On Safari With Curtis 4 January 2016

4 January 2016

As temperatures were expected to, and did, hit the high thirties we left as early as possible.

We found a pack of six wild dogs trotting down the road. We followed them for a while before they shot off into the bush and disappeared.

Our second highlight was at the hyena den. It looked like they weren't in when suddenly we saw a small cub running towards us. We then moved on down the road and found about eight adults and four youngsters hanging around the den entrance.

We also saw giraffe, warthogs, kudu, waterbuck, zebra, wildebeest, vervet monkey, baboon, many bull elephants, buffalo and rhino before the heat of the day quieted things down.

Birds included the African fish eagle,  white breasted cormorants, white backed vultures,  goliath heron, water thick knee and african jacana.

On safari With Karen 4 January 2016

4 January 2016

This morning we had a lovely drive with lots of white rhino activity. We spotted some fresh tracks of a mum and youngster and we followed it along the road for quite some time. We weren't alone in doing so as we suddenly stumbled upon a male white rhino! He was sniffing around the tracks and then walked up into the bush. We never got to see the mum and youngster though as a little further on their tracks disappeared into the bush too. 

A second sighting was very interesting as two males had just been in a fight. We arrived at the aftermath of it all and followed the biggest bull along the road. He was scent marking about every 5 meters so we assumed he was the winner even though he was injured on his face. We followed him for a while and as he was crossing the road left to right and back we got some nice shots!

Our second highlight were two little steenboks. They were grazing when we arrived and totally forgot about us as they came lying in the shade next to the road right next to the car. We didnt want to disturb them so we waited taking lots of pictures of these cute animals. When they had gotten up again we starting the car and off they went. 

Other interesting sightings: two sable bulls, common grey duiker, vervet monkeys, impalas, zebras, buffalos, two bulls elephants which had made havoc on camp road and kudus. 

We said goodbye to Sarah, Elise, Sarah, Caitlin, Sarah (yes, 3x Sarah!), Catherine, Corina and Eric who would travel on to various destinations. I hope you enjoyed your safari and maybe we'll see you again some day. 

Then we welcomed Henna and Jalal and we went straight out on game drive, even though the day was getting very hot already. But it was a good drive, especially since they are only here one night. 

Our highlight was seeing our first elephants. They were pretty close and walking through the bush towards the road. So we gave them some space and sure enough they crossed the road. One elephant thought it was necessary to tell us that he was crossing the road and we better not come any closer which gave us a nice show of flapping ears. But there was plenty space and all the elephants went safely across towards where they know there is a waterhole. 

Other interesting sightings: steenboks, waterbucks, sleeping lions, warthogs with piglets, plenty zebras, impalas, a white rhino sleeping, a herd of buffalo crossing, kudus, vervet monkeys, and giraffes.

On Safari With Karen from 2 January 2016

2 January 2016

Our first safari of 2016 brought us to the park early in the afternoon and right away we were treated to some lovely animal sightings. But our highlight was seeing a journey of five giraffe in all sizes. As I am driving a car full of female guests there were a lot of "oh"s and "ah"s when a baby was discovered next to its mum!

Our second highlight was spotting our first elephant! Majestic animals as they are, all were happy as he was munching not too far from the road. So far we saw him eating just grass, but the tree pushed down over the road a little further on showed how much damage they actually can do. 

Other animals seen: buffalo bulls, klipspringers, impalas, lots of zebras, a warthog in its bathroom while having a mud bath, more giraffes, hippos, kudus, blue wildebeests, common grey duiker, a well hidden sable bull, and a warthog mum with piglets.

3 January 2016

This morning we left after breakfast for our early game drive. It was already getting hot at 6am! During the day we had many highlights and my guests surely appreciate all the babies in the park.

We got lucky with two sightings of tiny zebras, saw many impala lambs, blue wildebeest calf’s, a teeny tiny baby kudu, young elephants, a baby hippo, buffalo calf’s, very cute baby baboons, young reedbuck and baby giraffes. 

But our super highlight was seeing hyenas. My guests were soon agreeing that hyenas are the cutest things in the world and nothing like Disney has portrayed them! We had two separate sightings and the first young one we saw had the "puppy dog eyes"-look mastered. Instantly all fell in love and the little fella posed nicely for pictures.

