After brunch at the Cattle Baron in Skukuza village, actually on our way to collect some information for a geocache, we stumbled upon the library with the little hero acre in front of it.
Here pets who served with their masters are remembered. Some died of old age and some died in the line of duty – defending their master and the Park. Here Spotty, Lappies, Percy, Hebet, Tessa and many more rest in peace and are remembered by way of commemorative stones. However the legendary Jock of the Bushveld that also traversed Kruger with Sir Percy Fitzpatrick you will not find here.
Tucked away under a thatched roof we found a well-stocked library with books ranging from law to French dictionaries, to all sorts of science and reference books as well as all the major daily newspapers. Must say the comfy leather chairs in the cooled room looked very inviting to me in the sweltering and humid conditions. What an elegant place to escape the heat outside!
But on to the Stevenson-Hamilton museum to sharpen those history facts. The small museum adjacent to the library gives an interesting overview of the history and all the major role players in the establishment and development of Kruger Park. Amongst others I have learned that In 1927 the first three tourist cars entered the Park at a cost of £1 each.
My husband, being a direct descendant of one of the Voortrekker families, really enjoyed reading the interesting titbits of Louis Tregardt and his son, Karel Tregardt, and their treks in the Lowveld and through the Park area. As we have a copy of Louis Tregardt’s (Trichardt) diary my contribution to a bit of useless information is that he had dyslexia and spelled his surname in six different ways of which Triegaardt is still the closest to the original version.
