AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTER *

JoeKing
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by JoeKing »

steamtrainfan wrote:
JoeKing wrote:Correct, at one stage the pack was very big and they split up, then the numbers dwindled and PB was left with a single pack with 5 Adults, Glad that they have been successfully breeding, but some new blood must be brought in. Else we are going to end up with inbreeding and that could cause the animals to be weak and the pack to maybe decrease in size again.
Hi JK. I had not thought of it in this way so only having 1 pack is not good news.

The other bit of info I was told by a game drive jockey was that this pack spend their time going around the perimeter of the park, spending about two weeks at each den. In this way they use the fence to trap their prey. We must have been very fortunate that their den must have been near Manyane Gate for the time we were there.

very true, i remember at one stage they were seen early morning at Bakgatla for a while, then we started camping at Bakgatla and then they were being seen at Manyane. lol.

One interesting "fact" i heard on a game drive, was that apparently, the lions are culled. Private hunters come and shoot a lion for a trophy.

not sure who true this is, but yes there are too many lions and its negativley affecting the Brown Hyena and cheetah populations.

If these profit made from these trophies went into buy farms to complete the corridor to madikwe i wouldn't have a problem with it, as the hunting proceeds are going straight back into conservation, and with PB not housing any spotted hyena and only four prides of lions i dont see that the lion population is under any threat. IMHO they will make more revenue from a American hunter then selling the lion to another game farm.


http://s1243.photobucket.com/user/jeroenkel/library/
http://s1243.photobucket.com/user/jeroenkel/library/South%20AFrica%202015-02

some of my Kruger and Pilanesberg Pics
steamtrainfan
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by steamtrainfan »

DAY 4 - 8 OCTOBER 2012

Two black eyed bulbuls sharing a branch - but what is that in the background?
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Quite a nice shot of a zebra.
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A rhino escaping the midday heat.
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A steenbok also seeking relief from the heat.
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This guy turned around to see what we were up to.
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An ellie approaching Tilodi Dam.
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Two ellies at Tilodi Dam.
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As we left Tilodi Dam we saw this ellie enjoying a dust bath.
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A rather cute photo of a kudu lady caught by surprise.
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Our neighbours had told that for two days in a row they had seen a serval on the Hippo Loop near Mankwe lake so we decided to trundle down there to see if we could also see it. Travelling very slowly and using all our bush scanning skills we searched for the serval. Suddenly Melanie shouted "there it is" and pandemonium broke out in the car. Where - where - where was all that one could hear. Melanie was trying to explain where it was when it suddenly walked through a clearing in the grass and disappeared again. Joan took a few shots of the grass in the hope that it would move again but no such luck. Here is a lovely but not too clear shot of its ears just to prove what we saw. A game viewing truck pulled up next to us and the driver said that they had seen it the previous day and it was a civet. Anway, serval or civet, we did see one.
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Our last shot of the day was this ellie that pulled a sneaky on us by coming up behind us while we were parked trying to find some other ellies on the other side of the road.
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Thats all for the 8 October 2012. Until next time - keep well.


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Dewi
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by Dewi »

Excellent stuff STF. \O

A tad green about your Serval sighting. \O (and I agree with you that it's a Serval. \O )

The bird with the Bulbuls looks like it might be a Red-breasted Swallow. That's the most likely with the red underparts for this area. \O Would need a better pic to be positive, but there's nothing else of that colouration which is regular in the area.

Love the Zebra pic. \O

0()


Dewi

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steamtrainfan
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by steamtrainfan »

DAY 5 - 9 OCTOBER 2012 - PART 1/2

A quiet start to the day with this guy stopping his grazing to pose very nicely for us:
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There were a few springbuck around so we sat and watched as some egyptian geese and then a jackal wandered into the viewfinder which made up quite an unusual trio of animals to be seen together:
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On Moloto Drive we came across this mother and child.
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As can be seen from most of our photos there had been some serious fires in Pilanesberg before we arrived. Not too sure if I like this but it does make for some great game viewing.

