Kruger Park Safari with Suzanne and Mr and Mrs Goeke 9 - 12 October 2010

After picking up all our guests in Johannesburg, we made our way through the traffic and out of Johannesburg on route for Nelspruit and the Kruger National Park. After a good stop a long the way it was off again to Nelspruit. The group arrived in the park around 12h30 were we transferred them to Pretoriuskop camp, there home for the next 3 days. 

After checking in to there accommodation and meeting their guide Mark, it was time for having lunch after which it was off on the groups first game drive. Guests had good sightings of rhino, Elephant, buffalo and numerous plainsgame species during the drive. At 17h30 it was back to camp for relaxation, a good meal and all guests wanting to watch the match that was getting broadcast on television.

The following morning, it was up early to enjoy a cup of tea and coffee before departing on the game drive at 06h00. Guests had a good day aboard our open safari vehicles getting good sightings of most of the inhabitants of the park.

The evening was spent enjoying a well deserved meal in the camp restaurant, before it was off to bed before another early start to the next day.

The following days took on the same itinerary as the previous one with many good animals been seen on the routes taken.

Feedback from the guests was that they had a wonderful time, saw lots of animals and got some really good photos. They are thinking of returning next year for a longer safari to the Kruger National Park

Kruger Park Safari with Lauren and Phillip 2 - 4th August 2010

Lauren and Phillip were picked up at the Ghandi Backpackers in Kensington Johannesburg and transferred to the Kruger National Park. After changing over to our open safari vehicle, we made our way to the park entering at the Numbi Gate. We made our way down to the camp of Pretoriuskop, were we checked inn and had a break in order for guests to have some lunch before leaving the camp on our first game drive. The afternoon was spent aboard our open vehicles, enjoying numerous sightings. Upon returning to the camp, guests enjoyed a good dinner, and then it was off to bed in order to get a good nights sleep.

Next morning it was up bright and early, and after enjoying tea and coffee, it was off to see what we could find. The day was spen out in the park enjoying numerous sightings of animals along the way. We returned to the camp of Pretoriuskop early in the afternoon, in order for Lauren and Phillip to leave on there sunset drive with the parks board. They returned to the camp at about 20h00 after having a good drive and seen numerous amounts of animals and some of the noctunal wildlife that we have.

The following morning, it was out early again after tea and coffee on there final game drive before breakfast and our trip back to Johannesburg. On the final game drive, good sightings were experienced. We left the park at about 12h00 and started our journey back to Johannesburg, arriving at about 16h00.

All in all, guests had a good time and enjoyed themselves. They have expressed that they will be returning and want to visit the park for longer next time.

Kruger National Park Safari with Yasuda x 3, Shuki and Gabay, Scott Shearer and Min Tran from the 28th - 1st July 2010

After picking up all our guests in Johannesburg, we made our way through the traffic and out of Johannesburg on route for Nelspruit and the Kruger National Park. After a good stop a long the way it was off again to Nelspruit. The group arrived in the park around 12h30 were we transferred them to Pretoriuskop camp, there home for the next 3 days. 

After checking in to there accommodation and meeting their guide Mark, it was time for having lunch after which it was off on the groups first game drive. Guests had good sightings of rhino, Elephant, buffalo and numerous plainsgame species during the drive. At 17h30 it was back to camp for relaxation, a good meal and all guests wanting to watch the match that was getting broadcast on television.

The following morning, it was up early to enjoy a cup of tea and coffee before departing on the game drive at 06h00. Guests had a good day aboard our open safari vehicles getting good sightings of most of the inhabitants of the park.

The evening was spent enjoying a well deserved meal in the camp restaurant and watching the soccer being broadcast on television before it was off to bed before another early start to the next day.

The following day took on the same itinerary as the previous one with some guests returning to camp at midday for there transfer back to Johannesburg in order for there journey to continue and for them to go to some of the games that they had tickets for.

Kruger National Park Safari with Marcio and Jose Ferreria, Ryan Mashina and Smiths x 4 as well as Vaurn x 3 from the 21st - 23rd June 2010

Picked up the group in Johannesburg and made our way via Nelspruit onto the Kruger National Park. The guests entered through the Numbi Gate and made there way down to the camp of Pretoriuskop were they would be staying for the duration of there safari.

After checking in to the accommodation, it was time to have a short break in order to enjoy lunch before departing on an afternoon game drive. The afternoon game drive was enjoyed by all with good sightings of Rhino, Elephant and buffalo as well as a large number of plainsgame species.

It was an early start, after enjoying tea and coffee it was out of the camp on the days game drive. The game drive took them to the camp of Skukuza as well as Lower Sabie. After a wonderful day spend aboard our open safari vehicles, the group was happy to get back to camp for a well deserved rest and some good dinner in the restaurant.

