25 May 2013
Route: Albaseni - Shabeni - Albaseni - Doispan - Albaseni - Back into camp
Sightings for the afternoon
Impala, kudu, Reedbuck, warthog, giraffe, zebra, A herd of elephant right on the road approx 2km down the doispan road from albaseni junction. Further to this we found a large herd(250) buffalo approx 3km down doispan.
We just missed a leopard cross over doispan approx 4kms down
26 May 2013
Route: Napi - Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni camp
Animal sightings:
Although very hot in the first part of the afternoon drive we managed to get good sightings of Kudu, steenbuck, impala, zebra,warthog, blue wildebeest, giraffe, diukers. A great sighting of rhino's resting in the heat of the day (female with her calf). Further to this we had some good sightings of elephant bulls splashing themselves with mud at a natural waterhole on Napi Boulders, and later on down the road more of them. On doispan we got mating giraffe with many different sighting of general game. Approx 1km from the numbi gate we found a young leopard that just lay in a drainage line and watched us. Don't know where mom is but will go have a look tomorrow morning.
27 May 2013
Route: Albaseni - Shabeni - Voortrekker - Napi - H3 - S113 - H3 - Napi -Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni
Animals seen:
Once again general animal sightings were good today despite the slight change in weather (cooler). Giraffe, Kudu, zebra, impala, waterbuck, blue wildebeest, warthog, steenbok, diukers, reedbuck. We got a busy honey badger on albaseni and sat and watched the little guy with his daily search for food. A fantastic breeding herd of elephant near pretoriuskop entrance. Great photo opportunity. On the S113 we got a pride of 11 lions (7 female and 4 cubs). Apparently the 2 males just moved off into the thickets as we arrived. 4 buffalo bulls next to the road just before doispan junction. Distant visuals of rhino throughout the day. Tried to find the female leopard and cub on albaseni, with no luck.
Keep watching for more!!
Verity and Dean Cherry had an African dream in 1999 and started Nhongo Safaris® to eliminate the logistical challenges of international visitors on safari. We provide a once in a lifetime experience for wildlife enthusiast that demand quality overnight safaris in South Africa and most particularly the Kruger National Park. We want to enrich our visitors’ experience by providing Luxury Safari Packages or African Safari Holidays and maintain our position as leader in Kruger Park Safaris.
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Some of Nhongo Safaris Fleet of Open Safari Vehicles
The photo shows some of our fleet of Open Safari Vehicles used while on safari in the Kruger National and Hwange National Parks. These ve...
Showing posts with label eco tourist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eco tourist. Show all posts
Friday, 31 May 2013
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
King Of The Hill
By Melissa Siebert
Sit among the bleached, ruined, dry-packed walls and fallen stones where the royal woman once gave birth. Stand where the king used to survey his lands and his people. Gaze across the Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers into Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Let the stones of Thulamela tell their story of a once-prosperous, hierarchical community where everything had its place. This World Heritage Site in the Pafuri Section of Kruger was part of a culture also represented by two other “lost kingdoms”, Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. All three shared similar socio-economic structures and the iconic towering, mortarless stone walls. Thulamela outlived these other two kingdoms, and possibly “inherited” some of the people who abandoned Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century. At Thulamela 500 royals lived on top of the citadel; 1500 commoners lived down below, farming sorghum and millet in the fertile soil, mining iron ore in 200 or so local mines and trading with Arab and Portuguese merchants. Local ivory, gold and animal skins were traded for goods from as far away as India and China. Slaves were sadly also part of the local trade, raided by Arab traders and brought to the coast of what is now Mozambique. What happened to the people of these kingdoms, the ancestors of today’s Venda and Shona people, is still being debated by archaeologists and others. “Thulamela was burned down by the people who lived here, the Venda themselves,” Said guide Eric Maluleke, leading the way up the steep, rocky path to the top of the citadel on an early summers day. “There was too much tsetse fly and drought.” This is one explanation. Others have tied the kingdom’s demise to the death of the king, the takeover of Indian Ocean trade by the Portuguese, conflict over land and other resources. Whatever the cause, the Thulamelans dispersed throughout Southern Africa, but left behind testaments to the sophistication of earlier African cultures. The site, seemingly untouched for three-and-a-half centuries, has been proclaimed as one of the most significant Late Iron Age sites on the continent. “People outside knew the ruins were here” Eric said at the hard-won citadel summit, settling us on some stones under a massive, ancient baobab in a magnificent grove. “But they were afraid to come. It was overgrown, it felt like trespassing.” Behind us, to the west and north, loom the massive stone walls, the high exterior walls concealing shorter interior ones. They are almost in ruins, periodically dismantled by local baboons searching for scorpions and assembled