On Safari With Karen 6 May 2015

6 May 2015

This morning we set off for another game drive. We were lucky to get a brilliant rhino sighting where a bull chased two girls. He first showed up in the middle of the road showing off all his brilliance. But after posing, he got more interested in the two girls close by. He started to get close to them but they were not interested at all in his advance’s. The moment he would come within 5 meters of them they would take a run for it. While we were watching in silence the rhinos forgot we were there and then suddenly stumbled upon the car. It gave them quite a fright and stuck between a rock and a hard place we had a stalemate for a while. But then the bull advanced again an off the two girls went. The bull snorted at us as if we had chased them away from him.

Just around the corner though we got the fright of our lives. In the middle of the road, sunning to get warm laid a Mozambican spitting cobra! And it was a massive one. It got quite a fright from our appearance too and it instantly reared in full defense mode: a third of its body was up in the air and it flattened its neck and opened its mouth wide at us. It didn't spit, but we went in full reverse to give it some space. It then slowly went off in the grass. As one of the guests is terrified of snakes we waited a while to give it time to slither away and then passed safely.

Other interesting sightings: a giraffe with two babies and she was munching on some very big fruit, an elephant up close and a herd of elephants we heard eating in the bush but could not see, zebras, waterbucks, grey common duikers, kudus, vervet monkeys, buffalo bulls, a hippo, woolly-necked storks, crocodile, dwarf mongooses, klipspringers, saddle billed stork, rhinos meeting and greeting, vervet monkeys, lots more white rhinos in small groups and impalas.

On Safari With Karen 5 May 2015

5 May 2015

Last night two of the guests went on a sundowner. Apart from a lovely sunset with some Amarula, they also saw a hyena, a buffalo, scrub hares and some elephants close to the gate.

Then this morning we left on our first morning safari. It was still a bit chilly when we encountered our first animals of today: a white rhino mother and her baby. She was a bit wary so she decided to take flight and we left her in peace.

One of our highlights was a visit to Transport Dam. Here we saw many different animals: a crocodile sunning himself, showing exactly all the tips and tricks at his disposal to have the optimum body temperature, blacksmith lapwings, a fish eagle, three (!) secretary birds (a rare sighting), two sadle-billed storks (also a rare sighting), lots of waterbucks, Egyptian geese and hippos.

The afternoon was all about the leopard cubs we saw. When we started our afternoon game drive we had gotten a tip from a fellow guide and we drove straight to the location where he had seen them last. And lucky us, they were still up in a tree. We saw two cubs of the mother that had three last October hanging out. One was a bit more sleepy then the other as she didn't move much. But its brother or sister was a little more active.

First she would climb down the tree and disappear out of sight. Then a little later she would climb back up and started to play with her brother or sister. But she didn't budge so both of them went to snooze for a bit. A little while later though she got restless again and once again got up and moved to play with her brother or sister. Again no such luck, but being awake she decides to jump some branches and lie down in full view for everyone to see. It gave some great photo opportunities for all.

Other animals seen: plenty of impalas, kudus including a nice kudu bull, Cape glossy starling, tree agama, side-striped skink, small herd of buffalos, giraffes, glimpse of a lion, crested barbet, leopard tortoise, steenbok, bateleurs, martial eagle, tree squirrels, a pair of common grey duikers, warthogs, zebras, lilac breasted rollers and plenty of elephants.

On Safari With Curtis 5 May 2015

5 May 2015

Our last morning on this particular tour and we set off early again in the hope of a last few memorable sightings.

The most memorable of the sightings was our rhino sighting. We had seen one yesterday but from a long distance away and everyone was eager to see this enigmatic creature close up before we left the park.

We were in luck as on the final stretch of the drive we found a white rhino grazing away. He was about thirty meters away but we waited patiently as he moved closer to us and we were rewarded as he ended up just a few meters from the osv giving us great photo opportunities.

Our second highlight was our trip up the top of Matekenyane view point where the guests enjoyed a stunning view and appreciate just how huge the park is.

It also gave all the guests the chance to enjoy some group photos, although the synchronized jumping needs working on guys.

Other sights today included three lionesses,  elephants, buffalo, kudu, zebra, impala, warthog, waterbuck, giraffe, hippo, crocodile and leopard tortoise.

Birds included saddle billed stork, African fish eagle, white breasted cormorants, pied kingfisher, African jacanas, white backed vultures and plenty more.

So it's goodbye to Anita, Archie, Christina and Priya. It's been great having you guys on tour and has been very memorable over the last four days.

On Safari With Karen 4 May 2015

4 May 2015

Today was a short afternoon drive as the guests just arrived today. On camp road we already encountered waterbucks as well as a herd of impalas, so we were off to a good start. As they would like to see some hippos we drove to Mestel Dam and sat there watching the hippos wake up. We got some nice action of hippos yawning, and some pushing and shoving in the water. Some of them were half submerged so we could get a good look at the size of them.

It was even more enjoyable as we also saw a pied kingfisher hovering as well as catching a fish, and some egyptian geese on the water's edge. On the way back we saw some vervet monkeys play and just before the gate of Nkambeni saw three big bull elephants wondering around. One of them was actually crossing the road just next to us.

Then two of our group went on a sundowner tonight. More about that tomorrow!

On Safari With Curtis 4 May 2015

4 May 2015

The start of this mornings drive was extremely quiet but as time went by we started to fine more and more.

Our first highlight was a small bit of standing water where we found a hippo and a tiny crocodile,  well two foot is tiny by some standards. That in its self is not so unusual as we often see this pair in close proximity. What made this sighting interesting was the arrival of an impala, obviously wanting to drink it was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Who to choose the hippo or the Croc!!! It slowly ambled up to the waters edge towards the hippo but the hippo moved and the impala scuttled away, it then decided to drink near to the croc. Now the little crocodile is nowhere near big enough to tackle a fully grown impala ( well not yet!!) but rows of razor sharp teeth should always be respected and this impala did just that edging closer to the water and finally getting a much deserved drink.

Our second highlight was a herd of about thirty blue wildebeest, again all coming down to drink from a small body of water ( no crocodile in this one.)

A couple of them even went for a deeper soak in the water before one took fright and the whole herd bolted.

Other animals seen today included kudu, waterbuck, warthog, giraffe, zebra, impala, vervets, lion, rhino, a big herd of buffalo crossing the road, elephant, tree squirrel, two leopard sightings and a hyena having a bath.

Birds included white backed vulture, southern ground hornbills, saddle billed stork, tawny eagle, magpie shrikes and pied kingfisher.