29 May 2014
Upon arrival my guests went straight on their Sundowner Drive after checking in. Beside a very lovely sunset with a drink in hand, they
saw two different elephants, a lion crossing the road in front of them and a
zebra butt.
30 May 2014
This morning we started off with two waterbuck on the road
out of camp. Then we were surprised to find a male white rhino in the parking
lot at reception. We sat with him quietly, so quiet that he came walking within
5m of the vehicle before he started to turn away. He ambled towards the reception
office, where we saw the Sanparks Rangers hiding out of sight. He munched on
their lawn a bit and then crossed the road and disappeared into the bush.
We were just on our way again on Numbi tar road when Curtis called that he had found lions on Albassini. We made a u-turn and followed up on the call. On the way we saw 4 zebras hiding in the bush and a couple of impalas. When we got to the lion sighting two of the three lions had disappeared behind a bush but the third one was still visible. Looking through the high grass and bush we saw him lying with his head up. We waited patiently for a half hour to see if he would get up and were rewarded. He did indeed got up and started marking the area by rubbing his chin on nearby bushes and scratching the trees, rubbing of his scent. Then he got tired from all the effort and plopped down again, behind a bush this time.
We continued our drive on Doispane where we spotted wildebeest, lots more impalas and a steenbok until we got to a couple of cars standing on the side of the road. They were looking at hyena cubs that were outside their den. Two young ones that were still very brown were play fighting over a piece of what looked like wood or scraps of food that one of them had picked up somewhere. Their older brother or sister looked at them with a disdainful look. After watching them for quite some time we continued our ways spotting a nice kudu bull and his females, a tawny eagle and a beautiful martial eagle.
At Skukuza we were almost sharing our coffee with a large troop of vervet monkeys. The youngsters were playing nearby but the adults were thieving from tables and bins. We protected our food and coffees and decided to leave.
We drove down Napi spotting a marabou stork flying over as well as white backed vultures and multiple bateleurs, and we saw warthogs and more kudus. Close to Transport Dam another young hyena was lying in the middle of the road, not fazed by any passing cars. He looked sad and cute at the same time and some of us were willing to take him home, but did not want to risk the wrath of its mother or the babysitter. So we left him on his spot and continued. It had gotten rather hot by now and the animals were hiding in the shade out of sight.
We took our lunch and break time at Nkambeni Lodge where some of us saw four hippos outside the Dam in front of the restaurant and others saw waterbuck and elephant passing by the fence line in front of the huts.
The afternoon drive started really quiet. Being still hot the animals hadn't come out yet. We saw a slender mongoose crossing and were suddenly surrounded by a troop of banded mongoose. Some of us will be haunted by eyes staring at them from the bushes! But then it was quiet all the way around Shabeni and up the link.
However as soon as we turned onto Albassini, we knew where the animals had been hiding. We saw a big dazzle of zebras, two separate elephants before we reached Mestel Dam. At Mestel Dam the hippos in the water were pretty active and showed half their bodies. We also saw a fish eagle trying to catch some fish but he was unsuccessful. When it was time to go we were surprised by two elephants that were walking towards the road. We hang around and one of them crossed in front of us. The second one rather stayed feeding off a tree on the other side and as time was running out we had to leave them. Just before the end of Albassini a side-striped jackal was walking on the road but he quickly ran off when we came closer.
It was the end of a very succesful day!
We were just on our way again on Numbi tar road when Curtis called that he had found lions on Albassini. We made a u-turn and followed up on the call. On the way we saw 4 zebras hiding in the bush and a couple of impalas. When we got to the lion sighting two of the three lions had disappeared behind a bush but the third one was still visible. Looking through the high grass and bush we saw him lying with his head up. We waited patiently for a half hour to see if he would get up and were rewarded. He did indeed got up and started marking the area by rubbing his chin on nearby bushes and scratching the trees, rubbing of his scent. Then he got tired from all the effort and plopped down again, behind a bush this time.
