On safari With Robbie From 16 October 2015

16 October 2015

On a day where temperatures didn’t rise above 17 degrees we had some superb sightings of Zebra and Giraffe!!

The Zebra on the notorious S100 route were in particular special as some mules had begun to fight and specifically " jump and back kick " like only the Zebra can do!!!!

The photos myself and Gary got of these striped wonders were truly up there!!!

Giraffe spotted close to Nsemani were so special as there were 5 drinking together...

After 15 minutes of " pure poetry in motion " drinking the entire herd approached us as if to officially welcome us to the " central " region of Kruger and try and remove our " obsessive thought pattern of the Majestic North" !!!!!

We came across Ostrich that was extremely close to the road and seemed excessively nervous!!!

The Nwanedzi tar however produced the days best with the new addition to the "Predator list " being added... The spotted Hyena who was suckling her 2-3 week old pups very close to the road!!!!

Vocals, visual, volume of traffic were all 10/10 and thoroughly enjoyed.

Guests then departed on a late night safari.

17 October 2015

On the night drive Wendy and Gary added Civet Cat and large spotted Genet to their ever growing list of Mammals and also spotted something on their " needed" list which was the  Flap Necked Chameleon!!!

Setting out a little later today we came across so much on our way to Pretoriouskop that the entire dinner tonight was focused around selecting "no 1 " sighting!!

To summaries we saw the big 5 twice and 10/10 sightings to boot!!!

However for us was the sighting of 3 Giraffe lying down together in a row preparing for a sleep in increasingly bad light!

Garys comment that the W.Rhino and calf close next to us came a near second!!!

18 October 2015

As much as the previous 7 days were legendary in many ways the epic day of the North to South was mutually agreed by all concerned to be today!!!

There was no real standout sighting but the early morning male Leopard near camp walking literally 1 m from us took first prize!!!!

To turn around and see Wendy in tears and awe at this Leopard was quite something and Gary basically remarked that it was his best sighting of any species in all four trips so far!!!

The late afternoon interaction between Baboons and Wild dogs on the sun lit Sabie river was special!!!

So was the rare sighting of a Trumpeter Hornbill at Pretoriouskop camp being extremely vocal!!!

The lion pride lazing in the open was awesome as were many others!!!

Some that quickly come to mind were the sightings 5/5 of Banded and Slender Mongoose and then a glimpse but a positive id of a Cape Clawless Otter!!!

The mind boggles at today but tomorrow something may crop up that tops them " all " !!!

That is what makes Kruger so unbelievably amazing!!!

On Safari With Mark 19 April 2015

19 April 2015

As Matt and Ali were on a sundown safari yesterday afternoon spotting: Impala, zebra and a distant elephant, we set out with a purpose of spotting as many animals as possible In the time left for this quick 2 night.

Our first highlight was definitely the 4 females that caught an impala at shitlhave dam. Great visuals and photos taken of these big cats devouring their pray in such a short period (+-15min).

Our second highlight had to be the majestic white rhino that walked next to our car (+-2m) just grazing on the shoulder of the tar. Once again this was a special moment for the guests as they enjoyed watching this big fellow go about his daily task of feeding.

Other animals include, Impala, kudu, common duiker, steenbok, warthog, spotted hyena, waterbuck, zebra, giraffe, elephant, buffalo, crocodiles, hippos, dwarf /banded mongoose and numerous birds throughout the day.

Over all this has been a great day with great sightings for the two guests.

On Safari With Mark From 22 July 2014

22 July 2014

Route: Numbi tar straight into Pretoriuskop

General animals seen: impala, waterbuck, kudu, giraffe

Highlights: approximately 500m before camp gate we had a young Male leopard walk into the road, sat down and started licking his paws. Great sighting as we were the only car on the road as it was approximately 5min before camp gate closed.

 

23 July 2014

Route: Voortrekker - H3 - Napi - Nkambeni

General animals seen: impala, kudu, waterbuck, giraffe, zebra, warthog, common duiker, steenbok, klipspringers, chackma baboons, vervet monkeys, buffalo, elephant and rhino

Highlights: We got word of 4 lions on a buffalo kill on the river and headed that way and found them all enjoying their meal.

