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Some of Nhongo Safaris Fleet of Open Safari Vehicles

The photo shows some of our fleet of Open Safari Vehicles used while on safari in the Kruger National and Hwange National Parks. These ve...

Monday 7 July 2014

On Safari With Karen From 4 July 2014


4 July 2014

After a pick-up in Nelspruit we drove the scenic route to Numbi Gate. We would spend the night at Nkambeni Safari Camp, where we first of all went to check-in and have some lunch. On the dirt road into camp we already saw some impalas, our first animals.

Then we set off for our afternoon game drive. Camp road had gotten a bit busier with impalas, a warthog and some kudus that were very well in hiding.

They had started burning on the side of the tar road so we passed some warm flames and then a reedbuck was standing in the middle of the burned bit. It looked a bit lost, as if it lost more than just its cover in the fire.

We turned onto Fayi Loop where just around the corner two young elephants were just crossing the road. They showed us their butts as they kept walking in front of us before turning off the road. Within seconds those big grey animals had disappeared in the bush.

We saw waterbucks, more kudus and lots of birds before we hit a roadblock. A herd of buffalos had decided their siesta was on the road and no matter how close we were, it wasn't over yet. We waited for quite some time taking pictures of the buffalos getting up, one of them being grey which stood out. We heard the fire crackling in the background but nothing was speeding them up today. When we were finally cleared to pass, we continued on our way. We then came across a wonderful and pretty unique sighting of an African rock python. He was lying on the side of the road, probably warming up in the sun. His body length was about 5 meters and he was evenly fat so he didn't just eat something. He lingered for a bit before slithering away into his hiding place. Just a little dried grass cover and his entire body was very well hidden!

To escape the fire we crossed the tar. On the crossing we had a troop of baboons pass us. Around Shabeni we found kudus and more impalas. We drove down Albassini to have a look at Mestel Dam. We spotted a pied kingfisher hovering, a fish eagle in a tree and hippos that were bobbing their heads up and down.

Down the road however we spotted a white rhino. He was on the side of the road but got scared by our vehicle and jumped back into the bush. He did however come back out behind us to show us how rhinos mark their territory! He then continued in our opposite direction before disappearing into the bush.

On our last stretch of today before being back in camp we also came across some zebras and some dagga boys on camp road.

 

5 July 2014

This morning we got up early to watch the sunrise from the loop around Manung koppies. The area around it was still burning at some places. We did see two female giraffes each with a young one. One female crossed the road, but the other was quite hesitant. Especially since more and more cars showed up, it decided to go back into the bush and not cross. We then moved on and had, in addition to a beautiful sunrise, multiple sightings of buffalos around Manung and Pretoriuskop Koppies, before turning onto Napi.

We stopped at Shithave Dam to watch a hippo come up to breath multiple times. There also was a crocodile that put himself on a rock already waiting for the sun to warm him up.

Down Napi we drove, all the way to Transport Dam. In addition to the previous sightings we found a kudu bull with some massive horns and vervet monkeys that just woke up and started playing in the early morning.

Then it was time to turn around to go back to Nelspruit as Siri and Alex were due back in Johannesburg today. Here they would transfer to Botswana where they would volunteer on a conservation project. I wish them all the best, and maybe we will see them back one day. Thanks very much for joining us!

On Safari With Karen From 3 July 2014


3 July 2014

Today we set off for a full day game drive right after breakfast. We have seen a lot of animals so far, but still there were many to find! However we weren't quite awake yet as we started our drive. Just before Shitlhave Dam we drove by seeing a little rock, a big rock, a rock with ears, little rocks.... Ho! Back up! A rock with ears? No, it was an elephant with a young. We didn't see the rest of the herd though.

We then continued down Napi where we spotted a lot of general game like kudus, a duiker, impalas and waterbuck. Close to Transport Dam two young hyenas were roaming around their den site, apparently having stolen a rubber cover for a pullhook. The youngsters were having great fun with it. Another younger one, just lay in the sun.