We continued our drive on Doispane where we spotted wildebeest, lots more impalas and a steenbok until we got to a couple of cars standing on the side of the road. They were looking at hyena cubs that were outside their den. Two young ones that were still very brown were play fighting over a piece of what looked like wood or scraps of food that one of them had picked up somewhere. Their older brother or sister looked at them with a disdainful look. After watching them for quite some time we continued our ways spotting a nice kudu bull and his females, a tawny eagle and a beautiful martial eagle.
At Skukuza we were almost sharing our coffee with a large troop of vervet monkeys. The youngsters were playing nearby but the adults were thieving from tables and bins. We protected our food and coffees and decided to leave.
We drove down Napi spotting a marabou stork flying over as well as white backed vultures and multiple bateleurs, and we saw warthogs and more kudus. Close to Transport Dam another young hyena was lying in the middle of the road, not fazed by any passing cars. He looked sad and cute at the same time and some of us were willing to take him home, but did not want to risk the wrath of its mother or the babysitter. So we left him on his spot and continued. It had gotten rather hot by now and the animals were hiding in the shade out of sight.
We took our lunch and break time at Nkambeni Lodge where some of us saw four hippos outside the Dam in front of the restaurant and others saw waterbuck and elephant passing by the fence line in front of the huts.
The afternoon drive started really quiet. Being still hot the animals hadn't come out yet. We saw a slender mongoose crossing and were suddenly surrounded by a troop of banded mongoose. Some of us will be haunted by eyes staring at them from the bushes! But then it was quiet all the way around Shabeni and up the link.
However as soon as we turned onto Albassini, we knew where the animals had been hiding. We saw a big dazzle of zebras, two separate elephants before we reached Mestel Dam. At Mestel Dam the hippos in the water were pretty active and showed half their bodies. We also saw a fish eagle trying to catch some fish but he was unsuccessful. When it was time to go we were surprised by two elephants that were walking towards the road. We hang around and one of them crossed in front of us. The second one rather stayed feeding off a tree on the other side and as time was running out we had to leave them. Just before the end of Albassini a side-striped jackal was walking on the road but he quickly ran off when we came closer.
It was the end of a very succesful day!
31 May 2014
Today we started early for what turned out to be an awesome
day. On the road we saw once again a waterbuck and little bee eaters and brown
headed parrots. On Numbi tar we saw our first giraffes of this tour: a group of
7 giraffes and baby, that looked only a
couple of days old. We watched them browse for a while before carrying on. We
spotted various white rhinos, one of which a group of 4 white rhino, a great
kudu bull and more giraffes.
Then just past Transport Dam we saw two cars slowly reversing. Assuming they were looking at something that was walking in our direction we stopped the car and watched. Surprisingly not one but two leopards came walking towards us in the grass not far from the road. The male leopard came out of the grass towards the road and walked by our car so close it almost rubbed it. While the other cars overtook us reversing we decided to turn around and follow them to see if the female would come on the road too. This was a good decision as both of them crossed and continued walking on the opposite side. We followed them and when other cars showed up from opposite direction it got a bit crowded as they all stopped. Unable to turn around in the squabble of cars we overtook them with the intention to turn around behind them, but as luck would have it the male leopard came back onto the road behind us. We stopped and waited as we had him all to ourselves this time as the rest of the cars was still busy turning around and impeding each other. He walked by us again and didn't care about us being there at all. Then the cars caught up with him and we let them overtake us and follow the couple so we could turn around and follow our way to Skukuza. But what an amazing sighting it was!
On the way to Skukuza we also saw a duiker and a journey of giraffes that looked like it wanted to cross but decided against it. After the break we drove down Eloff where we spotted a well hidden buffalo in the riverbed, loads of impala, bushbucks, a crocodile and two sounders of warthogs.
We crossed at High level bridge, while watching an island full of hippos and another crocodile. As we were looking for buffalo and elephant herds we decided to go all the way down to Lower Sabie and watch the river. We took our luck down Salitjie and were rewarded quite quickly with a herd of elephants in the reeds and the bush on the other side. While watching those elephants we noticed a well blended tree agama on a tree stump next to the road as well. Furthermore we came across warthogs, zebras, more giraffes and our second viewing of ground hornbills. We did see 4 yesterday already, which I had forgotten to mention. One sighting is pretty unique of those rare birds, two separate sightings even more so. We also stopped for a nice lilac breasted roller, yellow billed hornbills, a big water monitor, terrapins and two elephants having a shower.