On our return to camp we came across a herd of 7 sable antelope and sat and watched them as they crossed over the road in front of us.

 

24 July 2014

Route: Numbi tar - Fiaya loop - Napi boulders - Shabeni loop - Nkambeni

General animals seen: impala, kudu, waterbuck, giraffe, zebra, warthog, common duiker, steenbok, klipspringers, chackma baboons, vervet monkeys, buffalo, elephant and rhino

Highlights: we had a wounded sighting of spotted hyena and guests got fantastic photos.

Great elephant sightings throughout the day with even a massive bull pushing over a Marola tree.

 

Time has come to say goodbye to our guests, we hope you had a great safari with many great memories. We wish you safe travels home and hope to see you again in the future.

On Safari With Karen From 4 July 2014

4 July 2014

After a pick-up in Nelspruit we drove the scenic route to Numbi Gate. We would spend the night at Nkambeni Safari Camp, where we first of all went to check-in and have some lunch. On the dirt road into camp we already saw some impalas, our first animals.

Then we set off for our afternoon game drive. Camp road had gotten a bit busier with impalas, a warthog and some kudus that were very well in hiding.

They had started burning on the side of the tar road so we passed some warm flames and then a reedbuck was standing in the middle of the burned bit. It looked a bit lost, as if it lost more than just its cover in the fire.

We turned onto Fayi Loop where just around the corner two young elephants were just crossing the road. They showed us their butts as they kept walking in front of us before turning off the road. Within seconds those big grey animals had disappeared in the bush.

We saw waterbucks, more kudus and lots of birds before we hit a roadblock. A herd of buffalos had decided their siesta was on the road and no matter how close we were, it wasn't over yet. We waited for quite some time taking pictures of the buffalos getting up, one of them being grey which stood out. We heard the fire crackling in the background but nothing was speeding them up today. When we were finally cleared to pass, we continued on our way. We then came across a wonderful and pretty unique sighting of an African rock python. He was lying on the side of the road, probably warming up in the sun. His body length was about 5 meters and he was evenly fat so he didn't just eat something. He lingered for a bit before slithering away into his hiding place. Just a little dried grass cover and his entire body was very well hidden!

To escape the fire we crossed the tar. On the crossing we had a troop of baboons pass us. Around Shabeni we found kudus and more impalas. We drove down Albassini to have a look at Mestel Dam. We spotted a pied kingfisher hovering, a fish eagle in a tree and hippos that were bobbing their heads up and down.

Down the road however we spotted a white rhino. He was on the side of the road but got scared by our vehicle and jumped back into the bush. He did however come back out behind us to show us how rhinos mark their territory! He then continued in our opposite direction before disappearing into the bush.

On our last stretch of today before being back in camp we also came across some zebras and some dagga boys on camp road.

 

5 July 2014

This morning we got up early to watch the sunrise from the loop around Manung koppies. The area around it was still burning at some places. We did see two female giraffes each with a young one. One female crossed the road, but the other was quite hesitant. Especially since more and more cars showed up, it decided to go back into the bush and not cross. We then moved on and had, in addition to a beautiful sunrise, multiple sightings of buffalos around Manung and Pretoriuskop Koppies, before turning onto Napi.

We stopped at Shithave Dam to watch a hippo come up to breath multiple times. There also was a crocodile that put himself on a rock already waiting for the sun to warm him up.

Down Napi we drove, all the way to Transport Dam. In addition to the previous sightings we found a kudu bull with some massive horns and vervet monkeys that just woke up and started playing in the early morning.

Then it was time to turn around to go back to Nelspruit as Siri and Alex were due back in Johannesburg today. Here they would transfer to Botswana where they would volunteer on a conservation project. I wish them all the best, and maybe we will see them back one day. Thanks very much for joining us!

