Africa Wild

At the weir, we found a Blacksmith Plover....



... and a small breeding herd of ellies









A curious starling.



Just a few hundred metres from the weir we found a hyena den.





There were 8 hyenas and they came and lay right next to us.



The youngsters took a liking to my brand new tyres and we had to keep starting the car to scare them away.

Flutts!

Love the ellies against the green, and very crisp pics all round!

Lovely pics of the ellies and palm trees

Great sequence of the hyenas, especially all in a heap

Funny starling

I don't often comment on the TT, but I will be following

Cute pile of Hyenas

Thanks so much, Flutterby,

and so far I did not see any of your pictures blurred They are all fantastic

Love the hyenas and ellies and it must have been wonderful to be back in the bush

Richprins wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 5:44 pm Flutts!

Love the ellies against the green, and very crisp pics all round!

Thanks RP.

Lisbeth wrote: ↑Sun Oct 10, 2021 6:19 pm Lovely pics of the ellies and palm trees

Great sequence of the hyenas, especially all in a heap

Funny starling

I know you don't like hyenas, but these ones were quite cute.

Dzombo wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:35 pm I don't often comment on the TT, but I will be following

No problem Dzombo.

RogerFraser wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 6:54 pm Cute pile of Hyenas

Pumbaa wrote: ↑Mon Oct 11, 2021 9:28 pm Thanks so much, Flutterby,

and so far I did not see any of your pictures blurred They are all fantastic

Love the hyenas and ellies and it must have been wonderful to be back in the bush

Thanks Pumbaa. The pics here are ok, but there are lots of photos that I can't use because they are too blurry.

We left the hyenas and got on to the S139 private road to Biyamiti. This was the first time we'd done this road as we have never stayed at Biyamiti before, and what a road...so many ups and downs!

Golden-breasted Bunting



Brown-hooded Kingfisher



We were greeted by a very friendly receptionist at Biyamiti and checked in easily. We had a river view bungalow with a small lounge, 1 bedroom with 2 beds, bathroom and a nice verandah.





Trying to reach the forbidden fruit.



When we had booked, we could only get one night at Biyamiti so we were meant to go to Skukuza the next day. After enjoying the peace and quiet at our bungalow for a while, I asked the Brat if we should ask if there was another night available at Biyamiti, to which he agreed. We took a walk up to the reception, and the receptionist was once again very helpful and friendly. Our bungalow was already booked for the following night, but we could move to another one the next morning. It didn't have a river view and it was a bigger unit so would cost slightly more. However, after not visiting Kruger for 2 years, and really not wanting to go to Skukuza, we decided to do it.

As we'd only checked in after 2pm and relaxed for a while, we didn't have much time for an afternoon drive, so we just decided to head along the S139 towards the weir, and would turn around when necessary.

Tawny



Pied Kingfisher



On our way back, the Brat slammed on breaks and hissed "LEOPARD"!! It ran across the road in front of us and disappeared into thick bush. We managed to spot it again briefly, but unfortunately, we didn't get any pics. Another car arrived, and we decided not to say anything, as there's nothing worse than hearing you've just missed a leopard!

We got back to camp at 6 on the dot, and our fire was soon on the go. We celebrated our first day, and a leopard, with wine for me and a G&T for the Brat. (Richprins - he wasn't impressed with the short glasses. )



For our first meal, we had lemon & herb chicken, boerewors and a butternut salad. While we were eating, we had a visitor.





And that was the end of a blissful first day back in Kruger!!

Flutty, It's not true that I do not like hyenas only that I find the grown-ups terribly ugly and smelly and as they are so clever and useful one cannot but admire them. They are also great mothers

Leopard

and a lovely genet

The S139 is indeed an extreme hilly road but always worth to drive when staying at Biyamiti

For us we enjoy when staying in Biyamiti the drives on that exclusive road although in summer same can be very dense and overgrown

At least you already saw a leopard and luckily you got visited by the genet during the evening

Thanks Flutterby