On Safari With Mark From 1 March 2014

1 March 2014

Route: Albaseni - Shabeni link - Shabeni loop - Numbi tar - Nkambeni

General animals seen: impala, kudu, common duiker and klipspringer

The highlight of the drive was the 3 rhino we saw within 10m of the vehicle. 2 bulls and a cow. Fantastic to see how relaxed they are, just grazing grass.

Further to this a distant sighting of a buffalo bull on top of shabeni koppies.

Guests are happy and as it is a 7 day safari we have plenty of time to find all the fantastic animals Kruger has to offer.

 

2 March 2014

Route: Numbi tar - Napi - Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni

General animals seen: kudu, impala, waterbuck, giraffe, bushbuck, common duiker, klipspringer, slender & dwarf mongoose, chackma baboon and hippos

Had a feeling today was going to be great for game viewing as before we reached napi we had already seen our first elephant bull, buffalo bull and rhino bull.

Between Numbi tar and Voortrekker link we found 8 wild dog running towards us in the road. They just past by us as though we weren't even there. Great sighting and guests could get some amazing photos of these effective predators.

We continued with excellent sightings of more elephant rhino and buffalo, not to mention all the general game we spotted along our way.

We were also fortunate to spot 3 cheetah between boulders exit and transport dam access road. Although rather far from the road, guest got great photos as all 3 cats elevated themselves by climbing a dead tree, pushed over by elephants. Great to see the 3 were scent marking their territory and busy with their early morning activities.

On our travels, we were called by one of our colleagues to inform us of lions on S114 and as the guest hadn't seen any as yet, I decided to take a drive down to them. We found them approx 30m from the road but all 4 males were lying as flat as carpets and every now and then 1 would lift his head and look in our direction. A great sighting for the guest as they had never seen lions out in the wild.

 

3 March 2014

Route: Fiaya loop - Napi - Skukuza - Doispan - Albaseni – Nkambeni

While we were on a drive around fiaya loop, Karen called and informed me of a leopard lying in a tree. We responded and found it still in the same place. Although far from the road, guest could see it and got some photos of a leopard lazing about.

In the afternoon we found 8 wild dog lying at mestal dam entrance. These decided to get up and try a half hearted attack on a female warthog. This didn't last long and the hog got away

After a short stop at skukuza, we headed back to camp for guests to relax, General game spotted all the way back to camp and guest have felt a certain sense of achievement for what they have been able to spot so far.

 

4 March 2014

Route: Napi - Skakuza - Napi - Circle road - Shabeni koppies, Nkambeni

We were the first car to leave camp and approximately 100m from our entrance we had a massive elephant bull that had decided to push a Marola tree over into the road. As we approached he moved to the side and with a little persuading with my headlights he allowed us to go around his art work and we could carry on with the drive.

Approximately 3 KM's from transport dam, we found a Hyena cub lying dead in the road. At that stage approximately 15 Hyena were on the road and I decided to switch the car off and watch. This is when something caught my attention and found 2 lioness up in a Marola tree. After looking around, I found a further 2 lioness in 2 different silver cluster leaf trees, higher than a leopard would climb. This was amazing to see as all the Hyena went from tree to tree trying to provoke a  challenge. While watching this we realized that these lioness must of killed the cub and as we were chatting about one of the Hyena picked up a second cub close to the tree that one of the lioness were in and that confirmed it for me that this was rather revenge than a challenge. I let others know about the sighting and as the track. Started to build up we decided to leave so others could have a chance to view.

In the afternoon we found 8 wild dogs lying relaxing, waiting for a storm that was brewing in the distance.

Winds picked up and clouds closed in very quickly and as we started our return a leopard popped out in front of us and disappeared as fast back in to the bush. Guests to slow with cameras so no photos of that one.

 

5 March 2014

Route: Napi - H3 - Berg en dal - H3 - Napi

General animals seen: buffalo, kudu, impala, zebra, warthog, giraffe, waterbuck, steenbok, common duiker, klipspringer, vervet monkey's, chackma baboons, blue wildebeest, rhino, crocodiles and hippo's.

