Flutts, The Brat and Mommo: Back in the Bush*

[Flutterby]

Day 2, 30/8/2015, Crocodile Bridge

We hadn't really decided on an afternoon route, so decided to take a look at the hippo pools first. On the road to the pools we found this Martial Eagle with a kill.



A very rude giraffe photobombed my pic!



The pools were quiet and Daniel had already left for the day so we headed back to the H4-2. An ellie with wonky tusks.



A rhino enjoying some mud.



A reflective ellie.

© Bush Brat

We drove up the H4-2 and decided to do a bit of the H5 before heading back to camp. We went as far as the bluegum trees and turned around. Just after turning back onto the H4-2 my dad said "Something's going to happen soon" and seconds later the Brat screamed "LEOPARD"!!

This beauty was lying next to the road!

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat



We had now caused a bit of a traffic jam and the Brat was very chuffed with himself but the leopard didn't like all the attention and soon disappeared into the bush. When we got back to camp our young neighbours were very jealous when we told them of our second leoapard for the day! We settled down to our evening ritual of braai and wine. After we'd eaten we heard rustling at the fence, and saw we had some rather large visitors.



My dad and I couldn't resist getting a bit closer, whilst the Brat was happy to watch from a distance.



Our neighbours also joined us at the fence and the ellies were so close we could have touched them...it was an amazing experience! The ellies stayed at the fence for about half an hour, and we had a long chat with the youngsters. They offered us some of their dessert and we offered them some Amarula...it's always great meeting new people in Kruger! After the ellies left we had another game of dominoes and then it was bed time...we had a long drive up to Olifants the next morning.

[Flutterby]

Day 3, 31/8/2015, Crocodile Bridge to Olifants

We were packed and at the gate at 5.45 and first in the queue again, but this morning there was very heavy mist.



No-one passed us and we were on our own in a very quiet world!





At about the same place and time as the previous morning, something dashed across the road - leopard!! We stopped and searched the bushes but couldn't see it. We did a lot of reversing and 'forwarding', and about 15 minutes later the leopard reappeared and crossed back over the road , but sadly we didn't get any pics! We then realised that both our morning leopard sightings had been just after the Brat handed out our morning muffins....we decided they were definitely magic muffins!

It was quite scary driving in this thick mist and at times we had to reduce our speed to about 10km/h!





The mist eventually began to lift and about 2kms before Lower Sabie we came across 4 lions in the riverbed.

© Bush Brat



A large herd of buffs was drinking at Sunset Dam.

© Bush Brat

A bit further on, 2 young male lions, possibly the same ones we saw the previous day.

© Bush Brat

[Flutterby]

Day 3, 31/8/2015, Crocodile Bridge to Olifants

We crossed over the Sabie and got onto the H1-2.

© Bush Brat

It wasn't too long before we saw two cars parked on the wrong side of the road...another 4 lions!! This time is was 3 males and a female on a kill! They were quite close to the road and we were surprised there weren't more cars there. We then noticed a whole lot of cars about 500 metres further on...more lions we presumed.

One of the males had the kill between his paws and was happy for one male to sit next to him, but whenever the other male or female came near he would growl and lash out at them. These weren't the normal lazy lions!

Do you see the other male in front of him?



The female edging closer...

© Bush Brat

...and getting told off!

© Bush Brat

The female and outcast male retreated to a safe distance.



The male with the carcass then decided to move away and we could see that the carcass was a baby buff.

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat

The male that had been next to him then moved into some shade next to the road, quite a distance from the rest.

© Bush Brat



Now it was time to sleep!



We sat with them for quite a while enjoying the action and the noise and most of the time it was just us and another car, but we decided to see what the other cars were looking at. There was another lion sleeping in the middle of the road but it moved off as we approached.



Lots of lovely rhinos.

[Flutterby]

Day 3, 31/8/2015, Crocodile Bridge to Olifants

After we left the lions the drive to Satara was quiet. We hadn't decided whether to carry on up the tar to Olifants or to do the S100 and S90. At the sightings board someone was talking about lions at Gudzani, so I asked if they had seen the white lion and they had...with pics to prove it! They had seen them about an hour earlier, so we decided to try our luck! The S100 was full of game - plenty of ellies, waterbuck, kudu etc., but unfortunately there was no white lion at Gudzani just some ellies having a drink. We carried on up the S41 and just before the end we came across......you guessed it - more lions...on an elephant carcass!



