My Trip to Kruger National Park Made Easy with Sani Car Rentals!

Hi Guys, 

What would you do to relax and unwind yourself from the hustle and bustle of the city?

I think of roaming freely inside the Kruger National Park trying to find a Rhino or some wildlife that I have never spotted earlier. I go on new routes, whether it be tar or dirt and try to enjoy the vegetation and the landscape that surrounds the area. The Kruger National Park has a lot to offer and this was my top destination choice to showcase to my family including my parents travelling from India and my younger brother and his family – 2 kids and his wife.

Family Photo taken by my daughter

Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves where animals roam freely inside the grasslands. This game reserve is home to all the Big 5 wild animals – Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant and Buffalo. It’s 360km from north to south and 65km from east to west. The park has around 10 gates by which you can enter. There is a day visitor pass but then you have to leave the gates before their closing time which is different as per the summer and winter seasons.

The Sanparks Reservation website took care of the places to stay. I booked accommodation via their online platform wherever it was available for 10 people with 6 adults and 4 kids starting from age 13 to as low as 2 years. The next task was to plan how we travel and drive around inside the Kruger National Park. Should we hire a bigger vehicle that can accommodate 10 people or should 5 people go in my personal car and we hire another similar car? This is the dilemma you and I will always face when we have a larger group of people because coordinating inside Kruger National Park is difficult because the mobile network signals are really weak in certain areas outside the camps.

We didn’t go ahead with any kind of vehicle booking after the initial discussion and thought of making the decision when all of them reached South Africa. I also didn’t want the money to be blocked by the transport provider two months ahead of time. Finally, the day came when my brother’s family came and we picked them up from the airport. Some days later, Mom and dad also arrived and I picked them too. So we were again on track for the planning and discussion for the upcoming 5-day trip inside the Kruger National Park.

The best view is possible in cars that have a higher ground clearance and which go well on dirt roads as well. There are some tracks that need 4x4 vehicles. But as you increase the level of your cars, the prices are increasing significantly on all the popular car rentals like Avis, Europcar etc. Secondly, they all were giving 200kms per day which is really less to see and drive around inside the park considering you have to travel 450kms on the first and last day from Johannesburg to one of the gates. It means that your 5 days = 1000 km are already gone in 2 days. This kind of arrangement meant more cost on the hiring vehicle.

The best way to overcome this is to map out the path using Google Maps so that you know how many kilometres you plan to travel. The second option is to pay a little higher charge and choose Unlimited Mileage when renting your vehicle.

Secondly, we needed a car seat for my brother’s son and he was less than 5 years of age. My son’s car seat was already there in my car so it was sorted for one of them. Fitting two car seats in any car will take away the middle seat space completely where 3 adults could have sat. So it meant that a bigger car option was also out of scope considering we were already 10. Planning a trip initially, despite being hectic and challenging, is necessary if you want to enjoy the journey afterwards.

The next item to check out is from where you will pick up the car and what time? Generally, the outlets closer to you will serve you only from the morning at 8am to the evening at 6pm. It then adds up to an extra day of the whole rental plan for the category of car. So the best option and solution here is to get it from the airport and return it at the airport because mostly it’s open day and night or 24 hours. It will cost you some money to travel to the airport via Uber /Bolt/Gautrain but then you save on the extra day of rental.

Being a deal hunter, I had to look out for all these things before I could actually confirm the vehicle and the overall cost of the vehicle. We took out all the 3 laptops and logged into the various car rental providers. While searching on Google, I came across Sani Car Rental South Africa, which initially I thought maybe doing a road trip picnic to the Sani Pass in Lesotho from Underberg. But after visiting their website, I found that they had the most number of categories of vehicles available as per your needs. From luxury vehicles to value-for-money vehicles for a small family or 2 people, they had everything available to be booked.

My brother narrowed down on a vehicle like the Suzuki Ertiga, which will not only provide a better view from the car but also will be able to accommodate the luggage of 5-6 people in the boot. My personal car was going to take the luggage for another 4. We then went ahead to O.R Tambo airport in my car and directly went to the counter of Sani Rentals. The booking experience was awesome and the counter opens at 530am and closes at 11pm. We rented the Ertiga the night before and returned it at a similar time, late at night. It definitely saved us an extra day and the prices for the category at Sani rentals were definitely cheaper by 15-25%. My brother added some extra insurance so that he didn’t have to pay any fees in case of any misfortunes and then also he saved some money from the famous rentals.

