To see cheetah hunting is high on my wishlist!! 
Browns in Kruger September 2024
-
Flutterby
- Posts: 43938
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:28 pm
- Country: South Africa
- Location: Gauteng, South Africa
- Contact:
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
What an amazing cheetah sighting! To see cheetah hunting is high on my wishlist!!
To see cheetah hunting is high on my wishlist!! 
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
I suppose the 3 cheetahs may be a better sighting than a leopard
That paradise fly-catcher pic required some coordinated stalking from the Cow and I
They are trying to get me to wear Crocs
The only time I would consider it is potentially while showering in the Lower Sabie EH2 ablutions 
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
It can be hit and miss at times, but there are definitely more cheetah sightings in Imfolozi at the moment when compared to Kruger.
Pity that Mpila camp is a little neglected though
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
8th September Biyamiti to Mpila Imfolozi
We woke this morning with the normal “leaving Kruger pelicans” so the car packing happened in silence and we were out of camp just after gate opening. We were stopping for 1 night at Imfolozi on the way home which helped minimize the sulking, but I had my “leaving Kruger” blinkers on anyway due to the long drive, so we headed straight for Croc Bridge gate via the S25, which produced some ellies, a juvenile Bateleur, hyenas, and a secretary bird.
We woke this morning with the normal “leaving Kruger pelicans” so the car packing happened in silence and we were out of camp just after gate opening. We were stopping for 1 night at Imfolozi on the way home which helped minimize the sulking, but I had my “leaving Kruger” blinkers on anyway due to the long drive, so we headed straight for Croc Bridge gate via the S25, which produced some ellies, a juvenile Bateleur, hyenas, and a secretary bird.
- 1.jpg (184.2 KiB) Viewed 151 times
- 2.jpg (169.67 KiB) Viewed 151 times
- 3.jpg (139.1 KiB) Viewed 151 times
- 4.jpg (163.74 KiB) Viewed 151 times
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
It’s never nice leaving Kruger, but we were out of the park and on route to the Swazi border by 7:30am.
One can’t take meat through Swaziland and it was a Sunday, so it was a mission to arrange meat, but we had pre-arranged meat on our way up with a new butchery at the entrance to the town of Mkuze and they were still open, so we were in luck and at the Hluhluwe top entrance, Memorial gate, at around 1pm.
Our plan was to head to Hilltop camp for a loo break and a leg stretch and then to head straight down to Mpila camp for a braai and to just relax because this is more of an overnight pitstop for us on the way home each year to break the long drive. Hluhluwe/Imfolozi isn’t Kruger and it generally requires some hard work for sightings by comparison and the weather forecast also showed that a major change was coming later that evening with a howling wind and rain, so this was making me nervous about getting our braai in before the weather arrived.
I’m going to post the odd rhino pic in this section of the TT because it’s almost impossible to do a Hluhluwe/Imfolozi report and omit them, but the exact locations will be withheld and it probably makes no difference since this was a few months ago.
On the short drive up from Memorial gate to Hilltop camp we encountered the usual suspects, including a couple of ellies, warties, zebra, buffalo, rhinos, etc.
We stopped briefly at Hilltop camp for a loo break and then continued down to Mpila camp which produced more of the normal sightings including boons, giraffe, etc, and a snake crossing the road that we never managed to ID before it disappeared in the grass.
One can’t take meat through Swaziland and it was a Sunday, so it was a mission to arrange meat, but we had pre-arranged meat on our way up with a new butchery at the entrance to the town of Mkuze and they were still open, so we were in luck and at the Hluhluwe top entrance, Memorial gate, at around 1pm.
Our plan was to head to Hilltop camp for a loo break and a leg stretch and then to head straight down to Mpila camp for a braai and to just relax because this is more of an overnight pitstop for us on the way home each year to break the long drive. Hluhluwe/Imfolozi isn’t Kruger and it generally requires some hard work for sightings by comparison and the weather forecast also showed that a major change was coming later that evening with a howling wind and rain, so this was making me nervous about getting our braai in before the weather arrived.
