On Safari With Mark

Over the last couple of days, the game viewing has deteriorated and I believe it's because of the high traffic volumes with locals been on holiday.

None the less, our two highlights for this tour has to be the cheetah and wild dog sighting.

On our first afternoon drive we heard about a possible wild dog sighting and drove towards it. We were in luck as all 8 dogs lay around in the shade, every now and then presenting us with ideal photo opportunities. Guests are very happy to have seen the "rarest predator" in Kruger.

On our morning drive, we stumbled upon 3 male cheetah, all marking territory on the shoulder of the road. We stayed with them as long as possible, eventually loosing sight as they moved off the road.

Other animals include: Impala, waterbuck, kudu, common duiker, steenbok, common reedbuck, zebra, giraffe, hippos, crocodiles, buffalo, elephants, rhino and many different bird species.

As we only have 24 hours left, let's hope we can find a lion and leopard for the clients.

Media Release: SANParks CEO Congratulates Rangers On Arrests of Suspected Poachers In KNP

There has been a rise in the number of arrests of suspected poachers in the Kruger National Park (KNP) since the beginning of April of this year. Since the beginning of this month there have been 22 arrests for suspected poaching activities inside the KNP. This brings to 56 the total number of arrests in the Park since the start of 2015.

KNP rangers, bolstered by additional aerial and canine support, have managed to substantially improve the effectiveness of anti-poaching operations inside the Park.

In a dramatic swoop shortly before sunset on 25 April 2015 SANParks rangers, supported by the Dog Unit, the SAPS reaction team and a helicopter donated by the Howard Buffet Foundation: netted two suspected rhino poachers- following a sighting in the Phalaborwa area of the KNP.

The team recovered a 458 hunting rifle, ammunition and poaching equipment. Two sets of rhino horns were also recovered during the arrests.

In a previous incident on the morning of 22 April 2015, rangers conducting anti-poaching patrols in the southern region of the KNP came across signs of a group of poachers operating in the Park and discovered a freshly killed rhino with its horns removed. The rangers immediately called the Joint Operations Centre in Skukuza for additional aerial and canine support. The newly acquired anti-poaching helicopter along with a ranger reaction team and tracking dogs were immediately dispatched to the area to support the rangers on the ground. Shortly after the arrival of the reaction force, the rangers arrested four suspected rhino poachers and managed to recover a heavy calibre hunting rifle, ammunition, hunting equipment and a fresh set of rhino horns.

Last month a second state of the art Airbus AS 350 B 3E helicopter donated by the Howard Buffet Foundation was commissioned into action. This brings to four the number of helicopters available for anti-poaching operations inside the KNP.

Mr Fundisile Mketeni, CEO of SANParks has congratulated the rangers on the recent arrests.

“SANParks, on behalf of all South Africans, wishes to thank our rangers and our partners in the SAPS and SANDF for their dedication to this fight,” adding: “SANParks is making every effort to increase support to our rangers in the field: enhanced aerial support and the use of the canine units are both becoming an increasingly vital component of our anti-poaching strategy.” “Given the increasing number of arrests, this strategy is clearly paying off,” says Mketeni.

Issued by:
SANParks Corporate Communications

Media enquiries:
Paul Daphne
Head of Communications,SANParks
Tel: 012 426 5072; Cell: 082 806 5409

Reynold Thakhuli
GM Media and Stakeholder Relations
Tel: 012 426 5203 Cell: 073 373 4999

On Safari With Karen 27 April 2015

27 April 2015

As we drove towards the KNP for a new safari it was a race against the rain clouds.

They started behind us but came dangerously close. Eventually they caught us but as we had just arrived at the gate of the park, we got about ten minutes of light rain and then it had blown over. However we didn't let it bother us, as we had arrived in The Kruger! And it gave us some nice pictures if the purple colours in the sky as well as some massive lightning show! Our highlight of our short afternoon drive was the time spend at Shitlhave Dam. Here we saw plenty of waterbucks to start with, including a female in heat that kept on having to fight off the males who were about to mount her. Secondly a hippo was bobbing up and down inside the dam. A buffalo was snoozing on the other side and we also saw woolly-necked storks, Egyptian geese, a grey heron and a herd of impalas as we were leaving the dam.

On the road we had also seen vervet monkeys and another herd of impalas where the male was doing his best to impress the females in his herd. We came across a few cars standing still and we were told a leopard had just crossed but now they couldn't see it anymore. We parked at an open spot between the high grasses up the road and waited with baited breath. Maybe we were in luck and she would pop out right there... But after scouting around and staring in full anticipation we still hadn't seen her. We suspected she had taken a different route than we were hoping for and decided to go towards Nkambeni Safari Camp, our lodge for tonight.

Now after dinner it is dark but stars are visible so it is clearing up. While the southern white-faced owl is singing in a tree nearby and the hyenas are calling out we say goodnight and we look forward to another day!

On Safari With Karen 23 April 2015

23 April 2015

As it was already our last morning we set off early again. Compared to yesterday the skies were now clear and we saw the last stars disappear from sight when the sun came up. Apparently not every animal was up for this early morning as we encountered two white rhinos that were still falling asleep while they were standing in the middle of the road. They would slowly droop their head all the way to the floor and then slowly their eyes fell closed, and after a brief snooze they jerked awake again. Guess us humans are not the only ones needing coffee to wake up in the morning... But as they were in no hurry to move off and we did not want to disturb them we turned the car and took a different route.

We then encountered a herd of buffalo. Here as well most buffalos were still lying down but at least most of them had their eyes open. However they didn't appreciate our morning visit as more of them got up and gave us a very angry look. Especially the last ones standing up gave us a look like we were the cause of them having to get up this morning and they so did not appreciate the wake-up call. So where the rhinos might have needed some coffee, these buffalos seriously were having a grumpy mood this morning! Instead of feeling sorry for them though, their grumpiness made us giggle but we left them in peace after that.

Other interesting sightings: leopard tortoise, slender mongoose, giraffes, a large elephant bum, dwarf mongooses sunning themselves, hippos, egyptian geese, waterbucks, blacksmith lapwings making babies, little bee-eaters, lots of kudus including some beautiful males, impalas, a dungbeetle rolling it's leftovers from breakfast to burry it for later, warthogs, a blind snake and klipspringers.