Finally, we could make it to our 5-day trip inside the Kruger National Park and my parents and my brother could identify more wildlife because of the higher ground clearance as compared to what I could see in my sedan. Also, the best part of hiring a vehicle is the safety that you get in case the vehicle breaks down. You just call a number and they will come to the place where you are with an alternative vehicle which is not possible even with your personal vehicle. It’s a big relief when you are on holiday and I have faced it with a personal vehicle and it spoils all the fun when it happens. So don’t overthink, plan your trip across South Africa and Namibia using Sani Car Rentals.

I have already started working on a road trip to Namibia and I am definitely going to rent a car with Sani Rentals again. What about you?

10 Years of www.TheLifesWay.com #TheLifesWay #BlogAnniversary #10YearsofTheLifesWay

Hi Friends, 

10 years is a mark that you think will change something but it's not like that as it's just your ego making mental challenges. I never thought that I will one day reach this point but I started The Life's Way only to carry on till the end of my life. I don't know if anyone will take it afterwards but it's a one-person effort, time, money and investment. I could never grow the same and it still is where it is as a one-person blog. 

In 2022, I changed my pivot to not waste time on brands that are not valuing me but rather than expectations in my mind and heart for them to recognise and send me their products or services. But this kind of mentality needs to be corrected so it's always better to set your expectations at the start of your services for the other brand. I think I have done enough in the last 10 years for hundreds of brands that made full use of me without any benefits in return. I don't blame them but it was me who never told me what I expect in return at the start of the partnership. It was rather a one-sided affair as I kept promoting them. 

During 2022, I deleted all the posts that don't serve my readers so the count has come down from 2500 posts that were for 9 years of The Life's Way to this one which is going to be 2050 or near that. I also spent more time reading and listening to books. I walked more than 1000 kilometres in 2022 instead of sitting in front of my laptop and the internet to post press releases for free or any trade exchanges or any kinds of benefits whatsoever. It's better to invest in your attitude, mental peace and learning. 

The Life's Way achieved 3.85 Million pageviews in 2022 despite spending very less time and reducing the number of posts and press releases. I am not so sure how much I will cross but based on the run rate I think I will be around 4.25 Million pageviews by 27-Dec-2023 the target that I have set for myself is around 5 Million. It's not going to be an easy task to get more than 1 Million pageviews in a single year and also I am thinking of migrating from Blogger to WordPress if possible. 

Coming back to the achievements during the course of the 10th year of The Life's Way - I did some of the paid assignments with theSalt influencer marketing company that really helped me earn some money along with some free products as well. I did a campaign for Webfluential as well along with one for the Vodacom Pay contest from YouTube Shorts and also for the Evetech Creator contest. The Salt ones fetched me some cash which really helped me buy all the stuff I bought in 2022. I spent much more than I earned in 2022 as I am thinking about it now. 

The best thing that happened in 2022 was the coming together of my brother's family and my parents all coming together to South Africa and we went to Kruger National Park for a 4 nights trip which was amazing. Then I went again to Hermanus to see the whales that were also on my wish list for many years. Then to end the year, I went to Mauritius which was my first international trip for more than 15 days on an island. All these trips were self-paid and not sponsored as some influencers thought and were jealous about. There is nothing to be jealous of as I paid for all these trips myself only the cameras to take pictures with were given for review and taken back after the completion of the trip. 

I focused mainly on YouTube channels creating long-form videos and Shorts and both took me in different directions. Long-form videos got me into the YouTube Partner programme after completing 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time in a single year. The YouTube Shorts took me into the Shorts Community by virtue of which I attended my first ever YouTube live events in person and virtually and received a lot of YouTube swag to enjoy as well. I also received my first YouTube payment too and which was USD 121 in the month of Nov-22. 