In another burnt area we came across these two making like bookends.
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On Kwalata Drive this young male waterbuck was chowing away and gave us that "go away" look.
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A little further along Kwalata Drive this rather nice portrait of a mother and child again.
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A rather majestic looking giraffe on Tshwene Drive near Mankwe lake.
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Thats it for now until Part 2/2.


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steamtrainfan
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by steamtrainfan »

DAY 5 - 9 OCTOBER 2012 - PART 2/2

Unfortunately not much seen for the rest of the day but here a few pics for the record.

Some ellies at Mankwe Lake:
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Also seen on the shores of a dam:
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Now, who was it that said we were ugly. I think I am just the best looking wildebeest around.
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Normans photo of a fish eagle and a chick in the nest near Mankwe Lake:
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In the very late afternoon on the way back to camp we came across a lioness;
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And her male companion lying a bit further away:
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Finally, a sunset scene at Tilodi Dam:
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I hope you are enjoying the trip but things do start to liven up from tomorrow. Until next time - all the very best.


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steamtrainfan
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by steamtrainfan »

DAY 6 - 10 OCTOBER 2012 - PART 1/2

On the road to Ratlogo Dam we saw this BBJ drinking from a puddle the previous nights rain.
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Is he fat or is she pregnant?????
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Somewhere in Pilanesberg was this rather peaceful rhino.
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This little guy paused long enough for Joan to take a pic.
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ROADBLOCK:
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Near Mankwe Lake some game drive trucks were giving these poor ellies such a hard time while they were trying to cross the road. To start off with er had parked at a reasonable distance from them to allow them to cross the road when all of a sudden a Bakgatla truck cruised passed me and parked right in front of me so that we could now not see a thing. A couple of the trucks actually moved their trucks so that they completely blocked the ellies way to cross the road. At one stage one ellie was standing with his head and trunk almost touching the truck. I thought we were going to have some real drama but eventually the ellie backed down and walked away. I only wish I had my video camera with to capture these idiots on film.
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A little later and to cool down some very hot tempers this peaceful scene.
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Another tranquil scene of Kgabo Drive looking down towards Mankwe Lake.
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Until Part 2/2, keep well.


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steamtrainfan
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by steamtrainfan »

DAY 6 - 10 OCTOBER 2012 - PART 2/2

At the Pilanesberg Centre Norman shot these pics of a very nosey (excuse the pun) yellow billed hornbill:
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From Pilanesberg Centre we took Tlou Drive to go down and see what was happening at Makorwane Dam. As we turned into Tshukudu eNtsho , a lady in a BIG Prado stooped us and told that she had been told that there were mating lions on Kukama Drive and she was on her way there. We immediately did a u-turn and followed. When we got to the mating pair there was only one other car there so we had choice of spot as it was the lions were in a pretty clear spot about 5 metres from us.

Joan took this photo with my head in the way to show how close and clear they were.
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Here is a series of photos that may neeed no introduction:

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That is all for our second last day.

As has happened in previous years , Pilanesberg has always kept the best until the last day, and this year was no exception. Joan, Melanie and Norman took so many photos that I have really struggled to choose the ones to post. I have finally ended up with 44, I did try to reduce the number but to no avail. Joan and I do hope that you will bear with us as we split day 7 into 3 parts i.e 06:00 to 08:00, 08:00 to 10:00 and finally 10:00 to 18:00.

Until next time please stay safe and happy.


