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Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 3:13 pm
by Lisbeth
Alf wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 2:40 pm
Wonderful roads you have driven and nice sightings too
The roads are very varied and running along rivers, so very enjoyable
Richprins wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 5:49 pm
A very effective windmill!
Ja, Lis, difficult in the rain, but some unique pics!
That is a big waterbuck, and I like the UFO!
Lots of alien vegetation in the river...
Shingwedzi has gone down a bit after Christa left...
Coming back after a long nice day in beautiful nature to a sad, badly-lighted and squalid room is demoralizing.
RogerFraser wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2019 8:05 pm
Love the UFO looks like a pelican
Bad quality pic, but the subject is surprising
ExFmem wrote: ↑Mon Jun 10, 2019 11:24 pm
Sis
Your mindset to make the most of every day, regardless of weather or sightings is refreshing - kudos to you
I like the spa Buffs, Red Rocks scenery, the hammerkop w/ reflection
, and the Yellow-b storks that always remind me of an Oriental painting. You certainly have an eye
for nature's art in the form of trees - even the squirrel at the end of the entry shares your appreciation of artsy trunks
Seems you and squirrels are kindred spirits.
Thank you sis
I have always loved squirrels
Maybe because they always seem playful and happy, small and soft
Klipspringer wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 9:36 am
This was the francolin day
The tree looks like a Jackalberry to me, the leave shape and the bark is not Marula-like. Well-spotted!
This is a
Hibiscus calyphyllus, Lemon-yellow rosemallow
and
Heliotropium nelsonii, Common String-of-star
And I like the lady-starling and the hornbills in the Mopane
Your Crowned lapwing looks also beautiful with the red legs in the greenery
Thank you for your appreciation and all the ID's
Pumbaa wrote: ↑Tue Jun 11, 2019 8:39 pm
Thanks Lisbeth,
that is why the S56 is still one of our favourite roads because of the beautiful trees along that road
and you are right when it is raining the good sightings are rare but nevertheless better rain than drought again
Great shots of the crested barbet and from the waterbucks
There are camps in Kruger were everything is okay but they are rare indeed - especially those missing hooks were to hang the towels on and reachable mirrors to put my contact lenses on without doing wrenches are rare and sometimes there are hooks or mirrors but simply for giants and I cannot reach them
Yes, the roads in the neighbourhood of Shing are great and must be even better in the sun
It might not be the max. to stay outside the park, but at least you return to a pleasant place in the evening and your day continues to be pleasant......and thank you, Pumbaa
Mel wrote: ↑Thu Jun 13, 2019 6:01 am
The bush looks nicely green in and after the rains
And the birds always look as if they felt sorry for themselves when their plumage is all wet and soaked
Kinda cute though.
Oh, and love that diva barbet
Despite the lack of steady big cat sightings, it must be really nice up there
"Steady cat sightings"
I only had three cat sightings during a month, but I did not really miss them. Of course I would not have minded a leopard or two
Flutterby wrote: ↑Fri Jun 14, 2019 3:50 pm
A lot of sightings for such wet weather!
The birds look very sorry for themselves!
Although the weather could have been much better, I enjoyed the trip up north a lot
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 3:30 pm
by Lisbeth
15.02.2019 (1)
The two nights at Shingwedzi were over and it was time to turn the nose towards south.
One last waterbird, at least from here
Palms always tastes of the tropics and look kind of "out-of-place" in the Kruger
These are Lala Palm trees [Hyphaene coriacea]
Locally called Molala, large palm trees usually grow from 5 to 7m high, but sometimes up to 15m in height, single or multi-stemmed, with a slight swelling about half way up the stem. The tree is found in low-altitude bush land and coastal bush, often forming extensive stands. The leaves are fan-shaped and greyish green. Fruits are tennis ball size, ripening from green through orange to glossy dark brown. A thin layer of sweet-tasting, ginger-flavoured, spongy, fibrous pulp surrounds the seed. Fruits are produced in large quantities, up to 2000 per tree, each taking two years to mature and up to two further years to fall.
