Here's a few black and white images I took during our stay.
Click the photo to view.
Hwyl,
Dewi.
Tembe Elephant Park - KZN *
Tembe Elephant Park - KZN *
Spent a few days in Tembe late July and early August. Fantastic park with lots of good sightings of both birds and mammals.
Here's a few black and white images I took during our stay.
Click the photo to view.
Hwyl,
Dewi.
Here's a few black and white images I took during our stay.
Click the photo to view.
Hwyl,
Dewi.
Re: Tembe Elephant Park - KZN
A few more Elephant photos from Tembe.
We found that the Mahlasela hide was the best place to see Elephants. It was great to watch the interactions and body language between the variously aged bulls that were there. Some would spar with their younger herd members, while others just had a good scratch against a tree! Some were belligerent, especially towards other animals, but others were quite happy to share the space at the waters edge.
We did not see any breeding herds at this hide, just bulls. The females and calves seemed to all be over at the East swamp,, so I'm not sure if they keep away from this waterhole due to all the bulls being there?
Hwyl,
Dewi.
We found that the Mahlasela hide was the best place to see Elephants. It was great to watch the interactions and body language between the variously aged bulls that were there. Some would spar with their younger herd members, while others just had a good scratch against a tree! Some were belligerent, especially towards other animals, but others were quite happy to share the space at the waters edge.
We did not see any breeding herds at this hide, just bulls. The females and calves seemed to all be over at the East swamp,, so I'm not sure if they keep away from this waterhole due to all the bulls being there?
Hwyl,
Dewi.
Re: Tembe Elephant Park - KZN
A few bird pics from the park for you.
The biggest surprise was seeing African Broadbill out in the open in the middle of the day! We first saw it on the perimeter fence and had some good views before it flew down into a bush. It was watched for over 10 minutes as it flew from bush to bush. In the camp itself, you could hear the birds in display during the early morning, but any attempt at finding them turned out to be futile.
The scaly-throated Honeyguide came over to our tent and called incessantly to gain our attention. If we moved towards it, it would fly in the same direction, calling to keep us in touch, but if we went back to the tent stoep, it would return and start the procedure all over again - an amazing encounter to experience this behaviour for the first time.
The biggest surprise was seeing African Broadbill out in the open in the middle of the day! We first saw it on the perimeter fence and had some good views before it flew down into a bush. It was watched for over 10 minutes as it flew from bush to bush. In the camp itself, you could hear the birds in display during the early morning, but any attempt at finding them turned out to be futile.
The scaly-throated Honeyguide came over to our tent and called incessantly to gain our attention. If we moved towards it, it would fly in the same direction, calling to keep us in touch, but if we went back to the tent stoep, it would return and start the procedure all over again - an amazing encounter to experience this behaviour for the first time.
Re: Tembe Elephant Park - KZN
Oops! I missed a few comments and questions here :oops:
Yes, we self drove on all bar one drive. You do need a 4 x 4 to get around as there are only sand tracks and no hard roads, but all passable with ease and we had no problems. The one drive we did with the rangers was when we saw the Suni, but people did not seem to realise how special this sighting was and we had to plead with the driver to stop and watch until the little antelope walked off into the bush on it's own accord.
I also watch the webcam now and then and wish I was still there. You have to be quiet in the hide as the camera also picks up any sound from the hide as well - not an easy accomplishment to stay silent with a 2 year old who was trumpeting at the Elephants, Roaring at Lions and shouting "kekke nyala bokkie" all the time (her pronunciations!). She even learnt to I.D. the difference between Male and Female Nyala after we told her once when she queried me calling a Male Nyala - up until then, she had been looking at females only, after that it was "pappa nyala bokkie" and "mamma nyala bokkie"
Amazing how quick she picked things up.
When we watched the lions, we noticed that they all pricked their ears up and stared in the same direction in unison. We saw nor heard anything for 30 seconds before a swarm of bees flew over - an impressive sight, but glad we were in the car when they passed over :)
Yes, we self drove on all bar one drive. You do need a 4 x 4 to get around as there are only sand tracks and no hard roads, but all passable with ease and we had no problems. The one drive we did with the rangers was when we saw the Suni, but people did not seem to realise how special this sighting was and we had to plead with the driver to stop and watch until the little antelope walked off into the bush on it's own accord.
I also watch the webcam now and then and wish I was still there. You have to be quiet in the hide as the camera also picks up any sound from the hide as well - not an easy accomplishment to stay silent with a 2 year old who was trumpeting at the Elephants, Roaring at Lions and shouting "kekke nyala bokkie" all the time (her pronunciations!). She even learnt to I.D. the difference between Male and Female Nyala after we told her once when she queried me calling a Male Nyala - up until then, she had been looking at females only, after that it was "pappa nyala bokkie" and "mamma nyala bokkie"
Amazing how quick she picked things up.When we watched the lions, we noticed that they all pricked their ears up and stared in the same direction in unison. We saw nor heard anything for 30 seconds before a swarm of bees flew over - an impressive sight, but glad we were in the car when they passed over :)
Re: Tembe Elephant Park - KZN
Hi Lis,
we spent some time in Kosi bay - had the beach mostly to ourselves - I'm not so used to that big yellow ball in the sky so turned out a bit :oops: and I was not blushing :lol:
The road down was a bone rattler in places though!
Sorry iNdlovu, missed your post in between, I agree, the birding was superb, even though it was winter. I really loved the area as a whole and will return there again if I get the chance.
we spent some time in Kosi bay - had the beach mostly to ourselves - I'm not so used to that big yellow ball in the sky so turned out a bit :oops: and I was not blushing :lol:
The road down was a bone rattler in places though!
Sorry iNdlovu, missed your post in between, I agree, the birding was superb, even though it was winter. I really loved the area as a whole and will return there again if I get the chance.