We turned down the H3. We had gotten word there should be lions down there, but no such luck for us. We did see some giraffes in the background, but no lions. We decided to continue down on the H3 anyways, which gave us a nice change of scenery. Down by Biyamiti bridge, a lot of cars were standing around. The word was there were lions, but no one seemed to exactly know where they were lying down now. Somebody even said they were a mating pair. We scouted with binoculars and thought we knew where they would be lying. So we waited. In the meantime all the other cars got impatient and left the sighting. Left all by ourselves we were startled by some weird unfamiliar noises. Then two white-backed vultures came sitting on the tree above the lions. They kind of did a mating dance and then indeed mated, letting us know what the unfamiliar noise was. Those noise little buggers however did show the lions apparently what to do as suddenly the female got up. The male followed suite and they were indeed a mating pair. Good things come to those who wait! We had a great sighting of mating vultures and lions.

We drove down towards Afsaal, but before the coffee we wanted to check out the open area. Normally there are some zebras or other grazers, but this time there were cars as far as we could see. A leopard was crossing in between those cars, unseen by us, but told by others. We scouted around, seeing warthogs, zebras, blue wildebeests and impalas but no leopard. We turned around to go back to Afsaal. While we were scouting around on the right however the leopard had crossed some way behind us, back to the other side! No wonder we didn't see it! We now scouted on the right and caught glimpses of it between the bushes and crossing open areas, before he hid away in the bushes to hide from all the commotion. There must have been at least 60 cars driving around to try to catch a glimpse! So after not seeing for 10min we decided to leave him be and finally go for a toilet break and then some coffee.

We then continued our drive back up the H3, seeing cars at the same lion spot where we had seen them mating, but the lions were lying flat once again. We didn't wait around this time. A little further on we saw 4 ground hornbills at the junction with the S113. They were digging in elephant dung in the open field. As these are very endangered it was a treat to see them.

We also came across a sadle billed stork, a group of five white rhinos, kudu bulls, baboons, bushbucks, warthogs, vervet monkeys and a white rhino mother and her calf. They were snoozing in the shade when the young got up and nudged his mother. Apparently he was thirsty as she rolled to her side and he started suckling!

After lunch at Skukuza, we took Napi road back towards camp. We spotted more general game and one hyena young was still outside its den, just in a different spot to soak up more sun. Just before the end we spotted a elephant in the bush. We stopped and then saw and smelled a large elephant bull in must on our right. The ladies in front were crossing the road and one by one took a sniff of the large bull. But none was really interested as they all continued on their way. The big bull was now left with just us to impress. Which is exactly what he tried to do. He turned around facing us and then came towards us to inspect the car to see if there would be room to join us. But smelling like that and obviously urinating, we told him firmly that he was not allowed to come any closer. However he didn't want to listen so we continued on our way. Looking back from a distance he slowly resumed molesting the marula tree he was feeding off.

Then on carrying on we were surprised by not one but another two herds of elephants crossing the road. Both times we were just on the right spot to enjoy the sighting but not to scare the mothers and their young. They crossed nicely with the youngsters fussing over the cars watching them and protecting the herd. Also two giraffes decided to cross the road. Here was where it all was happening as we saw a white rhino walking in the high grass and we came across two buffalos on camp road before it was the end of a long but very successful day!

 

4 July 2014

Unfortunately today was the last day for Leigh and Rachel. We started as soon as the gates opened and came across a small group of buffalos on camp road almost right away. It was still dark so most of them we couldn't see properly, but a female and her calf were standing in the middle of the road.

We drove up Numbi tar, towards Shabeni where we saw a lone giraffe. Around Shabeni loop we encountered a herd of elephants feeding right next to the road.

We then got a tip about some lions nearby so we went to Manung koppies. There we found a lot of open vehicles and heard some rustling in the grass. Word was there were indeed two lionesses walking around in the high grass. Unfortunately the rustling had stopped so apparently they lied down and no one saw them anymore. Lions are the same colour as the grass at the moment so difficult to spot when the grass is high. We hang around a bit longer before turning around, when suddenly they crossed the road about 50m in front of us!! We stopped next to them, where both of them stood staring at us. After a few seconds we weren't worth their attention so they walked off into the grass on the other side.

