On safari With Curtis from 8 December 2014

8 December 2014

The start of a new tour and after meeting my two new guests in Nelspruit we headed down along the 40 to Numbi gate,  after sorting out permits it wasn't long before we found our first animal, a nice bull elephant all on his own just about ten meters from the road. We followed him for a while before he got bored with us and moved out of sight. Next up was impala, just a single lady with no sight of her herd but I reassured my guests that it wouldn't be the last one we saw. Down at mestal dam the hippo's were getting fairly vocal and active all in preparation for a nights grazing. We also had a group of waterbuck around the waters edge. We then found a bateleur which had just landed in a tree. Turning on to Shabeni link we found a nice family of dwarf mongoose scurrying around by the side of the road and then just a little further down zebra and impala, then as we looked around we noticed a lone warthog and three wildebeest also at the sighting. Plenty more zebra and impala followed. As we headed into Pk, our rest camp for this tour, we spotted a common duiker who quickly ran off and a herd of kudu as well.

A lively start to this tour so far!!!

9 December 2014

So today we started off nice and early straight down the Napi, to begin it was quiet although we did see buffalo and elephant, all the sightings were either from a distance or obscured by trees and grass.

As we moved on we did find a large bull elephant further up the road which was walking towards us. It didn't take too long for us to notice the strong odour of an elephant in musth and as he got closer we could see the constant dribbling of urine on his back legs. We stood our ground as he moved closer, first as he moved to the front of the vehicle and then he moved round to the side, ears right out making himself as big as possible.

As he edged closer I decided he was close enough and let him know that that was enough and he should back down which he did. We watched him as he tried to exert his dominance for about ten minutes before he moved a bit further away and we could drive off safely. Only for him to take this as a sign of weakness and we saw him chasing after us for a few meters before he had decided enough was enough.

We had sightings of zebra and Warthog before we got to Transport dam which was quiet with the resident hippos being the only mammals. But if you can't find mammals look at the birds and there is plenty at the waters edge. African fish eagle, African jacanas, blacksmith lapwings, egyptian geese and white faced ducks just to name a few.

We drove into skukuza for a spot of breakfast and a little bit of souvenir shopping before heading down to lower sabie, the river was also quiet today for the first section although we found plenty of impala down here. We also saw plenty of hippos, a few buffalo, Bushbuck as well as vervet Monkeys and baboons. Just as we were approaching our lunch stop we came to a gathering of cars. This usually indicates something and it did this time. Two lionesses and a lion sat just a couple of meters from the road in the shade of the trees. We also saw a second male cross the road behind but he disappeared quickly. After a while the other three also moved off into the bush.

Luck was with us now as just a couple of kilometers further down the road we found a leopard up in a tree. Our timing was perfect as just minutes later he jumped down and vanished.

We moved on spotting more hippos and buffaloes before finding loads of crocodiles at sunset dam as well as impala and a mud bathing warthog.

After lunch I decided to go a different route home so we crossed the sabie river. As we did we found more crocs, big and small and very small, Marsh terrapins, a Bushbuck and a large hippo out of the water. Looking at the scars on him he had been in quite a violent fight.

We took a drive down salitje which although quiet gave us a few very nice sighting including a nice herd of zebra along with young foals, a solitary giraffe right next to the car, a family herd of elephants, a couple of bateleur and also southern ground hornbills.

Back on the tar along the river we had two very nice sightings, the first our second leopard of the day, we noticed him as he popped out of the tree line and he crossed in front of the car before moving out of sight on the other side only to reappear briefly giving us a second look at him.

The second nice sighting was a family of elephants with a very small calf, probably less than a year old. They were happy to keep eating by the side of the road for ten minutes allowing for lots of photos.

We turned back onto Napi and found giraffe and impala, we also found leopard tortoise and a chameleon making his way over the road. He certainly took his time but he was also considerably quicker than the giant land snails we found later. We also found a couple of hyenas close to their den taking an afternoon siesta before we got back to Pk.

More coming soon!!

Poachers Update

Poachers Update: 31/07 During a routine security check of vehicles entering the KNP at Kruger Gate this morning, a firearm, ammo and poaching related equipment were discovered in a vehicle. During the incident the driver of the vehicle was arrested and two passengers who were in the vehicle at the time managed to flee from the scene. Investigations are underway.

On Safari With Curtis From 1 June 2014

1 June 2014

The first day of a new tour and after a stop for lunch in Nelspruit we headed down to Phabeni gate, our first sighting was a large herd of impala close to the road and then a short look at a buffalo before he disappeared into the bush. We stopped at Nyamundwa dam and found hippos on the other side as well as wildebeest and a variety of birdlife such as cormorants, Egyptian geese, blacksmith lapwings and an African fish eagle. Further along doispane we found zebra before turning onto watergat where immediately we found a nice sighting of impala, kudu and vervet monkey's in the same spot. We then came across a large bull elephant only a few metres from the road, we pulled up close and watched as he pushed over a smallish acacia tree and started to pick branches off it before crossing over behind us. We then found impala alongside baboons and a warthog at the watering hole. After turning onto Napi we found a young hyena cub lying by his den before visiting transport dam. Again we could see hippo on the other side, as well a waterbuck, a couple of steenbok and more water birds. The rest of Napi was very quiet with just a few impala and kudu. As we drove down camp road we got another close sighting of an elephant before entering the gates of Nkambeni tented safari camp for the night.

 

2 June 2014

This morning we immediately bumped into an elephant just outside the lodge gates before taking a drive around shabeni and finding a leopard, we only got a short glimpse of her before she moved deep into the bush but never the less it was a good start. We drove down Napi which was quiet, with only impala and kudu seen. Continuing on with our drive we spotted rhinos and on closer inspection showed that the two were actually mating, a very unusual sighting. Further along we came across a large herd of buffalo with animals on either side of us and on the road in front of us. We carried on and found elephants before one of my guests shouted lion!! We reversed and unfortunately the thing she had seen was not a lion, we would have been disappointed however the thing she had seen was in fact our second leopard. We were the only vehicle for some time and spent plenty of time watching him before he got up and walked over to the road enabling us to follow him closely. A great sighting enjoyed by us all.

