On Safari With Mark From 17 February 2014

17 February 2014

Route: Numbi tar - Napi - Napi boulders - Napi - Nkambeni

General animals seen: Impala, Kudu, warthog, waterbuck

Fantastic rhino sightings this afternoon with a male, female and calf altogether approx 10m from our vehicle. All very relaxed, grazing on the short grass as the sun sets.

On boulders itself we found a buffalo bull walking along side of the road and as we approved it moved off into the long grass and politely lay down to rest.

On our return to camp we found a massive elephant bull right next to the road approximately 40m from camp gate.

Great start to the safari. Would love to show the guests a lion or leopard tomorrow morning as some of the guests are here on a quickie and return to JHB tomorrow morning.

 

18 February 2014

Route: Napi - Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni

General animals seen: giraffe, warthog, impala, waterbuck, blue wildebeest, zebra, hippos, rhino's and vervet monkeys

Rather quiet morning drive for the first part, then Curtis called to say he had found a male and female lion near doispan, albaseni junction.

We headed that way as the guests hadn't seen lions yet. As we approached the sighting, they got up and walked out onto the road heading directly for us. Great sighting experienced as both came walking past our vehicle. The female staying on the road and male choosing to walk past us in the grass next to the road. Guests could get great photos of these and all enjoyed the sighting

 

19 February 2014

Route: Napi - Doispan - Albaseni - Nkambeni

General sightings: kudu, impala, warthog, zebra, hippos,chackma baboon, waterbuck, hippos and  vervet monkeys

Came across the spotted Hyena on transport access road. Female with her siblings. Some still totally black in color.

After stopping for coffee, we heard about some lions up the road and decided to go in search of them. We found them under a tamboti tree. 3 sub adult males and 1 female.

Further to this the ride was rather quiet and not much was spotted from then on.

 

20 February 2014

Route: Napi - H3 - Napi - Shabeni - Nkambeni

General animals seen: giraffe, elephant, kudu, impala, buffalo, rhino, warthog, blue wildebeest, vervet monkeys

I decided to try the H3 this morning as I was informed that nothing was found on other roads.

On our return to Numbi gate we had some time to kill and still no leopard. The thought of saying goodbye to guests without seeing a leopard, was still in my head when a guest called out to stop.

There she lay on a fat Marola tree branch just watching the bush. Once we spent a few minutes she jumped down from the tree and walked out into the road just ahead of us. All guests let rip with their digital cameras and many great photos taken.

Everyone was happy with what the bush had to offer and for the last two guests we will just try to get lions in a better position than yesterday.

 

Keep watching for more!

On Safari With Karen From 15 February 2014

15 February 2014

I picked up the new guests at Numbi gate. We checked in at Nkambeni Lodge, where we had lunch and a relaxing afternoon at the pool before our first game drive. We were only going out for a short drive, just to get an introduction to what may come, but they had already spotted hippo and buffalo while lounging at the pool.

As soon as we... went out of the gate we stumbled upon a nice large herd of impalas. We then followed the tar road to Pretoriuskop and did a loop around the area. We spotted zebras and kudus along the way.

We analysed the differences between elephant dung and that of white rhino and buffalo. And following some very fresh dung we stumbled upon a small herd of elephants feeding. After watching them for a while we took a loop around Shabeni and found vervet monkeys sitting in trees, kudus, more impalas and had a very close encounter with a big bull elephant. He stood in the bush and came walking onto the road towards us and he was so big that only one of us would fit on the road. Unfortunately he had to be told that we were there first and he had to get off the road to pass us. It was a breathtaking moment for some of the guests!

We then returned to the lodge and found the white rhino that holds a territory in that area. He was leisurely feeding and rumbling his face and horn on the tree stump nearby.

We returned just in time for gate closing time after a very successful first drive!

16 February 2014

We left this morning after breakfast and stumbled straight upon a herd of impalas. Then we drove the route Albassini - Doispane to see what we could find on a longer morning drive. We saw a duiker crossing the road quickly and also a male waterbuck was running away from us. At Mestel Dam we saw the hippos playing in the water before they would go to sleep.

Apparently this morning was the day that everything would run away from us as when we stop to look at a water monitor in quickly moved off into the grass not to be seen again. And a 100meters onward there was a nice buffalo standing still for a couple of seconds before walking off too. We stopped to look at some birds, like a white fronted bee eater, European roller, yellowbilled hornbill, which promptly flew off...

After that it calmed down a bit. We did spot zebras hiding in the long grass, kudus between the bushes and had some lovely elephant sightings. While we were watching a big bull elephant we got a tip there were lions and we changed course to see if we would be lucky. On the way we saw a nice elephant herd feeding close by the road, but after a short stop we drove on. We did indeed get to see the lions, five females, a young male and an adult male, but soon after we arrived one by one they got up and walked down the riverbed towards a nice shady spot out of sight. Just making sure they stuck to the theme of today.

