Military History Tours          On Tour - Boer War 110^th Anniversary Tour Extension - 11 June 2012

Today we toured through the beautiful South African countryside on our way to the Krueger National Park. A kudu saw us out of Hanna Lodge and we headed for the escarpment. We marvelled at the Three Rondawells and the Blythe River Canyon, third largest in the world, where we first experienced the coastal mist. This mist rises from the sea some distance away and provided the substance of the rain that in summer fills South Africa’s water storages. We then headed for Bourke’s Luck potholes, amazing rock formations created by the layering of granite and sandstone in a perennial river bed.

Luncheon was at God’s Widdow, where we were able nearby to see across the Kreuger and as far as Mozambique. The forests of pine and eucalypt were amazing to view from above, even more so as we drove through them. As the latitude decreased, we found ourselves in banana plantation after banana plantation. Plastic bags protecting the fruit from bats. The white bags letting in the UV light and allowing the bananas to ripen as they grew, blue bags letting the fruit grow without ripening. The naturally yellow fruit being for domestic consumption; the big green fruit ripening on its journey to markets in Europe.

Our destination for the night was Pine Lake Inn at White River, very comfortable accommodation, obviously a great place to take the kids in summer. Tomorrow we venture into the Krueger Park itself. Hopefully we will get to see really big game. Watch this space …