again by humans. Maluleke spent his first year at Thulamela as a stonemason on the site, rebuilding walls initially constructed in 1500AD. “In Zimbabwe culture, they’d send a team ahead to find a place for settlement,” Eric explained. “The place should be a raised place, flat on top with big trees, water nearby and land to cultivate.” Thulamela fitted the bill. “we’ve found gold amulets, foil and beads,” said Eric, stepping nimbly over loose stones and low walls, remarking that a number of Thulamelans were goldsmiths. “We also found a lot of copper. The women used to wear up to five kilos of copper. We’ve found hunting spears, ostrich egg beads, glass beads from India, Porcelain from China and a double iron gong, possibly from Central or West Africa, the chief’s musical instrument.” Two human skeletons were uncovered in 1996, exhumed and since reburied on the site. “One as a woman, a queen, 45 to 55 years old and buried in the foetal position inside a hut,” Eric said, showing us her resting place. Queen Losha. They named her that because of the position of her hands, palms together under her left temple, a sign of respect. DNA testing revealed she was buried, along with 291 gold beads, a gold bracelet on her left arm and a copper wire on her legs, in about 1600 AD.” The second skeleton was that of a male buried roughly 170 years earlier than Queen Losha, facing west, as they all were, to optimise the glorious sunsets. He was a chief, probably a relative of the king, speared through the spinal cord and buried in a packed position with 73 gold beads and 990 ostrich egg beads. “The day we found him there was a leopard lurking nearby, so we named him King Ingwe.” The King’s quarters were designed to keep him hidden from everyone except his closest advisers, but with slots for the king to peer out. Eric pointed to a series of sharp stones like a crocodiles tail. “This is where the kings messenger and diviner stood to screen people. You’d be fined, with cattle, gold or cowrie shells, if you went to the king without permission.” We walked past a granary with grinding stones and several tall stones monoliths to protect the community. An enclosure where the Dombe or snake dance was once performed. A workshop with sharpening stones, to hone spears, another where the women made clay pots, and the ancient maternity ward. Standing on the edge of the cliff, surveying the vast floodplains and an old elephant trail down below, you can feel it: Thulamela lives.
From the Wild Magazine summer 2012/2013
Sit among the bleached, ruined, dry-packed walls and fallen stones where the royal woman once gave birth. Stand where the king used to survey his lands and his people. Gaze across the Luvuvhu and Limpopo rivers into Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Let the stones of Thulamela tell their story of a once-prosperous, hierarchical community where everything had its place. This World Heritage Site in the Pafuri Section of Kruger was part of a culture also represented by two other “lost kingdoms”, Mapungubwe and Great Zimbabwe. All three shared similar socio-economic structures and the iconic towering, mortarless stone walls. Thulamela outlived these other two kingdoms, and possibly “inherited” some of the people who abandoned Great Zimbabwe in the 15th century. At Thulamela 500 royals lived on top of the citadel; 1500 commoners lived down below, farming sorghum and millet in the fertile soil, mining iron ore in 200 or so local mines and trading with Arab and Portuguese merchants. Local ivory, gold and animal skins were traded for goods from as far away as India and China. Slaves were sadly also part of the local trade, raided by Arab traders and brought to the coast of what is now Mozambique. What happened to the people of these kingdoms, the ancestors of today’s Venda and Shona people, is still being debated by archaeologists and others. “Thulamela was burned down by the people who lived here, the Venda themselves,” Said guide Eric Maluleke, leading the way up the steep, rocky path to the top of the citadel on an early summers day. “There was too much tsetse fly and drought.” This is one explanation. Others have tied the kingdom’s demise to the death of the king, the takeover of Indian Ocean trade by the Portuguese, conflict over land and other resources. Whatever the cause, the Thulamelans dispersed throughout Southern Africa, but left behind testaments to the sophistication of earlier African cultures. The site, seemingly untouched for three-and-a-half centuries, has been proclaimed as one of the most significant Late Iron Age sites on the continent. “People outside knew the ruins were here” Eric said at the hard-won citadel summit, settling us on some stones under a massive, ancient baobab in a magnificent grove. “But they were afraid to come. It was overgrown, it felt like trespassing.” Behind us, to the west and north, loom the massive stone walls, the high exterior walls concealing shorter interior ones. They are almost in ruins, periodically dismantled by local baboons searching for scorpions and assembled again by humans. Maluleke spent his first year at Thulamela as a stonemason on the site, rebuilding walls initially constructed in 1500AD. “In Zimbabwe culture, they’d send a team ahead to find a place for settlement,” Eric explained. “The place should be a raised place, flat on top with big trees, water nearby and land to cultivate.” Thulamela fitted the bill. “we’ve found gold amulets, foil and beads,” said Eric, stepping nimbly over loose stones and low walls, remarking that a number of Thulamelans were goldsmiths. “We also found a lot of copper. The women used