11 September 2016
Highlight for
today was on our afternoon drive, when driving down the road we found a female
Leopard enjoy the shade of a false marola tree. She couldn't have been more
than 10m off the road and in open view. For some the elusive cat stayed an
elusive cat as people came and passed us without seen her. After a while she
got up and started on her late afternoon walk about. Great to spot a second
leopard up in the north.
12 September 2016
Our highlight
for the morning drive was at the klipperfontein water hole as we rounded a
corner so we found 2 male lions having a drink. Both were in brilliant
condition and after a while moved a little further away from us and proceeded
to take a morning nap in the shade of a large mopani tree.
Our second
highlight was at the same waterhole out walked a lioness and walked over to
have a drink. Once done she moved to the other 2 males but was very quickly
chased off by the 2.
13 September 2016
It was a rather
quiet day for the safari and mostly the animal highlights had to go down as
some of the picturesque late afternoon photo opportunities, until we heard of a
buffalo kill by 12 lions. Without a hesitation it was off to go try locate this
pride.
Wow was a word
that came to mind with some of the youngsters trying to rip pieces of meat off
the carcass approximately 5m from our car. This was fantastic and many
brilliant photos were taken. Then we turned the car and headed back to our camp
for a well deserved sundowner.
14 September 2016
It was onto
shingwetzi, and although very little happened on route, we got to hear about a
pride of (5) lions and followed up on them. Luckily we were able to locate them
and watched as they drank from one of the smaller puddles in the riverbed.
After this, they all lay right next to the puddle and proceeded to have a mid
afternoon nap.
Both early
morning drive and afternoon drive was dedicated to spotted Hyena's as we found
an active den with different sizes. Even the young were familiar with our
vehicle and came straight up to it. Great to watch them playfully
"hunt" other siblings and adults. Very often falling over their own
feet.
15 September 2016
Must be a day to
remember the "TALL" animals in the park as we spotted no less than 50
giraffe just on the morning drive and afternoon drive even more. Fantastic to
be able to just sit and watch these graceful creatures walk together, babies
playing and bulls just watching as we pass. Some fabulous shots with
morning and afternoon lights are hidden on our cameras and imprinted in our
memories.
16 September 2016
Great day had by
us as we went to a waterhole and found a signal Eland bull. We were hoping for
more to come out but as we stayed waiting patiently, the wind started to pick
up and most of the animals moved into the thickets rather than been bothered by
all the dust in the air.
17 September 2016
We returned to
Tihenginyeni waterhole to see if we could find more Eland or even might have
been lucky with Roan antelope but no luck on them. We did however find a
lioness that was lying in the shade of the gwari bushes. She just lay as though
the Kruger was owned by her. Great stuff to watch as most animals weren't even
aware of her presence and it seemed that she wasn't bothered by theirs.
18 September 2016
Today was the
coldest day on the safari and very little was seen as the wind howled and icy
weather seemed the order of the day. As Hugh and Cathy did this for their
enjoyment, it was a day of relaxation and sorting of photos.
19 September 2016
On our
departure to Orpen rest camp we decided to stop off, for one last glance at the
Mooiplaas water hole. To my surprise as we drove we came across a male Lion
that had just killed a buffalo calf and busy with removing the in-trails.
This was a
perfect start to a great day as we were the only vehicle there. We spent
sometime with the lion and then headed for Orpen.
20 September 2016
Highlight was
2 male lions just outside of Satara lying in the shade of a gwari bush. Distant
visual but photos could be taken.
Further
highlights were that of a mating pair of leopards, with male up the tree and
female lying on the ground a couple of meters away from him. While we were at
this sighting we were told of a further 3 lions 2 kms away and so we obviously
went to check on them. This wasn't a great sighting as they were flat like
carpets but still a lion is a lion. With guests loving it, we decided to call
it a day and head back to camp where we could sit around a campfire and chat
about all we have seen.
