On Safari With Curtis From 18 September 2015

18 September 2015

On our first day we arrived at camp with cold wet windy weather. Not so good for a sunset drive!!! So no sunset seen but the guests did see a bit of game such as a nice buffalo herd, white rhino, Impala, kudus, zebra, scrub hate and a quick glimpse of honey badger.

19 September 2015

The weather conditions hadn't changed the slightest.

First highlight was three leopards, found by Karen, which were playing around in the bush. The sighting was on and off but we returned to the location on three separate occasions getting some great looks at this most elusive of cats.

Our second sighting was just a couple of kilometers away and involved hyena and wild dog.

We arrived to find the hyena being harassed and mobbed by the pack of dogs. So much so it had a couple of visible bite marks on its hindquarters.

This didn't seem to deter the hyena who continuously followed the pack of dogs as they ran down the road.

During the morning we had a brief cheetah sighting so after lunch we headed back down towards the direction it was walking.

We got very lucky and found it again this time right next to the road and we were fortunate to be able to follow it for more than two kilometers.

Throughout the day we also saw Cape buffalo, white rhino, sable, common duiker, common reedbuck, dwarf mongoose, Impala, warthog, zebra, kudu, waterbuck, baboon, hippo, steenbok, elephant and giraffe.

Birds included African fish eagle, saddle billed stork, hamerkop, fork tailed drongo, red billed oxpecker and grey headed hornbill.

20 September 2015

After the brilliance of yesterday we had a quieter day today in exactly the same weather conditions.

But we did get two more great hyena sightings, one running down the road and then three hyenas sniffing around a waterhole.

But the highlight of the day was at the last hour when we found a pride of lions. It was hard to see them clearly as they were walking in the thick bush but when they were out in more open areas we could enjoy the sighting of seven adults.

Also seen today were elephants, white rhino, Cape buffalo, wildebeest, zebra, kudu, waterbuck, impala, steenbok, common duiker, giraffe, warthog, hippo and crocodile.

On Safari With Karen From 11 August 2015

11 August 2015

Last night's sundowner was a rather quiet one. Although the guests were lucky the overcast day had opened up a bit so they had a wonderful sunset. The animal sightings were a bit scarce. They did come across some impalas and saw zebras in the distance. 

12 August 2015

This morning start off with some active walking. The guests were taken out by two guides of the lodge where they discovered the quiet of the bush while out on foot.

They came across a very dangerous animal: a python. Luckily it was overcast and cold so the animal was a bit sluggish. This way they could observe it nicely from a safe distance! They also learned many things about the smaller things in the bush as well as tracks and signs of animals. 

In the afternoon we went out for our first game drive together. As it was a rather quiet drive in the beginning we made it all the way to see a great lion sighting as was seen by Curtis earlier today! We watched a lioness play tug-of-war with the kudu leg. But the kudu leg was not giving way, so after a minute or so she gave up and laid down panting as if the effort was too much on a (overly) full stomach!

The lion sighting was great but our highlight was seeing lots of hippos outside the water, as this was a common wish of both my guests. At both dams we stopped about 7 hippos were bundled up on a little dried sandbank sunbathing in the warmth as the day had been cold this morning! At the second dam one of the hippos decided to stand up to show himself completely, which was greatly enjoyed. 

Other interesting sightings: impalas, kudus, warthogs, a crocodile, a slender mongoose running across the road, a common grey duiker, waterbucks, elephants, vervet monkeys and giraffes. 

Birdies included: magpie shrike, white-backed vultures, two fish eagles, a grey heron, a blacksmith lapwing chasing a three banded plover in flight, scarlet chested sunbird, forktailed drongos, crowned lapwings, water thickknees, a juvenile bateleur and yellow-billed horbills. 

On Safari With Robbie From 7 August 2015

7 August 2015

Today myself and my two enthusiastic guests arrived at Nkambeni camp rather late due to excessive holiday traffic on the way!

In minutes they were on their sundowner safari where they encountered great sightings of Elephant and Buffalo as well as one of the smaller Kruger Cats ... The Small Spotted Genet!

8 August 2015

Today we set off in superb conditions and had a prolific day!!

Our journey to Shithave dam brought us Elephant herds, Buffalo in numbers, kudu, Impala, Wildebeest, zebra, Giraffe, Duiker and Vervet monkeys!!!