The last stretch to Lower Sabie on the H10 rewarded us with wildebeest, more zebras and a large elephant herd with babies that were still so young the easily fit under their mothers' bellies. From the bridge we looked at buffalos, hippos and baby crocodiles.
After our lunch at Lower Sabie we stopped at Sunset Dam where the shore was divided by hippos on one side and a large flock of yellow-billed storks on the other. Spread out everywhere though were over 40 crocodiles! One of the guests had previously asked if there were crocodiles in the park and if we hadn't seen any before this definitely answered her question! A water monitor crept by next to the car as well.
Then we continued on the tar road to Skukuza spotting once again the endangered ground hornbills (a third group, this is amazing!), more hippos, elephant herds, giraffe, daggaboys and black storks.
Down on Eloff again we stopped to look at a brown hooded kingfisher, when we heard something else. We turned off the engine and it was a lion roaring. After a bit he came out from behind the bush, had a drink and came up just in front of our car where he started calling to other lions again. We only continued after he disappeared back into the bush. It was another great sighting!
Skukuza was the scene of a splash n dash and down Napi we went. As the day was coming to an end we only stopped for a hyena pup sunbathing outside its den. We returned to the lodge after a long day but what an amazing day! We were so spoiled today!!
Then just past Transport Dam we saw two cars slowly reversing. Assuming they were looking at something that was walking in our direction we stopped the car and watched. Surprisingly not one but two leopards came walking towards us in the grass not far from the road. The male leopard came out of the grass towards the road and walked by our car so close it almost rubbed it. While the other cars overtook us reversing we decided to turn around and follow them to see if the female would come on the road too. This was a good decision as both of them crossed and continued walking on the opposite side. We followed them and when other cars showed up from opposite direction it got a bit crowded as they all stopped. Unable to turn around in the squabble of cars we overtook them with the intention to turn around behind them, but as luck would have it the male leopard came back onto the road behind us. We stopped and waited as we had him all to ourselves this time as the rest of the cars was still busy turning around and impeding each other. He walked by us again and didn't care about us being there at all. Then the cars caught up with him and we let them overtake us and follow the couple so we could turn around and follow our way to Skukuza. But what an amazing sighting it was!
On the way to Skukuza we also saw a duiker and a journey of giraffes that looked like it wanted to cross but decided against it. After the break we drove down Eloff where we spotted a well hidden buffalo in the riverbed, loads of impala, bushbucks, a crocodile and two sounders of warthogs.
We crossed at High level bridge, while watching an island full of hippos and another crocodile. As we were looking for buffalo and elephant herds we decided to go all the way down to Lower Sabie and watch the river. We took our luck down Salitjie and were rewarded quite quickly with a herd of elephants in the reeds and the bush on the other side. While watching those elephants we noticed a well blended tree agama on a tree stump next to the road as well. Furthermore we came across warthogs, zebras, more giraffes and our second viewing of ground hornbills. We did see 4 yesterday already, which I had forgotten to mention. One sighting is pretty unique of those rare birds, two separate sightings even more so. We also stopped for a nice lilac breasted roller, yellow billed hornbills, a big water monitor, terrapins and two elephants having a shower.
The last stretch to Lower Sabie on the H10 rewarded us with wildebeest, more zebras and a large elephant herd with babies that were still so young the easily fit under their mothers' bellies. From the bridge we looked at buffalos, hippos and baby crocodiles.
After our lunch at Lower Sabie we stopped at Sunset Dam where the shore was divided by hippos on one side and a large flock of yellow-billed storks on the other. Spread out everywhere though were over 40 crocodiles! One of the guests had previously asked if there were crocodiles in the park and if we hadn't seen any before this definitely answered her question! A water monitor crept by next to the car as well.
Then we continued on the tar road to Skukuza spotting once again the endangered ground hornbills (a third group, this is amazing!), more hippos, elephant herds, giraffe, daggaboys and black storks.
