Situated just 21 kms south of Robertson, McGregor almost threatens to be a part of the R62 Route, but doesn't quite make it. The town's ambience is really quite special, and it was an absolute pleasure to overnight there at the NSRI house which our daughter and her family had rented at the NSRI Volunteer prices which are extremely reasonable for those who get out there and risk their lives on our behalf each and every day and night of the year, particularly when things are particularly hairy and really quite dangerous.
I made a point of getting up at sunrise and walking literally the entire town before anyone other than a few of the locals (who were still fairly high on the previous night's concoctions), were to be found abroad. It is a very pretty town by general South African Town standards, and is (happily), totally devoid of any of the "Pretoria by the Sea" architecture that has totally destroyed all and any semblance of "beauty" or "character" in virtually every sea-side town or 'close by' village other than Pater Noster - from Ponto D'Ouro in the East to Port Nolloth in the West.
For the most part 'modern' Cape Dutch design prevails, and almost all the new homes found in the town slot comfortably into this idiom and are generally quite attractive with very nice gardens despite the drought. There are a whole host of Restaurants and Art Galleries dotted here and there in the main street and one or two blocks off the main track, and a prolific pottery with numerous kilns that churns out something for literally every taste that passes through the town. Do they all manage to make a living and pay the rent ........ I have no idea!
Just a few kms out of the town in almost any direction there are myriad off-road tracks and drives into the mountains which offer views to absolutely die for, and a whole host of camping and other facilities that I had no idea existed in the area - donkey rehab centers, Stud farms and relaxation 'oords' of one form or another. These are well kept secrets, and deserve to remain in the domain of those who first discovered them and now frequent them, fairly safe in the knowledge that the hordes are not about to descend upon them and wipe out what made them precious in the first place.
I suspect that an "art" culture is slowly becoming entrenched in McGregor which is currently being supported by a fairly well established retirement community, and at least in part by the 'Pink' pound. Whether it will turn into another Greyton or Prince Albert is yet to be seen (already property prices are pretty high), but lets wait and see what happens over the next few years.
Talk about "Spirit of Place" ............... for those of us that return there on a fairly regular basis there can be few places anywhere that imbibe one with that absolute sense of knowing and feeling the 'Spirit of a Place' such as the Kruger does.
During the last week in November we had the very good fortune, courtesy of our good friends Peter and Rosemary Davidson, to spend a week at their timeshare at Ngwenya Lodge with Rosemary (Peter was unfortunately caught up in a last minute work situation which precluded him from joining us), with daily trips via Crocodile Bridge into the Park.
Just crossing the bridge gets the anticipatory juices flowing as the hippos give the car the evil eye, and large birds of every description wade and flit here and there. Once done with the formalities of entry the real excitement begins, and irrespective of what game one comes across, the thrill is always the same - happily interspersed with the serious business of identifying one bird species or another ................. during our 5 day visit this time around we managed roughly 95 different bird species, loads of elephant, a number of rhino, plenty of Blue Wildebeest, Zebra and of course the obligatory thousands of Impala with their newborn babies.
There was one couple of mating lions who I think stayed in the same place the entire week ............. a fantastic half hour with 15 wild dogs (which we had all to ourselves), who simply lazed about and spent time playing with each other before wandering off back into the bush.
We saw a leopard kill hanging in a tree - but unfortunately no leopard. And no Cheetah this time around - but maybe next time!
We had wonderful Buffalo sightings in the water after the good rains, happily complimented by Terrapins on the rocks just a few metres away. There were Giant Blind Snakes on the road and a great bit of time spent with a Spotted Green Treesnake at one of the hides. A giant snail crossed the road ahead of us and I had to airlift it into the bush to ensure that it wouldn't be run over by someone else. Two sightings of Hyena - both in unusual circumstances - a crocodile attacking another in his territory, and four hippos laying into a fifth that has trespassed in their waterhole.
There were of course the obligatory babons and Vervet monkeys, and the excitement of thinking that we had made only the 5th sighting ever south of the Zambezi of a Long Toed Stint - unfortunately finally dashed after returning home and closely examining over 300 photographs to realise that it was no more than a Wood Sandpiper that had us completely bamboozled ................ but that is what the Kruger is all about.
Truly a place of wonder that filters its way into the bloodstream and continuosly calls you back from wherever in the world you might be.
