On Safari With Robbie From 25 September 2014

25 September 2014

I collected my guests an proceeded onto Pretoriouskop camp where we had a brief rest before heading out to see what we could find.

We headed out on Napi where we spent a hour and a half with 7 elephant bulls who  at one stage where 5m away from our vehicle, they then walked parallel with us for over 5km. it was a superb sighting with ship mountain and the setting sun as a backdrop.  It was one of my best elephant sightings yet. Just before camp we got 2 male lions snoozing.

26 September 2014

Today we had phenomenal sightings of rhino with a total of 17 spotted. Along the sabie the elephants herds were prolific as well as the buffalo.

We also came across a hippo carcass by the river with 6 lions feeding on it. Suddenly a much larger male arrived on the scene and chased all the others off the carcass.

It has been great so far, we will see what awaits us next!

On the sundowner drive my guests had a amazing time spotting porcupine, genets, bushbabies, civet cat, hyena and two great sightings of the sabi river lion prides.

27 September 2014

Today we journeyed north, our destination was Tshokwane about 46km from Skukuza.

General game on the way was great including a herd of about 30 Kudu, a banded mongoos family was observed for 30 min, buffalo and elephant.

After breakfast at Tshokwane we carried on a little further north where we came across a 12 strong lion pride attempting to kill a zebra which they failed. The pride then joined by some 7 cubs who unbeknown to us had been sleeping in the river below. It was a fantastic sighting.

We drove slowly back to camp with excellent general game sightings and the highlight being a pack of wild dogs resting in the shade.

28 September 2014

Today the rain didn’t affect our sightings as we spotted superb leopard, rhino, buffalo and elephant. With one species short of the magnificent 7 we are hoping for a sighting of the slender feline (cheetah) tomorrow!

29 September 2014

Driving out this morning in pouring rain I was a little apprehensive about sightings but it turned out to be our best day! To sum it up we got 18 rhino, 3 herds of 200+ buffalo, 3 magnificent leopard sightings and elephants everywhere as well as brilliant bird sightings. To top it all at the end we saw our resident white buffalo right next to the road!

30 September 2014

If one believes in fate then it has occurred 2 days in a row. Due to the fact that my one guest had to move to another camp I have been leaving at different times for the safaris. Yesterday the leopard sighting was perfect timing and todays “operation cheetah” was no different. When my college called in a cheetah sighting we were still at breakfast. On route to the sighting it came across that the cheetah had gone! My heart sank and so did my guests. Suddenly 2km from the original sighting popped out 3 beautiful male cheetahs (known as the 3 brothers)  it was the last species for us to accomplish our “magnificent 7”  and to top it all off  for the first 30 minutes we had them all to ourselves. It was truly one of my best cheetah sightings of 19 years doing safaris in Kruger. Miraculously my guest Gary picked them up on return to camp 5 hours later where they had moved 3km north.

The day was so focused on the cheetah that we kind of forgot all our other magnificent sightings of elephant, buffalo, rhino, and a magnificent sable bull.

Timing wise today was epic!

31 September 2014  

Our final short morning drive was very relaxed and topped our birding list to 66! The guests left Kruger very happy having seen the magnificent 7 and had a fantastic time!

Impala Jumps Through Car Window

Impala jumps through car window to escape cheetahs.. Follow the link for the full story  http://bit.ly/14wJGsu

Merry Christmas And Happy New Year

We look forward to bringing you new updates, news as well as wildlife photo's and video's in the year 2013 until then enjoy ur holidays and keep safe!

Safari Starting 9th December Ending 13th December 2012

9^th December – Our guests were collected from a guest house in Melville by Dean we then made our way to Nelspruit going through Numbi gate to the camp of Pretoriuskop camp for lunch. After lunch we were told about a leopard sighting near Transport Dam but by the time we got there he had already disappeared. We stopped off a Shithave Dam as well as made a turn around boulders on the way we had good sightings of Impala, Zebra, Elephant, Rhino and Buffalo we then made our way to the camp of Nkambeni for the night.

10^th December – After breakfast we headed out again along the Numbi Gate road with numerous sightings of Impala, Zebra, Hippos, kudu, Elephant, Buffalo, Rhino and Lions on the watergat road we then made out way to Pretoriuskop camp for lunch while awaiting for two new guests to join our group. We then travelled down Napi Road, stopped off at Shithave Dam, going further down Napi and driving on the Napi Boulders loop, then making our way back voortrekker link, and taking the Faye Loop going over to Shabeni Koppies, Shabeni link road then up the Albasini road to the camp. All in all on this route we spotted Impala, Zebra, Rhino, waterbuck and a large elephant bull in musth, that proceeded to charge the vehicle, Dean let him get about four feet away before he moved the vehicle forward just out of his reach. The elephant proceeded to walk behind us in the road.