On Safari With Karen From 17 April 2014

17 April 2014

This morning we left for a full day game drive. We drove up Albassini where we spotted impalas, kudus and zebras as well as an elephant in the background before we reached Mestel Dam. At the dam the hippos were playing in the water and we saw a nice fish eagle. Continuing on Albassini a member of the public told us about a cheetah further up the road and we were in luck. At a little waterhole named Cheetah Pan, a cheetah was resting on a mount of dirt next to it. For a while we were the only car there and watched him stretch, yawn and turn over. Even when other cars showed up, he had no interest in getting up, so after watching him for about 45min we decided to leave.

Down on Doispane we spotted impala rams that were going after the ladies, a couple of wildebeest, leopard tortoises, giant plated lizard and some smaller cousins, more zebras and a lone buffalo walking down staff village road.

After a break at Skukuza we decided to follow the river to hopefully see some herds of elephants. We were not disappointed. We drove down to Lower Sabie seeing many elephants drinking from, swimming in and crossing the water of the Sabie river. We also saw some buffalo bulls, hippos, terrapins and crocodiles along the way, especially at Sunset Dam.

After a nice lunch we drove back along the river, again spotting herds of elephants, elephant bulls, giraffes, hippos. We heard about lions and leopards possibly down the S114 so we took a little detour. We didn't see either but got surprised by three cheetahs that suddenly walked in front of us onto the road. We stopped for pictures and a video and shortly they were back off the road in the high grass! We were so lucky!! Furthermore we saw a dwarf mongoose chasing a slender mongoose across the road, a steenbok, and many yellow billed hornbills, red billed hornbills and grey louries.

It was nearing the end of the day so we drove home via Napi. Luck hadn't run out yet as we passed the hyena den near Transport Dam and saw 5 young hyenas playing outside the den! Wondering where their babysitter was we continued spotting a buffalo herd in the distance, a lovely waterbuck male, and some more elephant bulls. One of those was in heavy must, so we smelled him before we even saw him.

 

18 April 2014

This morning we escaped the busy Easter Kruger traffic by leaving a little later than normal. It was a pretty quiet morning drive up Albassini, down Shabeni and then the tar road to Shithave Dam. We had stopped at Mestel Dam and saw the hippos play and a pied kingfisher fish. We had seen some impalas and waterbuck along the way. At Shithave Dam we saw a crocodile sunning themselves and lots of waterbuck. A lone strong male kept watch on the dam wall while a herd of females and two youngsters lay down in the grass and a herd of bachelor males were trying out each other's strength. We felt sorry for one of the males as one of his horns had grown downwards and by the looks of it back into his skull at the rotation point of the lower jaw. But it seemed it didn't stop him sparring with the other males.

We had a quick break at Pretoriuskop and then drove back to Nkambeni Lodge via Circle Road. We came across some dwarf mongoose, two giraffes, lots of butterflies and just before the end of the tar road we had the tail end of a herd of buffalo cross in front of us. On the way back to camp we spooked a nice water monitor that was sunning himself so much he fell from his sunning spot into the water... Oops, sorry!

In the afternoon we went out again after the heat of the day had subsided. Now joined by three new guests our first sighting was a snake on camp road. Still on camp road we also came across some more waterbuck. On the way down the Numbi tar road a lone buffalo walked in the middle of the road towards us, spotted us and dashed into the high grass out of sight. We turned onto Napi spotting our first impalas of the afternoon.  As we got word it was all quiet on Napi, we turned onto Fayi Loop. Along with stretches of quiet we saw an elephant bull, more waterbuck, pretty waterlillies and a nice sighting of 4 giraffes.

Around Shabeni and Albassini it was void of animals. However the hippos at Mestel Dam were waking up, showing us 3/4 of their bodies, and the fish eagle had returned. We then saw a herd of female impala having a moment of jumping madness, which was great fun to watch.

 

19 April 2014

Today was our last day of the five-day safari of Alex and Owen as well as the end if the quickie safari of Joe, Michael and Werner. We started off with a nice giraffe, silhouetted against the sunrise. We also saw a white rhino close to the road which hung around for a bit so we could take some nice photos.

