They Can't All Be Gems...

[Peter Betts]

We don't usually see African Spoonbills at Sunset Dam, so these were a special treat:


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Me And My Shadow



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It was just trying for an easy meal as the fish were funneled through the small opening in the structure, but certainly cast an eerie shadow



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GREAT Spoonbill shots ..well exposed for the 'Whites'

[Peter Betts]

We visited Kruger during the month of May this year, and as you can surmise from the title, it wasn't one of our best trips, sightings or photography wise. The bush was still high and quite thick, and many of the days were cloudy and overcast with limited adequate light for good photography. But there was another issue that cast a pall over much of the trip as well.

Being a South Africa SUPERFAN, I chose to ignore reality pre-trip, and let my excitement and anticipation override my common sense.


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I took the stick-your-head-in-the-sand and pretend it doesn't exist approach...

Not a viable strategy. Just prior to the departure date I awoke with substantial pain in both shoulders. I had NEVER had any such issues before, so was confused as to what had brought this on. I concluded the ONLY thing that had changed in my life was a new set of reclining lounge chairs we recently purchased. They were EXTREMELY hard to close, so I figured I had used leg and arm muscles that had been on hiatus for too long.

Do you know how embarrassing it is to show up at an Urgent Care Center with the complaint "My Laz-E-Boy kicked my ass"…

(I was referring to a chair not my SO).

But being competitive with said SO, it beat his "A crazed rooster kicked my ass" visit years ago, so I stuck with it.

They gave me a Prednisone pack, and Viola!, within 24 hours I was fully functional (if you don't count mental acuity). Perfect! Off we flew and entered our beloved Kruger 5 days later.


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May = best weather = Worst sighting Period ..In my experience Aug /Sept = Bushveld = Kruger Mapungubwe etc and April /May = Kgalagadi all the way

[Lisbeth]

Not everybody can go during the "best" time

[Pumbaa]

Loe your giraffe shots, ExFmem,

the cute mongoose, the rhino, the steenbokkie, waterbuck, Lion and vervets - What awesome sightings just the way I like it

[Flutterby]

May = best weather = Worst sighting Period ..In my experience Aug /Sept = Bushveld = Kruger

Yep, the best time to visit Kruger is when it looks its worst.

[Richprins]

[Lisbeth]

Also my sense of aesthetics wants it part

[ExFmem]

Ex! Do you think this up yourself?

RP, some are silly jokes, but most are just me doing what the title suggests - DUMBING down. It's not hard for some of us, as we don't have very far to go to get there….

Thanks Sis, Flutts, STF, and Mel for appreciating my sometimes sarcastic, dry, 14-year-old (at best) sense of humor.

[ExFmem]

Just love the photo of the yellow bill stork fishing. I think you posted the photo upside down.

STF, glad you mentioned it - I now remember I actually posted it not upside down, but sideways. It wasn't a fishing stork, but TWO storks kissing.

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Thanks Peter, the whites certainly can be problematic.

Gotta agree May in Kruger was not overly rewarding. I also like KTP in April/May, went there by myself in Aril/May 2016. Also love it in Sept/Oct when the game is easier to spot, the arrival of newborns begins, and smaller critters like mice, snakes, insects are easier to see as well.

Thank you Pumbaa

[ExFmem]

As stated before, my shoulders did not want to cooperate when I tried to capture insects on the ground - the camera was too heavy, I couldn't remain motionless long enough, and I was pretty sure I wouldn't be able to use them to push myself back up when I was done.

So-o-o…I scooped up some of the ripened/over-ripened fruits (don't know their name - Mary?, Daniel?) under the trees at LS and put them at table height. I only attracted flies (not me, the fruits, though it COULD have been both I suppose ), but got at least 6 different species.

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