Kruger National Park & The African Big 5!

After Victoria Falls, we headed back through Botswana, again, driving all through the night, back to South Africa and Kruger National Park.  Since we had so far to go, and could not check into our hostel near Kruger until Wednesday night, we spent one night, Tuesday night, in Johannesburg.  My first impression of the city was that yes, it was very smoggy and dirty, but I kind of liked the "big city feel" it gave me.  The buildings were very different than I had expected and it was just kind of cool to see the big city.  While in Joburg, we toured a famous township, called Soweto, and also an Apartheid museum.  Here in P.E, I have gotten used to spending time and being around the townships, but the townships in Joburg are even more eye opening.  I didnt think they could get "worse" but I was wrong.  People in soweto are beyond poor.  Most of the trademark tin metal shacks that people from the townships live in looked like they would fall apart at any second.  There was more garbage in the streets than I had ever seen.  The poverty level in the township surrounding Joburg is far worse than anything I had seen thus far in South Africa.
At the Apartheid museum, most of the museum was about a student riot that happened in the Soweto Township in the 1980's, when the apartheid were trying to enforce all classes to be taught in Afrikaans instead of the native languages the township citizens spoke, thus, again, trying to take away their native traditions and force the white regime on them even more.  Finally, in Soweto, students ranging from 7 years to 18 years held a peaceful protest, without weapons to voice their unhappiness with the regime.  Hundreds were killed by the white Afrikaans police force. A lot of place were the kids had been shot were marked in the street and the pictures were heartbreaking.  Yet another reminder and lesson I have been taught about South African history.
The next morning, we took off for Kruger at about 6am, and finally arrived in Nelspruit, South Africa, where our hostel was located.  We went to bed pretty early because we wanted to experience an entire day in Kruger National Park seeing the animals.  We woke up at 4am and left by 4:30 to make it to the gatesof Kruger by 5:30.  It was just getting light out when we entered the park, and at first, we were a little disappointed when we didn't see much for a few hours.  We saw Impana in the morning, a baby crocodile, and a few hippos and then stopped for lunch and a coffee break.  After lunch, we saw TONS of animals!  Not even fifteen minutes after lunch we spotted a lion and it walked directly past our car.  It was so close I could have reached out to pet it!  We also witnessed a Leopard kill an Impala and take it up into a tree to eat it!  VERY cool!  At this point, it was getting dark, and so we started to make our way back towards the gate but not before we spotted THREE Black Rhino's, which are some of the most endangered, rare animals on Earth!  Overall, we got to see all of the big 5! Elephant, Leopard, Water Buffalo, Rhino and Lion!