“What’s Your Kruger Tradition?”, a simple question that has created a wave of nostalgia and spurred on the desire to travel to the bush again.
South Africa (13 May 2021) – Everyone loves that feeling of getting ready to go on holiday. The anticipation the night before, waking up early to pack the car and of course, padkos! Recently a question was posed on the SANParks Kruger Group asking “What’s your Kruger tradition? Something you always do everytime you visit Kruger…”, the thread that followed made us itch for a Kruger holiday.
Most South Africans have not left home since the start of the pandemic due to financial constraints or wanting to adhere to social distancing protocols. So we can only dream and relive nostalgic memories of the good ol’ days when travel was easy and we had far more freedom.
Many have loved taking part in answering the question posed by NDee Ramabulana. So here are some of our favourite responses. They made us wish we were in the Kruger, taking in all the wildlife, soaking up the sunshine and feeling that unmistakable “gees” you get seeing how beautiful your home country is.
Many people celebrated the various Kruger Coffee options, from a deliciously sweet condensed milk tot to a cheeky Amarula coffee (for the passengers, of course) and always with a buttermilk rusk whether homemade or from Ouma.
Another must for most of the Kruger regulars, turning phones and the radio off, winding down the windows and taking in all the smells and sounds. The general agreement is the radio only gets switched back on when leaving the park.
Quite a few travellers agreed that a “Buffalo” pie was a must at the camp and rest stop restaurants, others said it had to be an ice-cold ice cream. Sticking with the food, most people loved having a skottle breakfast at the picnic spots or a good afternoon braai. Padkos musts include biltong and dry wors, nuts and dried fruit.
Many families play animal spotting games, from the big 5 money challenge which earns you a note of your animal if you are the first to spot it (remember the leopard is on the R200 note so look hard!) to the first person to spot their chosen animal (impala not included) getting to choose an awful shooter for the other passengers when back at camp.
Reading all the comments of the thread have made us really want to take a trip to Kruger National Park again. If you would like to join the conversation, you can do so on the group here.
We know there are many South Africans that do not frequent Kruger, so in that case, what is your family’s holiday tradition? Something you do every time you are blessed to go away? We love collecting fridge magnets. Tell us your tradition in the comment section.