Kruger Park pt 1

After waking up extremely early, we boarded a bus to head to Kruger Park, a park roughly 5 hours drive away from J-burg. Instead of going directly there, we stopped at different areas for some sightseeing. We first stopped at a Happy River Canyon, the world's third largest canyon. We stopped here for only 30min and did not walk very far, but we got to a viewing point and were able to soak in the beauty of the valley. I can best describe it as a bushy Grand Canyon. There were not trees, but bushes about ranging 3-9ft tall. Surprisingly, this is the composition of the land that we saw over the following days on the safari. Personally, I always expected a wide open grassland where you could spot animals a mile away, but that was not the case on this safari. This misconception on my part can be largely attributed to Gary Larson. Anyway, we loaded back into the bus and traveled to a water fall.
This picture doesn't quite put the waterfall into perspective. The drop of the water is just a bit over 60m. It was odd to see the river snake through the dry bush and turn into something so spectacular, then continue on without anymore event. It truly was in the middle of nowhere. Next we drove to a peak of a mountain that overlooked Kruger Park. At the top of this mountain, the hot winds of Kruger were pushed up the mountain and cause a growth of a small rain forest on the top. It was a nice little lookout.
Finally we traveled to one more spot, an orphanage. We stopped by because our safari guide wanted us to see the organization he supports. We befriended the children (some of whom were dismissed by their families because of disabilities or AIDS). Although we didn't stay for more than twenty minutes, I could tell our groups presence really brightened the children's day. After a day of traveling for more than ten hours, we kicked up our feet and rested for the evening.