On Safari With Amanda from 13 April 2016

13 April 2016

Today we say goodbye to our 2 English guests but not before a morning drive!

After a fantastic drive this morning all of my guests were on a sunset drive leaving at 4:30.

They returned with excitement after seeing 2 leopards one was eating an impala it had caught earlier in the day and another one very close to them coming for a drink!

So we had a lovely supper and retired early contented.

14 April 2016

Lovely Elephants along the way to the gate and very fresh lion tracks close by the dam over the recent tire tracks so very fresh but no sign of them! After a lovely breakfast we said our goodbyes and my remaining 6 guests and I headed home to camp. Lots and lots of zebras, just what my guests wanted to see! We decided to return to the sight of the leopard and his kill but no sign of either.. although not more than 1km down the road lay, a very handsome male lion, my guests couldn't be happier. 

Our last supper together was delicious and we chatted about the days sightings. 

So another safari comes to an end...but not before seeing some incredible rhinos and my personal favorite, 8 Sable antelope including young ones just before shitlave dam. ..amazing.

We say our farewells as my lovely guests depart for their next adventure

On Safari With Gert 14 April 2016

14 April 2016

Setting out early this morning, we were treated to another brilliant sunrise and also, sadly, the last one for this Safari!

We drove out to a nearby dam where we found a few Waterbuck in the area. We watched an African Fish-Eagle overlooking the virtually undisturbed surface with Egyptian Geese, Blacksmith Lapwing and Grey Heron peacefully foraging along the fringes. A male Pin-tailed Whydah flitted about in full breeding plumage, advertising territory as the season comes to a close. A few more weeks and he'll be as plain and short-tailed as the females he is currently courting!

We did a final loop around one of the many impressive granite outcrops characterizing the terrain, stopping for a few great photographic opportunities of the lovely vistas and variety of plants currently in flower. We also found a herd of 10 adult Buffalo bulls grazing in the long grass.

Only a short drive, as this was our morning of departure, we headed back to camp for a last hearty breakfast before packing and heading out of the park, bringing an end to a very successful 7 day Safari.

On Safari With Mark From 11 April 2016

11 April 2016

After meeting my clients in Nelspruit we set off for the Kruger National Park. Once we had entered we went directly for a lunch break and then set off late afternoon for skukuza. Fantastic drive as we saw buffalo, elephant and rhino all cross the road in front of us. Spectacular elephant bull sighting with him walking down the road making us reverse for approximately 1,5kms.

12 April 2016

This morning we took a ride to lower Sabi and the first animals for the day were a lioness and sub adult Male lion lying in the dry riverbed watching us go by. Although it was in the distance it was still fantastic to see. Down the road 2 lioness walked out in front of our car and walked alongside us for approximately 200m before diapering into the thicket.

Not 1kms from that we were graced by a male Leopard lying on the side of the road and after a while decided to move off into the thickets as well.

The afternoon drive produced a further 2 leopard sightings. One was busy eating an impala. It must of caught it fairly recently as there was still lots of meat on it. Further down the road we found the 3rd one lying In a dry river bed and as we got there so it got up and started to walk and scent mark towards us. Sad that we couldn't stay until it crossed the road as we had to get back to camp by gate closing times.

13 April 2016

We decided to travel towards Pretoriuskop in search of other leopards, lions, cheetah or wild dogs and none of them found for the day. Although general game was spotted during the course of the morning, it was great to show my guests other parts of the Kruger and all of them enjoyed the landscapes and different vegetation.

On our return to camp for the morning drive, we found a male lion. This lay a distance from our car but all my guests could see him well. Great photos could be taken.

Once back in camp, it was time to relax until the evening drive. On the drive they managed to spot 2 lioness of which one decided to walk straight past the car. Great experience that one.

14 April 2016

This morning we left for Olifants and had many highlights along the way.

Although the cats were scarce today, the rest of the animals were out in full force.

We got brilliant sightings of zebra, warthog, kudu, steenbok, common duiker, waterbuck, giraffe, blue wildebeest, croc, hippos, mongoose, chackma baboons, vervet monkeys.

Clients are very happy with the safari and what Kruger has offered them.

Tomorrow, it's down to Nkambeni and we trust it will be yet another fantastic day filled with great animal sightings and brilliant weather.