11^th December – Today once again after breakfast we travelled on the Numbi Gate Tar and Napi road, we then stopped off at Skukuza Camp for a short break before proceeding down the Paul Kruger Gate road onto Doispane then to watergat to see the lions lying next to the reservoir. We then spotted a female leopard 2km from Shithave Dam as well as a male cheetah walking in the road. Other sightings include Rhino, Elephant, another male Leopard 300m down Transport Dam access road, Impala, Baboon, Zebra, Buffalo, Vervet monkeys, hippo and crocodile, after an exciting day we headed back to camp for the night.

12^th December – This morning we did a small drive with general sightings of General game before making our way back to Numbi gate where we handed over two guests to Mark while the rest of us headed out the park to Nelspruit and onwards to Johannesburg’s OR Tambo airport. The two guests left with Mark continued their game drive for the day. Mark decided to drive Voortrekker where he came across a herd of Buffalo walking next to the road he then joined up with the H3 where 3 Female lions were walking in the road close to the vehicle they were so close he could put his hand out and touch them, he then turned onto the S114 where a good sighting of 4 hyena pups outside their den their ages were about 2 months old. Mark then continued onto Rinoster Koppies where a large male leopard was lying on a granite out-crop this was indeed a great sighting. The day was an enjoyable day with lots of cloud cover. The rest of the day was rather quiet as we made our way back to camp for the afternoon.

13^th December – Another cool day in Kruger with lots of cloud cover. Guests had sightings of general game before leaving at 8h45 in order to catch the shuttle back to Johannesburg. Mark will await the arrival of new guests today in Nelspruit.

Wildlife Is Unpredictable

This crocodile did not enjoy being on camera

4 male lions watching a herd of buffalo in the Kruger National Park

You can only push a elephant so far.



 

Jock Of The Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (Chapter 20)( Page 3 ) Jantje

There were numbers of little squirrel-like creatures there too.  Our fellows used to call them ground-squirrels and "tree-rats"; because they live underground, yet climb trees readily in search of food; they were little fellows like meerkats, with bushy tails ringed in brown, black and white, of which the waggon-boys made decorations for their slouch hats. Jock wanted a go at them: they did not appear quite so much beneath notice as the birds. Along the water's edge one came on the lagavaans, huge repulsive water-lizards three to four feet long, like crocodiles in miniature, sunning themselves in some favourite spot in the margin of the reeds or on the edge of the bank; they give one the jumps by the suddenness of their rush through the reeds and plunge into deep water. There were otters too, big black-brown fierce fellows, to be seen swimming silently close under the banks.  I got a couple of them, but was  lways nervous of letting Jock into the water after things, as one never knew where the crocodile lurked.  He got an ugly bite from one old dog-otter which I shot in shallow water; and, mortally wounded as he was, the otter put up a rare good fight before Jock finally hauled him out. Then there were the cane-rats, considered by some most excellent and delicate of meats, as big and tender as small sucking-pigs.  The cane-rat, living and dead, I was one of the stock surprises, and the subject of jokes and tricks upon the unsuspecting: there seems to be no sort of ground for associating the extraordinary fat thing, gliding among the reeds or swimming silently under the banks, with either its live capacity of rat or its more attractive dead _role_ of roast sucking-pig. The hardened ones enjoyed setting this treat before the hungry and unsuspecting, and, after a hearty meal, announcing--"That was roast rat: good, isn't it?"  The memory of one experience gives me water in the gills now!  It was unpleasant, but not equal to the nausea and upheaval which supervened when, after a very savoury stew of delicate white meat, we were shown the fresh skin of a monkey hanging from the end of the buck-rails, with the head drooping forward, eyes closed, arms dangling lifeless, and limp open hands--a ghastly caricature of some hanged human, shrivelled and shrunk within its clothes of skin.  I felt like a cannibal. The water tortoises in the silent pools, grotesque muddy fellows, were full of interest to the quiet watcher, and better that way than as the "turtle soup" which once or twice we ventured on and tried to think was good! There were certain hours of the day when it was more pleasant and profitable to lie in the shade and rest.  It is the time of rest for the Bushveld--that spell about middle-day; and yet if one remains quiet, there is generally something to see and something worth watching.  There were the insects on the ground about one which would not otherwise be seen at all; there were caterpillars clad in spiky armour made of tiny fragments of grass--fair defence no doubt against some enemies and a most marvellous disguise; other caterpillars clad in bark, impossible to detect until they moved; there were grasshoppers like leaves, and irregularly shaped stick insects, with legs as bulky as the body, and all jointed by knots like irregular twigs--wonderful mimetic creatures. Jock often found these things for me.  Something would move and interest him; and when I saw him stand up and examine a thing at his feet, turning it over with his nose or giving it a scrape with his paw, it was usually worth joining in the inspection.  The Hottentot-gods always attracted him as they reared up and `prayed' before him; quaint things, with tiny heads and thin necks and enormous eyes, that sat up with fore legs raised to pray, as a pet dog sits up and begs.

Some photos taken while on safari in the Kruger Mational Park

Below are some Cheetah photos taken while on safari to the Kruger National Park with visiting tourists.

A nice Cheetah standing on a road marker.

Another nice photo of the Cheetah

Cheetah looking at around for something to eat.