As time was running out we made our way back to Numbi, where we were caught by surprise by a massive herd of buffalo. Probably smelling the lions they were moving away. We counted around 40 buffalos before we found a gap to go through and there were at least the same amount still waiting on the other side to cross.

After transferring down to Nelspruit it was time to say goodbye to Leigh and Rachel. I hope you had a great time and will treasure all the memories of your round the world trip! Maybe we see you again one day!

 

 

On Safari With Karen From 1 July 2014


1 July 2014

When we arrived at the Kruger Park today, the zebras were just leaving the waterhole close to Numbi Gate. We continued our drive to Nkambeni where we checked in and had a bit of lunch before we went out for our first game drive.

On Albassini road we found our first but certainly not last impalas. A nice herd of females was standing in the shade. The redbilled oxpeckers flew up twittering loud about the possible danger we could be to the impalas. The impalas were unperturbed and only wiggled their ears at us.

Down at Mestel Dam it seemed to be busy hour. An elephant was grazing in the reeds on one side, while about 9 hippos were making themselves comfortable on the shore on the other side. And while sitting there we also spotted two giraffes and a fish eagle in a tree that was calling to its mate that was flying overhead. We continued towards Mestel overflow where waterbucks were grazing in the riverbed, two white-backed ducks swam past (a first for me!), and both a malachite and a pied kingfisher were looking for fish from a reed stalk.

Then we saw a swarm of white-backed vultures being blown past the Mestel overflow. We followed the road and came to a couple of trees full with more white-backed vultures that just had their fill of meat. Their crops bulging they sat in the trees preening. We also heard a lot more screeching noises going on down below them, which was just in a ditch out of sight for us, but we assumed more vultures were there consuming the leftovers. As we had recently seen fresh lion tracks we also deduced this was probably their abandoned kill. They had eaten their fill and then made their way to the water to drink. Unfortunately they had then long disappeared into the bush.

We turned onto Shabeni where we saw two warthogs, one on each side of the road for us, vervet monkeys and kudus. We continued on the tar road towards Napi where we saw more vervet monkeys and two young elephant bulls feeding. A family of dwarf mongoose was sunning themselves on a dirt road loop. They all jumped up and scurried away, when another car drove quickly past. A little further on an even larger family of banded mongoose was running back and forth over the road in front. However, less brave than their dwarf relative, not hanging around close to our vehicle.

A visit to Shithave Dam added waterbucks, a crocodile, terrapins, hippo heads bobbing in the water to our sightings checklist. Then we started making our way back to camp with a lovely sighting of a white rhino and a quickly running away duiker. We spotted another elephant but as soon as he spotted us having cameras he wanted none of that and showed us his butt. On the last stretch of camp road we also saw buffalos hiding in the high grass and another elephant, this one a bit more compliant for picture taking!

It was a very good start for our first day, bring on tomorrow!

 

2 July 2014

Early this morning we started first with a loop around Circle Road. Here we saw a glimpse of a reedbuck, zebras, three buffalo bulls and a little further on we came across a small herd of buffalos that was just waking up. We then took a loop around the Shabeni Koppies where we spotted a large family of baboons on the rock. The older ones were sunning themselves, while the youngsters were playing "tag" and running around like crazy. Around the corner a klipspringer couple was feeding while one was the look-out. Then a herd of buffalo was crossing the road. They had started crossing a while before as we just caught the end of the herd, but we got some nice pictures of bulls and mothers with their calves.

We bounced up Albassini road coming across an elephant feeding, more zebras, impalas and two giraffes. Those giraffes were very curious and kept on coming closer and in the end walked away from us on the road behind us. We saw four more giraffes feeding on Doispane on our way to Nyamundwa Dam. At the dam it was not that busy this early morning, but a couple of fish eagles was sitting in a tree and an African darter was drying his wings after a swim.