And lots of vultures!

© Bush Brat

At first we only saw this one lioness but suddenly three cubs appeared which she led away from the carcass. The Brat was ecstatic as cubs were on his wish list!



There was also a huge herd of buffs behind the lions.

© Bush Brat

She left the cubs in the shade of a tree and returned to the carcass, while the cubs kept a wary eye on the buffs.



The cubs stayed put for about 10 minutes, but then the buffs started getting closer so they made a bee-line back to mom!

© Bush Brat

Mom met them halfway, and this time led them further away until we could no longer see them. It was amazing to see how the cubs already had a healthy respect for buffs at such a young age.

© Bush Brat

While mom was busy hiding the cubs, 2 jackals made an appearance.



© Bush Brat

They edged closer to the carcass but then mom appeared again and chased the jackals and vultures away!

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat

TBC....

[Flutterby]

Day 3, 31/8/2015, Crocodile Bridge to Olifants

After being at the sighting for a while we actually found another 5 lions dotted around the area. This male and female were on the other side of the buff herd, and another male joined them a bit later on. There was another male and female to the right of them, also behind the buffs.

© Bush Brat

We were wondering if the lions had killed the ellie, and why they were not all closer to the carcass. Even the original lioness did nothing more than lick at the carcass, and chase the vultures away!



© Bush Brat

We we got home I found out that the ellie had died of natural causes and the rangers had removed the tusks.

We eventually left the lions and carried on towards Olifants. The rest of the drive was very quiet and we arrived at camp at about 5pm. The Brat was not impressed about missing the last hour looking for leopards, but we had been in the car the whole day, so opted to rather relax at the lookout point.

The always-lovely impala lily with a passenger.

© Bush Brat



This thirsty monkey was waiting in vain for the ellie to spray some water!



An nyala walked along the fence, and I managed a brilliant pic!



The Brat did even better!

© Bush Brat

Picking up litter!



Enjoying the peace.



© Bush Brat

[Flutterby]

Day 4, 1/9/2015, Olifants

We requested to stay in No. 28 at Olifants as we had stayed there in 2011. Even though it is not a perimetre unit is still has a nice view and is very close to the restaurant/look-out.

View from the verandah.



When we booked we were told that the unit had no kitchen/utensils which we already knew, but when we arrived we were happy to see that it has been upgraded and now has its own fully-stocked kitchen.

2011


2015


The only negative point was that there was no light above the sink which was in a really dark corner, so we had to balance a torch to wash the dishes!



Anyway, carrying on with day 4.

We could only do a short morning drive as the Brat and I had booked to go on the Olifants/Balule River Walk at 9.30am. We decided to head down the tar to Ngotso North and then turn around. Not long after leaving camp, the Brat got the magic muffins out hoping we'd score a hat-trick with another leopard. As he passed the muffins around something ran across the road...not a leopard, but our first hyena!

We caught a lovely sunrise from the high-level bridge.

© Bush Brat



Another jackal... we had more luck with BBJ's on this trip than we usually do.



Just before Nyamarhi Spruit the car in front of us waved us forward and pointed out a lion far off in the bushes...a really great spot!



He then started moving and another one came out from the bushes and followed.

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat

They then moved into the riverbed and we lost them.



We then headed back to camp to get ready for our walk. A cute squirrel in front of our hut.

© Bush Brat

[Flutterby]

Day 4, 1/9/2015, Olifants

We went to the meeting point and met our guides for the walk - Leonard and Dennis. Olifants is the only camp which offers a river walk, and it is much shorter than the morning walk - only 1.5 hours (including travelling time). I asked if it was possible to look for the Pel's Fishing Owl and they said they first had to confirm with the Balule ranger, as they had originally planned to do the walk somewhere else. Dennis went to contact the ranger and another 2 lots of guests arrived - from France and Brazil. Dennis soon returned and confirmed that we could do the walk at Balule, so it was into the van and off we went. I didn't take my camera so the Brat got some great pics. The other pics were taken on the muk 'n druk, and screenshots from video.

Even though Dennis and Leonard were chatting away it didn't stop them from pointing out interesting stuff along the way including some some hyena tracks.