The following morning, it was out early after enjoying some tea and coffee. The group enjoyed there last game drive, and after enjoying breakfast, made there way back to the camp of Pretoriuskop in order to meet there shuttle back to Johannesburg.


Guests had a wonderful time while on safari, with all enjoying the accommodation, food in the restaurant and above all the game viewing aboard our open safari vehicles. All said that they would be returning for another visit to the Kruger National Park. 

Kruger National Park Safari with Channelle Burt x 2, Jorge x 2, Rus Gameson x 4, Evan Lew x 2 from the 13th - 15th June 2010

Today was a morning of Chaos, we had multiple pickup addresses and an awful amount of traffic to get through. After picking up all of our clients, we made our way through the traffic and out of Johannesburg on route for Nelspruit and the Kruger National Park. After a good stop along the way it was off again to Nelspruit. The group arrived in the park around 12h30 were we transferred them to Pretoriuskop camp, there home for the next 3 days. 

After checking in to there accommodation and meeting their guides Dean, Mark and Elcana and having a break for lunch, it was off on the groups first game drive. Guests had good sightings of rhino, Elephant, buffalo and numerous plainsgame species during the drive. At 17h30 it was back to camp for relaxation, a good meal and all guests wanting to watch the match that was getting broadcast on television.

The following morning, it was up early to enjoy a cup of tea and coffee before departing on the game drive at 06h00. Guests had a good day aboard our open safari vehicles getting good sightings of most of the inhabitants of the park.

The evening was spent enjoying a well deserved meal in the camp restaurant and watching the soccer being broadcast on television before it was off to bed before another early start to the next day.

The following day took on the same itinerary as the previous one with some guests returning to camp at midday for there transfer back to Johannesburg in order for there journey to continue and for them to go to some of the games that they had tickets for.

The feedback from the guests while on safari with us, was that they had a wonderful time, saw a lot of animals and also enjoyed there accommodation and meals in the restaurant.
All of the guests said that they would like to return foe a longer safari and also to be able to see more of the park especially the northern sector of the park.

We at Nhongo Safaris would like to see you all return to us someday on another safari 

Kruger National Park Safari with Arthur Guellermo and Partner from the 12th - 14th June 2010

We Picked up Authur and friend in Johannesburg and transferred them to the Kruger National Park via Nelspruit. Entered through the Numbi Gate of the Kruger National Park where he met Mark who was going to be there guide for the duration of the safari.

After checking in to the accommodation, it was time to have a short break in order to enjoy lunch before departing on an afternoon game drive. The afternoon game drive was enjoyed by all with good sightings of Rhino, Elephant and buffalo as well as a large number of plainsgame species.

It was an early start, after enjoying tea and coffee it was out of the camp on the days game drive. The game drive took them to the camp of Skukuza as well as Lower Sabie. After a wonderful day spend aboard our open vehicles, the group was happy to get back to camp for a well deserved rest and some good dinner in the restaurant.

The following morning, it was out early after enjoying some tea and coffee. The group enjoyed there last game drive, and after enjoying breakfast, made there way back to the camp of Pretoriuskop in order to meet there shuttle back to Johannesburg.


Guests had a wonderful time while on safari, with all enjoying the accommodation, food in the restaurant and above all the game viewing aboard our open safari vehicles. All said that they would be returning for another visit to the Kruger National Park.

Adventure into the Kruger Park after dark

There's nearly always some sighting to savour on game drives in Kruger National Park. Even without the Big Five, surprises can be just around the corner - athletic kudu sprinting across the road, a pack of wild dogs stretched out on a dry riverbed, even tiny chameleons bringing traffic to a standstill.

But sometimes - perhaps just once in a lifetime - a game drive comes along that is like no other.

My wife and I were staying at Kruger's lofty Olifants Camp and, instead of undertaking the usual late-afternoon game drive, we decided to book for the camp's Sunset Drive.
It was clear that nearly everyone with us in the packed open vehicle was a foreigner. You could tell from the hi-tech digital cameras, clothing far too skimpy for a sunset drive and wide-rimmed hats direct from the Skukuza curio shop.

And the questions directed at John, our ranger-cum-driver, also made it plain that most of our fellow passengers were new to the bush.

"What do they eat?" the Italian lady asked as we watched waterbuck grazing in the distance.

John clearly knew where he was heading as soon as we left Olifants. He set off for the Balule Bridge as if on a mission. And then we saw it. Drooped around a branch of a skeletal leadwood tree on the left hand side of the road was a magnificent cheetah, its long tail hung out to dry in the evening breeze.

Slowly, with the many digital cameras recording the action, the cheetah made his way down the tree while eight giraffe grazed contentedly just a few metres away. But the ranger kept on scouring the veld, as if there were more to see.

