On Safari With Amanda From 18 March 2016

18 March 2016

Today I picked up my new guests from America at skukuza airport. 

Temperature today had a real feel of 45° as we set off for an afternoon game drive.

Elephants were our first sighting and Ken was incredibly excited, nearly jumping out of his seat!! We watched as they ate from the trees and rested in the shade, always special to watch the world's largest land mammal so closely. 

Baboons playing along the way entertaining us too.

A visit to transport dam gave us hippos and Waterbuck resting in the afternoon sun.

Back at camp ready for supper and anticipation for tomorrow's morning drive.

19 March 2016

An early start this morning for a refreshing drive.

We left camp at 5:30,it was still dark but the sun was rising quickly.

We drove for roughly 2kms when out of nowhere a small pride of lions walked out of the bush in front of us! Incredible to watch them and totally surprising! We watched them for 5 minutes until they disappeared into the bush.

We drove a little further running ahead of us in the road were 7 wild dogs. They didn’t stop for at least 4kms and we kept our distance and followed them until we lost visual. Amazing to see them running in and out of the bush obviously hunting.

Nice elephants along the way along with zebras and of course the beautiful impalas.

Another great drive in the best place on earth!

20 March 2016

Another great day in the park today!

After a Sunset drive last night where my new guests enjoyed watching the African sun go down with a glass of Amarula and seeing hyena, zebras and other plains animals, we had a delicious buffet supper before heading for a well deserved rest after an epic 30 hours of travelling!

My lovely Norwegian guests headed out early for a Bush walk, leaving from nkambeni camp, they stood and watched the hippos at the water hole and were keen to tell me, on their return, of all the different tracks they'd seen including porcupine and zebras. 

After breakfast we headed out for our first drive together. Checking the temperature the real feel was 48° and we heard humidity was up to 90% so incredibly hot for my guests having come from a temperature of 5° at home!

I decided to drive the circle road heading towards PK koppies, a small loop with beautiful views. On the road we watched Giraffe as they curiously watched us watching them "chewing the cud" very graceful mammals to watch. We drove slowly around the koppie and spotted, very well camouflaged, a klipspringer and then another one appeared, we watched the one jump from a small koppie to another like a little goat!

Turning the corner I chatted with my Co pilot who decided to join me about a nice crowned eagle that is sometimes perched on top of the dead tree, it wasn't there but.....another shape caught my eye, I checked with my binos again just to confirm that what I was seeing was actually what I'd identified it as and true enough lying on top of the koppie was a leopard! !! We sat with him for nearly an hour awaiting my colleagues and saw him lift his head every now and then before flopping down again! Incredibly happy for my guests to see such a beautifully elusive cat.

We drove away excited about the leopard and on our return in the afternoon the eagle was where I'd hoped it would be and the leopard had moved away under a rock shaded from the African sun!

Baboons and vervet monkeys frolicking in the late afternoon sun on our afternoon drive along with more giraffe and also the very rare and handsome Sable Antelope incredible sightings today for my guests followed by supper and of course the odd bottle of wine to help my guests sleep!