We drove around the back of Balule and got out, where Leonard and Dennis explained the dos and don'ts.



This was the first time the Brat and I had ever done a walk in Kruger and I was a bit nervous. As we were about to start our walk two hippos came charging up from the river about 20 metres away from us!! Dennis and Leonard shouldered their rifles immediately and also started shouting and clapping to scare them off.



The hippos disappeared into the bush, but we were all breathing heavily and gave some nervous laughs! Dennis then explained that the hippos had obviously heard us, and would normally have retreated into deeper water, but because the water level was so low and they couldn't get deeper their only other defence was to "attack" or rather, check out the threat! Dennis gestured for us to carry on and I nervously asked if it was ok to walk where the hippos had just been and he said the alternative was to get back in the van!

The Brat keeping as close to the rangers as possible!



We then heard a lot of ellies trumpeting, and Dennis said they had obviously met up with the hippos! So now we had hippos and ellies to worry about! Due to the last floods, there are very few riverine trees left where the Pel's Fishing Owls can nest, so it is relatively easy to find them if you know where they are. We followed Dennis who told us which trees to look in while Leonard approached from another angle. He told us to get our cameras ready as they are very skittish and normally fly off as soon as people approach. We scanned the trees and I was the first to spot it!

© Bush Brat

This was a juvenile and didn't hang around long.

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat

Dennis then spotted an adult before it also flew off - the Brat saw it but I didn't. It was a very brief encounter but so exciting!

We carried on with our walk, with Dennis and Leonard explaining everything - different paths made by different animals, all the different dung and scat we saw - including black rhino. We had disturbed more hippo and they were watching us which got my heart racing again!

© Bush Brat

But Leonard and Dennis seemed relaxed so I calmed down.



Dennis about to perform his party trick.....



...bokdrol spoeg.





And that was it for our river walk. The Brat and I really enjoyed it and were thoroughly impressed with Dennis' and Leonards' knowledge, friendliness and professionalism. They are a credit to SANParks! I would do this over a sunset drive any day. It was just sad to see that the other guests did not tip them when we got back to camp.

[Flutterby]

Day 4, 1/9/2015, Olifants

We planned a longer afternoon drive as we had plenty of time. We decided to head down the tar towards Satara, then cut across towards Timbavati and back up on the S39.

For Toks.

© Bush Brat

From the Olifants high-level bridge some impala were nervous of walking through the water so decided to jump it instead.





We saw this big tusker on the H1-4 south of Ngotso Dam but he refused to turn around! Aat has ID'd him as Mshatu.



On the S39 we found this carcass but no predators or scavengers.



Even though we hadn't stopped for any big sightings we had seen plenty of game and now we were watching the clock and knew that we had to move it a bit. Just then, the Brat spotted two side-striped jackals together.





Not long after the jackals I spotted a honey badger close to the road. This is the first time we've managed to get pics of a HB outside of a camp.

© Bush Brat

He started to dig furiously and then started chewing on something.

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat

Unfortunately we had to leave the honey badger to get back to camp.

[Flutterby]

Day 5, 2/9/2015, Olifants - Skukuza

Today we were heading down to SKukuza. We decided to take the tar to the S90, onto the S41, and back to the tar on the S100.

On the S1-4 we found a lone hyena - first hyena pics of the trip!

© Bush Brat

On the S90 we saw a stationery car so we approached very slowly while scanning the area. We couldn't see anything so we came up next to the vehicle but stopped slightly behind the driver's window so as not to disturb their view. I asked what they could see and a grumpy man muttered "Well there was a cheetah but now we can't see it anymore!" and with that they sped off! Anyway we looked again, and eventually found the cheetah in the distance.

© Bush Brat

It soon disappeared and we carried on and came across a huge flock (?) of ostriches! There must have been about 20 of them...never seen so many together before!



As we got closer to the S41 we speculated on whether the lions would still be on the elephant carcass....they weren't, there was just a foul stench and plenty of vultures!



There was obviously a lot of squabbling and noise which got the cameras clicking.

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat

© Bush Brat









This vulture was paler and larger than the White-backed vultures - could it be a Cape Vulture?

[Flutterby]

Some more pics of the mystery vulture. They aren't great pics but there is one of the eyes for nan.







It is larger than the others and has different colouration.

Dewi...help!