On Safari With Gert 13 April 2016

13 April 2016

We set out early again this morning and were very lucky first up to find the same 3 male Cheetah as yesterday morning come walking down the road towards us, about 5 kilometers out of camp! They were still scent marking along the way, but also appeared to be on the hunt. We followed them for a short distance before they went off the road and disappeared in the tall grass - a great start to the day!

Next up we came across a large Elephant breeding herd drinking at a nearby waterhole. There were probably about 80 animals of various ages, including a very young calf of only a few months old! It was suckling from the mother while she was drinking from the reservoir that feeds the waterhole.

We then went on to see how things had developed at yesterday's Leopard sighting where it had killed an Impala. On arrival we found a lioness lying in the open; she had apparently stolen the kill and was keeping a close eye on the Leopard, who was hiding high up in the same tree under which it lay with the kill yesterday! Every time it moved or attempted to get down the lioness would make her presence known and the unfortunate leopard would give up and attempt to get comfortable in the branches again! One way to learn; next time it makes a kill it will probably take it up a tree instead! Shortly after leaving here we found an African Harrier-Hawk flying from tree to tree, hanging upside down to investigate the insides of any tree cavities it found, to the obvious discomfort of some Lilac-breasted Rollers - a hole-nesting species..

After breakfast we stopped off at a nearby dam where we found a good variety of game including a large Elephant bull having a mud bath, Zebras drinking and some young male Waterbuck practicing their fighting skills. While parked here, a Bateleur had spotted a Blacksmith Lapwing eating something on the ground and swooped down to take whatever was left of it, to the dismay of the Lapwing which ineffectually kept dive-bombing it!

After some siesta time back at camp we went out again for a late afternoon drive.

First up we found some very playful young Vervet Monkeys in a tree very close to the road and we observed their antics for a while. Then we encountered a huge Elephant bull and very impressive tusker! He was also in musth and walking purposefully parallel to the road, stopping occasionally to feed. At some point he crossed the road in front of us and then only did we realize just how big he really is!

We followed him for a while as it is not everyday you see such a magnificent specimen!

At a nearby waterhole we found some quite active Hippos play-fighting in the water and getting ready to emerge for a night of grazing.

Then it was back to camp to top off another fantastic day on Safari.

On Safari With Gert 12 April 2016

12 April 2016

Setting out early this morning, we witnessed yet another spectacular African sunrise painting the sky red!

The first animal we saw was a large Buffalo bull, wandering down the road, glancing back at us over his shoulder every now and then, in no mood to be hurried along!

We then received word of Cheetah spotted further along in our intended direction of travel, however, they had apparently moved into the bush. Since we haven't found any Cheetah on this Safari yet, we decided to check it out anyway. Arriving at the site where they were last seen, we stopped and scanned the area far a while with no luck. We then decided to turn back for about a kilometer and do a slow drive back to the same area. Very shortly after turning back again in the original direction, the 3 Cheetah brothers came walking out of the long grass right next to us! The one jumped straight up into the fork of a Marula tree to survey the surroundings while the other 2 carried on down the road. He then jumped down again to join them and we followed them down the road for a few hundred meters as they scent marked the bushes and road signs along the way, at one point 2 of them lay down in the road in shady spots while the 3rd got on top of a road sign for a vantage point and more scent marking! A brilliant sighting and great experience to watch them for as long as we did!

About 10 km further down the road we found a Leopard sleeping in a shady spot in a large drainage line. We then stopped off for breakfast at a nearby camp and had a visit from a large Nile Monitor below the deck we were on. After breakfast, heading back along a different road, we found our 2nd Leopard for the morning! This one had just killed an Impala and was lying with its kill at the base of a thick tree! The Impala was still intact as the Leopard was still catching its breath and contemplating what to do with the carcass; i.e take it up a tree or feed right there... We watched for a while as it lay there licking the Impala, but then decided to make our way back to camp, as by that time the vehicles had started building up significantly - what a great morning for the spotted cats!

After some siesta time back at camp, we headed back out for a short afternoon drive during which we found a large Kudu bull with an impressive set of horns, browsing very close to the vehicle as well as 2 adult bull Elephants leisurely grazing in tall grassland under a huge Fig tree.

A brilliant sunset signaled the end to another memorable day on Safari!