Browns in Kruger - August 2014 (JHB Clan)*

[Supernova]

Hi All;

I have been a bit slow in posting the Supernova Brown clan trip report from August 2014, it’s seven months on, and so let me get started.

For this trip we were taking Old Duck (Mom/Granny) along with us. With Bullet (Dad) having passed away last year, Granny had decided to join us for the trip.

For those who want to know the Bullet and the Old Duck, please take a look at my TR "A look back in History – 40 Years”. viewtopic.php?f=46&t=3337

The plan for the holiday was:

Day 1: Panorama in Graskop
Day 2: Shimuwini
Day 3 and 4: Satara
Day 5, 6 and 7: Skukuza

16th August 2014 - Day 1: Johannesburg to Graskop (Mac Mac & Panorama)

We took our time leaving Johannesburg and eventually got on the road at about 09h00. The route was to take the N4 to Nelspruit, turning off at the R539 and make our way up to Graskop. The weather turned bad when we reached Sabie and I wondered if the plan to stop and see all the waterfalls was such a good one....

Cailin’s photo of the weather while we were driving.



We decided to stop at Mac Mac Falls, where the kids and I went to see the falls. The path was wet and dangerous, so Melly and Granny stayed in the car.









Panorama, where we were spending the night was not much better weather. I had booked Panorama for the view, which now was just cloud



The weather cleared for about 30 seconds and we had a quick look at some of the view.



At least there was a Springbok rugby game on TV, and luckily the accommodation had DSTV, so we had something to do. And the Springbok won

The Panorama bungalows are a bit rough and tuff for what we are used to but not too bad for the price, that is if you excuse the decor, couches, sticky carpets and creaky beds.

To be continued.....

[Supernova]

17th August 2014 - Day 2: Graskop, Blyde River via Phalaborwa to Shimuwini (H9 - H14)

The weather had not improved, it was still cold, raining and misty, so again we skipped all the sights and waterfalls and headed for the Three Rondavels, hoping the weather would be better.

It was a lot better and the clouds had started to clear.



The girls and Granny at the Three Rondavels





Cailey taking a selfie



And two pics of the view.





We took the R530 onto the R526 then on to Phalaborwa on advice from RP and Sprocky, and it was good advice as the R40 was un-driveable. The coal trucks have destroyed large parts of the road and in many places it was impossible to overtake them.

At Phalaborwa we got a quick takeaway for lunch and headed for the KNP gate.

[Supernova]

17th August 2014 - Day 2: Graskop, Blyde River via Phalaborwa to Shimuwini (H9 - H14)
(Continued)

We renew our Wild Card in August every year, so it took a few extra minutes to get through the entry gate.

Surprisingly, the first animal we saw (other than Impala) was when Melly shouted Leopard !! We were still within the first kilometre from the gate.



There was a Leopard in the tree right next to the road, about 700 meters from the enterance gate, when we stopped, most cars went on past and when we tried to stop them, they shook their heads and continued on ??

The leopard had just climbed the tree, it lay down and posed for a few photos.







Then made an ungraceful exit from the tree and disappeared into the bush.







We headed along the H9 to the H14 and up to Shimuwini. We saw some general game for the first few kilometers then it went quiet until we turned off on the S141 to Shimuwini.













Continued...

[Supernova]

17th August 2014 - Day 2: Graskop, Blyde River via Phalaborwa to Shimuwini (H9 - H14 - S141)
(Continued)


At Shimuwini we booked in and loaded the meat in the freezers at the camp entrance. I warned all that the lights would go out at about 21h00, and only come on again at about 08h00. The chalets are great and all have a view of the dam, I would love this camp if only it were on the bank of the Sabie river





There were Impala, Buffalo and Water Buck along the far bank







Granny and the girls went down to the hide, and to call Bushcraft, while Melly and I unpacked. They found plenty of birds and animals at the fence line, and a hippo hiding behind the reeds.









Before going on the evening drive we took a walk to explore the camp and to find Shine. Shine was looking tired, I am happy to read that she is still doing well.



Shimuwini is an awesome little bush camp, definitely worth a visit for those who have not been there.

Continued......

[Supernova]

17th August 2014 - Day 2: Graskop, Blyde River via Phalaborwa to Shimuwini (H9 - H14 - S141)
(Continued)

We took a short evening drive along the S141 loop, we found a large herd of Buffalo and



a bird that flew straight up in the air, then crashed dived back to ground by closing its wings and falling like a stone. I am not sure what it was doing but it gave us all a good laugh







On exiting one of the river loops we saw what looked like two side striped Jackal running down the road, they were in full sprint so we only managed a photo of the back of one disappearing into the bush. They did not look like Black Backed Jackals and seemed bigger than a normal Jackal.