to wear up to five kilos of copper. We’ve found hunting spears, ostrich egg beads, glass beads from India, Porcelain from China and a double iron gong, possibly from Central or West Africa, the chief’s musical instrument.” Two human skeletons were uncovered in 1996, exhumed and since reburied on the site. “One as a woman, a queen, 45 to 55 years old and buried in the foetal position inside a hut,” Eric said, showing us her resting place. Queen Losha. They named her that because of the position of her hands, palms together under her left temple, a sign of respect. DNA testing revealed she was buried, along with 291 gold beads, a gold bracelet on her left arm and a copper wire on her legs, in about 1600 AD.” The second skeleton was that of a male buried roughly 170 years earlier than Queen Losha, facing west, as they all were, to optimise the glorious sunsets. He was a chief, probably a relative of the king, speared through the spinal cord and buried in a packed position with 73 gold beads and 990 ostrich egg beads. “The day we found him there was a leopard lurking nearby, so we named him King Ingwe.” The King’s quarters were designed to keep him hidden from everyone except his closest advisers, but with slots for the king to peer out. Eric pointed to a series of sharp stones like a crocodiles tail. “This is where the kings messenger and diviner stood to screen people. You’d be fined, with cattle, gold or cowrie shells, if you went to the king without permission.” We walked past a granary with grinding stones and several tall stones monoliths to protect the community. An enclosure where the Dombe or snake dance was once performed. A workshop with sharpening stones, to hone spears, another where the women made clay pots, and the ancient maternity ward. Standing on the edge of the cliff, surveying the vast floodplains and an old elephant trail down below, you can feel it: Thulamela lives.
From the Wild Magazine summer 2012/2013
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
Loss Of Lives In The KNP
Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs and SANParks Board saddened by the loss of lives in the KNP: Visit the link to get the full story http://www.sanparks.org/about/news/default.php?id=55489
Monday, 11 February 2013
SANPARKS RANGERS COME UP TOPS IN FIERCE FIRE BATTLE IN THE KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
The South African National Parks (SANParks) today announced the arrest of four suspected poachers in the Kruger National Park (KNP).
To date the KNP has borne the brunt of rhino poaching in the country, with the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Edna Molewa, having announced last week that the Kruger Na...tional Park had lost 61 of the total 82 rhinos lost to poaching in the whole country.
According to Wanda Mkutshulwa, SANParks Head of Communications, four suspected poachers were arrested while on their way to Mjejane, a SANParks contractual park adjacent to the Malelane section of the KNP on Saturday the 9th of February . During the operation a hunting rifle, ammunition as well as other poaching related equipment were recovered
In a second incident on the same day at around midnight, a two man SANParks Ranger routine patrol turned into a full scale fire fight when they made contact with a group of armed suspected poachers in Letaba. Three of the armed suspected poachers were fatally wounded, one was seriously injured and is receiving medical care but his condition has been described as critical. The other suspect managed to escape into Mozambique. Two heavy caliber hunting rifles, an AK47 assault rifle, a pistol and an assortment of ammunition were confiscated. A posterior rhino horn and other poaching related equipment was also recovered. “This was a fierce fire fight in which our two rangers did very well to hold their nerve and prevail. All indications were that the poaching group of six were well trained, well-armed and were attired in battle camouflage fatigues. The sheer number, equipment and tactics presented by the poaching group indicated their aggressive intent. Conditions are currently really difficult and urgent cooperation from our counterparts in Mozambique to ensure stability in the KNP is required,” Mkutshulwa elaborated.
Earlier on in the week, Mahlangeni rangers made contact with another group of armed suspected poachers and one of the suspects was fatally wounded. “These incidents now bring the number of armed contacts between the KNP Task Force and suspected rhino poachers to five in the last week. It is only the sheer dedication, commitment and training of our rangers that has prevented any injuries or fatalities on our side” said Mkutshulwa.
“We have seen an escalation of incursions north of the Olifants River towards the border with Zimbabwe. This is a vast area covered by SANParks rangers alone, as the military has not deployed in this area as yet but is expected to do so soon. Poachers have been taking advantage of this situation, however, with SANParks having changed its strategy to the current military command deployment we have put special focus and emphasis on these areas and are beginning to see results, though they are not significant at this stage,” said Mkutshulwa. “We have also received intelligence information that indicates that with the decision by the Mozambican government to relocate communities currently residing inside the Limpopo National Park, the Mozambican component of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, the poachers within those communities have gone aggressive on poaching rhino horn in order to amass large quantities of stock before the move.