We then drove down Napi which was fairly quiet. We did come across a large dazzle of zebras on Napi Boulders, most likely two groups that met along the way. We then encountered two other white rhino sightings on our travels.

Following the very fresh signs of elephant (dung and chewed branches left in the middle of the road) we saw a glimpse of the culprit. A klipspringer stood like a statue on Klipsrpinger Koppies, just before we turned onto a quiet H3.

Continuing on we then saw a nice family of white rhino, Mum, possibly Dad and a very young rhino. This got us some cute pictures! We heard on the radio about a cheetah and we were in luck. At Renoster Koppies Waterhole a cheetah was indeed lying in the shade. We did see her while she had her head up, but mostly she was lying down flat. Continuing up the S114 we got another tip about some wild dogs, at Stevenson Hamilton Memorial. We turned into the road and immediately knew where as it was quite a build-up of cars. We decided to follow the stream past the sighting and then turn around and join the line on the other side. Trying not to impede others and manoeuvring around the cars stationary on the best viewing points, we were in luck that just when we got close one of the wild dogs stood up in plain view! He wiggled around a bit and then dropped down again in the shade. We decided to leave the wild dog sighting to have a short break at Skukuza.

After the break it had become a boiling hot day. We made our way back to Phabeni Gate via Doispane spotting impala males misbehaving, a very pretty kudubull, buffalo bulls lounging in the water, more zebras, a bateleur and a tawny eagle, lilac breasted rollers, a display of two yellow-billed hornbills and some more giraffes. Then it was time to say goodbye to the KNP. To all my guests, it was great having you on my truck this week! Maybe we'll meet again one day!!

 

Keep watching for more!!

Rhino Poaching Update

Illegal Hunters Paid Admission Of Guilt Fines

Illegal hunters have appeared in the Makhado Magistrates court today, Monday 17 February 2014 on charges of hunting illegally on the farm Den Staat which is an open system to the Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site, situated outside Musina in Limpopo.

Their appearance follows the arrest of a SANParks employee, Michael Sematla in January ...this year who is out on bail after facing similar charges.

Eleven (11) of the hunters were issued admission of guilt fines by the Magistrate court. The fines range between R1 500.00 and R4 500.00 depending on what animals were hunted, which brings the total amount paid to R37 000.00.

The case of one of the hunters was postponed and the accused will appear alongside Mr Sematla on 7 March 2014. The prosecution of the hunters and the SANParks employee follows months of investigations after a giraffe carcass was found with three bullet shots in the park. The SANParks Environmental Crime Investigative Unit was instrumental in the arrest and the fines paid by some of the hunters.

For previous media statements please go to www.sanparks.org

Issued by:
South African National Parks Corporate Communications

On Safari with Karen From 20 January 2014

20 January 2014

After picking up guests we drove to Phabeni Gate to enter park, this way avoiding all the potholes and having a nice scenic drive as a bonus.

We entered the park and straight away bumped into some impalas hiding in the bush. 

We had a great drive down Doispane with more impalas, kudu, warthog, buffalo and pretty birds like a woodlands kingfisher and lilac breasted rollers.

Furthermore we spend some time at Nyamundwa dam with hippos playing, rhinos bathing close by and buffalo relaxing on the other side. Not to forget all the water birds. 

While continuing on Doispane we came across a couple of elephant encounters while the Marula trees drop their fruits. As there were no other cars we had those to ourselves which made it great. 

After the busy road with sightings we continued down Skukuza road, Napi to Pretoriuskop. On the way we spotted a crash of rhinos, some zebras with youngsters and giraffes.

We arrived at Pretoriuskop at 6:15pm! All in all a very good start to this safari,

Let's see what tomorrow will bring!

21 January 2014

Today we woke up early and after a nice cup of coffee or tea we left the camp at 6am. Within a couple of kilometres we saw an elephant mum lazily feeding with her calf. They did not feel intruded by our presence so we sat and enjoyed the sighting as long as we could still see them. It was a good start to the day .

Further on Napi we came across buffalo close by the road and saw a rhino trying it on with his girlfriend. He sniffed her hindquarters and grunted and snorted and it looked like he was going to mount, but she wouldn't have none of that and turned around to snort back. As they then disappeared in the bush who knows what happened later...