The sun was going down, so we headed back and took a few pictures along the way.









Back at Shimuwini there was no power :(, so we had a braai in the dark and had supper by torch light. In the middle of supper the Camp Manager arrived with candles and while apologising, informed us that the generator had broken down. A new one was on the way but would take about two hours, so we agreed to make it an early night. The power eventually came back on at 21h00, at least we would have power in the morning.

Continued....

[Toko]

It's a wonderful camp and the dam is always good for something

Excellent Korhaan photo

[Supernova]

18th Day 3: Shimuwini to Satara (H14 - H1-6 - H1-5 - H1-4)

We had a long drive down to Satara, so took it easy in the morning. The plan was to take the H14 north to the H1-6, then down to Letaba to check out the museum and have breakfast.



Granny and the girls enjoying the view of the dam








Just after the H1-6 turn off we saw a Tsessebe, this was a first in Kruger for us, we don't usually travel this far North, which is why we had not seen them before.





The road down to Letaba was long and hot, with not much to see, this is when I remembered why we don't usually travel so far North.





Just before Letaba, we stopped alongside a few cars to check out what was happening. There was a Leopard lying behind a tree in the distance. We waited a while and most cars drove off.





Then the Leopard stood up and headed towards us, it seemed to be stalking something. We later found out the it had killed a warthog next to the road and was stalking its own kill.







On getting right next to the road it again lay down in a small clump of bush and disappeared. This had now attracted attention of all those who had driven by, so we were in a jam of about 20 cars, all was good until one idiot nearly drove off the embankment to get a closer look and scared the Leopard away.





The Leopard ran off towards a herd of elephant, so we waited to see what would happen, but the Leopard was too smart to run into an Elephant, a silently disappeared.





Continued...

[Supernova]

Thanks All for the support

RP: The Leopard was about 2km from Letaba, traveling south on the H1-6.

[Supernova]

18th Day 3: Shimuwini to Satara (H14 - H1-6 - H1-5 - H1-4) Continued

At Letaba it was time for Breakfast and a few photos from the deck, before exploring the Elephant museum. I was happy that there was a Mug & Bean, both the food and service were better than i was used to from Kruger restaurants. Cailin and Teagan took photos from the deck of baboons and buffalo.





Cailin with the elephant statue.



Family pictures inside the elephant museum.





Then next part of the trip down to Satara was a quick stop at Olifants. On the way down we found our first Lion of the trip. They were lying next to the road but is thick bush and would not be moving soon, so after a few pics we continued on to Olifants.







At Olifants we had ice-creams and took in the view.






Just past the bridge over the Olifants river, disaster struck...




A red triangle came up on the Discovery's instrument panel "Engine System Failure" ?? Our Discovery is 4 years old and the warrantee had just expired, lucky we had taken the extended warrantee. On calling Landrover Assist, we were talked through a few procedures to clear this fault, they did not work ! The final response was that there was no way we could fix this and we were not to drive the car ?

We had to get to Satara, so off we went.


We had a close encounter with an Elephant herd on the way, but I was not stopping for anything.





It was a stressful drive down to Satara but we made it without breaking down, although the Engine System Failure light was still on. Melly spent most of the afternoon on the phone to our local dealer in Johannesburg and they said to wait while they made a plan. After a few tense hours wait we got the call, and I was seriously impressed with the plan that they had come up with.

Landrover were going to drive a new Discovery to us from Johannesburg, leaving at 03h00 the next morning and should be at Satara by 10h00. They would also send a flatbed truck from Nelspruit to collect our car, it would also be here by 10h00.

My sincere thanks to Nico Fourie form Landrover Constantia Kloof for going beyond what could have been expected to make our holiday continue for us.

The result of this was that we would only miss the evening and morning drive but still be able to enjoy our holiday.

Now if we had not already had a stressful enough day, a wild night was still to come. Our neighbours had decided that this would be a good night to run wild and have a huge party. The shrieking, screeching, crying and shouting started at 6pm and continued until 10pm, when we called the Camp Manager. Two of the Sanparks staff arrived to shut down the party and were loudly told that the noise makers were friends of the Camp Manager and they should go away, before they got fired.

The two staff left a lot faster than they arrived and the noise continued until about midnight when I fell asleep.

[Bushcraft]

On the board with lion

I remember this drama with your car. It must have been a hairy last few km to Satara

That chaos in camp

I posted the pics below showing the broken bird bath they used for a fire pit on the SPF along with an explanation of what went down.

The post lasted half a day before it was deleted and I was banned. Typical ostrich syndrome which seems to be the norm on their forum