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steamtrainfan
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by steamtrainfan »

OUR LAST DAY 11.10.12 PART 1/3 06;00 TO 08;00

Dawn on Day 7.
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As we entered the gate to the game reserve this gang was waiting to greet us. They were in Tshwene Drive so there was a mad scramble to get the cameras going and a few shots of them milling around the road. Note the crows sitting in the tree.
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They then wandered off into bush and seemed to be heading for Potokwane Road. It was then that we saw some wildebeest between the doggies and the road and knew we were in for some action. We turned around and waited for them on Potokwane Road where the wildebeest were busy grazing in a burnt area ( remember the pics of our first sighting of the doggies.). Next minute the doggies came barreling over a rise and into the wildebeest. They seemed to have their eye on a youngster as they ignored the bigger ones and charged after the little one. They seemed to herd him into an area that had not been burnt. The last we saw was one doggie hanging onto the nose and another jumping at his side. They all then disappeared in the grass. The herd then came back and stood looking in the direction of where they had made the kill. The noise was unbelievable. The dogs were yelping and barking and the poor little wildebeest was crying for help. It was a very sad thing to hear and in a way I am pleased that we did not see the actual kill. Needless to say that there were few wet eyes in the car by now. Joan at one stage had blocked her ears and lowered her head to the dashboard. Out of all the pictures, as the cameras button was just held down and tried to follow the action, these seem to be the better ones.

The dogs come barreling over an embankment startling one while the others seemed to have not noticed.
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The one they tackled is behind the one running to the left with another two still not sure what was happening.
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Maybe the two in the middle knew that they were not the target and therefore did not bother to run.
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The herd looking on. At this stage we could still hear the youngster crying for help while the dogs continued to make on heck of a noise.
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We then moved back to the junction of Potokwane and Dithabaneng Roads to try and see if we could see the kill but to no avail. All we could see was whenever the dogs would look up.
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The final pic of what was a first time ever sighting for all of us. All in all we had watched these doggies from 06:10 until 07:00.
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We sat around for a while to see if anything further was going to develop and also to get our adrenalin flowing normally once again. We then made our wat to Fish Eagle picnic spot for some breakfast. On the way there this steenbok posed rather nicely for Joan.
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At Fish Eagle I took this photo of an arrow speckled babler or something or other - for the life of me I cannot remember its name.
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And just for good measure a photo of the four of us at Fish Eagle picnic spot which overlooks Mankwe Lake.
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More to follow soon.


Faith is the bird that feels the light while the dawn is still dark. Author unknown.
Eland
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by Eland »

Good evening STF - glad I "spoke" to you yesterday. I have read through all the pages, and what a wonderful holiday you had ^Q^ .

I think it is time we go there again before the end of the year. We saw doggies killing an Impala earlier in the year at Manyane Gate - not a nice thing to see :-( But we could enjoy the sighting before the kill :-)

Looking forward to the rest 0()


steamtrainfan
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Re: AN AMAZING 7 DAYS AT MANYANE - EACH YEAR JUST GETS BETTE

Post by steamtrainfan »

Thanks very much for your patience whilst I have been trying to sort out the few technical glitches.

OUR LAST DAY 11.10.12 PART 2/3 08:00 - 10:00 (Part 1/2)

After a lovely breakfast when left Fish Eagle picnic spot and turned on to Mankwe Way. Near one of the rocky koppies we saw two klipspringer next to the road. They gave a lovely show as we stopped and watched them.
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One of Normans photos.
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This shot taken at 08:49
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While taking the above pics they both suddenly stood dead still, snorted and then took off up the hill, too fast for any pics to be taken. We realised that something had disturbed them and we scanned the bushes when Melanie shouted "Leopard" which resulted in the usual chaos of grabbing cameras and cries of "Where? Where?" He crossed the road in front of us and went into the bush on the koppies side of the road, where the klippies had been just a minute before.

This shot taken at 08:51
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We still cannot believe that it was only a matter of 2 minutes between the klippies disappearing and the leopard appearing.

More pics of the leopard as we followed him until Melanie got the last photo of him looking at us as he again crosed the road in front of us.
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The rest of between 08:00 - 10:00 to follow soon.


Faith is the bird that feels the light while the dawn is still dark. Author unknown.
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