After the quiet of the H4-1 the previous day we plotted a morning drive to the west of Skukuza. We started out by heading down the H11 towards Paul Kruger Gate and found a hyena clan moving up the road towards us
A short while later a couple of youngsters were messing around at their den site
We turned onto the S3 and one of the more unusual sightings were some 'pooshrooms'
Some keen eyes also spotted a well-hidden duiker
I had high hopes of seeing leopard as the S3/S4/S1 area was apparently a bit of a hotspot. However they weren't to be seen, despite lots of prey around
On the S4 we came across a few elephant and some general game as the sun started to rise
It had been a pleasant drive and despite a few blockages of OSVs, nothing in comparison to what met us as we turned onto the S1 - it was like we had hit peak traffic in a major city... there must have been at least 30 safari vehicles lining the side of the road, not to mention the other tourist vehicles as well
Apparently it was all due to some lion that were hunting, but it was so ridiculously busy that when we could we drove straight past the procession of vehicles and continued on our way up towards the S65. We never even saw the lions
Our decision paid off! Just before the S65 turn-off we were met with some familiar shapes on a slope at the side of the road
Their tummies were nice and full, so they must have been returning from a successful hunt. At the bottom of the slope there was a nice pool of water, but they seemed reluctant to move down towards it... perhaps they could smell other predators that had been in the area earlier
Eventually they plucked up courage and moved down for a nice drink
The usual suspects
They didn't drink much and still seemed to be very wary of the area
One of the dogs had a nasty looking wound
More nervousness... we couldn't see any crocs in the water, but maybe something was disturbing them
They fairly rapidly disappeared again, just as convoys of safari vehicles arrived on the scene. It was a good time to get away from the traffic again and head down the S65