We then drove to Skukuza seeing giraffe along the way. After our break we took a trip around the river spotting kudu, bushbuck, a nice crocodile sunbathing on the sand as well as group of white backed vultures which were also sand bathing. We then heard about some lions on bravo. We headed down there and found two lions a bit into the bush, the Acacia trees blocked our view a bit but with some positioning we were able to get a good view of the pair. On the way back we came across 3 hyena cubs , plenty of elephants and impala we also saw the buffalo herd we had seen earlier.

 

3 June 2014

The last morning of this tour and after packing up our bags we set off for a last safari before transfers.

As we left the lodge for the last time we spotted a couple of common duikers which quickly dived into the bush before we set off down Albasini, we spotted impala before we got to mestel dam and found a mum and small calf hippo out of the water lying on a sandbank, maybe the water was colder than the winter air around us!! We carried on down the road, which was quiet, finding a nice herd of Zebra close to the road, we just had time to drive down to nyamundwa dam finding more hippos and the water birds at the edge before we had a drive down to phabeni gate and leave the park.

I would like to thank Evie, James, Josie and Susan for their company, we have been very successful over the last three days and we got everything that you had hoped for. Hope to see you back here one day!!!

On Safari With Karen from 12 May 2014

12 May 2014

Today was our first day. We entered the KNP through Phabeni Gate and took a slow drive on Doispane. We spotted our first animals quite quickly: red-billed hornbills, followed by a lot of other birds of the KNP. Close to Nyamundwa Dam we saw our first mammals. A large herd of impalas was hanging out with three wildebeest. Or the other way around, we weren't sure. Either way, it was nice seeing these two species grazing together.

At Nyamundwa Dam we looked at a whitebreasted commorant sinking in the water, displaying why it's called a "snake neck bird" in Afrikaans. On the opposite shore was a crocodile sunning himself and at the far side we spotted some ears and nostrils belonging to hippos.

We continued our drive along Doispane seeing a nice big bull elephant feeding from a nearby bush and we encountered a lot more impalas. A small herd of zebras was grazing on the side of the road, with a mother shielding her tiny young from view. Then we stopped at a spot where another car stood and were amazed to see a young hyena and her babysitter out in the sun. The babysitter was clearly enjoying the bask outside as the youngster was intrigued by the cars but too scared to come close. It was a lovely sighting!

We turned off Doispane onto Watergat where we spotted more impalas, zebras, dwarf mongoose, kudus and various birds like yellow-billed hornbill, magpie shrike and Cape glossy starlings.

Back on the tar we followed Napi to Skukuza, our camp for this night. A large herd of elephants was feeding at Mathekanyan. We followed them for a while until they disappeared in the bush. Just before Skukuza we were surprised by a small troop of baboons with a tiny baby. The Mum was protecting it well, as she looked only a couple of days old the baby was still very uncoordinated.

We arrived at Skukuza after a very good start of this tour! Let's see what tomorrow brings.

 

13 May 2014

Last night we saw vervet monkeys on our way to dinner as well as all around our huts this morning so we were off at a good start. We had also heard bush babies, hyenas calling as well as hippos overnight.

We drove down to Mathekanyan to watch the sunrise. Being the only car at the viewpoint we enjoyed the silence, the sound of various birds and the sunrise. While looking at giraffes through binoculars, the territorial call of a leopard nearby told us to get back into the car. It sounded quite close, but he didn't come to the top. We followed the direction of the sound while the leopard was calling again and again, but it only moved further away into the bush without us seeing the leopard.

We continued our drive down the H3, where we just saw the tail of a lioness disappear into the bush. We waited a while to see if she came out again but no such luck. While others were more patient we continued to have a leopard crossing the road just in front of us a little further down the road. Her playful cub shortly followed, catching us by surprise. He was very energetic and kept on jumping up out of the bushes so we saw them walking by. Following them from open spot to open spot in reverse, we had a great sighting of the playful cub and his purposefully ignoring him Mum.

We turned into S112 and briefly had stopped at some elephants feeding in the thick bush, when another guide came driving past saying the lions were out again. We turned around and this time passed the place where the leopards apparently were still occasionally showing themselves but not at the moment, so we saw a glimpse of a lioness through the bushes. While looking at her through binoculars she got up and moved behind another bush. We didn't see her back after that.

We decided to continue to the Skukuza Golfclub where we would have breakfast. On the way we also spotted kudus, a giant kingfisher, a grey headed bushshrike, a male bushbuck, a nyala and a Burchell's coucal. At the Golfclub the hippos were snoozing in the water and a couple of warthogs were grazing on the other side.

After breakfast we continued our game drive on the tar road towards Satara, passing the Sabie and Sand Rivers via low level bridge. We spotted two female bushbucks, had a nice hippo pop out of the river close to the bridge, some bateleurs and a giant cloud of marabou storks that took flight. Two white-fronted bee eaters were having a very loud squabble with two pied kingfishers about who was allowed to sit on a particular reed stalk and two Egyptian geese were having an even louder argument on their own about... who knows what!

On the tar road to Tshokwane we were lucky to see many animals: a fish eagle, lots of white backed vultures and two marabou storks bathing, plenty of flying bateleurs, two single male giraffes, a lone buffalo bull lying on the side of the river, kudus with a nice adult bull, a herd of female waterbucks and all that before we got to the Kruger Tablets. We were told about possible lions mating at this location so we waited around. Another guide had told us about the general location of the lions lying in the grass so we were guessing a bit until the male lion got up. He looked at the four vehicles standing, walked two paces, got us all excited and then... flipped sideways and went back to sleep. We waited for another 30min, but except for a slight head raise there was no more movement. The female...eish, we never saw a glimpse so who knows. If we have to wait for cubs from this pair, I think we are wasting our time as this male was either too lazy or definitely not in the mood.