During the night, we had a massive storm with a total of 135ml of rain that fell. Most of the gravel roads are closed due to flooding.

We could tell the storm had a impact, as the sightings had deteriorated and the highlight of the day was a pack of 5 wild dog approximately 8kms from afsaal towards berg en dal. Further to this we spotted great elephant and rhino throughout the day.

We hope for better leopard, buffalo and lion on a drive tomorrow.

Dehorned Rhino Found And Put Down

South African National Parks (SANParks) intensified its search again this morning for the dehorned rhino spotted by visitors on Friday, 28 February 2014 in the Kruger National Park (KNP).

According to SANParks Acting Head of Communications, Reynold Thakhuli, the Rangers took off again this morning in search of the dehorned rhino, it was found alive, but in a bad condition. It was found within the Phabeni Section of KNP but quite far from where it was initially seen. “An assessment was conducted to determine the extent of the injuries and suffering. It was discovered that a bullet had lodged in the rhino’s brain and therefore any chance of survival was slim.”

Thakhuli said the Ranger in charge, after a thorough assessment of the animal, took a decision to put it down to end the suffering that it had endured since the poaching incident. “There was simply no chance of surviving for this poor animal and unfortunately it had to be put down.”

SANParks would like to extend its gratitude to the visitors who alerted the authorities about this heart-breaking incident as well as to the Rangers for a sterling job and dedication to finding the animal despite challenges with the weather conditions and tough terrain they had physically tackled in search of this animal. “We will continue to work hard in the fight against the overwhelming scourge that is currently targeting the KNP... “to us one rhino killed is one too many.”

Issued by:
South African National Parks Corporate Communications

On Safari With Karen From 28 February 2014

28 February 2014

This morning the guys started early with coffee before theirbushwalk. They enjoyed it as you are much closer to everything and there is more attention to small things. But don't forget the big things as they also saw a buffalo as well as a rhino in the distance. After the walk there was time for some breakfast and some relaxation at the pool as it was already becoming a hot day!

In the afternoon we went out for a short drive. Right outside our camp we saw a herd of impala and a bit later some kudus all lounging around in the shade. We drove up Napi to see some more kudus close to the road. Two white rhinos were walking in the distance as well. On the road we saw a lot of European rollers, and some lilac breasted ones too, that were picking the insects off the road. Some were sitting on a branch with mouths gaping open to relieve some of the heat.

Close to Shithave Dam we spotted elephant, dark grey, indicating that they, like us before, had been playing with water to cool down. A small herd of elephants had recently crossed the road a bit further on and a youngster feeding in the thicket apparently forgot to follow. When noticing he was alone and the stress of a noisy car coming past he freaked out a bit and started running after them calling out to them. We could almost hear him say "wait for me"! We continued on to spot another white rhino that decided to cross the road just behind us.

On the way back we stopped at Shithave Dam to have a look at the hippos in the water and saw the white fronted bee eaters have their daily bath. Down the road we had a herd of elephants, including some very young ones, crossing the road in front of us and later also behind us. Getting a good picture of the babies was quite difficult as they were well protected from view by the aunties who surrounded them and their mothers.

At 4:30 the guests continued their drives from Numbi Gate on their Sundowner Drive.

 

1 March 2014

Last night's Sundowner drive had been rather quiet but the beautiful sunset made up for the lack of animals. Apart from an owl, unfortunately all the nocturnal animals had been hiding. Upon their return however we had a braai dinner in the boma next to the camp fire, which was very nice.

This morning we left on an early game drive right after breakfast. We started off with a nice herd of impalas. We turned onto Albassini and there was a young impala all alone and looked quite lost. Sadly we left her and then spotted at a herd of zebras walking on the road in front of us. The youngsters were playing around and the rest of the zebras kept on walking ahead undeterred.

