On Safari With Curtis From 13 February 2014

13 February 2014

Picking up my two guests at Numbi gate at 11:00 hours we went straight to our overnight accommodation at Nkambeni Tented Lodge, after the guests had settled in they went down for a bit of lunch and a bit of a rest ready for their first safari.

Luckily at 15:00 hours the worst of the rain had moved on and so we set off on our drive. W...e came across Impala, Kudu, Cape Buffalo and Waterbuck just on the lodges camp road. As we headed down Napi towards Shithave dam we spotted more Kudu and Impala and then Elephant at the dam. We also spotted a couple of very wet sorry looking rollers as well as Grey Heron and Egyptian Geese at the dam.

Heading back the way we came we found Waterbuck, Kudu, a couple of small herds of Elephants and more Impala. We also came across a lovely large male Rhino who headed straight towards the vehicle and at one stage was just a couple of metres away from us. We also saw a large herd of Cape Buffalo, they were quite a way in the distance but it was still nice to see the movement of the herd.

After dinner an early night for everyone as it's an early start for us tomorrow.

14 February 2014

Leaving the lodge early we headed down spotting a very nice male Rhino, Elephants, Waterbuck, Kudu, Impala, Zebra, Giraffe and Hippo. We then turned onto Watergut where we found more Impala and Giraffe as well as numerous bird species including Rollers, Drongos, Hornbills and African Hoopoes and Cape Glossy Starlings. We also found Dwarf Mongoose and Tree Squirrel close to one another. As we continued we also spotted more Kudu, Giraffe and Impala and Vervet monkeys and a couple of White-backed Vultures and a Brown-Snake Eagle.

Turning onto Doispane we were driving along when one of the guests shouted 'Lion' and there he was, standing just a few metres from the vehicle a large Male Lion. We followed him for about twenty metres before he decided he'd walked far enough and flopped to the ground in the shade of the bushes. We spent time just watching him as he relaxed and then carried on heading to the Skukuza golf club for an early lunch.

After lunch we stopped off at Lake Panic Bird Hide where we had a lovely sighting of Hippo and a large Crocodile as well as plenty of birds including three species of Kingfisher, Water Thick-Knee and African Jacana. We carried on and came across a small herd of Nyala and then found the Male Lion again. He had moved about 500metres in the last two hours but this time he was much more shy and didn't even pop his head up from the bushes. Moving on we came across more Elephants, Impala, Kudu, Giraffe, Hippo as well as a solitary Reedbuck. We also had the time to stop at some of the smaller things in the park including both the Leopard Tortoise and the Hinged Tortoise as well as the Dung Beetle rolling his ball.

After we got back to camp a short break for the guests before they set off on their Sunset drive.

15 February 2014

This morning it was time for my guests to go on their bushwalk. Accompanied by two armed rangers from Nkambeni they set off. It turned out to be a great walk with sightings of Wildebeest, Impala, Zebra, Hyena and a crash of four Rhino. But it wasn't just about the mammals, they also enjoyed the numerous birds and the smaller things like the Golden Orb spiders and their webs.

While my guests recovered from their bushwalk excursions I went to pick up four more guests from Numbi gate, after getting them checked in and having lunch it was back on the vehicle for the afternoon drive.

We headed down Numbi tar spotting Impala, Kudu, Zebra and Wildebeest. We came across a mother and calf Rhino, waterbuck and more Impala. It was beginning to get quiet when we came across a nice male Elephant, while at the sighting we were informed about a group of Lions further down the road. These lions had been spotted in the same place earlier in the morning so I thought we probably had a good chance of still seeing them. We drove down to the area where they had been seen and sure enough there was a female lion with three older cubs. No sooner had we stopped then a member of the public informed us that four large males were walking down the road just a kilometre away. As the female and her cubs had been lying in the same spot for at least 6 hours I thought there was a good chance they would stay there for a while longer so we went off in pursuit of the other sighting.

It was a good decision as a couple of minutes later we were following in the footsteps of the four males. An incredible sighting as they just walked with the arrogant swagger of animals that know they are the boss in their territory. We followed them for ten minutes, getting loads of great photos and memories which will last a lifetime, before turning round and heading back to the other lions.

After we had spent some time with the female and her cubs we had to head for home. But we still had time for another wonderful sighting as we found a female hyena babysitting three older cubs and two young cubs who were still completely black with no spots at all. We sat watching the cubs play as the adult slept paying no attention to us or the other vehicles. Further down the road we came across Kudu, Giraffe, Elephants and as always Impala. As we neared the lodge we had one more treat as we came across a large male Rhino standing right next to the road. We watched for a while before he headed off and we headed into our lodge for the night.

16 February 2014

An early start and straight away we came across Impala and Kudu just outside the lodge gate. We drove on spotting Elephants, Impala, Waterbuck, Kudu and Hippo, Cape Buffalo, Giraffe, Klipspringer and a Leopard Tortoise before heading down to Numbi gate to drop off two of my guests who were being transferred to Johannesburg. As we waited at Numbi I heard a rustle in the grass and suddenly just 15 metres from us stood a huge White Rhino. We watched him as he watched us and then he started to move across the car park allowing everyone to get some great photos. We also had an Elephant walk across the road further down the road.

We set off again in the afternoon, with the sun still burning strongly, and it turned out to be an afternoon packed full of sightings of Elephants and Rhino. We also had sightings of Impala, Kudu, Hippo, Vervet Monkeys, Klipspringer, Waterbuck, Warthog and Zebra.

Keep watching for more!