From Floods and Surprises in River beds

[Richprins]

A great array of shots again, Pumbaa!

Ja, the hippo is third in size after elephant and white rhino.

What is Lion Cottage?

Love the eagle with bird flock too!

[ExFmem]

Your photos are, in a word - STUNNING!

Always enjoy your entries, but this one is especially notable.

[Mel]

Your photos are, in a word - STUNNING!

I'll second that! Awesome bird photos especially, but ellie & co aren't shabby either

!

[Alf]

That was a wonderful time at the hide

[Flutterby]

Lovely birds at the hide, and nice ellies!!

[Pumbaa]

Extraordinary pictures of extraordinary birds

The weaver is literally "hanging"

This time it's a heron with a special hairdo

A hippo that close in that spot must have been impressive

Great it was windy that day so we got to see these special hairdos

A great array of shots again, Pumbaa!

Ja, the hippo is third in size after elephant and white rhino.

What is Lion Cottage?

Love the eagle with bird flock too!

The lion cottage is one of the river view bungalows close to the river

Your photos are, in a word - STUNNING!

Always enjoy your entries, but this one is especially notable.

Thanks so much, ExFmem, is was simply a magical day or better to say time we had

[Pumbaa]

Your photos are, in a word - STUNNING!

I'll second that! Awesome bird photos especially, but ellie & co aren't shabby either

!

Lake Panic is always such a wonderful place for bird photography

That was a wonderful time at the hide

Lake Panic is always a must for us and so far we never had been disappointed there

Lovely birds at the hide, and nice ellies!!

After that many birds it was great to see some giants as well

[Pumbaa]

A couple of buffaloes also enjoyed the vicinity of the river



and then it got quiet again and we only spotted then at the Sabie causeway a juvenile green backed heron



and a cormorant.



On our last stretch to camp we luckily found a couple of different cuckoos flying around – First a Jacobin was willing to pose.



During our drive we already heard from far thunder coming closer and meanwhile it got darker and darker and the sky turned into a grey wall and it even got a bit cooler and the smell of rain was in the air.



Whilst we were busy in photographing the Jacobin cuckoo we also spotted a diederik cuckoo and same was now luckily also willing to sit long enough still so we could take a couple of shots.





Actually we had the plan to visit the restaurant that evening but the minute we entered our bungalow after our drive the sky opened and it started to rain torrentially and did not stop the whole evening so we had no possibility to get somehow dry either into the car or to reach as alternative the braai dry so we had no choice than to settle with sandwiches and a couple of fruits which we did whilst opening all the sliding doors and simply enjoyed the sounds the fallen rain and what to say it was indeed somehow cosy.

Thursday, 14. February 2019 - Skukuza

Our driven roads: H11 – S1 – S65 – H1-1 - S66 – H1-1 – H4-1 – H12 – H1-2 – S83 – H11 – S42 – H11 – H1-2

To our delight it was dry early in the morning but still extreme dark and we had some concern about road closures due to the heavy rain last evening but we simply tried our luck. We spotted a couple of hyenas and a beautiful eagle,



an elephant bull,



a bush full of swallows



which looked like a sort of strange blossoms on the bush but overall it was a more than quiet early morning

[Pumbaa]

but we again noticed a red collared widowbird



and a very vocal white winged widowbird searching for a female.



Unfortunately one of our favourite roads in that area, the S65, was dead quiet today and only at Transport dam we noticed life again in form of a lot of waterbucks



and water dikkops. All in all it was still very cloudy and grey and it drizzled from time to time but so far all road were open



and whilst we took a break from driving with rusks and simply enjoying the silence at the dam a safari vehicle approached and the driver asked whether we are enjoying the view which we for sure affirmed but then he replied he knows where to find a leopard and we already thought he was kidding but his guests also confirmed that they just observed a leopard in a tree and we simply had to follow the other car which we did but when we arrived at the spot which was indeed simply straight on the road to the end of the dam the people in the other car told us that the leopard just jumped down and was no longer to be seen – Hard luck at least for today! So we had no alternative then to carry on.

The tar road leading to Skukuza was still very wet but the hyenas we came across did not bother and they were having a great time close to their den



Especially with the youngsters although they were still wet from the long grass, the road or simply because it drizzled once again.



Those little ones are simply too cute and can entertain us always for such a long time



but somehow a lot of cars wanted to see them as well and so they backtracked from the road and stayed hidden behind bushes and so we carried on.



A bit further down the road there was no way forward and we were stuck in a traffic jam – First we only could see a lot of cars but somehow we could see onto the road and that was what we saw



four fully grown and handsome male lions on the road followed by an armada of cars. We had therefore no chance then to follow the masses and hope that the lions might need a rest somewhere along the road so that we might get a bit closer but so far we had to be satisfied with a glimpse from them.



to be continued…..

[Mel]

I like that swallow tree

A very cute little hyena too

And of course those beautiful male lions - wow! Just a shame that there were so many cars.