I did a lot of unboxing videos along with stationery videos and 100s of shorts. In total, I did around 159 long-form videos and 323 Shorts in 2022. My biggest dream came true was meeting Cycle Baba that I dreamed of in 2021 when I came to know that he is going to come to Africa. I met him on April 22 and shot a small interview video with him as well. 

I also completed 42 years of Hanuman Chalisa which was a dream work I wanted to do for many many years now and I could complete it before my birthday on July 22. I could finish the same in May or Jun-22 which was a month before the target time I allocated. It left me to focus on the walks and audiobooks. 

The products that were on my dream list that I shared were not fulfilled at all. I didn't get an Apple Macbook or DJI Gimbal or Canon EOSM 22mm lens. My father though gifted me Apple Earpods with wireless charging (2nd edition) that my brother gifted him. My brother also gave me his 7th generation Kindle Paperwhite I am enjoying it a lot and spent a lot of time reading books. I did buy certain products that I always wanted to own like RGB Headset stand, Monitor Arm. After buying them I felt good but not using them any longer as it hurts your eyes when you are sitting right on top of them. So all the RGB lighting that looks great on videos and images is just torture and stressful for your eyes for sure especially for me as I wear glasses so it gets a lot of reflections. 

This year I focused more on buying my own stuff rather than winning the same as I have been doing over the years. This is the year where my expenses rose more than my income from The Life's Way. I bought a lot of Pilot and Lamy Fountain Pens along with a lot of online courses from Skillshare, Udemy and other platforms like getAbstract. I did get some new kinds of opportunities this year where I went to a lot of conferences and in-person sessions. It did fetch me some special gifts that I never expected and showcased to you on my YouTube channel as well. 

I have not moved to another smartphone and still using the same ones (Note 20 and Z Flip3) as I was at the end of 2021 so nothing has changed much this time around. I did review some of the smartphones from Huawei, Honor, Nokia, Vivo, TCL and Samsung including some tablets as well. Those all were great phones but they went back as they came for a review period of 14 days or so. TCL phone people got really interested when I posted the unboxing video on my YouTube channel. 

The main focus remained on getting more and more Youtube videos and shorts and the blog took a little bit of beating due to the same. I kept making a lot of blog posts in my mind but the actual typing of those words never happened. It's still happening and I do think about all the posts in terms of storytelling but the words never get typed and directly go into videos if that happens. 

I am not sure what 2023 will bring for me but I hopefully want to change my mindset towards wealth and growth. I want to take risks in my job, career and money. I want to grow my channel to reach 100k subscribers on Youtube and the blog to cross 5 Million pageviews as told earlier. I will do my own thing and if I can align with some brands I will do it else just live my life on my own terms. 

Aum Namah Shivay!

Till next time...Aashish 

Thanks! Cheers!!! 

https://linktr.ee/thelifesway

Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for historical tech, new gadgets, stationery, product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay Link to all social media platforms - https://t.co/gUHjo8DQ7h Your Lifestyle and Technology Blog for the last 10 Years!

New Year Resolutions - Week 23 Achievements & Failures #TheLifesWay

Hi Friends,

Week 23 was one of the best ones as my parents were here in Johannesburg along with my brother too and we went to see the African Wildlife in Kruger National Park. It was a 2 nights stay at Satara Rest Camp and 2 nights at Skukuza Rest Camp. We took the comfortable Sunset Safari twice and an early morning Safari. It was really nice and some of the days it was too cold too. We had the best sightings ever seeing the Lion on all 3 days and Lioness and Cubs with their number going as high as 13 in one batch. 

Week 23 - Sat 04 Jun 2022 - Fri 10 Jun 2022

1. Kruger National Park - I took holidays for the first 4 days of the week and came back on Thursday and returned back to work on Friday. The sighting at Kruger National Park was amazing as the park was not flooded with tourists but there were a lot of European tourists in the park. 

2. Walking - No walking was performed as the whole day used to go in our car and then rest on the Safari vans. Will try to cover the same in the next few weeks. 

3. Entertainment - Watching animals and taking their photos and shooting vertical format shorts for my Youtube shorts channels was the only entertainment we have had other than the amazing food and lovely company of my family members. I have posted a lot of content from Kruger National Park on my Youtube Shorts this time around. To end the week we had a family dinner at Taste of Punjab in Sunninghill and my brother and his family loved the food there. 

