16 December 2015
We left White
River with rain behind us and followed the route to the blue sky. Upon arrival
at the Kruger NP the sun was shining and there was no sign of rain. We drove to
Nkambeni Safari Camp and already encountered our first animals: buffalos were
wallowing in the mud, kudus were on the side of the road and a herd of impalas
with babies was watching us. While watching them a young grey duiker came
greeting the impalas. Not sure what to make of it some of the impalas sniffed
it. But soon they found out it wasn't an impala and to protect their babies
they chased it away. Better safe then sorry they must have thought. It gave us
a great show of jumping impalas!
On the sundowner
amongst other animals, the guests got to enjoy a nice sighting of a sable
antelope. This rare and endangered animal is seldom seen, so it was quite a
treat.
17 December 2015
This morning we
had our first morning drive and we headed out to see some more of the
inhabitants of the bush. We were told about a leopard early on, but upon
arrival at where it was last seen, it was gone. However, following another tip,
it had moved to another site close by. Here we did get lucky and saw the
leopard lying in the grass, watching some waterbuck while it itself was watched
by some buffalos. After a while it got up and walked into the bush.
Following a
hunch, we drove around to the other side and waited with baited breath. It's
like Christmas and you are waiting to see what Santa brought you. The waiting
game paid off though as after a while it appeared out of nowhere. Crossed the
road and started sniffing around. We watched it from up close and when it
disappeared into the bush again we anticipated its route.
Once again we
were waiting, and once again it paid off. Out he came, crossed the road and
started climbing a big rocky outcrop while still sniffing around. There it
posed for us so we could take some lovely pictures while watching this beauty.
After a while it continued sniffing around the rock and we lost visual. Luck
had run out it seems as we couldn't find it back, but we had an awesome
sighting.
Our second
highlight was seeing a large herd of elephants. Elephants was on the wishlist
of one of my guests so she was really excited. They were feeding on both sides
of the road and when we got to the crossroads, all of them came out of the bush
before passing us by in front.
What made it
extra fun was a show given by a young male. Coming of age he finds it necessary
to impress the others and in doing so he smashed trees and bushes. We heard him
coming from a mile away and he added some loud trumpeting to the sounds of
crashing trees. Then he came crashing out of the bush and charged the car till
about 5 meters from the rear end. Back into the bush he went and this time he
came to the side of the vehicle and stopped two meters in front of us. Making a
lot of noise and show, he backed up for another attempt. As none of the older
ladies were close by I decided it needed a firm telling off, so this time as he
ran towards the car he halted at the sound of the voice and quickly retreated
into the bushes. We heard him trash another bush and trumpeting in protest. Now
one of the older ladies in the herd had enough of it too and gave him a big
slap with her trunk. And while protesting he stopped for a bit. However soon
after he started challenging younger elephants in the herd. This time he got
told off by a pair of tusks in the butt and he quieted down. I think the time
soon will come that he is off on his own, looking for some other lone males to
pair up with before being in its prime and mate with other females.
Other animals
seen: hippo, waterbucks, steenbok, common reedbuck, a lone giraffe, vervet
monkeys, fighting zebras, baboons, buffalos, dung beetles, lots of elephant
bulls, impalas, kudus, a white rhino and a chameleon.
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