At our second sighting a suckling mum was also babysitting three other young ones and we couldn't get over the cuteness of it all. However, claiming the sighting wouldn't be very nice to the other visitors of the park so after a while we moved off. 

Other interesting sightings: a family of common reedbucks, baboons, kudus, waterbucks, giraffes, herds of buffalo, white rhinos, impalas, zebras, blue wildebeests, lions, hippos, elephants, and warthogs. 

Birds included lilac breasted rollers, European bee eaters, white breasted cormorants, brown snake eagle, yellow billed kite, grey and yellow-billed hornbill, african fish eagle, blacksmith lapwings, red-collared widowbirds, pintailed whydah, cape glossy starlings and black-collared barbets.

On Safari With Gert From 29 December 2015

29 December 2015

This afternoon we entered the park at about 16:00, making our way to our camp for the night.

Shortly after entering we saw a few vehicles stopped, but apparently we arrived a few seconds too late and had just missed a Leopard walking into the bush. We continued and saw some good general game, including many Impala, Zebra and Kudu.

About an hour into our drive I noticed something looking slightly out of place on one of the lower branches of a Marula tree.

To our delight, it was an adult female leopard sleeping in the tree. We watched her for a while and she eventually woke up, lifting her head to survey her surroundings, before getting up and out of the tree. We lost sight of her and continued towards camp.

We also saw a large breeding herd of elephants as well as many bulls, solitary or in small groups.

Towards the end of our drive we also saw 2 very large male White Rhinos, both fairly good sightings as they seemed very relaxed and were quite close to the road and in the open. A fairly short, but sweet introductory safari setting the tone for the days to follow!

30 December 2015

Setting out bright and early on a fairly cool morning, our first sighting was of a small breeding herd of elephant not far out of camp. They were very relaxed even though they were on both sides of the road and with cars constantly passing through, dissecting the herd. Their deep rumbling noises fascinating the guests as they checked up on each other, making sure there were no undue disturbances from passing vehicles.

A nearby waterhole yielded some general game in the form of a large hers of Impala drinking as well as a family of Warthogs with small piglets grazing nearby.

Not long after we passed an old Rhino carcass which was still being fed on by a large number of vultures, predominantly White-backed and also a few Hooded Vultures, together with 7 Spotted Hyena. The sounds of the squabbling Vultures and the loud crunching of bone as the hyenas tucked in to the leftovers really adding to the authenticity of the experience. They were not the only ones enjoying breakfast, as shortly after we came across 2 male and 2 female lions feasting on a buffalo that must have been killed early last night. There was not much meat left on the old bull, but it still seemed quite fresh and I suspect that there were more lions around, probably just taking a break to digest.

On arrival at the scene the 2 males moved off to a nearby shady spot, leaving the 2 females at the scene. They got up, first one, shortly to be joined by her companion and we watched them feeding on the buffalo carcass for a few minutes before settling in the shade about 3 meters from the carcass and from the road, affording us a great view of the entire process.

It was also a good morning for birding as we got to see Martial Eagle, Brown Snake-Eagle and a Bateleur perched on trees quite close to the road in the early morning, offering good photographic opportunities.

31 December 2015

We set out at dawn this morning and it paid off again as the first animal we saw, about 10 minutes into our drive, was a young male leopard in the road as we rounded a bend. He was a bit skittish and went into a thicket on the side of the road.

We slowly drove past the spot, turned the vehicle around and waited. Less than a minute later it came back out and carried on walking down the road. We followed it, not too closely as it was still quite skittish and broke into a trot every now and then.

After following him for a while, he took a pathway leading into the bush, eventually moving out of sight, but not before pausing in a gap to stare back at us and give the guests a good picture opportunity!

Next up we got a very relaxed breeding herd of elephant foraging on both sides of the road moving past us, with barely a glance in our direction. It is always a special experience observing these unique creatures when they are in such a peaceful mood! We also saw many Bulls of various ages feeding at regular intervals along the way, including a few in musth on the trail of the females.

A little later, we noticed a large traffic jam ahead, the kind that usually indicates only one thing: leopard! What luck we had, as on approach, while trying to figure out where to look, said leopard, a magnificent male, came walking out of the grass, crossed the road in front of us and continued down a drainage line and out of sight!

Towards the end of the day we found 2 Sable Antelope bulls grazing nearby and getting comfortable for the night, settling in the tall grass at the foot of a large granite outcrop.

A great Safari to see out 2015!