Continuing to Tshokwane for a lunch break we spotted an elephant bull, zebras with impalas and giraffes all in one spot, plenty of lilac breasted rollers, cape glossy starlings and other birds, a hairy caterpillar and a steenbok that shot across the road.

After lunch we continued on the tar road to Satara, where the plots were already burned so it smelled of a large campfire. We spotted a lot of general game along the way and had a head to head with a large troop of baboons. Suddenly we are waved down by two cars standing on the opposite side of the road. Just before we get to a standstill a lioness comes out of the bush and crosses the road in front of us. Unprepared we watched without taking pictures, but then two more lionesses follow. They stand still in the road as if to pose, pass behind the other cars and then disappear into the wavy lion-yellow grass. 5 seconds later and we would have missed it all. The people in the other car told us there were six, in close succession, so we were very lucky!! And we got pictures to prove it too!

On the way we stopped at Mazithi Dam and Kumana Dam, looking at wooly necked storks and plenty other water birds, hippos half out of the water, a sunning crocodile, terrapins, and palm trees at the Sweni. We visited the southernmost baobab tree and continued to spot some wildebeest, loads more giraffes, plenty of zebras, another troop of baboons, a disappearing herd of elephants, golden orb spiders, whitebacked vultures drying up after a bath, a steenbok that stood still long enough for a photo, kudus, dwarf mongoose, and warthogs. We ended today with a lovely large elephant bull skimming off the water close to Satara, our camp for tonight.

 

Photos and more coming soon!!

Everyone Hopes For A Perfect Trip...

South Africa And Mozambique Reach Deal To Fight Rhino Poaching

South Africa signed an anti-poaching agreement on Thursday with Mozambique, a major transit route for rhino horn trafficked to Asia.

Mozambique is a prime source of illegal hunters hired and armed by transnational crime syndicates to cross the border into South Africa to kill rhino.

The Kruger National Park shares a long border wit...h Mozambique and has borne the brunt of rhino poaching in recent years.

So far this year a total 293 rhino have been killed in South Africa with nearly half of the attacks in the Kruger Park, despite the deployment of troops to protect them.

The agreement "entails us working together with Mozambique to eradicate rhino poaching... so that Mozambique is not used as a transit country", Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa told AFP.

The two countries agreed to share intelligence and jointly develop anti-poaching technology and education programmes.

Status symbol

Rhino horns are prized as a status symbol in Asia and mistakenly thought to possess medicinal properties to cure cancers and hangovers, even though they are composed of the same material as fingernails.

The poachers kill the rhino with semi-automatic rifles, hack off the horns for shipment to Asia and cross back into Mozambique, leaving the bodies to rot.

Mozambique early this month approved a law that will impose heavy penalties of up to 12 years on anybody convicted of rhino poaching.

"Previous laws did not penalise poaching, but we think this law will discourage Mozambicans who are involved in poaching," Mozambique's Tourism Minister Carvalho Muaria said at a ceremony to sign the agreement inside the Kruger National Park.

At least 46 Mozambicans, five of them policemen, have been arrested inside their own country this year alone for poaching.

Mozambique has also started relocating 1 250 families that were housed inside the Limpopo game park, which borders Kruger, and erected hundreds of kilometres of fence between the two areas.

South Africa is home to around 80% of the world's rhino population, estimated at more than 25 000.

Most live in the vast Kruger Park.

Legalising rhino trade

In 2007 only 13 rhino were reported poached in South Africa, but since then the numbers have increased exponentially every year.

South Africa has hinted it is now considering legalising the rhino horn trade in an attempt to limit illegal demand, allowing the sale of horns from rhino that have died of natural causes.

"Experts are working on structure to look at the stockpiles that we have and not bennefitting anybody, yet people are killing rhino for these horns that we have elsewhere," said Molewa.

It is a "proposal moving towards possible trade", she said, adding it could be one of the solutions to end the rhino slaughter.

"We do think that it could... just taking it from the lessons we have learnt from ivory. We did an ivory once-off sale" and elephant poaching has not been a problem since.

"We hope we'll be able to win this war," said Molewa.

By:
Agence France-Presse (AFP)

Kruger National Park Gate Quotas In Forced During The Easter weekend

Day Visitors to the Kruger National Park are requested to take note of gate quotas when planning their visit, as these will strictly be enforced during this coming Easter Weekend which starts on Thursday, 17 to Monday, 21 April 2014.

Visitors are advised to either arrive at the gate very early in the morning because the service... is on first-come-first-served basis or pre-book their entrance with central reservations office on telephone number 012 428 9111, in order to ensure that they gain access to the park in terms of their own plan and are not sent back at the gate.

“We are calling on everyone who is planning to come to the park as a day visitor to please make the necessary arrangement beforehand in order to avoid unnecessary disappointment”, said the General Manager: Communication & Marketing in the Kruger National Park, William Mabasa.

Those who pre-book their visit will be expected to pay a non-refundable deposit of R32 per adult and R16 per child entering the park, which is meant to secure their space because they would have been counted in the number that makes the daily quota. Day visitors with advanced bookings are also expected to arrive at the booked gate by not later than 13:00 on the date of the booking, after which the booking lapses. A pre-booking however does not exempt the day visitor from paying the normal conservation fees upon arrival at the gate but secures him/her entry.

All visitors are also reminded to bring along their identity documents (IDs) or some alternative form of identity to avoid problems at the gates. Wild Cards cannot be used to identify one as legitimate holder and should be accompanied by some form of identity document.

Mabasa also reminds visitors not to bring liquor with them as the alcohol ban on public areas in the Park is a permanent rule enforced during both quiet and busy periods. Law enforcement officials will be on the look-out for rule breakers. Visitors can also report any incident of rules and regulations infringement to the Emergency Call Centre at 013 735 4325. Various honorary rangers will be deployed in order to assist gate staff with managing the queues and other different services available at the gates.