We then had to stop at Phabeni Gate as we had to say goodbye to Gina and Elena, who were going back to Johannesburg to continue the rest of their holiday. Thanks for joining us!



Tuesday 1 July 2014

On Safari With Karen From 27 June 2014

27 June 2014

Before we reached the Kruger Park today we had already spotted some wildlife, as some brave baboons crossed the road in between all the holiday traffic. We then entered the park through Phabeni Gate, almost straight away spotting a herd of buffalo. They were lounging in the riverbed, on both sides of the bridge.

While continuing on Doispane
we saw impalas, malachite kingfisher, kudus and wildebeest. We made a stop at Nyamundwa Dam where a big bull elephant was just having a drink. He splashed around with the water, so we started hoping he would go swimming, but no such luck. At the opposite side of the elephant there was a group of hippos standing outside the water. We also saw a fish eagle and white breasted comorants as well as an African darter.

We followed Doispane again where we encountered zebras, more wildebeest, lilac breasted rollers, dark chanting goshawk, and two beautiful kudu bulls.

We turned down onto Watergat where we stopped for two elephant bulls walking on our right. While positioning the car nicely we also got to see a giraffe on our left. We stood here for a while seeing 7 giraffes in total on the left, another one on the right passing the two bull elephants, which, by the way, didn't even greet, and also a nice large herd of impalas. Later on we saw more kudus, yellow billed hornbills, a tree squirrel, cape glossy starlings, a water monitor and a sounder of warthogs that was so startled by our appearance they took a run for it.

We were lucky of seeing the orphaned hyena cub outside one of his dens. For being an orphan he looks rather well. Then it became rather quiet. Not even the impalas were showing. We did however get a glimpse of the back of a rhino and a twitch of an ear, but he didn't comply in showing his full greatness.

We made a quick turn into Shabeni to see a lovely red-purple-blue sunset. But when the sun had set it had taken all the warmth with, so we retreated to Pretoriuskop, our camp for tonight.

28 June 2014

After yesterday's windy day we woke up to an overcast morning. We had a quick breakfast before we set off as soon as the gates opened. It was still dark, so that brought a lot of suspense. The first thing we saw was a scrub hare caught in the headlights. He got scared by us and zigzagged over the road, so we gave him some space and turned off our lights.

When he was gone, we drove on, taking a loop around Shabeni Koppies. It was still quiet in the morning. We studied some elephant and buffalo tracks as well as hyena tracks, rhino middens, buffalo and elephant dung, but we didn't see animals.

By now it had gotten light and we turned across the road towards Fayi Loop. There, hidden in the long grass, we saw a herd of buffalos still sleeping in the early morning. In the dark, we had driven straight past them, but they were only about two meters away from the road. One by one they slowly got up and stretched their legs.

Continuing our drive we spotted an elephant, with zebras on the opposite side of the road. While watching those we heard the funny whistling call of a reedbuck, but did not see him. We also came across multiple waterbuck sightings and a common grey duiker.
 

Continuing on we spotted 4 white rhinos in the high grass. They were grazing noisily as we heard all the plucking and chomping. They were slowly walking towards a fire break so we waited on the road to see if they would show in the open area. And this time we were lucky. Not only did all four of them show their full greatness, two of them kept grazing and came closer and closer to the vehicle. One was so close we could almost touch him!

Then we had to leave them as we had to make our way to Nelspruit to make a transfer to Jo'burg.

We spotted two more rhinos hidden in the high grass, but time had run out. It was a short safari, but I hope Christina, Laura and Christina nonetheless had a great time!!

Poaching Update


Invite to participate in the process of Panel of Expert investigating the feasibility of legalising rhino horn trade

Panel of Experts invites stakeholder participation as it explores rhino horn trade feasbility as part of South Africa's co...
mprehensive integrated approach to reduce rhino poaching.

The Minister of Environmental Affairs, Mrs Edna Molewa, invites stakeholders to register to participate in the process of the Panel of Experts investigating the feasibility of legalising rhino horn trade.