On the way to breakfast at Skukuza we also saw giraffes, zebras, wildebeest, kudu and impala. We had a good day for spotting raptors too: martial eagle, brown snake eagle, yellow billed kite and a bateleur.

After breakfast we followed a tip from our colleague Frank and we were lucky enough to find a cheetah at the Renosterkoppies! He was relaxing under a tree keeping an eye on the impalas feeding close by. But those impalas had seen the cheetah as well and were way out of reach for the cheetah so he just rolled over and didn't bother getting up.

On the way back to camp via the H3 and once again Napi we spotted some new animals that we hadn't seen this safari yet: ground hornbills, steenbok, waterbuck, Chameleon, bushbuck, baboons, vervet monkeys and while standing at an elephant sighting we even had a leopard cross 50m in front of us. Unfortunately he was so quick that not everyone saw it and he had disappeared into the bush when we pulled up to the spot.

After a siesta in camp 2 of the guests went on a sunset safari while I took the other two back into the park for a short dash around Fayi Loop. At first it looked like a quiet drive but then we had a road block in the shape of a big elephant bull that was walking leisurly ahead of us. Being patient we followed at a distance and waited till he got off the road. And then just around a couple of corners we saw another elephant happily eating the fallen marulas in the middle of the road. It was a great sighting to watch. Before returning to camp we also spotted a black shouldered kite, leopard tortoise and 3 very pretty kudu bulls.

Tomorrow it's going to be an early day, so let's see if we have as much luck!

22 January 2014

Last night's sunset drive was highly successful with, apart from a lovely sunset, plenty of owl sightings, nightjars, a rain tree, elephant, lions, hyena and wild dog!

This morning we started early again to see if we could find some great sightings. In the crisp morning air we followed Albassini road up to Doispane. The drive started quiet with just a couple of scrub hares, but when the sun started warming us we came across a couple of elephants snoozing and feeding. And a little while later we had our daylight encounter with the same lions that were seen on the sunset drive. This was a mating couple and we decided to hang around for a while. In the hour we spend watching those lions they mated 3 times! The second time was close to us and in plain view and the third time there were very few cars and no engines running that we had the privilege of hearing how noisy lions mate!!

This made a great start of the day and we only left because some stomachs started rumbling. On the way to breakfast we also came across impalas, kudu, hippos, chameleon, more elephants, leopard tortoises, zebras, giraffe and warthogs.

After a nice breakfast at the golfclub with the hippos close by, we stopped at Lake Panic to have a great view of all the waterbirds and our first sighting of a crocodile. And to make it easy he was lying right under the hide's "window". If we would have stuck out an arm we could have pet it so close! We also saw 2 bushbucks grazing, dragonflies mating, a green backed heron fishing and a fish eagle.

While leaving the hide we got a tip from another visitor that wild dogs were close to Skukuza crossroads, so we went off to look for them. We got at the sight and we were the luckiest people as right at that moment the wild dogs decided to stand up and reposition. We stayed for a while with dogs continuously standing up and lying down again until they were all comfortably back to snoozing in the heat of the day. Another great sighting!!

The way back towards camp via Napi was hot but we saw more elephants and this time a herd of females and youngsters, some of which crossed the road next to us, just before we entered the camp again.

After a siesta we went back out in the afternoon and came across a buffalo in the reeds at the first drainage line we came across. On the way to Shitlhave dam we saw 3 more. At the dam we saw another crocodile sunning himself with his mouth wide open. Also there were waterbucks and we saw a terrapin.

On the crossroads with Numbi road we then saw this lone young elephant cow with a calf that is about a year old. The calf had too much fun chasing at the cars while jiggling its trunk, throwing leaves and sometimes even trumpeting that he kept at it until he ran out of energy. All the while the mother just lazily kept on grazing barely keeping an eye on her youngster. I think this young boy is going to be a handful growing up with no other elephants around than its young mother!