Day Visitors, who may not be able to gain entry because the quota has been reached, can if they wish, make use of the park and ride a facility which is available at some gates. The park and ride will cost visitors extra money but will be better than having to be turned back at the entrance gate.

“We also request visitors to plan their trip by observing gate opening and closing times so that they do not find themselves either speeding or arriving late at the camps/gates on their way in/out of the park;” concluded Mabasa. People must please read their permits received at the gates because all the rules and regulations of the park are clearly stipulated in those documents.

KNP has ten entrance gates i.e. Pafuri, Punda Maria, Phalaborwa, Giriyondo, Orpen, Paul Kruger, Phabeni, Numbi, Malelane and Crocodile Bridge.

Issued by:
South African National Parks Kruger National Park Communications

SANParks Announce Appointment Of Interim CEO

The South African National Parks (SANParks) Board has appointed Mr. Abe Sibiya, the Managing Executive of Kruger National Park (KNP), as the acting Chief Executive Officer from 1 April 2014 as the current Chief Executive Officer’s term of office ends on 31 March 2014.
http://bit.ly/1dH4nKw

Kruger National Park Heavy Rains Update

An update on the heavy rains in the Kruger National Park as on 13 March 2014 at 08H00AM.

Latest update

Pafuri Picnic Spot is closed.

As a safety precaution it has been decided to close the following facilities:
...
Talamati Bush camp (closed until Monday, 17 March 2014)
Biyamiti Bush Camp (closed until Monday, 17 March 2014)
Wolhuter Trails Camp (closed until Monday, 24 March 2014)
Boesman Trails Camp (closed until Monday, 24 March 2014)
Olifants Trail Camp (closed until Monday, 24 March 2014)
Nyalaland Fly Camp (closed until Monday, 24 March 2014)
Balule Satellite Camp (closed until Monday, 17 March 2014)
Sirheni Bush Camp (closed until Monday, 17 March 2014)
Bateleur Bush Camp (closed until Monday, 17 March 2014)
Shimuwini Bush Camp (closed until Monday, 17 March 2014)
Berg-en-Dal fence temporarily erected.

Bird Hides:

Sable Hide is closed.

Roads and Bridges:

Gravel roads in the Marula Region still closed, with the exception of the roads listed below.
H1-1 from Skukuza to Pretoriuskop open
S60 between Punda Maria and Pafuri is open
H14 between Mopani and Phalaborwa open
H1-2 between Skukuza and Tshokwane is open (Sand River low level bridge between Skukuza and Tshokwane is closed).

The following gravel roads have been reopened:

S7
S10
S42
S8
H2-2 (Afsaal - Pretoriuskop)
S11
S28
S107
S130
S137
S39
S36 (from H7 - S145)
S126
S106
S89
S90
S41
S100
S40
S12
S127

Gates/Ports of entry:

Crocodile Bridge Gate has been reopened.

Picnic Spots:

Tshokwane Picnic Site is open.
Pafuri Picnic Spot is closed.

H3 from Skukuza - Malelane is now open. The northern part of the park is accessible via H12, high water level bridge.

River Update:

The weather predictions indicate mild rains for the coming few days, however, most rivers have subsided except the Olifants River which is still flowing a bit high.

Please Note:

All main camps are not affected the park is still accessible. For more information call the central reservation on 012 428 9111 or the Emergency number 013 735 4029.

Issued by:
South African National Parks

Dehorned Rhino Found And Put Down

South African National Parks (SANParks) intensified its search again this morning for the dehorned rhino spotted by visitors on Friday, 28 February 2014 in the Kruger National Park (KNP).

According to SANParks Acting Head of Communications, Reynold Thakhuli, the Rangers took off again this morning in search of the dehorned rhino, it was found alive, but in a bad condition. It was found within the Phabeni Section of KNP but quite far from where it was initially seen. “An assessment was conducted to determine the extent of the injuries and suffering. It was discovered that a bullet had lodged in the rhino’s brain and therefore any chance of survival was slim.”

Thakhuli said the Ranger in charge, after a thorough assessment of the animal, took a decision to put it down to end the suffering that it had endured since the poaching incident. “There was simply no chance of surviving for this poor animal and unfortunately it had to be put down.”

SANParks would like to extend its gratitude to the visitors who alerted the authorities about this heart-breaking incident as well as to the Rangers for a sterling job and dedication to finding the animal despite challenges with the weather conditions and tough terrain they had physically tackled in search of this animal. “We will continue to work hard in the fight against the overwhelming scourge that is currently targeting the KNP... “to us one rhino killed is one too many.”

Issued by:
South African National Parks Corporate Communications

On Safari With Mark From 17 February 2014

17 February 2014

Route: Numbi tar - Napi - Napi boulders - Napi - Nkambeni

General animals seen: Impala, Kudu, warthog, waterbuck

Fantastic rhino sightings this afternoon with a male, female and calf altogether approx 10m from our vehicle. All very relaxed, grazing on the short grass as the sun sets.

On boulders itself we found a buffalo bull walking along side of the road and as we approved it moved off into the long grass and politely lay down to rest.

On our return to camp we found a massive elephant bull right next to the road approximately 40m from camp gate.

Great start to the safari. Would love to show the guests a lion or leopard tomorrow morning as some of the guests are here on a quickie and return to JHB tomorrow morning.

 

18 February 2014

Route: Napi - Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni

General animals seen: giraffe, warthog, impala, waterbuck, blue wildebeest, zebra, hippos, rhino's and vervet monkeys

Rather quiet morning drive for the first part, then Curtis called to say he had found a male and female lion near doispan, albaseni junction.

We headed that way as the guests hadn't seen lions yet. As we approached the sighting, they got up and walked out onto the road heading directly for us. Great sighting experienced as both came walking past our vehicle. The female staying on the road and male choosing to walk past us in the grass next to the road. Guests could get great photos of these and all enjoyed the sighting

 

19 February 2014

Route: Napi - Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni

General sightings: kudu, impala, warthog, zebra, hippos,chackma baboon, waterbuck, hippos and  vervet monkeys

Came across the spotted Hyena on transport access road. Female with her siblings. Some still totally black in color.