We had our coffee break at Skukuza after which we turned down Napi aiming back for the camp. Shortly after we saw 4 very fat warthogs right next to the road digging in elephant dung and eating the undigested scraps. We also encountered a large family of baboons, had an elephant with youngster crossing the road in front of us and sat watching a very large herd of buffalo for a while before it was so hot that we continued driving to have some wind cooling us down.

After lunch and some relaxation time at the pool we went out this afternoon again for a short drive. It was still very hot so most of the drive was very quiet. The hippos at Mestel Dam were almost entirely submerged and then we had to wait till shabeni loop to see animals. In one spot we then saw warthogs, impalas, vervet monkeys and kudus. We also spotted dwarf mongooses and when we stood still for a while they came back in the road to play.

On the way to Shitlhave Dam we saw two leopard tortoises in one spot. The small one had a lot of attention for the hindquarters of the other one, which was at least twice its size. We thought they were going to mate, which would have been a funny sighting judging by their size difference, but they took too long before anything happened and we were running out of time... Who knows what happened later when nobody was watching ?!

17 February 2014

This morning we once again left the lodge after an early breakfast. The impalas hadn't left camp road yet and shortly after a white rhino was lying in the drainage line very close to the road. We kept on watching him for a while but apparently he didn't want to do an early morning so we left him still sleeping.

On Napi we encountered elephants and more impalas, baboons, leopard tortoises and warthog. We stopped at Transport Dam where there were hippos in the water close by, woolly necked storks doing a mating dance, waterbuck and lots of water birds. Also a dead impala was lying on the opposite shore, but nothing ate it. We were told wild dogs were there but after waiting for 30min nothing had move so we decided to continue.

Close to Skukuza we saw two male giraffe having a very half-hearted fight. There was no female around so they had nobody to show off to. Or maybe the female had gotten bored and moved on. That was what we did after a while. When entering in Skukuza we saw vervet monkeys on the fence inside the camp and there were buffalo on the riverbank.

On the way back we took another shot at Transport Dam but once again no wild dogs. However zebras had joined the ranks with the waterbuck and a baby waterbuck was having a run-like-you're-crazy moment so that was fun to watch!

Then a call came in from Curtis who had found two leopards. We speeded up the pace to maximum allowed to see if we would get there in time and we were so lucky, we just made it! One leopard was lounging in the tree, the other invisible on the ground. But we had an excellent sight of the one in the tree who scratched the tree, stretched and after a while got up and jumped down. We followed it down the road but it was rather wary of the cars so it shot back into the high grass. We saw it standing next to us for a little while until it disappeared completely into the thick bush. That was our cue and we returned back to the camp for lunch.

Our afternoon drive was short but sweet. We saw two separate elephants before we went down to Shithave Dam and watched the world go by slowly. At this nice tranquil spot a pied kingfisher kept us busy while he was fishing. He made a couple of dives but he wasn't successful.

We continued to Mestel Dam where the hippos were starting to wake up and were playing in the water. We also saw a giraffe on the opposite side. When it was time to go we drove back straight to the camp only stopping for kudus crossing the road and just before we arrived at our lodge this big bull elephant was in the way. As his bulk was quite a lot more than our teeny tiny little vehicle, we decided to give him right of way. He came from our right onto the road and there was nothing left to do then wait and then slowly followed him down the road. About 20meters before the lodge gates he turned off, distracted by marulas, and we could finally finish to enter the camp!

18 February 2014

Today we were going out for a full day safari so after a hearty breakfast we left for our trip. Curtis had found some lions already so we went up Albassini in the hope we would get a glimpse. On the way we had zebras crossing the road and lots of impalas.

We arrived at the sighting on the tar to Phabeni gate with the lions close by the road but lying flat in the grass. We decided to wait to see if they would get up but before we had settled in too nicely Curtis called he found some others and they were walking on the road 500meters up ahead. So off we went and we got a lovely sighting of a male and female lion walking in front of us. After a while those lions split up and we stayed behind watching the male while a lot of other cars kept on following the female. As the lions were getting skittish we decided to give them a bit more space and left the sighting to go back to the first sighting of lions. There we made ourselves comfortable and waited. And waited.... And waited... As it was male and female as well we thought it would be a mating pair but after watching them snooze for over an hour we knew it wasn't to be. We decided to leave them and continue our journey.

We drove for about 3km on Doispane when we suddenly saw the male lion of the ones that walked away earlier, sniffing a tree right on the side of the road. He then crossed right behind us and continued in the direction of the cross roads. We turned around and saw him walking towards us and cross in front of us on the cross roads. He then disappeared into the bush and we continued our way to Nyamundwa Dam.

We had a great sighting of two white Rhinos lying in the water to cool down. There were hippos in the water and impalas and wildebeest on the opposite site.

We then continued our way towards Skukuza golfclub where we would have lunch. On the way we saw a couple of bull elephants, waterbuck, bateleurs and a great martial eagle that flew over us, circled back around us and then sat in a tree to get yelled at by hamerkops.