The rest of the afternoon drive we enjoyed ourselves watching kudus, impalas, hippos, and various birds like white fronted bee-eaters, yellow billed kite, tawny eagle, bateleur, yellow billed hornbill, barn swallows and fighting woodlands kingfishers.

Tomorrow will be the last day and we will start bright and early again.

23 January 2014

As today would be a short drive we decided to start as early as the gate opened. Yesterday we did start early as well, so much so that we did some stargazing while having our morning cup of coffee. After spotting Scorpio and the Southern Cross we saw the sky lightening in colour telling us it was time to go.

However this morning there were no stars or sunrise, it was actually raining. This caused us to see a new animal almost straight away as the rain made the frogs come out. But unfortunately it made our start a bit cold.

Today was a day of babies. It took a while before we saw mammals but we were rewarded a glimpse of a rhino with her small calf and an impala herd with babies. Furthermore we had an amazing sighting of 7 hyenas and 2 pups that were calling and a male that was trying to mount one of the females (but she wanted none of that). And to top it off we encountered two separate herds of elephants with very young calves, 1 even crossing the road in front of us giving us a good look.

Even though it was cold and rainy in the morning we saw leopard tortoise, hinged tortoise, impalas, kudus, giraffe, warthog, baboons (also with a baby), the sun which came through the clouds and ended this safari on a high with even more elephants just before the exit. 

After a quick stop at Numbi gate it was time for the return journey. The slalom around the potholes from Numbi Gate to Nelspruit completed the safari. I thank Aaron, Seth, Ian and Eva for joining me on this wonderful trip!!

Keep watching for more updates!!

Where to Satisfy The Thrill Of The Chase

By Petro Kotze’

 For some time, simply soaking up the ambiance of our national parks is enough. For other, its the thrill of the chase, boasting about what you managed to see while there and ticking special sightings off your list of achievements. However, its not all about the most renowned animals in this game. There are a number of lists that you can claim to obliterate when exploring...

 

THE BIG 5

The most famous list to tick off on any trip for many visitors is the mighty Big 5. Although many might say that they should not be the only goal of trip, they are still awesome sights to behold. They are the lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, the leopard and white and black rhino. We have two South African national parks where all five of these majestic animals roam. Of course, the world-renowned Kruger National Park and secondly, located closest to the economic mecca that is Johannesburg,Marakele National Park.

 

THE BIG 7

The Big 7 makes even the Big 5 look small in comparison. There is only one national park that can boast with all of these members: Addo Elephant National Park. To see number six and seven you will have to cast your eyes to the sea. They are the whale and the mighty great white shark.

 

THE BIG 4

Although the Big 4 is the Big 5 missing a member, they still pack a pretty hefty punch. At Mapungubwe National Park and World Heritage Site, all of them can be found if you keep your eyes peeled, except for the burly buffalo. Following the recent introduction of lion, you can also see all of them, except for elephant, in Mountain Zebra National Park.

 

THE LITTLE 5

These creatures represent the sometimes “forgotten” inhabitants of the African savannah, particularly in comparison to the Big 5. They are the elephant shrew, ant lion, leopard tortoise, buffalo weaver and rhino beetle (see what they did there?). while only two members (the leopard tortoise and buffalo weaver) are specific species, the rest represent a group of animals, of which there are various species – so it makes them considerably easier to find. There are literally hundreds of species of ant lion, but you’d do best to look for their familiar funnel-shaped sandpits. The elephant shrew, a small, insectivorous mammal, lives in arid lowlands, rocky outcrops and savannah grasslands, while there are over 300 species of the rhino beetle across Africa and Asia (they are actually a subfamily of the scarab beetle). So, where to see them? Mapungubwe and Marakele national parks would be great options as they fall within all of the targets’ documented distribution ranges. Although the same goes for Mokala National Park near Kimberley, manager Deon Joubert has never actually seen a leopard tortoise or a elephant shrew. All of them can also be found in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, and while a buffalo weaver sighting has been recorded, this would be the most difficult of the bunch to spot here. If you’re around Augrabies Falls, head into the park to look for the round-eared elephant shrew, the ant lion and the leopard tortoise.

