Browns in Kruger October 2023

[Bushcraft]

29th September Lower Sabie continued

The Cow then kick started into action with the panicked waving hands and some strange sounds as the female leopard entered the road in front of us.

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[Bushcraft]

We fiddled around going backwards and forwards for a further 15 minutes as the leopard kept on stopping, changing direction, etc, in the bush 30m off the road.

A crowd had gathered around us to see what we were looking at and as the leopard was moving, we were also trying to move to keep it in sight, but this was causing stress because new arrivals weren’t following what was going on, so kept blocking our movements. Eventually we lost sight of the leopard, so got out of the crowd, turned and headed back towards Lower Sabie for brunch.

Brunch ended up pot pies and muffins from Lower Sabie Mugg & Bean takeaway and then the Cow & I spent the rest of the day exploring around camp, charging equipment and just relaxing while Albert got some matric studying in.

At around 4pm we ducked down to the H10 bridge to spend some time with the normal bridge locals, but there wasn’t much action except for crocs suntanning, so we turned at the end of the bridge and headed back towards Nkuhlu, however stopped again just before Sunset Dam as what I think is an olive grass snake was crossing the road.

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It was very quiet all the way to Nkuhlu, so we didn’t stop and continued on just past Nkuhlu to where we had seen the leopard in the morning, but no luck.

After a small negotiation and a time check, we decided to continue on for another 5 minutes before turning to head back to camp and around 2km later, just before I was about to turn, some spots caught my eye.

“There, leopard!”

The leopard was moving in fairly thick bush, so I had to do some frantic reversing, but fortunately she stopped and checked us out before laying down.

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[Bushcraft]

Minutes later the leopard got up and continued with it’s stroll in the bush next to the road, so we followed along, but the Garmin was indicating that our time was running out, so we unfortunately had to call it, snap one last batch of pics as she checked us out again and leave for Lower Sabie.

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Most of the usual clan popped up on the return drive to Lower Sabie, but due to the time constraints, we only stopped for a quick pic of an approaching hyena.

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To be continued

[Bushcraft]

30th September Lower Sabie

Our plan this morning was to head down the S28, across the S137 past Dukes waterhole and then head up the H4-2/H4-1 to Skukuza Golf Club for brunch.

The 1st stop for pics was just as you turn onto the S28, as a few hyenas were cruising around and 1 seemed paranoid about a puddle in the road which was fairly amusing to watch.

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The lions from the previous day were nowhere to be found, however the normal locals were popping up, including a jackal running on the S137 towards us.

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As we turned at the S130/H4-2 intersection I stopped for a Brown Snake Eagle so that the Cow could snap her bird pics, a little further a hyena was sleeping next to the road and in the distance a lioness was parked off behind some logs.

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[Bushcraft]

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The rest of the drive up to the Skukuza Golf Club was relatively quiet and we only stopped a few times for the normal gang, but never took any pics until just before the club when a Korhaan made an appearance.

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We were happy that the golf club renovations were finished, because it was a kak construction site on our last visit, however it was surprisingly busy, so it’s definitely grown in popularity.

Luckily, I had remembered to stash some slops under my car seat especially for the golf club, which was fortunate because the bare foot hating aunty was sitting at reception as you enter and I watched her eyes go down to my feet, so I nearly waved my foot in the air to emphasize the slops, but decided against it.

The menu is pricy when compared to the pre-renovation menu that we loved, but I suppose it’s comparable to other larny restaurant prices now.

We all had the gold-plated toasted sarmies and wandered around for awhile to check things out before heading back towards Lower Sabie down the H4-1.

We stopped again just before the H12 bridge as there were numerous cars and OSVs in 1 of those little lollypop loops. I wasn’t keen to enter the loop due to the number of cars, but as I was about to continue on another car came out the loop and the lady said we must check it out because it was 3 male lions close to the road, so we entered the queue of cars to wait our turn.

