It was hard for all of us to say goodbye to the Shishangeni Lodge and the Kruger National Park, but as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end.

That said, we managed to spot the Big 5!

In Africa, the Big 5 game animals are the lion, elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros. Interesting fact: these five animals were originally classified by hunters not for their size, but because they were the most difficult and dangerous to hunt. Today, the term is used by safari guides and tour agencies for promotional purposes.

So we had already spotted the lion, elephant and Cape buffalo during our first two days at Kruger, so we made it our mission to spot the final two of the Big 5 in our final morning game drive today. Our guide Leonard, who has been working as a game ranger for 23 years, was a great help in fulfilling our mission. He knew the terrain like the back of his hand and he knew just where to find the animals that we wanted to see.

While we did not have much luck with spotting the rhinos in our previous game drives, we hit the jackpot today. In total, we spotted about 15 rhinos, including a really adorable baby rhino! So with the rhino spotted, we were left with the leopard. We all knew that the leopard is one of the most elusive animals during safari drives, and we were pretty content spotting 4/5 of the Big 5. However, about half an hour before we were due to head back to the lodge, Leonard got a message from another guide saying that a leopard has been spotted. He rushed over to the site – speed driving in a safari is so much fun – and we managed to get a glimpse of this magnificent and extremely elusive creature. So that’s how we ‘conquered’ the Big 5 at Kruger.

This trip to Kruger has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have always wanted to go on a safari, and this experience was what I had always pictured and more. This opportunity to appreciate and enjoy the magnificence, beauty and majesty of nature and all these beautiful creatures was an experience that overwhelmed me, and it will be a memory that will continue to overwhelm me.

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