At Shithave we were observing the lone Hippo as well as Impala and Zebra coming down to drink when suddenly another of the smaller Cats ... The Serval came cantering down to drink then chased a Steenbok on its way into thick bush!! The Serval is a spectacular cat very seldom sighted and what was even more bizarre was that my colleague Karen had spotted one up near Transport dam a little earlier!!

We came across a spectacular White Rhino sighting ( I’m not going to give the number seen due to security reasons) but trust me It was one of my better sightings of this species in a long time!!!

The highlight today was the Leopard sighting very close to Pretoriouskop camp!

A beautiful male was perfectly perched in Sycamore Fig tree about 30 meters away from us!!! His positioning was 5out of 5 for us with full body and face views allowing for brilliant photographs!!!

After an hours observance of this beauty we headed to PK camp for lunch!!

After the break we returned to the sighting with perfect timing as the Leopard was just about to leave the tree!!

We got solid pics of his ground jump and then followed him up the road for a couple hundred meters where he crossed right in front of us and then disappeared into thicker vegetation!!

On returning to camp at 15:30 I realized we had not done more than 60 km the entire day!!!

Lovely sightings of Tawny Eagles as well as Bateleur were also seen!!!

9 August 2015

Today was known as 'day of Elephant' due to the amount of elephants seen throughout todays drive.

10 August 2015

We set off on our last and very short drive in bitterly cold conditions!!!

Having not really good pics of Warthog and Waterbuck, we were really pleased to find them up close!!!

At a close by waterhole we came across Giraffe which is always a bonus!!!

We returned to Nelspruit reminiscing about a trip that just went too fast!!!!

On Safari With Curtis 23 July 2015

23 July 2015

Today we welcomed two new guests to the Kruger National Park as we started a new tour.

The highlight of the afternoon was probably the numerous zebra sighting throughout the drive. We saw around a hundred of them with all of them exploring and taking advantage of the new shoots of grass which are popping up on the recently burnt area.

Our second highlight was our giraffe sighting. A big old male using every inch of his six meters to get the tastiest of morsels. Then when we left him we found two more further down the road.

Also seen two lions relaxing in the distance, white rhino hiding in the bush, elephants, Waterbuck, kudu, Impala, blue wildebeest, dwarf mongoose, vervet mommies, hippos Sunbathing, and a not fully grown croc ( but, at six foot, still not to be messed around with)

Birds included African fish eagle, bataluer, black stork and Wooly necked storks, grey heron, oxpeckers and helmeted Guiana fowl.

A good start to the safari, here's hoping for more tomorrow!!!

On Safari With Mark 5 - 7 June 2015

5 June 2015

After collecting my guests in Nelspruit we headed down to camp where my guests went out on the sundown drive. Great sighting of buffalo and then on their return to camp they found 2 wild dog playing in the road and spent time with them taking many pictures. It's only when they returned to camp that they realized how rare these are.

6 June 2015

We set out from camp after breakfast and enjoyed numerous sightings of elephant and rhino and the found 3 cheetah hunting Impala. Unfortunately their prey spotted them and dashed of in a heartbeat.

Further on down the road our following highlight was that of a large male leopard just off the side of the road. Although walking along he did present himself for a couple of quick snaps and then he was gone.

Other animals include, waterbuck, giraffe, warthog, buffalo, rhino, common duiker, steenbok, baboons, monkeys, kudu and mongoose

We wait and see what tomorrow holds.

7 June 2015

Today we went on the search for Lions as it's our last chance for some of my guests to see these from the safety of our safari car. Tomorrow they on a bushwalk and then depart back to JHB.

After a quick stop at Skukuza we drove up to Marola loop where we had a difficult visual of 1 massive male lion lying sleeping in the shade.

After this we carried on North finding a further 5 males also lying in the shade but at least a better sighting as every now and then they got up and moved around, presenting the guests with good photo op's

Our last highlight for the day, was when a male lion came walking up the road and past our vehicle. Guests loved it and although there was so much hype in the media regarding the lioness attack this last week. All my guests felt incredibly comfortable with the presence of this wild beast.

Other animals spotted, Impala, warthog, waterbuck, buffalo, rhino, elephant, hippos, crocodiles, baboons, monkeys, nyala said, duikers, steenbok and kudu's