After stopping for coffee, we heard about some lions up the road and decided to go in search of them. We found them under a tamboti tree. 3 sub adult males and 1 female.

Further to this the ride was rather quiet and not much was spotted from then on.

 

20 February 2014

Route: Napi - H3 - Napi - Shabeni - Nkambeni

General animals seen: giraffe, elephant, kudu, impala, buffalo, rhino, warthog, blue wildebeest, vervet monkeys

I decided to try the H3 this morning as I was informed that nothing was found on other roads.

On our return to Numbi gate we had some time to kill and still no leopard. The thought of saying goodbye to guests without seeing a leopard, was still in my head when a guest called out to stop.

There she lay on a fat Marola tree branch just watching the bush. Once we spent a few minutes she jumped down from the tree and walked out into the road just ahead of us. All guests let rip with their digital cameras and many great photos taken.

Everyone was happy with what the bush had to offer and for the last two guests we will just try to get lions in a better position than yesterday.

 

Keep watching for more!

On Safari With Curtis From 13 February 2014

13 February 2014

Picking up my two guests at Numbi gate at 11:00 hours we went straight to our overnight accommodation at Nkambeni Tented Lodge, after the guests had settled in they went down for a bit of lunch and a bit of a rest ready for their first safari.

Luckily at 15:00 hours the worst of the rain had moved on and so we set off on our drive. W...e came across Impala, Kudu, Cape Buffalo and Waterbuck just on the lodges camp road. As we headed down Napi towards Shithave dam we spotted more Kudu and Impala and then Elephant at the dam. We also spotted a couple of very wet sorry looking rollers as well as Grey Heron and Egyptian Geese at the dam.

Heading back the way we came we found Waterbuck, Kudu, a couple of small herds of Elephants and more Impala. We also came across a lovely large male Rhino who headed straight towards the vehicle and at one stage was just a couple of metres away from us. We also saw a large herd of Cape Buffalo, they were quite a way in the distance but it was still nice to see the movement of the herd.

After dinner an early night for everyone as it's an early start for us tomorrow.

14 February 2014

Leaving the lodge early we headed down spotting a very nice male Rhino, Elephants, Waterbuck, Kudu, Impala, Zebra, Giraffe and Hippo. We then turned onto Watergut where we found more Impala and Giraffe as well as numerous bird species including Rollers, Drongos, Hornbills and African Hoopoes and Cape Glossy Starlings. We also found Dwarf Mongoose and Tree Squirrel close to one another. As we continued we also spotted more Kudu, Giraffe and Impala and Vervet monkeys and a couple of White-backed Vultures and a Brown-Snake Eagle.

Turning onto Doispane we were driving along when one of the guests shouted 'Lion' and there he was, standing just a few metres from the vehicle a large Male Lion. We followed him for about twenty metres before he decided he'd walked far enough and flopped to the ground in the shade of the bushes. We spent time just watching him as he relaxed and then carried on heading to the Skukuza golf club for an early lunch.

After lunch we stopped off at Lake Panic Bird Hide where we had a lovely sighting of Hippo and a large Crocodile as well as plenty of birds including three species of Kingfisher, Water Thick-Knee and African Jacana. We carried on and came across a small herd of Nyala and then found the Male Lion again. He had moved about 500metres in the last two hours but this time he was much more shy and didn't even pop his head up from the bushes. Moving on we came across more Elephants, Impala, Kudu, Giraffe, Hippo as well as a solitary Reedbuck. We also had the time to stop at some of the smaller things in the park including both the Leopard Tortoise and the Hinged Tortoise as well as the Dung Beetle rolling his ball.

After we got back to camp a short break for the guests before they set off on their Sunset drive.

15 February 2014

This morning it was time for my guests to go on their bushwalk. Accompanied by two armed rangers from Nkambeni they set off. It turned out to be a great walk with sightings of Wildebeest, Impala, Zebra, Hyena and a crash of four Rhino. But it wasn't just about the mammals, they also enjoyed the numerous birds and the smaller things like the Golden Orb spiders and their webs.

While my guests recovered from their bushwalk excursions I went to pick up four more guests from Numbi gate, after getting them checked in and having lunch it was back on the vehicle for the afternoon drive.

We headed down Numbi tar spotting Impala, Kudu, Zebra and Wildebeest. We came across a mother and calf Rhino, waterbuck and more Impala. It was beginning to get quiet when we came across a nice male Elephant, while at the sighting we were informed about a group of Lions further down the road. These lions had been spotted in the same place earlier in the morning so I thought we probably had a good chance of still seeing them. We drove down to the area where they had been seen and sure enough there was a female lion with three older cubs. No sooner had we stopped then a member of the public informed us that four large males were walking down the road just a kilometre away. As the female and her cubs had been lying in the same spot for at least 6 hours I thought there was a good chance they would stay there for a while longer so we went off in pursuit of the other sighting.

It was a good decision as a couple of minutes later we were following in the footsteps of the four males. An incredible sighting as they just walked with the arrogant swagger of animals that know they are the boss in their territory. We followed them for ten minutes, getting loads of great photos and memories which will last a lifetime, before turning round and heading back to the other lions.

After we had spent some time with the female and her cubs we had to head for home. But we still had time for another wonderful sighting as we found a female hyena babysitting three older cubs and two young cubs who were still completely black with no spots at all. We sat watching the cubs play as the adult slept paying no attention to us or the other vehicles. Further down the road we came across Kudu, Giraffe, Elephants and as always Impala. As we neared the lodge we had one more treat as we came across a large male Rhino standing right next to the road. We watched for a while before he headed off and we headed into our lodge for the night.

