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Thunderstorms, hail & camping at Pilansberg

What a weekend...

We neglected to check the weather forecast on Friday afternoon as we set out from Joburg to Pilansberg for a weekend of camping. We arrived at the camping ground, chose the perfect site and commenced setting up camp. The clouds slowly got darker and darker (the sky was black at 4.30pm) and the lightening and thunder got closer! First there was torrential rain and wind, then hail the size of large marbles, lightening and thunder directly above us in the sky and then more rain. We were scared the tent would fly away so we seeked refuge in it. We have never heard lightening so loud- was unbelievable! I was a little scared as to whether we would make it out alive from the tent, however luckily the storm passed in 20 min and we were able to witness the destruction. Our trusty little tent was fine (not even wet), however the camping ground looked a bit like a war zone. All foliage was lost from the trees, where there were roads there was now flowing rivers, and many tents did not make it!!


Early the following morning, we ventured into the game park. We saw a lot of animals, with most at close range. Highlights were the male lion (very exciting to finally see one - we even saw it walking towards the traffic jam of cars!), elephants causing mass destruction with any tree in it's way, masses of zebra and wilderbeest, some jackal (look like a cross between fox & dog) and around 10-15 rhinoceros.
We went to Sun City for lunch on Saturday which as the Lonely Planet describes "Disneyland collides with ancient Egypt in a demented attempt to look like Vegas". In the middle of the dry and dead looking landscape, Sun City is bright green with manicured grass and flower beds, artificial beaches and thousands of slot machines for the gamblers. Very gaudy, but seeing we pass it every time we visit Pilansberg, one of the sites that needed to be experienced (For golf followers, the South African Nedbank Classic is being played here next week).

Sun City (type of amusement park)


We were joined on Saturday night by Loren, Tim, Dabbo, Chris, Casey, Jessie & Kitty. They arrived right during the storm however weren't deterred. Game viewing on Sunday was even better with a rhinoceros wondering less than 10m from our car! The rhino has overtaken the lion for me as the scariest animal... Always need to make sure that the car is in gear & we are ready to go if required.

Pete & rhinoceros




L: Wilderbeest & R: Wooden carving (very popular souvenir!)


Sunset as we left Pilansberg on Saturday night

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