The Chief Executive Officer of SANParks, Dr David Mabunda, congratulated all those involved in the operations saying, “this shows true commitment from our men and women in uniform, who endure harsh conditions and a difficult and vast terrain , for the protection of our parks and we thank them for their committed service. Our wish is to see a significant increase in the police’s successful arrest and conviction of the various syndicate bosses, as they are the masterminds, sponsors and drivers fuelling this scourge. We are prepared to fight fire with fire but also believe that a solution also lies in the Mozambican law enforcement authorities cooperating fully with the South African law enforcement and conservation authorities to bring this matter to a close.”
ENDS…
Released by SANParks Corporate Communications, Telephone: 012 426 5170
For Media Enquiries
Reynold Thakhuli, SANParks GM: Media Liaison, Tel: 012 426 5170 Mobile: 073 373 4999 e-mail: rey.thakhuli@sanparks.org
Ike Phaahla, Media Specialist, Tel: 012 426 5315 Mobile: 083 673 6974 e-mail: isaac.phaahla@sanparks.org
To date the KNP has borne the brunt of rhino poaching in the country, with the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs, Ms Edna Molewa, having announced last week that the Kruger Na...tional Park had lost 61 of the total 82 rhinos lost to poaching in the whole country.
According to Wanda Mkutshulwa, SANParks Head of Communications, four suspected poachers were arrested while on their way to Mjejane, a SANParks contractual park adjacent to the Malelane section of the KNP on Saturday the 9th of February . During the operation a hunting rifle, ammunition as well as other poaching related equipment were recovered
In a second incident on the same day at around midnight, a two man SANParks Ranger routine patrol turned into a full scale fire fight when they made contact with a group of armed suspected poachers in Letaba. Three of the armed suspected poachers were fatally wounded, one was seriously injured and is receiving medical care but his condition has been described as critical. The other suspect managed to escape into Mozambique. Two heavy caliber hunting rifles, an AK47 assault rifle, a pistol and an assortment of ammunition were confiscated. A posterior rhino horn and other poaching related equipment was also recovered. “This was a fierce fire fight in which our two rangers did very well to hold their nerve and prevail. All indications were that the poaching group of six were well trained, well-armed and were attired in battle camouflage fatigues. The sheer number, equipment and tactics presented by the poaching group indicated their aggressive intent. Conditions are currently really difficult and urgent cooperation from our counterparts in Mozambique to ensure stability in the KNP is required,” Mkutshulwa elaborated.
Earlier on in the week, Mahlangeni rangers made contact with another group of armed suspected poachers and one of the suspects was fatally wounded. “These incidents now bring the number of armed contacts between the KNP Task Force and suspected rhino poachers to five in the last week. It is only the sheer dedication, commitment and training of our rangers that has prevented any injuries or fatalities on our side” said Mkutshulwa.
“We have seen an escalation of incursions north of the Olifants River towards the border with Zimbabwe. This is a vast area covered by SANParks rangers alone, as the military has not deployed in this area as yet but is expected to do so soon. Poachers have been taking advantage of this situation, however, with SANParks having changed its strategy to the current military command deployment we have put special focus and emphasis on these areas and are beginning to see results, though they are not significant at this stage,” said Mkutshulwa. “We have also received intelligence information that indicates that with the decision by the Mozambican government to relocate communities currently residing inside the Limpopo National Park, the Mozambican component of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park, the poachers within those communities have gone aggressive on poaching rhino horn in order to amass large quantities of stock before the move.
The Chief Executive Officer of SANParks, Dr David Mabunda, congratulated all those involved in the operations saying, “this shows true commitment from our men and women in uniform, who endure harsh conditions and a difficult and vast terrain , for the protection of our parks and we thank them for their committed service. Our wish is to see a significant increase in the police’s successful arrest and conviction of the various syndicate bosses, as they are the masterminds, sponsors and drivers fuelling this scourge. We are prepared to fight fire with fire but also believe that a solution also lies in the Mozambican law enforcement authorities cooperating fully with the South African law enforcement and conservation authorities to bring this matter to a close.”
ENDS…
Released by SANParks Corporate Communications, Telephone: 012 426 5170
For Media Enquiries
Reynold Thakhuli, SANParks GM: Media Liaison, Tel: 012 426 5170 Mobile: 073 373 4999 e-mail: rey.thakhuli@sanparks.org
Ike Phaahla, Media Specialist, Tel: 012 426 5315 Mobile: 083 673 6974 e-mail: isaac.phaahla@sanparks.org
Thursday, 20 December 2012
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Monday, 2 November 2009
Letter received from Justin and Michelle Leegsma who were on safari to the Kruger National Park with us.
Hey Dean and Verity,
Thanks for another absolutely incredible time! As always it was everything I had hoped for and better. Those picnic spots were so great. Looking forward to the next one.
All the best, see you next year
Kind Regards
Michelle and Justin Leegsma
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