Member's Tips on do's and dont's of spotting

[Richprins]

Interesting, Stefan!

Nandzana - Caracal...never new that!

[Lisbeth]

I'll never be able to remember more than two or three but thank you all the same, Stefan

[Flutterby]

Interesting Stefan.

[leachy]

yes, thanks for that info...

i only knew "nyala" and "dam" and "black mamba"

[Richprins]

Planning a drive:


There are many practical factors that may influence your choices. Are you moving from camp to camp? Do you have young kids with you? Will you need to buy/cook food at some stage, or do you carry a packed lunch? Are you entering/exiting the Park? Camping or chalet? (It takes quite a bit longer to set up/strike camp then it does to pop into or out of a chalet). Are some roads closed due to localised flooding? Obviously a map is essential, and all of them are absolutely fine and sufficiently accurate. Check at reception in summer, as the roads that are closed will be indicated there.

Then there are environmental factors such as the time of year. In summer the days are long but terribly hot and often wet. It is much less rewarding to sit at a water point, for example, as animals disperse to take advantage of temporary pools and new feeding areas. Then it is often better to take a very early morning drive, brunch and sleep/relax at camp, and take an evening drive again.
In winter the days are much shorter and cooler and there is far more action along rivers and at water points, meaning one can take a different approach and drive out early and spot a busy oasis, returning there for the drinking peak times from about 09h00 to 15h00, then meander back to camp. While this is a long day, it saves fuel and can offer a totally different experience.

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Then there are aesthetic factors. If one is blessed to have regular opportunities to experience the Park, one may expand one's expectations and concentrate on "escaping" the crowds and heading straight for roads that are rarely traveled, or particularly scenic areas. Often this would mean fewer mammal sightings, but there is always something to see, big or small, and it is often amazing just to stop in the shade on a remote road and drink in the sounds and smells!

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[Peter Betts]

I plan my early morning drive based on the following

- Why am I staying at this camp? Wild lions for example
- What did I observe yesterday ? Large Buffalo herds near the only reliable water in a 70 km radius for example
- Listen to the night sounds around a Quiet camp fire ..Lion communication carries kms ..Trangulate your findings ..Plan your route like I did this trip at Tsendze and at Rooiputs Kalahari where I was also concentrating on Lions Doing something ..Not sleeping at Midday lions but rather going straight to my preplanned venue for guaranteed action before they sleep..Remarkble accurate success in the majority of cases ..ie cut out all the peripheral non relevant stuff like the kids will get bored ..well then they stay in camp ..but they always knew dad would produce so they came and knew how to be still and quiet at the sighting or Hide ..pic here of lions in Lovely dappled shade walking with me as the only vehicle for 6 kms from Rooiputs to Kij Kij ..all planned the night before by listening around the fire cant upload this 228 kb File !!..Check it out on Flickr !!

[Richprins]

This is a really classic example of stopping and waiting should there be herbivores making alarm calls!

[Peter Betts]

My best tip is read the signs early in the morning thats why I do dirt roads to look at spoor ,,drive slowly with windows open to listen to Kruger TV ...Thats how I found my Grootvlei lions ..by observing 2 large Buffalo herds the day before 1 at the dam and the 2nd 2 kms north ..There had to be lions in attendance somewhere close. Next morning early gate opening start stopping for nothing and working my plan ..BINGO

[Richprins]

This is a no-no. Definitely close windows when near lions ACTUALLY mating, as the males are not in a normal frame of mind. In fact the only serious recorded Kruger lion attack on a car was in this exact same situation near this same place, with the male jumping onto the bonnet!

[PJL]

I find that from visiting my local park (Addo) often, you get a good idea of where certain species tend to hang out, as well as learning patterns and changes over the years. As a result most of our drives are planned with those thoughts in mind and I think we tend to get a lot of 'luck' from them.

It's not so easy for us in places like Kruger where we only get to go once every couple of years if we're lucky. Our previous visits have certainly given us some good ideas of what were good areas, but we'll never have that kind of intuition we have at Addo. I know there are mixed opinions in terms of the use of technology such as the Latest Sightings app, and whilst we don't tend to use it on drives, I do use it prior to a visit to try and build up something of a picture of where to keep an eye out for certain things. I've even gone to the extent of creating heat maps etc... it paid off nicely last time