Then he picked them up in the grass on the other side of the road: two more magnificent cheetah, about 100 metres apart but with one unified gaze. Two pairs of eyes were focused unwaveringly at the intruding cheetah across the road.

My wife and I held our breath: this promised to be a night to remember. Suddenly, the silence was broken. "What do they eat?" asked the Italian lady loudly.

Although now at least 50 metres apart in the bush on the right-hand side of the road, the two territorial cheetah moved in complete unison, as if telepathically linked. Slow, slow paces, eyes still fixed on the newcomer opposite, who by now had adopted a similar frozen - if somewhat uncomfortable - stance.

Then, as if a starter's gun had gone off in their brains, the two land-possessing cheetah sprinted across the road at that famous record-breaking speed, launching into a horrific V-formed assault on the lone one facing them. It was time for a hasty retreat - and he ran for dear life.

The flight took all three cheetah virtually through the legs of the bewildered giraffe who decided that it was time to get the hell out of there. "Is there a zoo in Cape Town?" the Italian lady asked, making the ranger close a mouth that had hung open in amazement. He chose to ignore the question.

Slowly, the triumphant cheetah duo returned from their land-cleansing operation. They curiously sniffed the tree that had housed the intruder, pointed spotted posteriors to the heavens, lifted their tails and spouted high-pressure urine on to the tree trunk for at least five seconds.

Then they made their way back to their original domain and repeated the process on several trees there.

By now it was quite dark and John put the headlights on the cheetah pair as they ambled in front of our vehicle for some 500 metres until they found their overnight quarters at a pan near the bridge across the Balule.

The drama had lasted all of 25 minutes. It turned out that the ranger had encountered the pair regularly for the preceding six or seven nights.

"Spotting cheetah on night drives is not unusual," he told me later.

"But I had never seen a territorial skirmish like that before."

I suppose it was futile explaining the sheer magnitude of the moment to our fellow passengers. Yes, it was indeed a night to remember. Fortunate though we were, even more drama and pathos awaited us later on the drive.

We came across a group of baby zebra that sprinted away from our vehicle - all except for one little one that remained on the ground. Binoculars showed that one of its rear legs was twisted horrifically, obviously broken.

"Why don't you help it?" one of the passengers asked John.

The ranger explained the rules of the bush, survival of the fittest. He did not spell it out but I knew that, come morning, hyena would have put that adorable baby out of its misery.

Earlier on this particular visit to Kruger, we had sampled another sunset drive, from Berg-en-Dal camp, and, although nowhere nearly as dramatic, the drive had produced five different sightings of hyena, four different species of owl, spotted genet and the most quaint chorus of frogs you will ever hear.

So, when next in Kruger, do yourself a favour. Spend R100 or so and venture out with a ranger at sunset. There might be a once-in-a-lifetime thrill awaiting you out there in the dark.

Kruger National Park Safari with Doug and Madeline Pratt Johnson 23rd - 26th January 2010

Doug and Madeline were picked up from Craighall House in Sandton, and we started to make our way to Nelspruit, after changing vehicles in Nelspruit our way onto the Kruger National Park. The camp that we were staying at was Pretoriuskop. After checking in and a chance for some lunch, we left the camp at 15h30 for our first game drive. We managed to see elephant, Rhino, Kudu and also lion just before the transport dam turn off on the Napi road.

Next morning, it was up early and out of camp after a cup of tea and coffee. We were making our way in the direction of one of the picnic spots for breakfast. We managed to get more lion, rhino, elephant and buffalo en route leaving jus the elusive leopard as the one not seen yet to make up the big five. Nobody was to worried as we had a whole halfo of the day as well as the following day to find one before they left to go back to Johannesburg and then on with there holiday throughout the rest of South Africa. After breakfast we carried on down to the camp of Lower Sabie and then onto the H10 towards Tshokwane. We managed to have good sightings of hippo, Crocodile, Kudu, Elephant, Buffalo and more Lion, before making our way back to camp in the late afternoon. That evening was spent having a good dinner in the camp restaurant and then having an early night as the guests were quite tired from the hours spent on the open safari vehicle looking for animals.

The next day, we left camp at 05h30 after tea and coffee and made our way in the direction of Skukuza only to be called and told about a leopard lying in a tree on the Doispan road. It was determined by the actions of the leopard that he was not going to move too quickly, so i decided to make our way in that direction. We cut accross from the napi road to Doispan via the road known as watergat and were able to find the leopard lying not even 1 km from the junction in a Marula tree. Upon arriving at the sighting, we were lucky as the large amount of traffic experienced by other guides while on the sighting had completely disappeared and we and another two vehicles were the only ones left on the sighting. After about a half an hour we decided to make our way to breakfast as we were already late and the guests were hungry.
For the rest of the day, we encountered large herds of elephant, buffalo, hippo, crocodile and more lion. We then had to make our way back to camp as the guests were going on their night drive that left at 17h00. While on the night drive guests experienced many nocturnal animals as well as some very good giant eagle owls standing on the road in front of the truck.