At Mestel Dam the hippos were just getting into the water and had a last play before bedtime. We continued our drive where we encountered elephants with youngster twice, saw two white rhino and 3 old buffalo bulls in the road in front of us. A fourth one was watching us from a rock.

A little loop around Pretoriuskop showed us more elephants crossing the road. While watching we got a tip from a member of the public about wild dogs nearby so we drove to the spot. They were indeed on the little loop on top of the rocks, one by one coming down. We tried to do the loop one more time to see if we would catch them on the other side, but they had been to quick for us and had disappeared.

We continued the loop and saw dwarf mongooses playing on the side of the road, scattering away as soon as they spotted our car. A big fat warthog also chose to run away from us and hide, as soon as he saw us coming so we only got a glimpse. We then had to make our way back to Numbi Gate as two of our guests had to take their transfer home. On the last stretched we spotted a giraffe and an elephant came to say goodbye at the parking lot while we were unloading the suitcases. Then we took the last pictures and had to wave goodbye to Andrea and Simone. Thanks for joining us on this tour guys, glad you enjoyed it!

The rest of today we will spend relaxing at the pool as it was already becoming hot! The remaining guests thought a quiet afternoon with nothing but a book would be a great way to spend the holiday and as we have done so many good safaris, a bit of relaxation can't hurt :-).

 

2 March 2014

Today we went out for a full day safari. Once again we left after breakfast and when exiting the camp we straight away saw a herd of impalas. And shortly after we saw two tree squirrels having an intense discussion, probably about nuts, so much so they didn't notice the big car coming towards them. It took them a while to realize the road might not be the safest place for a fight so they jumped into the nearest bush. We continued on Numbi tar road and a little further on we came across some zebras with more impalas and wildebeest in the background. These were the first wildebeest this trip!

On Napi we came across lots of elephants again, all of them feeding. We also saw a giraffe, more zebras, and our first klipspringer of this trip.

We planned on stopping at Skukuza for coffee and a toilet, but when we arrived they had no power. This meant we could go to the toilet, but without power the coffee machines don't work. We bought ourselves some drinks from the dark store and then continued to the S114 where there should be lions. And indeed, we spotted tree male lions doing what lions do best: sleeping. They were lying flat in the high grass and we were told one of them had just gotten up and moved into the bush. We waited for a while to see if any of the others wanted to follow but no such luck. Remembering our first and second lion sighting of this trip, where we were able to see them much better, we decided to not wait any longer but continue.

Down at the Renosterkoppies we saw a big troop of baboons chasing impalas around. We spotted our first warthogs on the way back up to Napi. The first sighting was a very big fat male and the second sighting were 3 warthogs together.

Then we had a funny encounter with a leopard tortoise. A car of a member of the public had already stopped to take pictures and the leopard tortoise started moving towards the car. It walked straight under the car, kind of tried to nibble the front wheel and then decided it was a nice shady place to relax. We must agree it was getting hot, but it was quite inconvenient for the people in the car. So we parked up next to them so we could see the tortoise and then gave them directions of how to drive away without hitting the tortoise. As soon as he was back in the sun he got up and made way for our car instead so we quickly started and drove away ourselves before we were the nice shady place!

Then we went to the Skukuza Golfclub for lunch. This was extra fun as the guest is a regular golfer so he was quite surprised to see a golf course with hippos playing in the dam in front while people are playing golf. Also there were baboons running around and we could see impalas and warthogs in the background too. We analyzed the French tourists that came to lunch at the same place. They walked straight onto the green where people were playing and then were especially oblivious when they went to sit on the green on the edge of the water very close to those hippos. Luckily an employee of the golfclub pointed out the danger and they moved off.

After our lunch we drove back towards the tar road and spotted three bushbucks hiding in the bush, also a first! Down on Watergat we saw lots more impalas, kudus and a solo wildebeest before we turned back onto Napi. On Napi we saw an elephant walking towards us. We saw him from far, say about 100m away, and he was walking on the left side of the road so we parked on the right and waited. But this big bully then decided, about 50m away from us, that he wanted to walk on the right side. He gave us a little head shake and when we didn't budge he moved off the road to follow his companion through the bushes.

