Flavour of the Month February 2015 - S52 Red Rocks Loop

[Toko]

Lovely green trees there and a final yawn

[Richprins]

An interesting view of the Redrocks viewpoint area:

















You can see the loop north and south of the Shingwedzi River, with the low-water bridge linking the two on the left! Don't worry, it is still passable...was there last year!


Loops all over the place!

[Richprins]

From Blutuna's story, 2012:


https://www.africawild-forum.com/viewto ... 5&start=50

Day 3. Shingwedzi.

This morning we opted for a drive down the redrocks road to Tsange lookout and back. This time we started at the southern end so we could see Redrocks as the sun came up.

This turned out to be an excellent idea as we saw Redrocks glowing in the early sunshine.



At Tsange the usual lizards weren't coming out to play but I did manage to get this Hawk Moth as it zoomed from flower to flower.



On the way back we surprised this Warthog who started to run away.....



but then changed his mind and decided to show us her dressage skills.




Our afternoon drive down the river loops turned up one of the biggest elephants I've ever seen and he was sporting some good sized ivory.



On one of the loops I was watching this very young Vervet Monkey playing



When I looked at the next Vervet Monkey about a metre away and realised that something wonderful had just happened, she had just given birth!



She was licking the baby all over to remove the mucus



and she kept licking her hands that were bloody



Here she is holding the umbilicus which is still attached to the placenta which hasn't been expelled yet.



And finally we had another beautiful sunset.

[Richprins]

Nice pic from mouseinthehouse, 2012:





https://www.africawild-forum.com/viewto ... f=46&t=613

[Richprins]

A swollen river, By Pumbaa in Feb 2013:


https://www.africawild-forum.com/viewto ... 1&start=70

To our surprise the S52 was open and must only have been reopened shortly after the January floods as the road itself looked like same has only recently be graded. Normally that first part of the road leading to Bateleur camp is our favourite with some nice loops allowing to overlook the Shingwedzi riverbed from time to time.



Well this year it looked overall a bit airy as quite an amount of beautiful trees had been washed away and we also found on the road itself lots of debris far away from the riverbed so the road itself must have been flooded completely - Scary what the power of water can do! A big thanks here to all the hard working people in the park to grade and repair all the roads which had been damaged after the floods in such a short time and although it was a quiet drive besides this pregnant looking steenbok lady



we loved it nevertheless as we once again were all alone on the road. Finally we reached the causeway crossing the Shingwedzi connecting the Southern and Northern parts of the S52 and to our great joy same was still in good order and although lots of water was still overflowing the causeway same was drivable and we already saw from far nearly ten really large scary hungry monsters waiting for some lunch.



So we parked right on the causeway as we did not expect much traffic and enjoyed the view far away



and closer



and even extreme close!



On some rocks close by we spotted another green backed heron who was also on the hunt and observed the water flowing between the two rocks where same was on the look out extensively



but same was also looking carefully into the direction of our hungry reptile friends.

Luckily same was finally able to catch some small fish for lunch compared to the size of the fish the grey heron catch last evening this one was by far smaller but made for sure the green backed heron happy.



Nearly motionless four of the crocodiles remained as this one floating like tree trunks in the water although the head in anticipation for some lunch was sticking out of same - indeed scary creatures and we never saw that much of them and so large ones during our this year's trip than ever before.



As we were still all alone we observed the crocodiles and the green backed heron quite extensively and also soaked in the whole atmosphere always having in mind that this was our last full day.



The green backed made itself comfortable on the rocks whereas the crocodiles appeared to come closer.



We were already thinking about to drive also the Northern part of the S52 but we supposed that same might still be closed nearly at the end where you have to cross the Shingwedzi again as we were about to leave gladly a car right from that direction appeared on the scene and after asking the passengers we got already the answer that at exactly that part the road is still closed so we drove back the same way we came and therefore paid a visit at Red Rocks which looked like as if no flood only a couple of weeks earlier devastated that area



in the contrary it looked extreme peaceful!

[Richprins]

https://www.traveller24.com/Explore/Bus ... y-20180801


WATCH: Silly leopard taking on porcupine at high speed will make your day!
2018-08-01 06:30

https://youtu.be/EeZW3UcW1Yc


A leopard vs porcupine is but one of the iconic sightings that everyone wants to see.

Ard van de Wetering had an opportunity to capture that sighting on film on his trip to the Kruger National Park recently.

What an exciting way to end an annual 2-week Kruger vacation. Van de Wetering told LatestSightings.com, “A leopard disappeared into a culvert. Unfortunately for the porcupine, it was hiding there as well. Shortly thereafter, both the leopard and porcupine appeared right next to our vehicle, porcupines indeed have a brilliant self-defence mechanism.

”On a Sunday afternoon my wife and I, decided to take a last game drive Southwest of Shingwedzi on the R52 gravel road, about a km Northeast of the Tshanga / Bateleur turnoff. It was a cold and windy day, and we did not expect much. The road is very scenic though, and we were driving slowly and enjoying the moment. All 4 our children had decided to remain at the camp, so they missed all the action. This was what bothered us most – not being able to share it with them! It was a once in a lifetime sighting. I have seen footage of leopard and porcupine interaction in the past, but in my wildest dreams I did not think that we will also experience it first-hand one day.”

What's especially funny about this sighting is that they speed the video up halfway through - making the 'cat and mouse' antics look even more comical. Take a look.

“It was as if the leopard gave up, or got bored after a while. It was clearly inexperienced, and the porcupine had all the tricks in the book. At one stage the porcupine even lied flat on its belly making sure that the leopard was not able to flick it over.

"The leopard soon lied down as well, even closing its eyes! The porcupine stayed put though, even when the leopard moved to the side of the road. It dashed after a few nyala that crossed the road behind our vehicle. The porcupine remained in the middle of the road though. Unfortunately, we had to leave for camp and did not see whether the leopard returned.”

[Flutterby]

Brave (or stupid) leopard!

[Lisbeth]

In defense of the leopard, she/he is very young

[Richprins]

BluTuna again in 2014:

https://www.africawild-forum.com/viewto ... &start=170

Another beautiful day! We drove the Red Rocks road this morning. I was disappointed to find that the Red Rocks Waterhole was not in use - has it been closed down or is it broken?

We started at the southern end so that we could get to Red Rocks while the light was still good.

I took a series of pictures and combined them into a panorama.


As usual, it was a bit a yawn driving this road and there was no Leopard to be seen this time.

We did get to see a stunning Spotted Joker Butterfly.



At Tshange the view was just as impressive as ever.


And I found some bugs while we had coffee.




A Striped Skink was playing hide-and-seek.


And a Dragonfly posed patiently for some extreme closeups.




Further down the road, a tranquil scene at Silverfish Dam.


And a small Water Monitor was sunbathing on the bridge.


These Termites were busy getting ready for an early visit by St. Nick.

[Richprins]

A Fish Eagle at the Redrocks causeway.



Doublebanded Sandgrouse in beautiful light.


A Spurfowl chick.



And a young Burchell's Coucal - note the eye colour!