Video Blog on the Grey Hornbill

2 Day Bushveld Southern Kruger Safari

Spend a memorable two days in South Africa's wildlife haven, the Kruger park. Price: R5700.00 per person. Follow the link to view the complete package https://nhongosafaris.com/2-day-bushveld-southern-kruger-safari

On Safari With Gert From 3 November 2016

3 November 2016

We started a new Safari yesterday afternoon with Matt and Hayley from Australia.

After settling in they went on a Sundowner drive which was thoroughly enjoyed.

This morning after a quick breakfast, we left for a different camp, with quite some distance to travel, which meant that we spent the majority of the day on a Game drive.

This worked out well as we saw an amazing variety of animals throughout the day, aided by the fact that we had nice cool weather until about lunch time, which led to a fair amount of predator activity. At the end of the day, the hardest part is choosing 2 highlights to write about and if neither of the Cheetah or Leopard sightings make the highlights list, it's a good indicator of how the day went!

We had our first Lion sighting of the day fairly early on, when we found 2 of 3 males that had apparently killed a young Buffalo a while earlier. The 2 we found were done feeding and relaxing in the open away from the 1 still left on the kill. They were both youngish males, a few years before their prime; most likely nomadic and took their chances with a large buffalo herd in the area. While we were watching, they got up and started moving parallel to the road, stopping to scent mark here and there. They slowly made their way closer and closer to us, providing us with a brilliant sighting as they eventually crossed the road and found a new spot to relax.

We had 2 more Lion, Spotted Hyena, Cheetah and 2 Leopard sightings throughout the day, but the pick of them all came late in the day when we spotted a lone Honey Badger foraging! Seeing this animal at any time of day is very special, but in broad and rather warm daylight is just extremely lucky and we watched as it bustled along, with it's nose on the ground, stopping every now and then to dig up and wolf down an unsuspecting snack! A memorable sighting indeed and a great day on Safari!

4 November 2016

We left camp just before sunrise this morning in an attempt to make the most of the conditions, as it was expected to become a very hot day.

We were rewarded early on, with a good sighting of 2 large male Lions in their prime and 2 lionesses with them. When we arrived at the sighting one male was walking from a waterhole towards where the other 3 lay and joined them, keeping a very close eye on one female in particular. They appeared to be smelling something of interest in the breeze, as they kept looking back in one direction, but eventually got very comfortable in the morning sun and we left them to it.

Later on we stopped at a view point overlooking a riverbed with a few pools of water left. A large Elephant bull was slowly approaching the water, stopping off to snack along the way, when we noticed a large Crocodile in the shade of the tree which the Elephant was very keen to feed on! The Elephant kicked at the Crocodile a couple of times, the Crocodile in turn opening it's mouth to the Elephant in self defense and reluctantly moving away a few meters, while the Elephant was happily browsing. Eventually the Crocodile had enough and scampered into the water, giving the Elephant such a fright that he ran off in the opposite direction and didn't even go for a drink in the end!

After a late breakfast we moved to a new camp where we went for a late afternoon drive. While stopped at a spot overlooking a stretch of river, some Impala had just finished drinking and were making their way across the wide riverbed. They suddenly stopped and all stared in one direction. After a while a Leopard came walking out past them, not really showing much interest in the Impala and we soon realized why, as it already had an Impala up a nearby tree. We lost sight of the Leopard in a thicket and waited to see if it would get up the tree, but to no avail and we moved on bringing an end to another great day on Safari!

5 November 2016

We left early this morning at Sunrise and again it became apparent quite early that it was going to be a hot day!

One of our early highlights came as we crossed the river on a low-level bridge. First, we spotted a pregnant looking female Hyena on the prowl in the riverbed. She had a quick splash in a pool before continuing on her way, eyeing some Waterbuck along the way, but they kept a close eye on her and she moved past. She appeared to be following a scent as she had her nose close to the ground and carried on into the bush, crossing the road right next to us.

We then spotted some commotion in the water and it turned out that there were at least 4 Crocodiles feeding on a fresh Hippo carcass in the shallows! The crocs were eagerly tearing off chunks of Hippo and lifting their heads out of the water to swallow, also attracting the attention of a Saddle-billed Stork and another Hyena which decided to go investigate, but wisely avoiding the action, and leaving the spoils to the Crocodiles!

After breakfast we moved to a new camp and shortly before arrival stopped at a drainage line where a herd of Elephant were enjoying a mud bath. There were also 4 old Buffalo bulls around the mud pool, with a few Baboons on a nearby Ridge, overlooking the scene. We then noticed a lioness walking past the Buffalo into a shady spot on another rocky ridge and getting comfortable in the shade - as it turns out - to join another female and a young male. Some of the Elephants kept browsing closer and closer and we had a bit of a showdown, as the Elephants, assisted by some of the Buffalo, tried to chase off the Lions, whom in turn were loathe to give up their shady spot on the rocks and stood their ground. All of this accompanied by the Baboons' belated alarm calling at the presence of the big cats from their vantage points!

