Day 90: Punda Maria (Kruger Nationalpark) – Polokwane

After almost two weeks, we are leaving the Kruger National Park today. It was beautiful.

Great landscapes, great animal sightings. Unfortunately, hyenas, leopards and cheetas are rare and there were only rhinos in the south. We didn't spot any eland, hartebeest or tsessebe. But otherwise we saw an incredible amount, including large birds of prey.

Artificial waterholes are mostly no longer in use and there was nothing to see. Lookouts vary greatly in quality; some are overgrown, some offer a wide view as far as Mozambique and some allow you to observe something. The picnic areas are nice. At some you could even rent a cooker and there are a few proper restaurants.

It was perhaps a little hot with up to 40 degrees and hardly any cooling at night, but we had little rain or thunderstorms and mostly clear visibility.

Each of the camps has its nice sides, but we don't like Punda Maria. We hit the road at 6:00 a.m. without breakfast – the noise of the cicadas is bothering us. In Polokwane we got an appointment at Toyota at short notice to measure the track. Unfortunately, the front right tire is worn down more on the outside. But everything is OK and we learn that this just happens with these tires every now and then (Goodrich All-Terrain). It shouldn't have anything to do with the installation of the new front right shock absorber around 8,000 km ago. We stay in Polokwane at Boma in the Bush – a good choice, even if the road is noisy. Because the day was long and we are tired...