Last week I travelled  to the Kruger Park for a few days break. The return trip home to Johannesburg was thoroughly pleasant - winding through the hills and valleys of Sabie, through Lydenburg and the delicious town of Dullstroom with its world-famous pancakes.

The road trip to the Kruger Park, however, was an entirely different story. Once off the main highway the scene was pretty enough as the road weaved through hills of planted trees.  But road-trippers be warned for just past the tiny artists village of Kaapse hoop, the road turns and faces a factory of note - about eighteen chimney stacks spewing forth pipes of grey pollution. The world needs paper we all know that, but surely this paper mill company could take some measures to lessen its pollution of the country air outside of Nelspruit.

And talking about Nelspruit ... if you need an example of development gone wrong take a look at this town. It has become one of the ugliest towns I've ever seen. Factories have sprung up in seemingly haphazard disarray as the town creeps ever outwards. Is there a town planner in Nelspruit and has he/she heard of sustainable economic development? Given that the region is prime ground for tourists one would have thought much more care would have been taken in the town's development.  

And of the Kruger Park... Beautiful and pristine as it is, I have to wonder if there is an over-population of predators there right now. The buck and zebra I spotted were seldom in large herds and appeared to be mostly young (and thin, but okay it's winter) animals. 

To end this on a positive note ... the weather was great. Much warmer than Johannesburg.