After lunch we decided it was getting really hot for a game drive and some air-conditioning would be nice. As the wind only blows while driving, air-conditioning, it meant we would only stop for something special. We spotted but didn't stop for giraffe, kudus, impalas, bull elephants and wildebeest, but did have a quick stop at a small and later on a big herd of elephants.

To top off today’s awesome drive our new animal of today was hyenas. At a den site the mother was lying in the shade feeding her two young cubs and we also saw one cub that was a little older than the 2 babies and 2 youngsters. This was a great sighting and we stayed until the heat became unbearable.

We returned to the lodge for a play in the pool before dinner. It was our last drive as we decided to have a lie-in tomorrow before the transfer back to Jo'burg. It was a great five days! Thanks to Charlotte, Sunny, Isa, August, Eirik and Inga for joining us on this safari!

Keep watching for more!!

On Safari With Curtis From 17 February 2014

17 February 2014

Today two of my guests were leaving so I decided to aim for specific sightings, just those that we hadn't seen yet and those which we hadn't had the best viewings of. We left the lodge at 06:30 and headed down Albasini making just brief stops at the Rhino and Elephants we came across. We then spotted Zebra and Wildebeest close up and w...ere able to have a nice clear sighting of both. Along doispane we also spotted Leopard Tortoise, Impala and Kudu before we found a troupe of Baboons, something we hadn't found yet on this tour.

After turning onto Watergut we also found Impala, more Zebra and Wildebeest, Kudu, Giraffe, a brief glimpse of Dwarf Mongoose and Common Duiker. As we come to the end of the road I was stopped and informed of a sighting at Transport Dam. I made my way there and sure enough we came across a pack of African Wild Dog. Apparently they had been eating an Impala which was stolen by a Crocodile. However it was nice to see them and the array of Vultures which had descended around them. There was also Waterbuck and Zebra at the dam.

After we left the dam we moved on and things were quite quiet when a member of the public flashed me down and told me of a leopard sighting just down the road. Big thanks to that person as when we got to the location I spotted not just one but two Leopards in a marula tree. However as we pulled up one of them jumped straight down and we never saw it again, the second one stayed in the tree and we spent a good 20 minutes at the sighting before leaving him. Before we got to Numbi gate we also spotted more Elephants and Rhino as well as Impala and Vervet monkeys.

I then said goodbye to two of my guests, Manish and Aaron before they set off for new adventures. Enjoy Cape Town !!!

18 February 2014

Leaving the lodge early in the morning I hadn't got no more than a kilometre down the road when I was informed of a Lion sighting on the Doispane road. I turned around and started to make my way to the area of the sighting. As we drove we found Impala and Elephant.

When we got to the area of the Lion sightings both male and female were having a bit of a siesta in the shade, we sat with them for about 40 minutes and got a few moments when the male popped his head up and had a look at us, the female still just lounging around. It didn't seem that they were going to move any time soon so I said to the guests we would take a short drive to Nyamundwa dam and then return to the Lions a bit later.

On the drive to the dam we came across Zebra, Wildebeest and more Impala while at the dam itself there was Buffalo and Hippo. After a while we headed back to the Lions who hadn't moved an inch, we carried on watching, hoping for some movement but it was not to be. I turned around and headed back down the road when just a few hundred metres from the original sighting we found ourselves watching a second male and female pair of Lions standing on the road. They seemed a bit surprised by our vehicle and moved quickly into the long grass where we lost visual. I slowly turned and moved down towards the first pair of Lions hoping the second pair would join them, unfortunately they didn't. We moved off again and sure enough a few hundred metres down the road we found the second pair again lying by the road, this time they didn't move off and started to walk down the road. We followed at a distance for some time until the pair split up, the female still on the road the male moving into the bush. We got a few more glimpses of the male before he disappeared completely.

After leaving the Lions we headed back down Albasini finding Impala, Giraffe, Kudu, Waterbuck, Elephants and Baboon before getting to Numbi gate, this is where the tour ended for two of my guests who are heading down to Cape Town.

The rest of us headed back to camp for some lunch, a sleep and a swim before my remaining guests go out on their night drive. Details about that tomorrow.

19 February 2014

Today was the last of this particular tour and so we were up early to go for a short drive before heading out of the park. On the drive we came across Elephant, Rhino , Buffalo, Impala, Kudu and a brief glimpse of a family of Banded Mongoose who quickly scurried back into the long grass when they saw us coming.

On leaving we headed down to Nelspruit for my remaining guests to be transferred to Johannesburg. Big thanks to Brian, Andrea, Manish, Aaron, Ashley, Clay, Dennis, Sarah and Mish for their company over the last few days. I hope you all enjoyed the amazing sightings we had as much as I did.

Keep watching for more!!

Media Release

Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs welcomes some of the provisions contained in the London Declaration on Illegal Wildlife Trade.. Follow the link to view http://www.sanparks.org/about/news/default.php?id=56001