On Safari With Curtis From 19 March 2014

19 March 2014

A very misty start to the morning meant that sightings were hard to come by. However as the sun burnt through the mist we found Cape Buffalo, Elephant, Impala, Zebra and a Steenbok along the road. We also found Hippo and Waterbuck at one of the dams. We then heard about a sighting along the river so we made our way there and found three lionesses lying near the road. The grass was covering them a bit but every now and again they would look up or move around so we were able to get some nice photos. We continued along the river and found a small Crocodile lying on the sandbank. Lots more Impala were sighted before we got to Nkuhlu picnic site for a coffee break. While there we had plenty of fun watching the Vervet monkeys running around.

As we headed back along the river we saw Warthog and a large troupe of Baboons and had another sighting of the Lionesses as we drove past again. We stopped at the Golf Club for lunch and the Hippos put on a show as the dominant male spread his dung around and showed who's boss. On our way out we found Nyala. Back on the main road we had a couple of Elephants crossing over the road and also saw Zebra, Kudu and Wildebeest. We then had a lovely sighting of 8 Giraffe, we backed away from them and one of the big bulls crossed the road in front of us. Lots more Impala, a couple of Dwarf Mongoose and Tree Squirrels and a roadblock of Zebra were seen before we got back to the lodge.

A long and hot afternoon but the guests loved all the sightings.

 

20 March 2014

The last day of the tour for Andrea and Oliver and so yet another early morning as we had only a couple of hours left in the park before we made our way to Nelspruit. We set out hoping to find a nice Rhino sighting and with a big slice of luck maybe Leopard. We managed to get the Rhino sighting as we came across a large male resting in a drainage line, he got to his feet as we approached but soon settled down again when he realised we were no threat. We sat and watched him for a while before moving off.

We then heard off a possible Leopard sighting, on the radio, and headed straight there. When we got to the area there were no other vehicles around so we assumed the Leopard had moved off. We took a slow drive around the koppies looking for any sign that it was still there, but no luck. We were beginning to run out of time and so we had one more look around the loop, just at the end I spotted him sitting up on the rocks, he stayed for a minute or so and then jumped down. We spun around and found him on another rock, again he jumped down and again we turned around. Slowly edging forward Andrea spotted him in the bush now just a few metres away from us. We managed to get a few more glimpses before he disappeared. Unfortunately time had run out and so with much regret we had to leave the sighting and head for the gate. As well as the two sightings we had been hoping for we also spotted Impala, Kudu, Buffalo, Giraffe and Warthog. Not bad for two hours drive.

We made our way to Nelspruit where Andrea and Oliver got on the Citybug and transferred to Jo'burg before flying home.