16 February 2014

An early start and straight away we came across Impala and Kudu just outside the lodge gate. We drove on spotting Elephants, Impala, Waterbuck, Kudu and Hippo, Cape Buffalo, Giraffe, Klipspringer and a Leopard Tortoise before heading down to Numbi gate to drop off two of my guests who were being transferred to Johannesburg. As we waited at Numbi I heard a rustle in the grass and suddenly just 15 metres from us stood a huge White Rhino. We watched him as he watched us and then he started to move across the car park allowing everyone to get some great photos. We also had an Elephant walk across the road further down the road.

We set off again in the afternoon, with the sun still burning strongly, and it turned out to be an afternoon packed full of sightings of Elephants and Rhino. We also had sightings of Impala, Kudu, Hippo, Vervet Monkeys, Klipspringer, Waterbuck, Warthog and Zebra.

Keep watching for more!

On Safari With Karen From 13 February 2014

13 February 2014

After 3 scorching hot days somebody had done a rain dance last night and it had worked. We woke up to a rainy morning and instead of diminishing it increased during the morning. Even though it was nice being a bit cooler we could have done without the rain.

We left after breakfast for a drive down Napi to find what was out there. It w...as a quiet stretch as apparently the rain made the animals shy. We encountered a couple of elephants close to the road feeding, but otherwise even the impalas were in hiding.

Nevertheless we once again found a new animal today, a klipspringer! And just then the call came in about a lioness on the road. We followed up on the tip and were lucky to see her walking towards us with an escort of about 15 other cars behind her. We stopped so she walked past our vehicle and she came quite close. She was roaring, calling out to presumably her lost pride members. While the rest of the cars followed her we had to turn around and decided to stay at a distance since we had such a good sighting. We stopped waiting for the road to clear when the lioness decided it was better looking the other way and she had turned around. This time just in the bush, but close to the road, once again she walked past our vehicle and once again she was followed by an amount of cars that had now doubled. While trying to make our way in the opposite direction out of the sqaubble she had turned again and we were a third time lucky to have her pass our vehicle and now she was roaring quite adamantly. We felt the car vibrate through her roars and decided now it was really time to let her be. We left the sighting while even more safari cars showed up and we were told later that she had found at least two more members of her pride.

On the way to our coffee break we saw more elephants, giraffe, vervet monkeys, leopard tortoises and after a long search some impalas.

The coffee was nice and warm on this rainy day and after the warm-up we needed to make way to the gate as some of our members were saying goodbye. But before we were on our way Mark called in a leopard in a tree. Pushing our luck we followed up on the sighting and just before we got there it had jumped down. We searched and searched but didn't spot her. But time was an issue so we unfortunately had to leave the sighting. We were a mere 500m away when the call came to return as she had just climbed into another tree. We turned and just as we arrived at the scene she was lying in a tree, looked up, got up and jumped out of the tree out of sight. 30 seconds and it was worth it! Would you believe our luck!

But now we ran out of time so we headed back to the gate. We had no more time left to properly stop at a sighting but we could point out more impalas, kudus, leopard tortoises, a chameleon and three white rhinos.

At the gate we said our goodbyes to Gaby and Michael who were a great part of the group. Morgan, Terry and Maggie are staying another night to overcome all the excitement from the last few days and will transfer back to Johannesburg tomorrow. You guys were a fantastic group, I thank you for joining me on this safari!!

14 February 2014

Today I picked up the guests at the airport and with very variable weather we made our way through the plantations towards Numbi Gate. As soon as we entered Kruger Park we stumbled upon a herd of impala. We checked in into Nkambeni Lodge, our home for tonight and after lunch we went on our first game drive.

As soon as we were ready to go it was pouring down with rain, but undeterred we set off. We turned into Albassini following rumours that there might be lions in that direction far ahead. After a quiet start we saw kudu bulls and had our first elephant not far from the road. A dwarf mongoose was sitting on a tree stump but disappeared as soon as we stopped.

In the meantime it had stopped raining and bravely we had taken off our ponchos. On Doispane we saw guineafowls, a very well hidden steenbok , more impalas, wildebeest, zebra, warthog and giraffe. Of course it also had started raining again.

When it dried up we saw a lovely rainbow and Filip took one for the team and kept his poncho on. Then Melanie spotted movement and thought it was a lioness. As we were coming close to the spot where the rumoured lions should be we stopped and scouted around. We saw a leopard sitting on a rock, but that was not where she had seen the lion. We looked a bit more and found a second leopard close by! Two leopards in one spot, what a great sighting! Both were sitting up so we were hoping they would get up, but one by one they put their head down and eyes closed so we knew there wasn't going to be more to this show.

We continued our search but did not spot the rumoured lions. The time had come to make our way back to the lodge as the gates would close soon. On our way back we saw a family of baboons walking in the road, two reedbucks, a zebra crossing the road, more giraffes (also crossing), waterbuck more wildebeest, and two separate herds of elephants.

We stopped at Mestel dam for a good look at the hippos playing in the water and were surprised by a white rhino walking and grazing on the opposite side. And to top it all off, just before we got back to the gate a dung beetle was rolling his dung ball across the road. Once he had passed we drove the last bit and finished for today. It was dry as long as Filip had kept his poncho on, but what do you know, as soon as he took it off to go to his room... downpour!!

We had a very wet but good start, now bring on tomorrow!

15 February 2014

After breakfast this morning the bags were once again packed in the vehicle and we drove off for the last game drive of this safari. After being incredibly lucky yesterday we were hoping to find something new.

We drove along Napi and started off really quiet with a long stretch of nothing. We saw a duiker cross the road quickly in front of us, an elephant and leopard tortoises in different sizes (small, medium and large) and we'd been driving for two hours already when we spotted a small troop of baboons in a tree.

We were heading for an early coffee break when we saw cars ahead and got excited. But apparently we just missed a leopard that had crossed the road and now had disappeared into the bush. We thought our luck had run out when we heard about another leopard so we changed course. And man, were we lucky. She was lounging in a tree just off the road, snoozing, washing herself and snoozing again. At one time she even sat up, it was a brilliant sighting.