4. Youtube Shorts - I achieved the 1000 mark at 283 videos on 9 May 2022 and saw that at the end of the week I am now standing at 383 videos with more than 1250 subscribers. All of them were shot using the Samsung Galaxy A53 5G smartphone which I took to the park along with selfies. Thanks to Samsung South Africa for the same. 

5. Thank You - I was lazy on the same and only was able to take them past the 48000 mark from the 42640 mark which was done till last week. 

The Lifes will slowly go back to normal as the office will start soon and then the emptiness will be felt as the kids will go back to their schools and all the fun and togetherness will again become like talking to the walls. This is the most difficult phase that will remind you of all the memories that took place when your relatives were there for you. 

Week 22

Cheers!!!

Contact me at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate on your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #10YearsofTheLifesWay. Namaste!

8 Years of Life in #Johannesburg #SouthAfrica #9YearsofTheLifesWay 2450th Blog Post

Hi Friends, 

2021 is almost over and this will also mark the 9th anniversary of The Life's Way and I wanted to have this 2450th blog post as my self-promotion rather than for any brand. I  completed 8 Years in Johannesburg on 2nd November 2021 and the best part for this year is that I got my South African driving license. Now I can drive here easily for the next 5 years or so. 

Last time I did one report on my 5 Years of Life in Johannesburg and since then what I have achieved till date will be mentioned in this blog post - 

My love my blog The Life's Way has crossed 3.4 Million page views and this is my 2450th blog post. I am currently using Samsung Z Flip 3 5G smartphone which is my first foldable device and I am really grateful to Samsung for the same. I am still driving the Honda Civic 1.8 Elegance but I want to move to an SUV soon enough next year. I also bought my first house in Johannesburg, South Africa and am now no longer living in rented accommodation and can buy my own stuff as per my requirements and needs. Lockdown due to Covid-19 gave me enough time to think about my priorities and now I intend to not waste my time on things of no returns like free blog posts for the brands who are not sending me anything or not even calling me to their launch events and not even retweeting the shared blog posts. Why waste time on such brands when you can have fun with limited few brands enough to last your lifetime? 

During the last three years, I made trips to Kruger National Park, Garden Route, Northern Cape and many more places which I had not visited earlier too. My Google Maps photos have crossed 39 Million views and places reviews are standing at 214721 views. I have reviewed over 230 places so far and reached the top 10% places reviewer whereas I am the top 1% contributor in terms of photographs on Google Maps. In the next year or so I intend to reach Top 1% in terms of reviews too by taking the count to around 500+ reviews of places. 17092 contribution with 73025 points so far and still on Level 9 in the Let's Guide programme. 

My youtube channel crossed 851 subscribers and has now 386k views in total. I have crossed 200 videos and also started posting Shorts on the channel. I am still far from the mandatory 4000 hours and 1000 subscribers to be considered for monetization by Youtube. Though I will continue to post videos on this platform but let's see where this takes us in the longer run. I don't see it reaching 4000 hours unless I switch to the Hindi/Punjabi language and create content in the same. I also plan to bring in some insights into how a person I am and what makes me unique in my own perspective if anyone wants to take inspiration or tips and tricks I followed and learned through the last 41 years of my life. 

I have reduced my photography to a much smaller level as I didn't pick up my cameras other than for making Youtube thumbnails or to shoot some products. I mostly used the smartphone camera to cover my travels locally whatsoever and to post on Google Maps too. I am also giving away my Canon 100D to my brother-in-law for his Youtube channel on YOGA and other exercises like Pranayam, Meditation etc which has crossed the monetization stage and can achieve greater heights with a proper DSLR camera. I have thought of clearing my inventory of stuff which I don't want to use myself to reach the hands of people who can enjoy the same. 

Keisha's channel was deleted by me due to some restrictions and now I plan to have her channel on my email id only. I will repost all her videos and will check if she wants to create more content in the future of 2022. 