OSV drivers can piss people off, however in this case an OSV driver had organized the cars and it strangely felt like the KZN lion park/zoo. All the cars were queuing in a line, when you got to the lions you had a few minutes to take your pics and then continue around the lollypop and exit. Everybody was obeying the pattern, so the queue was moving fairly quickly, however just before we got to the lions some faulty ballie and crew decided to jump the queue and push their way in, so we immediately started chirping and fortunately so did numerous other cars, so the “special crew” reversed back out with their tail between their legs and joined the queue like everybody else.

I see online that people have differing opinions on crowded sightings with some stating that they can sit in the prime spot all day if they want to, but luckily, we didn’t encounter one of those people in this queue. The lions were only visible from 2 vehicle positions in a deep sleep; therefore we snapped a few quick pics and exited the crowd.

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[Bushcraft]

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It had turned into a roasting hot day, the temperature was now pushing 40 degrees Celsius, and it was relatively quiet sighting wise as everything was hiding in the shade and there wasn’t much animal movement, so we didn’t stop much and were relieved to dive into our EH2’s and fire up the antique aircons.

Albert spent the afternoon studying in her unit while the Cow and I relaxed in our tiny EH2 with the suspect aircon and backed up the last few days pictures.

At around 4:30pm it was still close to 40 degrees, so we weren’t keen on a big mission drive, therefore decided to just fiddle around on the H4-1 in close proximity to Lower Sabie.

We started off by stopping at Sunset Dam for half an hour to just relax with the locals that always hang out there.

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We then missioned up the H4-1 to the S21 turnoff before turning back towards Lower Sabie and stopped for pics of some ellies, GHBs & bushbuck on the way.

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[Bushcraft]

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For these short hot afternoon drives we historically would have gone as far as the S79 causeway and used it to loop back to camp. I hope that at some stage they decide to repair the causeway as it’s a special little piece of road for us.

Just before we got back to Lower Sabie the Cow spotted movement in the riverbed and it was lions. There were 3 lionesses moving into the grass on the opposite riverbank and then 1 lioness and some teenage cubs in the riverbed. Within minutes the riverbed gang followed the other lionesses and disappeared into the grass also, so we ducked back to camp for a braai.

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A few minutes after starting my usual large wood fire, a gale force wind came howling through which caused me some panic and I had to frantically try and flatten the wood pile and remove some burning pieces before I burnt the EH2 huts down. I checked an online weather forecast when I finished braaing and it didn’t look good for the next 2 days, so we all developed a small pelican because we were moving to Talamati for 2 days and it has only fired for us sighting wise in hot dry conditions which drives the animals to the waterhole in front of camp.

To be continued

[Lisbeth]

The first leopard is a real beaut This leopard thing is not fair In all the years I have been going to KNP, I've never seen a leopard

Queueing to see sleeping lions is not exactly my kind of thing, but at least it was organized The lioness with the cubs is better

Great that they have refurbished the golf club restaurant and I suppose there is a new owner. When I was there a few years ago, the service was non-existent and the food was at the same level.

You are losing your girls one at a time over the years. Soon also Albert will be gone

[Richprins]

Catching up, Bushy, and so lovely to see you again!

I really giggled at your narration while reading, a special treat always!

Love the 4x4 episode, and shocked at the Mananga road!

Wow, Albert has really grown tall and skinny, say hello!

And great sightings already!

Good you had the shoes on at the golf club.

[Bushcraft]

The first leopard is a real beaut This leopard thing is not fair In all the years I have been going to KNP, I've never seen a leopard

Queueing to see sleeping lions is not exactly my kind of thing, but at least it was organized The lioness with the cubs is better

Great that they have refurbished the golf club restaurant and I suppose there is a new owner. When I was there a few years ago, the service was non-existent and the food was at the same level.

You are losing your girls one at a time over the years. Soon also Albert will be gone

Lisbeth, I can't believe that you haven't seen a leopard in KNP yet

Yes, queueing to see the lions wasn't my cup of tea either

The service has improved as well as the quality of food, but the price has exponentially increased, however it's similar pricing to other restaurants. We just enjoyed the old cheaper option

Yip, all kids eventually leave home