The pics I posted were taken on a trip some of us were able to take on a holiday during our PCT training thanks to the training director, Victor, a wonderful man everyone loves. He is a kind, considerate man who really knows human nature and how to motivate us and is amazing in the way he handles himself and reacts towards others in times of duress and when there are problems he must address.
He and our team leaders arranged the details so some of us could travel back to Rustenberg to the Pilanesberg Game Reserve. It is located behind the college we stayed in our first week in South Africa. I had looked out at the fence between our college and the game reserve and wanted to see what was behind it. Some of the PCTs who were in a building closer to the reserve had seen some animals while we were there. But, even though I walked along the fence taking pictures of things I found interesting at the time, I never saw an animal - only the back of the hill surrounding the park.
During our visit to the park I found out that it is located in an extinct volcano. The landscape inside the park is amazing itself. A beautiful lake is surrounded by a large expanse of open ground with all kinds of rock strewn about. Then there are the cliffs which have very interesting rocky outcrops and areas very green with plant growth due to the channeling of water. One of the pictures I posted was of a dam we passed when we exited the park. I do not know how much that dam has to do with the creation and preservation of the existing lake but I believe someone said it was built to create another lake within the park. I would really like to learn more about the geology of that area and of all of South Africa.
The whole PCT class could not go to the game preserve because we only had so much room in the Peace Corps vans and in Victor’s truck. The entrance fee to the preserve was 65 Rand to get in, about $10, and we paid the Peace Corps drivers entry fee so we put in another 10 Rand a piece - well worth the price. The drivers drove us back and forth from Makapanstad and everywhere in the park. We were told the one-way drive between the park and where we were staying was 2 hours but it was closer to 3 or 4.
The people who signed up to go to the game reserve were asked to decrease their numbers by about 10 people. So we passed around a list for everyone willing to not go to sign it. I signed the list with a tentative “if needed” behind my name. When I checked there were enough people who signed the list that I was still able to go and I am sure glad I did because it was a really spectacular place. And I got to see rhinoceros, giraffes, zebras, blue wildebeests, warthogs, ostriches, quail and a beautiful (impala) animal with horns that have gentle curves. The others went to the mall in Pretoria and some saw a movie.
There were a couple of options of travel in the park. You drove yourself, like we did in the Peace Corps vans, or you spend more money for a 2-hour guided tour in a large safari truck or a smaller vehicle. I think the safari truck was R130-140 each. I can’t remember the details and do not have them written down but they may be available on the park’s website. This game reserve is located next to Sun City, a famous casino and resort, which we never got to visit.
For those of you who are asking about coming and visiting I live a short drive outside of a Kruger National Park’s Punda Maria gate. I do not know anything about this park yet except what I have read on the internet and seen on maps. There are people in the village I live in who work in the park. One person I talked with says he is in charge of one of the camps where people stay when they visit the park. I will have to talk to him more and get details.
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