I now intend to try out other platforms too with all their new tools like Reels, Stories, IGTV and Live on Instagram. Similarly, I will try out Facebook Live and other tools to post regular content. I completed my 12 books this year in 2021 and am really grateful for the same as for the last few years I was not doing it. I now am putting a good pressure on myself to complete one per month and wants to continue doing the same next year too with 25 books to complete. I put all my reads to track on Goodreads - follow me there and I continue to read on my Amazon Kindle Keyboard which is so far working fine. 

When I had Covid this year, I rewatched a lot of Bollywood movies on Youtube and loved seeing them and also I watch all the web series and movies in English and Hindi on the same day of the launch. I have not posted any reviews of those so far but I can do so in the near future as it means a lot of content for my blog posts. 

Cheers!!!

Support me if you like reading this blog post by buying me a cup of tea or coffee - https://www.buymeacoffee.com/TheLifesWay Contact at thelifesway@gmail.com to collaborate and promote your services and products. Subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel for giveaways, product reviews and mystery unboxings. #TheLifesWay #9YearsofTheLifesWay. Namaste!

Brown-hooded Kingfisher @SANParksKNP @SANParks #KrugerNationalPark #SouthAfrica

Hi Friends, 

Sometimes in life, you wonder that you shall have the higher zoom camera to capture the beautiful birds which are far on the branches or are flying high in the skies. A similar experience happened to me when I saw this beautiful Kingfisher bird which was sitting far high on the branches of a tree inside the Kruger National Park. 

Kruger National Park is filled with so many different kinds of birds and you need a good telephoto lens so that you can reach them from far far away. It's always good practice to rent the equipment if you can't own the same. 

Brown-hooded Kingfisher is almost the size of Cape Sterling which I shared photos earlier in my posts and weighs just 60 grams. You will be able to find them near any water source especially rivers inside the Kruger National Park. 

In the end, Kingfisher is one of the beautiful birds with a loud and harsh voice. You will find them in pairs maximum else it also roams alone. People also say that it showcases the most dramatic courtship displays in the mating season. All the photos are taken using Nikon D7000 and Sigma 70-300mm Telephoto lens inside the Kruger National Park in South Africa. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts and subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel too where contests will be held in the month of July 2020. Namaste!

Impala @SANParksKNP @SANParks #KrugerNationalPark #SouthAfrica

Hi Friends,

Impala is found all over South Africa in all the game drives and all the national parks and they look really lovely in their beautiful and agile body. 

This photograph is my favorite as one of the Impala takes the center stage while others check out my next movement to start running from the spot. This led to a great photographic capture as the sand creates the stage like a podium and the grass in the background created the others in far watching the performances. 

The beautiful Impala can run at its maximum speed of 80km while 60km is general. One fun fact is that they are also called as McDonald's of the Bush as they are readily available for the carnivorous animals to hunt them easily. 

Because they have dark brown lines on either side of their bottoms and one in the middle of the tail, making it look like an M logo just like on McDonald's stores all around the world. If you ever make it to South Africa, do check them out at the Kruger National Park and enjoy this beautiful animal and if you are lucky enough, you will see them getting hunted by the Leopards and Lions. All the photos are taken using the Nikon D7000 and Sigma 70-300mm telephoto lens. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts and subscribe to my YOUTUBE Channel too where contests will be held in the month of July 2020. Namaste!

Blue Wildebeest @SANParksKNP @SANParks #KrugerNationalPark #SouthAfrica

Hi Friends, 

Continuing our journey towards the Mopani rest camp we continued to come across various birds, animals, flora, and fauna along with the whole topographical location. We traveled inside the Kruger National Park for about 275 kilometers without taking any food breaks and eat in the car and only stop to use the washrooms. 

Wildebeest is a type of Antelope that comes in two species in Africa namely Blue and Black Wildebeest. You will find them a lot inside the Kruger National Park and also private Game Safaris in the rest of the country. You will find them sharing the grazing space with Zebra and they are attacked by predators as they weight around 180kilograms making the whole Pride of Lions feel full.

The great migration of Wildebeest happens in the Masai Mara National Park in Kenya as the population is huge in those areas which can be predominantly seen during the months of July and August. If you going to Masai Mara, do book your trip with the trusted travel agents as a lot doesn't fulfill the promises after taking your money. 