We continued on the S114 towards the S112 where we then spotted 6 lions lying on a rock. They were about 100meters in but we had good visibility as there was only 1 other car at the sighting. The females and youngsters were deep asleep, so the only movement we got was the twitch of an ear.

After watching this for a while we continued down Napi again towards our long overdue coffee break. We were told about another leopard not far away, but as we just had a brilliant sighting and were spoiled yesterday and were in need of a toilet break we decided not to pursue this sighting.

On the way though we saw an elephant crossing the road in front of us, two white rhinos, wildebeest, giraffe, zebras and kudus. Unbelievably we stopped next to a car at a sighting and he told us about the leopard in the tree a little further in the bush. We looked and there it was! The best sighting was our first leopard of the day, but who can say no to watching another one when you are already there?!

After the long overdue coffee and a just in time toilet break we headed back towards Numbi gate for the end of our safari. We were still lucky in seeing more elephants, zebras, wildebeest and impala. We arrived early at the parking lot at Numbi reception so we walked around and swapped stories about trees and bushes as Filip works in a nursery back home. When the transfer arrived it was time to say goodbye. Melanie and Filip, it was great having you! I hope you'll enjoy the rest of your holiday just as much!

Keep watching for more!!

The Hawks Make Nine Arrests For Rhino-Related Crimes

The Organised Crime Unit of the Hawks in Limpopo has arrested nine suspects during a two-day operation related to environmental crimes, particularly the trade in rhino horn.

The police, who were acting on information received, arrested five suspected rhino poachers at Bela Bela yesterday afternoon, 11 February 2014, for being in possession of... a rhino horn. The suspects were arrested during what was supposed to be a rhino horn transaction between the suspects and an undercover buyer.

The seized horn appears to have been poached from an adult rhino a few months ago. The five suspects are aged between 23 and 34. They are South Africans from the Mabula Village and Eersterust in Hammanskraal North, Pretoria. During the arrest, the police seized an uncut diamond, which was later tested to be a fake, and the suspects’ getaway vehicle.

They are due to appear in the Bela Bela Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 13 February 2014, on charges of the illegal possession of a rhino horn.

This arrest happened a few hours after the Hawks were summoned to a rhino poaching crime scene at the Zonderwater Farm in Lephalale where two rhinos had been shot; one dehorned and the other wounded.

Rangers at the farm accosted individuals suspiciously making their rounds at the farm at about 16:30 on Monday, 10 February 2014. The police were immediately summoned to the area. A set of rhino horns, a high-calibre hunting rifle with four rounds of ammunition, a saw and a getaway car were seized.

The suspects, 31-year-old Kenny Sibiya, 42-year-old Butini Ndlovu, 48-year-old Richard Sibuyani, both from Bushbuckridge in Mpumalanga and 30-year-old Sam Nnone from the Dark City Village in Lephalale, are facing charges of rhino poaching, being in possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

They appeared in the Lephalale Magistrates’ Court today and their case has been postponed to 28 March 2014 for a formal bail application while they remain in custody.

Earlier this year, three suspected rhino poachers, 39-year-old Jaime Mashavane, 40-year-old Thomas Chauke and 32-year-old Moses Mathobo, were arrested at the Shambala Game Reserve in Vaalwater, Limpopo. A hunting rifle and an axe were seized. The suspects are still in custody.

“We remain committed and determined to confront rhino poaching from all angles. We will continue to surprise them in the thick bushes where they are operating from,” said the Head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Major General Dibero Molatjana.

Issued by:
The South African Police Service

On Safari With Mark From 10 February 2014

10 February 2014

Route: Phabeni gate - Doispan - S65 - Skukuza - Kruger gate - Skukuza

General animals seen: kudu, warthog, impala, chackma baboon - vervet monkeys - zebra - giraffe and common duiker

Great sightings of different elephant herds on doispan today. A single bull very close to the road approximately 500m past 3 finger rock.

While watching this a college of mine informed me of action on the S65. Approximately 6.5kms from doispan we found 3 cheetha (1 female and 2 cubs) that had just killed an impala. All 3 busy eating with the ever watchful eyes on the white backed and lappet faced vultures. Although a distant sighting, it was still good to see the interaction between cheetah and vultures.

On Kruger gate road approximately 200m before the doispan junction we saw a herd of Cape buffalo. Guest got good photos of this herd however still a bit distant.

Out on the road tomorrow to see what nature has to offer.

 

11 February 2014

Route: Tshokwane tar - H10 - Elloff - Skukuza

General animals seen: impala, kudu, giraffe, steenbok, warthog, Nile crocodile, hippos, bush buck, vervet monkeys and chackma baboon

Approximately 1.3kms past Marola exit we found 17 wild dog running in the road. They spotted a male impala and the chase was on. Unfortunately the impala was to far for them and they gave up very quickly and carried on running next to us. The guests enjoyed the sighting for 30min and we decided to move on to allow other safari vehicles in our group a chance to show their guests the same.

Approximately 3kms down the road a female lion walked out onto the tar ahead of us and casually strolled past our vehicle as we gave her space to move. Great to see what condition she's in and guest got good photos of this to.

General sightings of herds of elephant was seen throughout the day. With some great distant shots on the H10 of females spraying their body's with mud.

2 different sightings of secretary birds along the same route.

The other unusual sighting for the day was a flock of ostriches (1male and 5 female) just minding their own business walking along and eating anything of interest.

Buffalo's spotted on the lower  bridge just lazing in the shallow water.

On our way back to camp we came across a male black rhino and once again could spend time with it as it was relaxed with our presence.

Overall, this was a great days game viewing with all clients happy at this stage with what the bush had to offer.

Onto Nkambeni tented camp tomorrow.

Keep watching for more!!!

On Safari With Karen From 9 February 2014

9 February 2014

After picking up the guests at KMIA we headed towards Phabeni gate to enter the Kruger Park. On our way we were already spoiled with a sighting of impalas that roam the airport, a huge water monitor that risked its life crossing the main road and vervet monkeys in the trees next to the road.

