29 December 2015
Today all the
guests jumped on the truck for an early start and we had a great start with two
leopards up in a Marula tree within the first ten minutes.
We had plenty
of white rhino sightings the best being a huge territorial male which crossed over
the road in front us.
But I think the
guests favorite sighting was the lion sighting. We initially found a big male
lying in the riverbed taking cover from the increasingly hot sun. With a lot of
trees and bush making visibility difficult we moved forward to a much clearer
opening and there we spotted another male with two females also in the shade.
As we watched
we noticed a herd of elephants which walked right past the bushes and the lions
down to the water. They had walked just ten meters from the lions but had
missed them, although it certainty got the lions attention. As the elephants
drank a second herd did exactly the same, walking past the lions without
noticing.
We spent
fifteen minutes watching the elephants drinking and splashing about before they
moved.
The lions,
following the elephants departure, then settled down and relaxed a little bit
easier.
Throughout the
day we also saw cape buffalo, Impala, steenbok, giraffe, warthogs,
waterbuck, kudu, zebra, wildebeest, klipspringer, hippo, bushbuck, nyala,
vervet monkey and baboons.
Birds included
goliath heron, fish eagle, woodlands kingfishers, yellow-billed hornbill,
marabou storks, blue waxbill.
30 December 2015
On the final
morning of this tour we again split into two groups, a couple of us went
for a drive where we saw plenty of elephants including a few very small calves.
We also saw
lots of Cape buffalo, zebra, giraffe, kudu, waterbuck, warthog, common duiker,
Impala and vervet monkey.
Meanwhile the
two girls went out on a bushwalk where they enjoyed learning about the smaller
stuff of the Kruger National Park.
They also
enjoyed a 200 strong herd of buffalo stampeding, luckily not in their
direction, a brief glimpse of hyena and they had a go at tracking leopard!!!
Unfortunately
although one of the rangers saw the leopard the guests didn't. But they had
great fun!!!
Then farewell
time as we said goodbye to Gemma, Hannah and Fabricio who are all exploring
more of South Africa.
1 January 2016
The first day
of a brand new year and a brand new tour. Joining us today were Barbara and
David.
On arriving at
Numbi Gate we had time for a drive before heading to the lodge. The drive
consisted of a missed leopard and a very nice elephant sighting.
The family herd
of about twenty had just enjoyed a nice drink and maybe a swim for a couple of
them and now as they walked away from the stream a couple enjoyed a nice dust
bath!!!
We also saw
zebra, Impala, kudu, waterbuck and warthog for a good start to this safari.
2 January 2016
An early start
and a early highlight as, after a tip from Amanda, we found African wild dog!!!
We found just
one initially but then spotted a second, they had caught a baby Impala
and although a bit in the bush we could see and hear as their small snack was
devoured all within five minutes.
They then
decided to walk back onto the road allowing for a much better look. We followed
them for a couple of minutes before they sharp turned back into the bush.
Second
highlight was a herd of elephants busying destroying a tree in the name of
food. We sat watching for about ten minutes when we noticed two more walking
towards the herd.
We then looked
on the other side of the vehicle and were surprised to not only see a large
bull elephant but a white rhino standing watching us and the elephants.
Our attention
turned to the rhino and we hoped he would come closer to cross the road but he
kept his distance. Nevertheless lovely to see!!!
Also seen were
Impala, waterbuck, kudu, crocodile, Vervet monkey, baboon, giraffe, warthogs,
common duiker, sable antelope, dwarf mongoose, common reedbuck, klipspringer,
buffalo and hippo.
Birds included
the woodlands kingfishers, lilac breasted roller, tawny eagle, grey
heron, cape glossy starling, blacksmith lapwings and goliath heron.
3 January 2016
The highlight
of todays drives was the lion sighting. Four lionesses had killed an wildebeest
and we arrived to find them lying in the shade digesting their meal.
As is very
often with lion sightings you don't get much action but they did occasionally
move back to the carcass to eat some more.
Later on we
returned to the sighting and found three of them lying next to each other, only
awaken by the appearance of a kudu. But they were too full to attempt anything.
When we got
bored off looking at the lions we also had two white rhino relaxing on the
other side of the road.
As the day warmed
up we visited a couple of waterholes. At one we found a small group of
buffalo, a small bachelor group of elephant playing in the water, a
slightly annoyed hippo, two giraffe, waterbuck and Impala making for a great
sighting.
New species
also included hyena and steenbok.
Birds seen today
included yellow-billed hornbill, lilac breasted roller, hadeda ibis,
egyptian geese and african fish eagle.
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