 

THE SHY 5

This is where it gets tricky. They are the aardwolf, aardvark, porcupine, bat-eared fox and meerkat. Technically, the aardwolf and aardvark’s distribution area covers the whole of South Africa, except for the Garden Route ( the aardvark’s roaming ground also excludes the Richtersveld). The porcupine also occurs through almost the whole of South Africa, except for a small area in the North-West province. The bat-eared fox frequents the drier pars of the county. The meerkat is widely distributed in southern Africa.

There are a couple of parks where all of them live within the same fences. These include Kruger,Karoo and Mokala national parks as well as the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. The Tankwa Karoo National Park is also a contyender, but meerkat seem to be locally extinct, says the parks section ranger, Letsie Coetzee. The West Coast, Mapungubwe, Marakele (although perhaps not for the aardwolf), Namaqua ans Addo are all great contenders.

While not officially part of the Shy 5, the pangolin, Cape fox, honey badger and brown hyena are also very special sightings. The mighty Kgalagadi protects all of these. Possibly the most tricky to spot is the pangolin. Mokala, marakele, Golden Gate and Kruger should all be contenders.

Good Luck!!

An Analysis Of Restaurants And Shops In The South African National Parks

South African National Parks (SANParks) has restaurants operational in the majority of camps in National Parks. However, feedback from SANParks’ customers has indicated that the dining product offered in the restaurants and at the take-away facilities is at best “average” and in many instances “poor”.

SANParks is of the view that the introduction of South African Restaurant Brands through a franchise model will resolve the problems that are currently experienced at the restaurants ensuring consistency, value for money, product and pricing options, quality of offering and high service standards. Therefore, the aim of this research was to determine visitors to South African National Parks’ opinions, needs and preferences regarding the introduction of brands and franchises in National Parks.

 Download the Analysis of restaurants and shops in the South African National Parks 2011: http://bit.ly/1f7QFgg

On Safari With Dean From 16 October 2013

16 October 2013

We left camp at 15h15 and made our way down the Numbi Gate Tar getting four different herds of buffalo, impala and kudu. We turned onto the Napi road and got some good sightings of more buffalo, elephant, warthog and kudu. We made our way down the Voortrekker link and got more kudu, reedbuck, impala, vervet monkeys and more buffalo.

We herd via the radio that there was a sighting of hyena with the pups, so we drove down the Numbi Gate tar and were blessed by a great sighting.

We carried on getting more good sightings of buffalo, wildebeest and zebra. Upon arrival at Numbi Gate we found the staff huddled together watching a huge elephant bull set about breaking of branches from the marula tree and consume them.

We enjoyed this sighting for about half an hour until we had to leave in order to get to the camp in time for the closing of the gates.

17 October 2013

This morning we left camp at 06h00 and made our way out of Nkambeni Safari Camp getting buffalo, elephant and impala on the camp access road. We made our way down the Numbi Gate tar having good sightings of buffalo, elephant, hyena and pups, kudu and impala.

We turned onto the Napi road making our way down the Napi for about twenty five kilometres getting a great cheetah sighting. We turned around making our way back on the Napi Road in order to get guests to Nelspruit for their transfer back to Johannesburg.

On the return journey great sightings of elephant, rhino, reedbuck and another sighting of cheetah was enjoyed.

We exited the park and made our way to Nelspruit for the guests transfer to Johannesburg.

18 October 2013

Today we made our way out of Nkambeni down the Camp Road getting Buffalo, elephant, waterbuck, impala and kudu.

We turned onto the Numbi Gate Tar getting four different herds of buffalo enjoying the new grass as well as elephant.

We Proceeded onto Napi road getting good sightings of giraffe and a distant visual of sable antelope. We then got a radio call about a leopard at the end of boulders exit. We made our way in that direction faster than normal and found him walking parallel with napi road we watched him for about 10 minutes before he walked off into the bush.

We carried on driving for another 6 kilometres getting buffalo, elephant, impala and zebra. We then turned around and headed back to the gate getting the same leopard who had moved onto a rock and after 5 minutes he climbed down and walked away.