It feels great to feature all these animals in a separate post each and then select the best shots to share on my social media platforms. I hope you are liking them too and plans to see them live in Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Bats at #Satara Rest Camp @SANParksKNP @SANParks #KrugerNationalPark #SouthAfrica

Hi Friends,

As we were passing through the Satara Rest Camp and entered the small market inside the camp for some Ice cream and to go to washrooms etc, I checked out a tree outside the market. I was totally afraid to even watch these bats and click photos. 

There were flying all over the market and I really wanted to run away from that spot. But as this was something I have never felt in my life, I took out the camera and clicked some photos before leaving this place for our continued journey inside the Kruger National Park. 

Bats are an integral part of the Jungle ecosystem as a single bat can eat up to 2000 insects a night which will otherwise keep you from sleeping. They eat all kinds of agricultural and household pests even mosquitoes. 

They are part of many camps and are found in large numbers in Kruger National Parks and comes in 65 species only in South Africa out of 1200 species worldwide. SAN Parks have now tried to isolate their chalets and houses free of bats entering the houses by closing all kinds of holes in the roofs and chimney openings. This has helped the tourists to sleep perfectly well inside the rest camps but the jungle is a jungle and you can't restrict them so be prepared to stay with them as you are in their house. 

All the photos are taken using Nikon D7000 using the Sigma 70-300mm lens. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Wild Dog in @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

Wild Dog is one of the most dangerous of wildlife animals as they attack with their whole family of hunters and keep you chasing till you start gasping for breath and will start eating you alive. 

Though they are themselves endangered animals from Africa's mammal species because of the killing by Human beings as sometimes they enter human areas and tries to take the small pet animals like cows, lamb, goat, etc.

Though they are not found so easily in Kruger National Park, I was lucky enough to see them in huge numbers as I was at the gate of the park 2 hours before it's opening time and my car was number 1 for the day to enter the National Park. I felt really great just like people who do the Amazing race feel when they reach the Pitstop to Phil. 

Don't think of Wild Dogs as your pet dogs as they are very aggressive and only live for about 6 years inside the Kruger National Park before they die. 

Rangers of the park do tell that they can even chase the Big 5 animals like Lion and Leopard because they try to take away their hunt and keep chasing them and start biting them from all sides as they attack in big numbers and Lion do run away seeing them leaving their hunt for them to cherish. It means Unity is definitely Strength for this small looking but predator like nothing known ever. All photos are taken using Nikon D7000 using Sigma 70-300mm lens inside the Kruger National Park in South Africa.

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Warthog in @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

I have been training myself for the past few days on various new technologies using Youtube and other channels and if you Focus enough you will be able to learn something new during these times. 

Warthog is from the pig family and found in large numbers in South Africa and basically food for the crocodiles. If you search on Youtube, you will find various narrow escape videos of Warthog as they are very active and agile despite their looks. 

Warthog you will also remember from the famous movie Lion King where it plays the role of Pumbaa. They have these unique teeth just like elephants but looks more aggressive due to them. 

All the photos are taken using Nikon D7000 and Sigma 70-300mm lens inside the Kruger National Park. Enjoy lovely South Africa and check out various other posts of various wildlife animals inside the park.

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Cheetah Walking in @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

I am some of the lucky few who have seen the Cheetah hunting right in front of my eyes but I didn't get a clear shot of his try. I saw him running behind a springbok but without any success and it all happened in a few seconds as the speed of Cheetah needs no introduction. 

Also, I went to the park in a sedan that is not suitable for the Kruger National Park because of its height from the ground and it's always advisable to drive in an SUV and more in a 4x4 so that you can travel off-roads allowed by the SAN Parks authorities.

You will also observe that the animal merges into the backdrop of fallen trees and the color of the sand and it is so difficult to find them too. 

This sighting was also near the entrance gate of Lower Sabie Rest Camp which I thought that this is his area where he stays all the time as many people reported seeing the same Cheetah on the sighting board inside the camp. 

If you ever visit South Africa then Kruger National Park is a place without going to which your trip to the country will never be complete. 

I have fallen in love with this big cat - look at the color of the skin, the patches, the combination of brown and black, the marks on the face, the threatening eyes and the way it turns its tail to balance it on its sprint run when the animal is on hunting mode is totally amazing. I am so amused and I am sure so are you!