I’m going to post the odd rhino pic in this section of the TT because it’s almost impossible to do a Hluhluwe/Imfolozi report and omit them, but the exact locations will be withheld and it probably makes no difference since this was a few months ago.
On the short drive up from Memorial gate to Hilltop camp we encountered the usual suspects, including a couple of ellies, warties, zebra, buffalo, rhinos, etc.
- 5.jpg (210.75 KiB) Viewed 151 times
- 6.jpg (162.81 KiB) Viewed 151 times
We stopped briefly at Hilltop camp for a loo break and then continued down to Mpila camp which produced more of the normal sightings including boons, giraffe, etc, and a snake crossing the road that we never managed to ID before it disappeared in the grass.
- 7.jpg (168.1 KiB) Viewed 151 times
- 8.jpg (251.32 KiB) Viewed 151 times
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
We booked into our chalet at Mpila at around 3:30pm and we had been given unit 15 right at the end of the camp. Unit 14 was getting rethatched so it was empty, therefore we effectively had our own little quiet spot at the end of camp which I was very happy about.
After unpacking I did some exploration around our unit and realised that we were very close to the camp perimeter single strand fence/wire installed to keep elephant out, so I took delight in taking the Cow and Albert 15m into the bush to show them fresh elephant dung next to the single strand wire and then sharing some “what if” war stories to set the tone.
The howling south westerly and heavy clouds had arrived, however it wasn’t as bad as predicted yet, and as it was a Sunday afternoon, visitors were all leaving the park, so after a negotiation, we decided to take a short drive down to viewpoint 17 and back before starting the braai.
The drive down to 17 produced more locals, including numerous nyala and some rhinos.
One is permitted to leave your vehicle within the demarcated area at viewpoint 17, so we immediately jumped out with binoculars to scout the area and found a lioness sleeping on a rock next to the river and some buffalo in the distance coming down for a drink.
After unpacking I did some exploration around our unit and realised that we were very close to the camp perimeter single strand fence/wire installed to keep elephant out, so I took delight in taking the Cow and Albert 15m into the bush to show them fresh elephant dung next to the single strand wire and then sharing some “what if” war stories to set the tone.
The howling south westerly and heavy clouds had arrived, however it wasn’t as bad as predicted yet, and as it was a Sunday afternoon, visitors were all leaving the park, so after a negotiation, we decided to take a short drive down to viewpoint 17 and back before starting the braai.
The drive down to 17 produced more locals, including numerous nyala and some rhinos.
- 9.jpg (131.71 KiB) Viewed 151 times
- 10.jpg (151.08 KiB) Viewed 151 times
One is permitted to leave your vehicle within the demarcated area at viewpoint 17, so we immediately jumped out with binoculars to scout the area and found a lioness sleeping on a rock next to the river and some buffalo in the distance coming down for a drink.
- 11.jpg (190.96 KiB) Viewed 151 times
- 12.jpg (194.43 KiB) Viewed 151 times
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
The howling wind was freezing, so we bailed back into the car for warmth, but continued viewing the area.
Another car arrived while we were parked off and it was 2 cool elderly ladies on a mission, but they were about to drive off, so I jumped out our car to point out the lioness to them, hence they ended up parking off in their car next to us.
Around 10 minutes later the sleeping lioness woke up, stretched and started to move off towards the Sontuli loop and while watching her walk up we spotted another lion that was also moving towards the loop, so we decided to take a short 1km look down the loop and advised the elderly ladies followed along.
We tried to judge where along the loop they would pop out, provided they didn’t lay down again to sleep, but after 10 minutes of going backwards and forwards I was about to give up and head back to camp when I spotted a movement in the bush and found 1 lioness, so we drove up the road to call the elderly ladies and returned to the spot where we had a semi view of lioness with them.