The Department of Environmental Affairs was authorised by Cabinet in July 2013 to explore the feasibility of South Africa tabling a proposal for the legalization of commercial international trade in rhino horn at the 17th Conference of Parties (CoP17) of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 2016.

The Panel of Experts was established to assist the Inter-Ministerial Committee appointed by Cabinet to deliberate on the matters relating to a possible trade in rhino horn and commenced its work in April 2014. The 10 member Panel is chaired by Mr Fundisile Mketeni, the Deputy Director-General: Biodiversity and Conservation and will report to the Inter-Ministerial Committee before the end of the year.

The Cabinet-approved Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) comprises the Ministers of Environmental Affairs, International Relations and Cooperation, Trade and Industry, Finance, Science and Technology, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Rural Development and Land Reform, Economic Development and Tourism, Safety and Security and Justice and Correctional Services. The Committee will provide guidance relating to preparations in respect of a trade proposal to be considered at CITES COP17. The IMC will meet as soon as the Panel of Experts (PoE) has finalised a report for its consideration.

The PoE has met twice since its appointment to initiate its work and discuss the scope of work to be done.

Key areas of work to be undertaken by the Panel include:

- Analysis of the current rhino situation and interventions to address illegal killing of rhino and illegal trade in rhino horn, with a focus on government initiatives;

- Identification of new or additional interventions required to create an enabling environment for the sustainable utilization of natural resources and to strengthen the integrated approach of the government in addressing illegal killing and illegal trade;

- The socio-economic impact of wildlife trafficking (illegal killing and illegal trade) for communities, game farms and private game reserves, conservation authorities and species conservation, and options relating to the establishment of alternative economies;

- Special focus on community involvement and participation, especially the communities neighbouring protected areas with rhinos

- The potential impact of various interventions and management scenarios on the conservation of the species, including range expansion;

- Improve understanding of demand and supply; the anticipated changes if trade is introduced; and the mechanisms to respond to that change;

- Potential models/mechanisms for trade (strictly controlled trade, i.e. once-off sale of stockpiles; government to government trade or more open regulated trade; sources of specimens and specimens to be traded; the benefits and risks associated with the different options; regulatory and control mechanisms; traceability; enforcement measures and financial mechanisms to be considered);

- The implications and risks for enforcement and security matters and mechanisms to mitigate (dynamics of wildlife crime and the key issues to be considered in terms of addressing current enforcement challenges and anticipated enforcement challenges);

- Implications of the decisions relating to trade for other rhino range States as well as implications for consumer States; and

The work of the Panel has intensified as the number of rhino poached in South Africa since the start of 2014, now stands at 496. The number of alleged poachers arrested since January 2014 is 141.

The Kruger National Park continues to bear the brunt of rhino poaching in South Africa. Since January 2014, 321 rhino have been poached in the Park.

The number of rhino poached in Limpopo this year has risen to 51, while 47 rhino have been poached in KwaZulu-Natal, 35 in North West and 24 in Mpumalanga.

The Panel will co-opt experts as the need arises and will engage with various stakeholders during the process. Stakeholders are invited to indicate whether they would like to make representations to the panel, and on what subject matter. The inputs will be considered by the Panel in formulating recommendations to the South African government on an appropriate position on the legalisation of rhino horn trade.

The Panel will consider the requests received and invite organisations or individuals to present information to it for consideration. The schedule of engagements/workshops will be made available in due course.


Interested stakeholders and organisations can register their interest to participate with Mr Mpho Tjiane of the Department of Environmental Affairs through e-mail: mtjiane@environment.gov.za


Stakeholders requiring information about the work of the Panel may contact Mr Tjiane at mtjiane@environment.gov.za


All media requests must be directed in writing to either Albi Modise at amodise@environment.gov.za or Eleanor Momberg at emomberg@environment.gov.za

To access the template to be completed by organisations / individuals that would like to register, click on:
http://bit.ly/1k5vvQB

South Africans and members of the international community are encouraged to report incidents of poaching and tip-offs to the anonymous tip-off lines 0800 205 005, 08600 10111 or Crime-Line on 32211.

Issued by:
The Department of Environmental Affairs