Then we decided it was getting too hot for us, so we needed an ice cream break. Just before Pretoriuskop we saw a giant plated lizard run across. After our break we continued back to Nkambeni, where we were stopped in front of the gate by another big bully elephant. He was munching on the plants outside the entrance, ruining the well groom welcome sign. We think he even deliberately snapped off one of the lights and he dug up the aloe veras.  We were allowed to enter our camp once he had moved far away from the entrance gate. We had a long day, but it was worth it!

 

3 March 2014

Today was our last day and we ended the way we started: with rain. But at least this time it wasn't the thunderstorm and downpour with which we arrived so we decided to tour around in the park one last morning. As soon as we went out of the camp gate we spotted the same culprit elephant as the one which ruined the entrance the day before. This time though he had two friends with him.

When we got to the tar road a nice male waterbuck was grazing close to the road. We turned onto Albassini and spotted a small kudu family and shortly after some impalas. At Mestel Dam we could see the ears and nostrils of the hippos, but they already went to sleep so we continued towards Shabeni road.

Great was our surprise when we came up out of the drainage line and there were wild dogs standing in the middle of the road. The alpha male was leading the way and one by one all 9 wild dogs trotted past our car. It was an amazing sighting!

We turned onto Shabeni and saw once again a group of 3 elephants and a tree squirrel in the road. There were buffalos on the Shabeni rocks, not caring about the rain that came down quite heavy at this point. On the dirt road towards Circle Road we spotted two young kudu bulls and a steenbok quickly ran across. Dwarf mongoose were playing in the road but quickly scampered when we arrived.

We then had the intention of take a loop around circle road  but once again we came upon 3 elephants. These bulls were walking in the middle of the road and didn't like us coming too close let alone pass them. So we waited a while and then drove a bit further. And then waited again. Drove around the corner and oops, turns out the biggest one is waiting for us right there to tell us off. He gives us a big head shake and an angry look before turning around and he continues walking slowly on the road with his friends. We decided the elephants have won and we turned around towards Pretoriuskop for our cup of coffee.

After the break we continued on Napi spotting more elephants, a small herd of buffalo and luckily a leopard in a tree! He was lying there all on his own not a care in the world that there were people behind him staring at him from all angles. We sat with him for a while until it was time to leave as we had to leave the park for the return transfer to Johannesburg. On the way out of the park we saw even more elephants, a stunning kudu bull, two massive white rhinos, dwarf mongoose, a slender mongoose, wildebeests and the same buffalos as before, which hadn't moved much.

Then it was time to go. Reginald, thank you for joining us! We hope to see you back in November, but this time with your golf clubs!! Hope you had a safe trip home.

VISITORS SPOT A RHINO WITH ITS HORN HACKED OFF IN KNP

South African National Parks (SANParks) would like to confirm an incident of a rhino with its horn hacked off in the Kruger National Park (KNP).



According to SANParks Acting Head of Communications, Reynold Thakhuli, the rhino was spotted on Friday 28 February 2014, near Phabeni Gate in the KNP by visitors who managed to alert the authorities.

Thakhuli said a helicopter and Rangers were dispatched on the ground to locate the animal and by late Saturday it had still not been found due to the dense bush as a result of the recent rains in the Lowveld.

He said investigations are continuing and more information will follow as soon as the animal is located.

****Ends****

For previous media statements on this matter please go to www.sanparks.org

Issued by:

South African National Parks (SANParks) Corporate Communications: Tel: 012 426 5170

Media enquiries:

Reynold Thakhuli: Acting Head of Communications, SANParks. Tel: 012 426 5203; Cell: 073 373 4999; Email: rey.thakhuli@sanparks.org
 
Ike Phaahla: Media Specialist SANParks. Tel: 012 426 5315; Cell: 083 673 6974; Email: Isaac.phaahla@sanparks.org

Picture by Frans Lombard