Just before leaving the park we managed to get a sable antelope sighting closer to the road.
After this we exited the park and headed back to Johannesburg.

Man Arrested In Kruger National Park For Possession Of Poison

A man was arrested after he was found in possession of poison in the Kruger National Park, management said on Saturday.
 
The man was arrested on Thursday after being searched by rangers in the park.

 "He entered the park through the Phalaborwa gate en route to Mozambique," spokesman William Mabasa said.
 
Rangers found four bottles on him and questioned about the contents, but found the man's story to be inconsistent.
 
The rangers called police and the man was arrested.

 Police could not immediately confirm the arrest.

 Earlier in the week, French news agency Agence France-Presse reported that a Zimbabwean court sentenced a poacher to more than 15 years in prison for poisoning and killing elephants with cyanide.

 This was the fourth conviction relating to poisoning wildlife in the country in a month.
 According to the report, the Parks and Wildlife Authority said 100 elephants were killed for their ivory with cyanide in one national park in just over a month.

 Three other poachers were sentenced in September to a minimum of 15 years each for poisoning 81 elephants.

 By:
 Times Media Group

This Is Why We Love Kruger By Arno & Louise Meintjes

"We were sitting with a lion pride of 19 @ about 16h00, only us, no other cars.
 
They were relaxed and sleepy as the temperature was 44 degrees Celsius.

 All of a sudden everyone was sitting, staring down the river bed and that is when we saw the Black Rhino.

 The Black Rhino casually used his horn and feet and dug for water in the dry riverbed.

 He found water and spend a while drinking.

 As the Rhino was leaving, passing the lions, the lions all got up and sped to the freshly dug waterhole.

 All 19 lions had a very good drink of water.

 In a matter of 40 minutes we saw nature at it’s very very best with one animal supplying water from a dry riverbed to 20 animals in total."

On Safari with Mark

29 September 2013

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

General animals seen:

Giraffe, warthog, impala, vervet monkeys, common duiker, waterbuck, kudu, zebra and hippo's

10 buffalo bulls on the camp road early this morning

Elephant bull eating  and while we were sitting watching him we had 4 rhino’s come across and graze right next to him. Great photos of two of the big 5 together.

Multiple sightings of elephant and buffalo throughout our drive today.

On our way back to camp we came across 2 male lions walking on albaseni heading towards the doispan junction.

On fiaya loop we had a sable bull in the drainage line grazing just a couple of meters off the road.

Great sightings of rhino on the afternoon drive.

On our return to camp we had 3 elephant bulls just outside of the camp entrance.

Hopefully weather clears up tomorrow and we can get some good cat sightings.

At the moment very cold and rainy

30 September 2013

Route: Voortrekker - S118 - little jock - H3 - Napi - Nkambeni

General animals seen today were:

Kudu, giraffe, zebra, warthog, waterbuck, common duiker, steenbok and hippos

Large herd of elephant just past the first historical sight on Voortrekker

Regular rhino sightings throughout the day.

Female leopard with a impala kill in a apple leaf tree 10m off the road. Spent 45mim with her and guest could get great photos

We got a honey badger 400m down boulders exit

3 Tsesabee just after shitlhave dam on napi road

No lions today but will try for them tomorrow.

Weather clearing up slowly but could be good tomorrow

1 October 2013

Route: Napi - tshokwane - H10 - Eloff

General sightings:

Giraffe,zebra,common duiker, steenbok, waterbuck, buffalo, chackma baboon, vervet monkey, bushbuck, kudu,sable, nyala, tsesabee, hippos and crocodiles

Female hyena feeding her two pups on the side of the road just after transport access road on napi

Huge herds of elephant on the H10

1 honey badger looking for something to eat on H10

1 male cheetah on H10 at molondozi turn off

1 lioness at lubeylubey bridge just lying on the rock enjoying the sun after the last two days of rain

Large herds of elephant on ellof crossing over to have a drink of water

Further to this napi was rather quiet all the way back to camp

Will try for a nice male lion tomorrow morning.

Keep watching for more updates!