Down on Eloff again we stopped to look at a brown hooded kingfisher, when we heard something else. We turned off the engine and it was a lion roaring. After a bit he came out from behind the bush, had a drink and came up just in front of our car where he started calling to other lions again. We only continued after he disappeared back into the bush. It was another great sighting!
Skukuza was the scene of a splash n dash and down Napi we went. As the day was coming to an end we only stopped for a hyena pup sunbathing outside its den. We returned to the lodge after a long day but what an amazing day! We were so spoiled today!!
1 June 2014
This morning we went on a morning safari after breakfast. We
spotted for two duikers together on camp road and a little further on we saw
another one. We drove down the tar road towards Shabeni. On the loop we had a
couple of nice sightings of buffalo bulls that were grazing and we even saw an
elephant in the distance.
Up Shabeni and then Albassini it was rather quiet. We did see some zebras and wildebeest hiding in the bush and of course impalas, but we were so spoiled yesterday that we thought it was quiet.
At Nyamundwa Dam we then saw a group of hippos in the distance, a darter and a white-breasted comorant. A crocodile showed himself briefly before diving under. Then we were surprised by a hippo walking on the dam wall and close to us he walked down and into the water. He did it nicely, no splash at all.
Then it was time to make our way to Phabeni Gate where we had to say goodbye to Leo and Cata. Their honeymoon had come to an end, but by the sound of it they had a great time. I hope to see you back one day :-)!
Then we drove back to Nkambeni over Albassini road. The bachelor group of zebras with wildebeest friends had come closer this time around and we saw a zebra harem further down the road as well as warthogs quickly crossing the road. At Mestel Dam we spotted waterbucks and hippos again. Just past it we encountered our first troop of baboons of this tour. The older ones were grooming each other and relaxing in the sun while the youngsters were playing and throwing each other out of a tree. It looked like they had a lot of fun. After watching for a while we continued back to the lodge for a nice break.
In the afternoon we went for a slow drive around Fayi Loop. On the tar road we had two elephant boys crossing in front of us, which were half wet from an earlier shower. Then just as we started wondering if there were any animals around, we saw a herd of impalas and some hippos playing in one of the overflows. At the end of the loop we saw giraffes feeding.
We visited Shitlhave Dam spotting terrapins, a crocodile on a rock and a half submerged hippo. On the last stretch before entering the lodge we saw those two elephants again that we started with. They had followed the water trail to camp road and were now feeding alongside it.
Not as lucky as yesterday but all in all a good day!
Up Shabeni and then Albassini it was rather quiet. We did see some zebras and wildebeest hiding in the bush and of course impalas, but we were so spoiled yesterday that we thought it was quiet.
At Nyamundwa Dam we then saw a group of hippos in the distance, a darter and a white-breasted comorant. A crocodile showed himself briefly before diving under. Then we were surprised by a hippo walking on the dam wall and close to us he walked down and into the water. He did it nicely, no splash at all.
Then it was time to make our way to Phabeni Gate where we had to say goodbye to Leo and Cata. Their honeymoon had come to an end, but by the sound of it they had a great time. I hope to see you back one day :-)!
Then we drove back to Nkambeni over Albassini road. The bachelor group of zebras with wildebeest friends had come closer this time around and we saw a zebra harem further down the road as well as warthogs quickly crossing the road. At Mestel Dam we spotted waterbucks and hippos again. Just past it we encountered our first troop of baboons of this tour. The older ones were grooming each other and relaxing in the sun while the youngsters were playing and throwing each other out of a tree. It looked like they had a lot of fun. After watching for a while we continued back to the lodge for a nice break.
In the afternoon we went for a slow drive around Fayi Loop. On the tar road we had two elephant boys crossing in front of us, which were half wet from an earlier shower. Then just as we started wondering if there were any animals around, we saw a herd of impalas and some hippos playing in one of the overflows. At the end of the loop we saw giraffes feeding.
We visited Shitlhave Dam spotting terrapins, a crocodile on a rock and a half submerged hippo. On the last stretch before entering the lodge we saw those two elephants again that we started with. They had followed the water trail to camp road and were now feeding alongside it.
Not as lucky as yesterday but all in all a good day!
More coming soon!!
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