Once we entered the park we continued our journey on a more leisurely pace and saw impalas almost straight away. Then we were very lucky to spot a leopard lounging in a tree just kilometres from the gate and not far from the road. He seemed uncomfortable so we waited a while for him to move but apparently he disagreed and didn't move.

We tore ourselves away from the sleepy leopard to see an elephant feeding on the other side of the road, just a couple of 100 metres further.

Another stop gave us an amazing sighting of 2 white rhinos sleeping in the riverbed, and what was lying in the overflow riverbed on the other side of the road? Two buffalo! We hadn't driven 2 kilometres and we saw 4 of the big 5!

It was a bit more spread out after that, but we spotted blue wildebeest, zebras, warthog, more buffalo and a couple more elephants. We also paid attention to the colourful birds like the lilac breasted roller, woolly necked storks, woodlands kingfisher.

At one of the sightings we got a tip about wild dogs on Watergat, so we drove down to take a look and found them flat out in the grass. We waited for over an hour but more then a flick of a tail, a twitch of an ear and the occasional head raise we couldn't see them properly. Guess our luck was coming to an end so we decided to head to Skukuza, our camp for tonight.

What an amazing lucky start to this safari! Well worth skipping our lunch for. Now let's hope we'll get a nice look at those wild dogs tomorrow as we are going to try and find them again.

 

10 February 2014

This morning we left bright and early as the sun came up. Before we were even out of the gate we spotted Vervet monkeys on the top of the roof sunning themselves to start their day. Just outside the gate of Skukuza we saw our first giraffe, kudu and honeybadger all in the same spot. The kudu got a fright and hid in the bush, the honeybadger looked up and then continued crossing the road and disappeared but the giraffe was curious and watch us while we were watching him.

We drove a loop around the river and came across a large family of baboons playing in the road, impalas with a late born young, bushbuck, more kudus, hippos, a bateleurs couple, pied kingfishers, three kinds of bee eaters, marabou storks, and big webs of golden orb spiders.

After our breakfast at the golfclub the hippos in the dam came close for their photo shoot. The purple crested turaco and woodlands kingfisher joined in and when all the fun was over we climbed back on the vehicle and continue down watergat.

We spotted zebras with very young babies, steenbok, elephants, buffalo, common grey duiker, a well hidden male waterbuck and had a giraffe crossing the road in front of us.

We returned to Skukuza for a little break as it started to get very hot.

In the afternoon we went for a little bumble out in the park and soon enough we saw the vervet monkeys inside the camp again. Disturbingly a youngish male was trying to mate with a little baby so we decided to continue. We had multiple baboon sightings, more vervet monkeys, warthogs, a fish eagle that had caught a fish, a lovely kudu bull and a leopard tortoise.

Tomorrow we go on the road again, bright and early!

 

Keep watching for more!

On Safari With Mark From 3 February 2014

3 February 2014

Route: Numbi tar - Napi boulders - Nkambeni camp

General animals seen: Kudu, impala, waterbuck, warthog, zebra and dwarf - slender mongoose

During the afternoon drive we found great sightings of Rhino right next to the road. 4 buffalo bulls grazing on the side of the road approximately 100m from Numbi tar on Napi.

Approximately 500m from tourism control we had a female elephant with her calf eating grass around a Marola tree. Very relaxed and guests got great photos of the two.

 

4 February 2014

Route: Numbi tar - Napi - Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni

General animal sightings: waterbuck, kudu, impala, klipspringer, common duiker, hippos, zebra, blue wildebeest and rhino

We got to see elephant bulls next to the road on napi with distant visuals of herds near transport dam access road.

2 male lions and 2 lioness 500m past neyamundwa dam. As this was a distant visual we decided to wait around for late afternoon and see if they would get up and come closer to the road. Eventually, the lions did get up and walked out onto the road approximately 5m from our open vehicle. 1 lioness proceeded to roar right next to us.

A good end to a great day in Africa.

We wait and see what the bush has to offer for tomorrow.

 

5 February 2014

Route: Numbi tar - Napi - Transport dam - Napi - Nkambeni

General animals seen: kudu, impala, blue wildebeest, zebra, bush buck, steenbok, vervet monkeys, chackma baboons, waterbuck and hippos

We had above average sightings of rhinos today with the largest Crash being 6 together.

Throughout the day we had elephant sightings with a massive bull in musth walking down napi towards the junction of Numbi tar. We gave him his space and after a while he walked off towards shabeni koppies.

A herd (200) buffalo lazing at the waterhole in the heat of the day.

Early morning drive we were called by a colleague to let us know about a leopard on transport dam access road and we headed down to it. Not a great sighting as all we got was rosettes in the bush due to the long grass on the side of the road.

Further to this the day rapidly increased with heat and the animal sightings deteriorated.

We returned to camp, where the guests could relax before going on their sundown drive to find a up close and personal leopard (which everybody would love to see).

 

6 February 2014

Route: Albaseni - Doispan - S65 - Napi - Nkambeni camp

General animals sightings: giraffe, zebra, waterbuck, impala, warthog, blue wildebeest, vervet monkeys, chackma baboons, rhino and hippos

We had some wonderful sightings of elephants today, with one on doispan standing in the road approximately 5m from the vehicle. Fantastic to be able to sit and appreciate the magnitude of Africa's largest land mammal.

While we were heading down to skukuza, a collage of mine informed me that there was a report of a male leopard near the junction of Napi and S65. I decided to head that way as both my clients had not seen a wild leopard before.

On reaching Napi we turned right towards transport dam and approximately 100m down the road, this massive male leopard popped out of the tall grass right next to the vehicle and proceeded to walk past our vehicle.

We turned the car around and drove behind him for a good 500m where he moved off into the tall grass and left us with great photos and memories.

All clients returned to camp with a sense of achievement in seen animals they came to Africa to see.

 

Keep watching for more!