All these photos are taken using Nikon D7000 using the Sigma 70-300mm lens by Aashish Rai inside the Kruger National Park. I am sure you will bring better cameras with you with long telephoto zoom lenses to take much better photos of this amazing South African Wildlife and share it with the world just like me!

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Love is Not the Solution @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

Love is not the only solution all the time sometimes you have to take a stand and fight for what you feel is right. It does matter that what you are feeling should be validated against your principles and value systems but once your heart validates the same, you can take your stand and fight till the end. 

We generally take a back stand when we feel that we might hurt the other person closer to us but if he has done something bad which hurts your feelings and is continuously doing it again and again without realizing the same then go and talk to that person. 

If then also instead of listening to you, he tries to bully you in any way then it's the fight or flight but as a family, you can't flight so fight for what is right and take a stand. 

In the end, you will get some punches but your heart and mind will become satisfied that you have made the other person think from your standpoint or view and maybe he will also realize the mistake he has been doing with you by taking you for granted. 

All the photos of these beautiful Springboks are taken by Aashish Rai using Nikon D7000 using Sigma 70-300mm lens at Kruger National Park, South Africa. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

Cape Sterling @SANParksKNP @SANParks #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends,

Kruger National Park is a must-visit place in case you are visiting South Africa and love wildlife too. The habitat and vegetations change from camp to camp as you travel from one end of the park to another. 

I was at Skukuza Rest Camp for my morning breakfast when I saw this beautiful glossy blue colored birds flying length and breadth of the restaurant in the search of some food. 

This one is named Cape Sterling and you will easily see them in this base camp and Skukuza camp has a nice view of the river underneath. 

I tried to take pictures of this one flying but those came out very blurry and not good enough to share and go directly under the category of shift+delete. 

All these photos are taken by Aashish Rai at the Kruger National Park using the Nikon D7000 camera and Sigma 70-300mm lens. 

The search for food is the biggest reason we all wake up in the morning and in the animal kingdom the survival of the fittest along with taking care of oneself is of utmost importance. 

This is a very quick flying bird and its silky blue and green feathers look great and the eyes of this bird can be noticed from far far away. I hope that you make Kruger National Park a must on your trip to South Africa.

Namaste!!!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!

African Sacred Ibis Enjoys Walking Inside @SANParksKNP #SA #PhotoYatra #TheLifesWayCaptures

Hi Friends, 

Kruger National Park is filled with wildlife that you need to identify using the various birds and animal manuals available at the stores' insides the park. I had the pleasure of going with the guy who loves wildlife to the core and together we roamed from the start of the day till the time gates close of the rest camps. 

Time management is of supreme importance if you are inside the park and you need to predefine where you want to go and what you want to do in Kruger National Park. 

There are so many loops - gravel and dirt roads which will take you off the main road and that's where plenty of waterbodies lies and wherever there is a waterbody you can easily see some of the group of animals arriving at different times of the day. 

The speed limit of your car is also important as you will be fined heavily around R2500 if you cross the speed limit of 50km/h on the tar road and gravel its 40km/h. There are rangers throughout the park hiding behind the trees, caves and on famous routes and straight roads. 

African Sacred Ibis is one of the beautiful birds found in Africa and you will spot the same inside the Kruger National Park. We found this bird close to the Mopani Rest Camp gates once we came out of the same and traveled around the Tropic of Capricorn loop.

If you are interested in Bird Photography, you shall take the biggest possible lens giving you enough zoom as these birds don't come close to the vehicles. If you have a hybrid camera with a 40x zoom that will be great for the Kruger National Park. 

I really loved the black and white color combination of the birds' feathers and it really made it glow in the park filled with small flowers on the grass.

All the photos are clicked by Aashish Rai using Nikon D7000 camera with 70-300mm Sigma Lens at Kruger National Park in South Africa. 

Sawubona!

Contact Aashish Rai Jain at thelifesway@gmail.com or editor@thelifesway.com to send your products, launch event invites, and services to be consumed. #TheLifesWay #PhotoYatra #7YearsofTheLifesWay. Follow me on www.instagram.com/thelifesway for all travel-related photo posts. Namaste!