We ended the day with a relaxed drive along the river front with many Hippo out grazing and a variety of bird species and general game visiting the water for a drink.

On Safari With Kara From 24 October 2016

24 October 2016

I picked up my guests in White River and made our way to Nkambeni, the camp inside Kruger right by the Numbi Gate.

We started off our first safari with a afternoon drive. Having found some Elephants, Impalas and Buffalos before we passed through Numbi got us all very excited about the time to follow. Our drive could not have disappointing as we saw Elephants and Rhinos close to a watering hole and a crocodile sleeping on the sand nearby. A pair of bateleurs followed us out of the park this evening as we headed for camp.

25 October 2016

After an early start with the sun covered by a few clouds whom we were very grateful for we spotted our first cat. A male lion sleeping a few meters from the road. With a big beautiful mane. Imagining all different ways to take down an impala by the watering hole.

A hyena also made a surprise visit at the vehicle making sure we are no threat.

Later that afternoon we were joined by two guests from Luxembourg. They really did bring the luck. We finally got a nice look at two warthogs trotting next to the road tails up and ready to duck. A big elephant bull pulling a few branches of a Marula tree and then later a Sable sleeping and keeping an eye out for intruders. Two blue headed igamas were enjoying the last sun up on a termite mound.

26 October 2016

Our last day to see all the bush had to offer we spotted a few new species. Quite a few Marabou stalks in the water and on the sand bank of the Sabie River and a Sandpiper searching for fish.

My favorite was watching a big herd of elephants trying to squeeze underneath a tree to sleep all with trunks hanging on the ground. That was not the only first for me but also this morning I saw the smallest Vervet Monkey I had ever seen hanging for dear life as the Mother is Sucking sap from an Accacia Tree,

A family of Dwarf mongoose ended our drive following by a Congress of Baboons spread out in between snacking on seeds.

On Safari With Gert From 15 October 2016

15 October 2016

This afternoon we started a new Safari with 4 guests, 2 of whom will only be with us for 1 night, hence the first priority was to maximize game drive time in the hope of finding some good sightings.

After checking in and a quick lunch we headed out for a very lucrative afternoon drive.

First up we found a large buffalo herd, probably about a hundred strong, resting in the reeds along the banks of a large waterhole.

We then came across a Leopard kill in a tree, at first all we saw was the kill - a baby buffalo - hanging in a tree, but no sign of the Leopard! We decided to drive a bit further on, as there had also been talk of lions in the area.

We were lucky enough to find said lions, one male and 2 females. The females were lying flat in the shade of a tree, while the male was lying close to the road guarding the leftovers of what also appeared to be a buffalo carcass! We had a great view of the male, lying with his head up looking around, with a few hooded vultures patiently waiting their turn.

On the way back to our camp we also found a large male Elephant enjoying a mud bath in the late afternoon sun, a great afternoon and brilliant start to the safari!

16 October 2016

We left on morning drive after an early breakfast. From early on it was evident that it would be a hot day, as the Impala were already congregating in the shade!

It was a very good morning for the large herbivores and we had good close-up Sightings of several old Buffalo bulls as well as Zebra and Giraffe in the road!

One of the highlights was a crash of White Rhino; a large female with 2 calves, the youngest about 2 years old. We watched them graze close to the road until they got comfortable in some good shade under a tree.

We then returned to drop off 2 of our guests leaving today. On the way back we found a few large adult Elephant bulls with some very impressive tusks between them, all feeding close to the road. One of the bulls was not very happy with the passing vehicles and decided to stand in the road to feed and not let anyone pass for a while!

We eventually got around them and returned to camp for lunch and pool time.

During the late afternoon drive we found a very large crocodile on the bank of a waterhole, a beautiful herd of Elephant feeding in a drainage line and another very large buffalo herd. A spectacular sunset signaled the end to another successful day on Safari!

On Safari With Robbie 12 October 2016

12 October 2016

Yet again setting out early ( 5am! ) paid dividends for Vrekesh and Rashie as the 2 species we aimed to find where ticked off before 06-15 am!!

White Rhino and Spotted Hyena were the ones!!Large herds of Impala, Waterbuck, Kudu, Elephant and Buffalo were also seen with excellent photographic opportunities!

A large male Leopard was also spotted fast asleep in a Marula tree!

The sighting of the morning however was the Huge Sable Bull we found with excellent visual about 5 km from Pretoriouskop camp on the Napi road!

Sables normally walk away from tourists vehicles but this majestic specimen literally stood entirely still for the entire time observed and in perfect early morning light!!!

It was an awesome safari for the 2 enthusiasts from India with overall highlights being:

1) Sable bull,

2) 2 Leopard sightings,

3) 16 Spotted Hyena,

4) W . Rhino,

5) African Wild dog,

6) Numerous Elephant calf sightings

7) 43 bird species and of course the huge Hippo Bull charging through the savannah to its water!

We say happy travels further and hopefully you guys will bring the rains!!