Kruger National Park safari with Leon Simon and Partner from the 4th - 7th March 2010

Nhongo Safaris picked up clients on the eastern side of Johannesburg and transfered them through to Nelspruit were we changed over into one of the open safari vehicles and made our way to the Kruger National Park. Guests were on a four day 3 night safari and would be stating two nights in the camp of Pretoriuskop and one night in the main camp of the park called Skukuza. After checking in to the camp, it was out on the road at 15h30 for the guests first game drive. After a distance of about 7 Km's on the Napi road we picked up a female rhino and calf wanting to cross the road. As the park had quite a few people in for the day, we waited for most of the traffic to depart and the positioned ourselves for the photo opportunity as the two came over the road. right on cue out they came giving us a wonderful photo opportunity that could not have been missed. We carried on with our afternoon game drive also getting to see Impala, Kudu, Stenbuck etc. After this it was back to the camp for dinner and a good nights rest in order to get started early the following day.

The following morning,m clients were woken up at 04h45 and after enjoying tea and coffee we left the camp at 05h30. We made our way back down Napi road in the direction of Skukuza and the plan was to go onto the picnic spot of Nkulu for breakfast. About 12km's down the napi road, i came across a sighting of 5 lions lying in the middle of the road. The five comprised of one large male, two female lionesses and two cubs. The pride was not concerned about us and proceeded to go back to sleep when they were satisfied that we were stopped and were going to watch them for a while.

We stayed at the sighting for more than an hour with the guests getting good opportunities for good photos. There were two open safari vehicles that joined us, other than that it was free of any public interference on the sighting.
We decided to take our leave of the lions and made our way down Napi coming upon 8 wild dogs walking in the road. These dogs cover large amounts of ground and are notoriously hard to find.


We stopped our vehicle to the side of the road, only to have the alpha male dog walk up to the vehicle and start to smell it. Eventually the others followed his action and did the same

 This was quite something for the guests aboard the vehicle, as non of them ever thought that they would be able to see wild dogs at such close quarters. As soon as we found the dogs, so thay dissapeared into the bush looking for something to hunt, so we turned the vehicle around and made our way back down the Napi in the direction of Skukuza. About 1,5km's past the entrance to transport dame, we came upon a sighting of two female lionesses and one male lying next to the road. The male was a young sub adult, and it was not too long before they stood up and started to move off in a southerly direction. We decided to make our way onto Skukuza and that we would have breakfast there as time had got away from us due to all the sightings experienced that morning. We made our way to Skukuza finding Klipringer as well as many other antelope species on route to breakfast. After breakfast on the way out of Skukuza, i got a radio call telling us of a leopard that had just killed an impala and pulled his kill up the tree. We decided to make our way in that direction, while on route we got the message that he had been chased by hyenas and had jumped out of the tree and disappeared.
We decided to make our way there anyway as i knew he would come bck sometime to eat. We got to the sighting and managed to get a sighting of the two hyena that were the ones that chased him off the kill. i instructed the clients to stay seated and to be patient as he would return. After about 40 minutes, we were rewarded for being patient as our friend this large tom Leopard suddenly jumped back into the tree and proceeded to lie on the large branch and sleep. We spent another 20 minutes there before getting a call on the radio of two cheetah 200 meters up the road that had decided to come out and walk on the road and mark their territory. We turned the vehicle around and moved out in search for the cheetah. This did not take too long to find, as they were still walking in the road when we drove up.

We were there for quite a while, when they decided to move off the road at a no entry sighn, were they proceeded to mark there territory and also smell the road marker before moving off along the fire break parallel with the Napi road.
We decided to turn the vehicle around and make our way back to the leopard sighting in order to see if we could get some good photos of this guy. He was still in the same place when we arrived and was not going to move quickly. We decided  to make our way to camp for a rest and to return to the leopard sighting that afternoon. We left camp at 15h30 after a good rest and made our way for the leopard, en route we found our two cheetahs lying on a termite mound getting ready to start moving off and looking for something to eat. We carried on getting to our leopard close to 16h30. He had moved and was now in a better position for a photo session. After some good photos had been taken by the guests, it was off back to camp in order to get back before the gates closed. After a good dinner, it was off to bed, as the next morning we were leaving the camp for the camp of Skukuza.


I woke up the clients at 04h45 and aftger some tea and coffee and the packing of the luggage it was off to find more animals. We came across elephant, lion, rhino, kudu, impala, klipspringer etc before breakfast. Breakfast was enjoyed at the Nkulu picnic spot. After breakfast we made our way down to the camp of Lower Sabie coming across large herds of elephants all on the way to the river in order to take the days drink. We took a drive to Sunset dam and came across a huge buffalo bull lying in the water cooling himself down.
we then made our way back to the camp as the guests were going out on a night drive and it was leaving at 17h00.
I helped the guests onto the night drive telling them i would meet them back there upon there return. When the guests returned at about 20h30, they had had quite an eventful game drive, going back to our leopard and finding him there finishing off his kill and then jumping out of the tree and walking away and then also to come upon a single lioness with four hyenas trying to attack her and push her off the bridge. Upon the guests return, they were quite upset about the lioness, so i managed to calm them down by letting them know that it wouls be a very difficult thing to kill a female lioness. After a good dinner at the Selati restaurant, the guests went to bed.

Up early next morning in order for the guests to have there last game drive, we decided to drive down and see if we could see the lioness from the previous evening. While we were driving to the area, some other safari vehicles reported that they had found her together with her cub and that they were fine. Unfortunately when we got to the area were they were, they had already moved off, so we were a little bit unlucky on seeing her again.
We then decided to make our way to Pretoriuskop for breakfast before leaving the park and making our way back to Nelspruit and then on to Johannesburg.

Feedback from the guests was that they had a wonderful time and as one of them is from South Africa and still has family that stays her, they will be returning with us next year again and are looking at doing one of our 9 Day North to South Safaris in order to  experience the rest of the park. Some of the clients have promised to send through some of there photos, so we will keep you posted upon there arrival with us. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.