The elderly aunties were stoked and apologized that they only had 2 beers otherwise they would have shared with us. They were also shocked at the state of the safari tent that they had been given at Mpila camp and used the opportunity to lay it on, but we already knew that the tents were falling apart big time and that people have been moaning about them for around 2 plus years now. Shortly they won’t even be able to rent them out unless renovated and I’m fairly certain that many aren’t rented out already since they are in such bad condition.
Time was ticking on us, so we advised the elderly ladies that it was about time to start heading back and said our goodbyes.
The drive back to camp produced more locals, but the conditions were very dark by this stage so we didn’t take pics.
We got back to camp just before 6pm and although the wind was howling, it wasn’t raining yet, so I quickly got the fire going outside with Albert.
Around 10 minutes later, while I was fiddling with the fire to ensure that there were no flying sparks, Albert suddenly said
“DAD, there’s a bushpig……. it’s coming, what do I do………. what do I do!”
It took me a second to work out what Albert was chirping about, but when I spotted the pig, I realised that it was large, and it was between us and the unit. The pig also wasn’t hitting the brakes, so I had to think quickly.
“Get behind the table and chairs!”
Albert and I now had the table and chairs between us and the pig.
“Voetsak!!”
The pig didn’t understand the standard South African saying to “piss off” and continued around the table, so Albert and I moved accordingly to keep the table between us until a gap opened up to make it onto our veranda, but the pig wasn’t deterred and it decided to follow us.
The Cow was in the unit’s kitchen and she had heard the commotion, so she arrived on the veranda at about the same time.
“#$^* BUSHPIG! It’s coming!”
We all moved into our unit’s doorway, but the pig still continued to approach and it seemed like it was heading directly for the uncooked pork rashers that we had on the veranda table, which surprised me, however over the years we have seen them eat just about anything and everything, so I quickly shot back outside and grabbed the container with the rashers and took it to the inside with me. The pig didn’t flinch and slowly continued with its approach, but it redirected its attention towards our unit’s doorway and then a 2nd pig arrived which added to the commotion.
The Cow now started videoing on her cell phone and then entered into a “conversation” with the 1st pig while I chimed in with the “Voetsak” story again, but around 30 seconds later I dropped the pork rashers while trying to squeeze into the doorway with the Cow to take a picture of the pig and the rasher container crashed to the ground which gave the persistent pig and us a big skrik.
I used the opportunity to quickly duck outside again and get some pics of the pigs and there were definitely more than 2, the others were just keeping their distance.
Another car arrived while we were parked off and it was 2 cool elderly ladies on a mission, but they were about to drive off, so I jumped out our car to point out the lioness to them, hence they ended up parking off in their car next to us.
Around 10 minutes later the sleeping lioness woke up, stretched and started to move off towards the Sontuli loop and while watching her walk up we spotted another lion that was also moving towards the loop, so we decided to take a short 1km look down the loop and advised the elderly ladies followed along.
- 13.jpg (167.05 KiB) Viewed 150 times
- 14.jpg (206.32 KiB) Viewed 150 times
We tried to judge where along the loop they would pop out, provided they didn’t lay down again to sleep, but after 10 minutes of going backwards and forwards I was about to give up and head back to camp when I spotted a movement in the bush and found 1 lioness, so we drove up the road to call the elderly ladies and returned to the spot where we had a semi view of lioness with them.
- 15.jpg (129.55 KiB) Viewed 150 times
The elderly aunties were stoked and apologized that they only had 2 beers otherwise they would have shared with us. They were also shocked at the state of the safari tent that they had been given at Mpila camp and used the opportunity to lay it on, but we already knew that the tents were falling apart big time and that people have been moaning about them for around 2 plus years now. Shortly they won’t even be able to rent them out unless renovated and I’m fairly certain that many aren’t rented out already since they are in such bad condition.
Time was ticking on us, so we advised the elderly ladies that it was about time to start heading back and said our goodbyes.
The drive back to camp produced more locals, but the conditions were very dark by this stage so we didn’t take pics.
We got back to camp just before 6pm and although the wind was howling, it wasn’t raining yet, so I quickly got the fire going outside with Albert.
