Day 112: Leaving Kroger: Skukuza to Cape Town

This morning, there was no early morning wake-up call, as we didn't have to leave for Skukuza airport until just after 8 am. That meant we could enjoy some of the luxuries that came along with our "tent." You see here a very nice bath, and that's a (freezing cold) plunge pool outside on the teak decking.

The later start meant breakfast at a more civilized 7:15 am before packing up, saying goodbye to the staff, and then leaving for the airport. The entire team gathered on the front steps and sang an acapella "farewell song." Nice touch. 


We also said goodbye to the hippos.








Our drive to the airport took about two hours, but it was all the way inside the park this time. That meant that we had plenty of opportunities to see even more animals. In terms of sheer numbers, we probably saw more animals on the way to the airport than during any of our official safari rides. We were greeted by large herds of impala and water buffalo, an entire family of elephants, and the usual supporting cast of zebra and giraffe. 


The cherry on top was the lion, casually sitting in the middle of the road, blocking our path. After a few minutes, he reluctantly got up and let us pass.












The Skukuza airport was tiny, although the plane to Cape Town was larger than our incoming flight - it was an Embraer 190. That made Allison very happy. The flight was very smooth, and we had a great view of Table Mountain on approach (see tomorrow's post). 

Also, a note complaining about the state of US Airlines. We were served some nice food on both flights, along with drinks and a cheerful, smiley attitude. The seats had an extra couple of inches that made all the difference in comfort. A single FA served 50 people in 50 minutes - not going to happen on United or American!

Below is a bonus shot - you have a water buffalo checking us out.








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