, fiery necked night jar and spotted eagle owl. The night concluded with a superb dinner and dessert at the camp restaurant. If you ever find yourself at Mountain Zebra National Park, we recommend the lamb chops. Cheers to another great day in South Africa!Mountain Zebra.