Around 10 minutes later, while I was fiddling with the fire to ensure that there were no flying sparks, Albert suddenly said
“DAD, there’s a bushpig……. it’s coming, what do I do………. what do I do!”
It took me a second to work out what Albert was chirping about, but when I spotted the pig, I realised that it was large, and it was between us and the unit. The pig also wasn’t hitting the brakes, so I had to think quickly.
“Get behind the table and chairs!”
Albert and I now had the table and chairs between us and the pig.
“Voetsak!!”
The pig didn’t understand the standard South African saying to “piss off” and continued around the table, so Albert and I moved accordingly to keep the table between us until a gap opened up to make it onto our veranda, but the pig wasn’t deterred and it decided to follow us.
The Cow was in the unit’s kitchen and she had heard the commotion, so she arrived on the veranda at about the same time.
“#$^* BUSHPIG! It’s coming!”
We all moved into our unit’s doorway, but the pig still continued to approach and it seemed like it was heading directly for the uncooked pork rashers that we had on the veranda table, which surprised me, however over the years we have seen them eat just about anything and everything, so I quickly shot back outside and grabbed the container with the rashers and took it to the inside with me. The pig didn’t flinch and slowly continued with its approach, but it redirected its attention towards our unit’s doorway and then a 2nd pig arrived which added to the commotion.
The Cow now started videoing on her cell phone and then entered into a “conversation” with the 1st pig while I chimed in with the “Voetsak” story again, but around 30 seconds later I dropped the pork rashers while trying to squeeze into the doorway with the Cow to take a picture of the pig and the rasher container crashed to the ground which gave the persistent pig and us a big skrik.
I used the opportunity to quickly duck outside again and get some pics of the pigs and there were definitely more than 2, the others were just keeping their distance.
- 16.jpg (181.72 KiB) Viewed 150 times
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
- 17.jpg (170.25 KiB) Viewed 150 times
Around 5 minutes later the largest pig snorted loudly and it almost seemed like a command, because suddenly they all instantly left and disappeared into the darkness.
Albert and I returned to the fire to cook our pork rashers, but Albert was on guard with the torch like a paranoid meerkat in case of another surprise animal arrival.
The pigs are locals, but one needs to be careful around them as I know someone got stitches when they got too close, I have been chased by a boar before and had to jump over the kitchen “half door” to escape it and on our last trip a boar chased our neighbours off their veranda to steal their food.
We have been taking the kids to Mpila camp since they could walk and over the years we have had some interesting sightings at night in camp which is why we love the unfenced camp environment. We have had a rhino charge in while braaing, numerous hyenas, including 1 that stole our chicken flattie off the braai, a drunk mate attracted the attention of a lioness, genets, zebras, most of the antelope species, 4 white tailed mongooses casually walk past our veranda 1 evening, etc. The most interesting for me was a pig and hyena scrap virtually on our veranda as I expected the pig to back down, but amazingly it didn’t.
We tried to eat supper on the veranda to keep an eye out for further visitors, but the wind was freezing cold, so we moved to chow inside the unit, but after supper we again checked for movement outside, however it had been a long day, so our stakeout only lasted around 10 minutes and then we all wobbled off to bed.
To be continued
-
Lisbeth
- Site Admin
- Posts: 66709
- Joined: Sat May 19, 2012 12:31 pm
- Country: Switzerland
- Location: Lugano
- Contact:
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2024
I have always wondered if your adventures are all true, partly invented or just embellished a bit 
In any case I don't want to know, it is perfect as it is
The crocs are comfortable, but too ugly for me. I stick to flip-flops
Hluhluwe/Imfolozi is slowly but surely sliding towards oblivion Something drastic has to be done!
In any case I don't want to know, it is perfect as it is like a paranoid meerkat
The crocs are comfortable, but too ugly for me. I stick to flip-flops
Hluhluwe/Imfolozi is slowly but surely sliding towards oblivion
Something drastic has to be done!"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Nelson Mandela
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge
The desire for equality must never exceed the demands of knowledge