On Safari With Curtis From 29 April 2014

29 April 2014

The first day of the tour and after picking up my new guests, we drove down to Numbi gate. When we got there we only had a couple of hours before closing time so we did a quick loop around Albasini, Shabeni link and Shabeni loop. At Mestel the resident Hippos were in the water occasionally calling out and moving about, however most of our attention was on the other side of the dam where we had a solitary male elephant standing a couple of metres from the waters edge. I did think he might go for a cooling swim, in the heat of the day, but alas he was more interested in the succulent reeds. We also saw Reed cormorants and an African fish eagle at the dam. As we moved on we came across a herd of Cape buffalo, I could hear plenty of rustling and noise around us but the thick bush stopped us seeing much of the herd, we did see about ten of them close by. As we carried on driving we also Impala and waterbuck in the bush and then Vervet monkey' and Klipspringer both on the lookout on top of a rocky view point. As we reached Numbi tar we had a bit of time to spare and so I decided to take a quick look around a small loop, as we drove down the road we found a traffic jam and the cause was a male lion. As we watched him relaxing a second male got up and they then both walked past the vehicle. Time was pushing on and so we had to head down to our lodge for the night.

A great start to the new tour and hopefully plenty more tomorrow!!!

 

30 April 2014

As we left the camp we immediately came upon impala and giraffe standing in the middle of the road, we found two more giraffe a little further down the road. We decided to take a look around Shabeni loop this morning, as I thought the lions we saw yesterday might make their way to the rocks. We were in luck as they were both there and each took turns to get up and walk around. One of them even gave us an extra reward as he started to roar.

Continuing on we came upon four white rhino by the edge of the road, with so many cars around the sighting they were a bit edgy but we waited patiently and all four crossed the road in front of us. As we drove on we found impala, kudu, warthog and giraffe along the road as well as more elephant. We had a break at Skukuza before setting off again and we came across a herd, or maybe two, of elephants. At least 35 animals at the sighting and we again turned off the engine and waited for them to come closer. We were lucky that once again they obliged and we had some wonderful views as they crossed the road around us.

After lunch at the golf club I stopped off at Lake Panic where the guests saw hippo, crocodile, terrapins and Nyala. On the way back to the lodge we were rewarded again with another wonderful sighting of an elephant herd. They again crossed the road in front of us although one female along with a youngster was too busy eating to bother crossing the road and they wandered right up to our vehicle and gave a great opportunity for us to get some great photos. As we carried on we found more impala, vervet monkeys, baboons and warthog before we turned onto Albasini where we found a Side striped jackal standing by the edge of the road. We also saw Leopard tortoises, tawny eagle, an Bateleur, Lilac-breasted rollers as well as white-backed vultures.

 

1 May 2014

Another day and our first animal was again the resident impalas near the lodge gate, we also had a brief glimpse of a common duiker before he scuttled off into the bush. Today we headed down Voortrekker where straight away came across a large male giraffe and large male elephant. Although the road was quiet at times we again had many sightings of elephants along the way, both herds and bachelor groups of males as well as impala and a very nice buffalo resting in the shade.
After a break at Afsaal we headed along the H3 and Napi where we saw more elephants, hippo, waterbuck, impala and kudu. With the hot sun beaming down the Leopard tortoises seemed to be out in force as well as the terrapins sunbathing at Shitlave dam. A quick look around Shabeni and we saw a couple of dagga boys as well as three klipspringers.

 

This afternoon was quiet to begin with as we found impala and kudu then while driving around Faye loop we found a solitary buffalo having a cooling soak in a drainage line and as we drove on one of the guests spotted an African wild dog. They weren't too far in the bush but with the long grass it was hard to see them. We waited for a while and eventually a couple of them popped their heads up and now and again got up and walked around. We saw three at the sighting but I'm sure there were a few more in the grass. We carried on and found a family of dwarf mongooses hanging around on the edge of the road. We then found a nice herd of elephants just by Numbi road.

 

 

2 May 2014

 

An early start as for four of my guests it was the last morning of their safari. We headed down Albasini and found impala and kudu but not much else when as we approached the Shabeni link road a pack of eight wild dog came trotting down the road, they turned into the link road and we followed. We were able to follow behind them for quite a while before they moved into the bush. We set about trying to find them when suddenly we saw an impala leap right over the width of the road with 3-4 dogs in pursuit. They didn't manage to catch the impala as they soon regrouped on the road before heading back into the bush for good. We then took a drive around Shabeni loop which was quiet with just a couple of kudu, impala and klipspringer on it. Unfortunately it was then time to say goodbye to Martin, Petra, Sarah and Jasmine who are continuing their adventures around South Africa. It has been a pleasure having you on the tour and I'm sure you will have many more adventures to go with the ones we had in the last four days.

 

Myself, Leo and Patricia then carried on the drive and we found giraffe, zebra, hippo, a nice herd of buffalo close to the road, Vervet monkey' impala and kudu before heading back to the lodge for lunch.

In the afternoon we found three white rhinos deep in the bush, they seemed to be heading our way and so we reversed a little, to give them space, and waited. They moved closer to us and eventually came out of the bushes and walked across the road right in front of us. We also found a journey of giraffe although we only had a good look at one as the others were hiding behind their favourite Acacia trees. We also saw a couple of elephants, impala, kudu and marsh terrapins relaxing in the afternoon sun.

 

3 May 2014

 

This morning Kruger was a blanket of fog with visibility just a few metres but this didn't stop us from having a good start. We found the local territorial white rhino male resting in his favourite drainage line and got some good photos to start the day off. Then we noticed the spoor of the wild dog and after following them for a few minutes found the whole pack resting in the road. After staying with the dogs for a while we moved on. The morning can be summed up as missed opportunities as we missed leopard, by just a few seconds, on four separate occasions and we also just missed a lion sighting. However sometimes this happens and we kept preserving and were rewarded when we found two male lions sleeping in the bush. They were only about 8 metres from the road but with the tall grass we couldn't see much. They however were kind enough to pop their heads up now and again and one eventually got up and walked a short distance before collapsing back to the ground. This gave us all enough time to get some good photos.

Despite the disappointment of missed chances we did see many other animals throughout the day including plenty of elephants, waterbuck, giraffe, warthog, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, impala, klipspringer, steenbok and tree squirrels.

 

 

4 May 2014

 

It was the last day of this tour and after yesterdays disappointment of missing all those leopards we were hoping for a bit better luck. We only had a few hours before we had to get to the shuttle so we headed around circle road and Manungu koppies where we found plenty of elephants, and a beautiful male kudu walking down the road towards us. We then moved onto Shabeni loop and found impala before as we turned around a bend found a leopard quickly walking over the road. I anticipated him coming back out onto the road just on the other side of the loop and we positioned our car just in case he came out on the road again. We waited for a couple of minutes and then he appeared, he hung around, sniffing the area, before crossing the road. We followed to the place he had crossed and found him just by the road and were able to watch as he sniffed, looked and then slowly moved into the bush. We only had a look at him for a couple of minutes but the guests still managed to get some really good clear photos of him. After all the close misses of yesterday we were all ecstatic about this lovely sighting.

We only had a short while left so we headed down Albasini and Nyamundwa dam where we saw impala, zebra, giraffe, hippo and warthog. It was then time to leave the Kruger and head for the transfer. It has been a pleasure having Leo and Patricia on tour and I know they have loved all the wonderful sightings we got over the last few days, hopefully we will see you again in South Africa one day!!!

 

More coming soon!!