Monday May 4, 2026
Hi All! We made it to Kruger! But we were up and off the ship way too early (Yawn!). It was a short bus ride to Richard’s Bay airport. The airport was so small and cute (the guide said “it’s like an airport in someone’s back yard” and he was right!). Our flight to Johannesburg was very short (35 mins) and the Johannesburg airport was much bigger.
We were met by a guide and he showed us to our airport lounge to hang out for the 4 hour layover. We looked for a bed to take a nap but didn’t find one! But there was lots of good food and drink to satisfy our two hour feedings! We had two feedings since we were there for 4 hours! Lol
We then boarded our plane to Skukuza airport near Kruger National Park. It was an even shorter flight at 25 mins (sure wish we could have taken that direct flight as originally planned!). The Shalati Train on the Bridge resort people met us and took us to Shalati. It was almost like a mini game drive from the airport to Shalati. We saw crocodiles and lots of monkees but no Big 5 yet!
One of the main reasons we chose this Overland Tour was the uniqueness and history of the train cars that were converted to luxury hotel rooms. In 1912, the train line opened carrying passengers across Africa. In 1923, they started a tourist trip called “Round in Nine” which took tourists thru the safari area in 9 days round trip from Johannesburg.
They then added an option to stop the train overnight on the bridge over the Sabie River and provide game drives for people. With Kruger becoming a National Park in 1926, this trip became increasingly popular with tourists.
The trains ran thru Kruger until 1973 when a new train line was opened going around the park. Thus the Shalati Bridge stood empty as an icon ever since… until 2020 when the Kruger Shalati resort reignited the experience of sleeping in a train on this bridge filled with a wealth of history. How lucky are we to experience it??
After we got to the resort they showed us to our “train car” and we got settled in and got ready for our first ever safari game drive. So excited!!! I’ll post another update tonight.
The Wandering Italian 