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 Amanda From 4 November 2016

4 November 2016

Today I collected 4 new guests from Kruger airport, Emanuel and his wife along with their nephew and his wife.

We arrived at a very hot Kruger and checked into nkambeni camp. 

My guests were on a sundowner where they spotted elephants, zebras and lovely impalas. 

Early to bed after supper after a long day for my guests. 

5 November 2016

Today temperatures were expected to reach a high of 36° so set off early after breakfast towards skukuza. 

A magnificent herd of Elephants literally surround our car and came so close it was breathtaking. A dazzle of zebras and further along we waited patiently for 3 rhinos to cross the road a few meters ahead of us.

Things were hotting up as we took a turn onto napi boulders, always beautiful to look at this amazing rock formation. Looking in the shady parts of the rock we spotted 2 lionesses on closer inspection hidden deeper behind them were at least 3 others resting from the scorching African sun!

After spending some time with the lions we headed for a coffee break.

Stopping at a waterhole we saw a huge kudu bull coming to drink we watched and then drove slowly towards a little koppie where a leopard and her cub are sometimes found, we located the cave and sat for a while and after 5 mins she made her appearance, beautiful! 

A quick lunch and we headed back to camp as my guests wanted to do another sunset drive... luckily for them they found another leopard and 2 big male lions!

A great day had by all as we relax and catch up on the days events!

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 1 November 2016

1 November 2016

After picking up and the checking my guests from France and Finland into our camp.

We set off on our first afternoon game drive. It could not have gone better.

Our highlight was the male leopard that was climbing down a hill and then crossed the road right in front of us in the road.

Soon after we had a big herd of elephants crossing the road and a few kilometers later buffalos blocking our way.

Ending our drive with a family of zebras heading to their resting place.

2 November 2016

Our morning drive went even better than the first finding a male lion fast asleep on his back warming his belly in the soft sun.

Later there were 2 beautiful big male rhinos grazing along the road with oxpeckers on their backs.

My day was made after I got my 2nd pair of black cuckooshrike's jumping around and a grey headed gull sipping water.

We had twice the chance to spend a lot of time with a clan of hyenas with babies sniffing the car and suckling from the mom.

On our way out there was a Male Sable antelope crossing the road.

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.