The following morning, we conducted our last game drive. After breakfast we made our way out of the park and back to Nelspruit and then onto Johannesburg. We dropped the guests off back at Craighall House in order for them to pickup there rental car before continuing there journey onto Natal.

Doug and Madeline said they had a good time, and will be returning to visit us again. 

Kruger National Park Safari with Rolf Everhardus 18th - 21nd January 2010

After an early morning pickup from Emerald Guesthouse in Kempton park, we made our way in the direction of Nelspruit and the Kruger National Park. Upon arrival in Nelspruit, we changed our vehicle from the nice air-conditioned microbus and into one of our open safari vehicles for our short journey to the the Kruger National Park. After arriving at the Numbi gate, we checked in and made our way to the camp of Pretoriuskop were we checked into the accommodation and gave the guess time to enjoy some lunch, prior to them leaving on their first game drive. We took a drive down the Napi road, getting good sightings of Rhino, Elephant and the general plains Game.


After some good tea and Coffee, it was off and out of camp to see what we could find. We took a drive down the Napi road on route to Skukuza and then on to Tshokwane for breakfast. While on route we had good sightings of rhino, buffalo, elephant Zebra, Kudu and impala. After breakfast we decided to take the H10 down to Lower Sabie, a road that had proved to be very good on the last safari. As we turned right onto the H10, we were met by a lioness leading her three small cubs over the road. While standing there, one of the cubs became tired, and the female then proceeded to pick it up in her mouth and carry it over the road. This was really good to see. We carried on with the H10 picking up some really large Elephant bulls and some good Rhino and Buffalo. We stopped at lower Sabie for a well deserved break,l before making our way up Eloff Street running parallel with the Sabie River back to the camp of Skukuza. On route back, we stopped of at Sunset Dam, having a chance to see the Hippos, and Crocodiles together with the prolific bird life found around this dam. After arriving back at Skukuza, it was time to have a lunch break, after which it was time to start making our way back to camp. After a good day of game viewing and some good dinner, it was off to bed for a good rest before we started again the next day.

I woke up the clients at 04h30, had tea and coffee at 05h00 and then we were out on our merry way. Something said to me to take the same road as the day before and then take a different route late closer to the camp of Skukuza. The morning started off slowly, until at about 7,1 Km's from the Napi Boulders exit on the Napi road it's self, we came upon quite a nice sighting of Wldebeest with there calves, Zebra, Impala and Giraffe. While watching these guys to our left hand side, my head turned to the right from something moving in my field of vision, and to our surprise it was a cheetah standing right next to my vehicle using it as cover from the potential prey. We watched this for around5 -10 minutes, we also called it in over the radio, and heard that there were other vehicles on the way to us. After a while the cheetah moved passed the front pf the vehicle keeping very low and went to lie down on the ground 6 to 7 meters from the vehicle right behind a termite mound. By this time other vehicles had arrived and many of the Wildebeest, Zebra, Impala and Giraffe knew that something was up. it was at this time sensing that time was not on it's side, the cheetah broke cover and started it's charge bringing down a wildebeest calf around 80 - 100 meters in front of us. Visuals were lost at this point due to the long grass being encountered at this time of year due to the large amount of rain that has been experienced over the last 2 - 3 months.
After this wonderful sighting and with the guests on a high, we made our way down to the Nkulu picnic spot for breakfast. After a well deserved breakfast, we found out that there were some lions lying on the road that we had taken the previous day to breakfast, so we decided to take a drive in this direction and we could maybe get lucky in seeing them. We made our way to the N'walindlopfu River bridge, where we found the two large male lions lying out to the right hand side right in the middle of the dry river bed. As if the lions were waiting for us, one of them got up and started coming closer to the bridge in order for us to get some better photos of him. He was making his way closer to the water in order to take a drink. This proved to be a wonderful sighting and as we took our leave, it was good to finally see some of the larder males in the lion species doing so well.
The day seemed to speed past with many other sightings, and soon it was time to make our way back to the Pretoriuskop camp, as the clients were going out on there night drive.
The clients left at 17h00 on their night drive and returned at around 20h30, having seen some good animals and also seeing more lion walking on the road.

on the morning of the 21st January, we left camp early again for our final game drive before coming back to the camp for breakfast and time to packup, before climbing back onto the road in the direction of Nelspruit were we changed our vehicles and then took to the road in the direction of Johannesburg.
Guests feedback was that they had the time of their life, and certainly want to come back and enjoy another safari to the Kruger National Park. The highlight of the trip was seeing the cheetah hunting and using our vehicle as cover to stick away from the plains game it was trying to hunt.