Uses
The milk present in the young fruit is similar to coconut milk in taste and colouring. Elephants eagerly consume the newly formed leaves, which are crisp at their base and have a pleasant coconut flavour. The crown-heart is eaten as a vegetable and is known in the Delta as 'gau'. The pulp of the fruit resembles gingerbread. To extract the pulp, the hard exocarp is hit with a stick. The pulp is quite palatable and eaten particularly by elephants and baboons. These palms are widely exploited as a source of wine and unfortunately many are killed as a result. Palm swifts are closely associated with this palm. They can be seen nesting in a vertical position underneath the leaves. These birds have evolved a unique method of preventing the eggs from falling by gluing them in place with saliva. The hard white kernels of the seeds, closely resembling the commercial vegetable ivory of South America, are too small to be of any economic importance though they are often used to make ornaments, trinkets and curios.
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It was still very wet, but not raining for the time being.
A small very calm group of baboons were busy doing Baboon “things” especially the youngsters were having a good time
- IMG_3625.JPG (185.86 KiB) Viewed 205 times
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 3:46 pm
by Lisbeth
A couple or three Ground Hornbills were out and about
- IMG_3629.JPG (145.37 KiB) Viewed 202 times
Finally I could enjoy the sight of a group of Nyala ewes for the first time on this trip
The nyala is also a very unique species with regards to its extreme sexual dimorphism (i.e. the differences between males and females). The male is dark brown in colour while the female is a bright orange colour. Males are born the same colour buas females, but as they mature they will gradually change from orange to a dark brown.
In the larger antelope species, the male is known as a bull and the female is known as a cow. With smaller antelope, the male is known as a ram and the female is known as a ewe. The nyala is used as a marker to distinguish between the names given to the males and females of other antelope species. This is because of the drastic difference in size between the male and female nyala. The male nyala is classified as a bull, while the female is classified as a ewe. Any male antelope smaller than the nyala bull is classified as a ram, and any female antelope bigger than the nyala female is classified as a cow.
- IMG_3636.JPG (261.71 KiB) Viewed 202 times
They were down in the river bed of the Kagole and working their way up towards the road level
Also the Nyalas do it
At the top the bull was waiting for his harem
I had turned onto the S144 (Old Mainroad Loop) now.
A Magpie Shrike
Close to the road a Red-crested Korhaan was showing off
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 4:00 pm
by Flutterby
It was certainly very green!
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 4:04 pm
by Lisbeth
A bucolic scene with impala
“Look how high up I am!”
Wildebeest family
This one was a first for me
A long-tailed Paradise Whydah – of course far away
- IMG_3689-Long-Tailed Paradise Whydah.JPG (69.52 KiB) Viewed 200 times
A laughing dove, that is not laughing so I changed its colour a bit
and a Sabota Lark (?) that WAS singing
They grow like mushrooms when the weather is humid
The last sighting before the Tropic of Capricorn Loop were a couple of lovely Jackals
And then they disappeared into the bush
This was a long day so maybe better leave it here before the Tihongonyeni Waterhole.
The second half soon
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 4:07 pm
by Flutterby
Lovely jackal sighting.
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 5:42 pm
by Richprins
Blindingly green, Lis!
A nice big nyala herd, with info, and nice to have time to sit and watch the baboons!
Good jackal sighting!
And interesting that animals are at the waterpoint with so much rain around?
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 6:26 pm
by Klipspringer
Large Nyala herd
and the male is a youngster. Strange group
Lovely francolin calling
And one of the jackals is smalish, is it perhaps offspring and adult?
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 7:06 pm
by RogerFraser
Lovely sightings Liz
Love the Jackals
Re: Enjoying The Kruger Park Without Staying In The Park
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2019 9:35 pm
by Alf
The quality of pictures are just amazing
You must have one great camera
Just loving it