Lions On The Loose

[PJL]

Wow, what an amazing way to start the day!!

Yep we hit some good luck this particular day

How extremely fortunate, Peej!

It always astounds me how they can sleep with their face in their food!

Maybe it was a beggar hornbill?

I think they sleep with their face in their food just so they wake up if anyone tries to steal it

The later start seems to have worked again for you guys

I have had GHB's scoop dead insects on the front of my car before, so maybe it was plotting a scavenger move

Brilliant leopard sighting again I see that lately there have been plenty leopard sightings in that area

Thanks BC, yes there have been quite a few sightings around that area and Berg en Dal

WoW PJL,

what incredible leopard shots and what a brilliant sight same was

Fantastic shots of the ground hornbills and from the hyenas as well

Thanks Pumbaa, it was a great sighting to start the day with

Great leopard shots

Thanks Alf

[PJL]

Sun 23rd June contd

Before continuing with the days drive, I'm going to add in some of the special sightings we had throughout the course of the day. It was our best day for them with some great close-up sightings


Somewhere....






Somewhere else....








Elsewhere...









Handsome chap



Even a brown-headed parrot seemed impressed with his size





And finally another close one...

[Flutterby]

Ah, you had some great sightings of them....we weren't so lucky!

[Richprins]

Peej!

Very lucky these days, I also haven't seen one this year in a number of trips! (One badly injured one...)

[Mel]

All different places but all so close up? You ARE incredibly lucky!

[PJL]

Ah, you had some great sightings of them....we weren't so lucky!

There are definitely certain areas with better possibilities of good sightings, but we were very fortunate on this particular day as many of them were at completely unexpected places

Peej!

Very lucky these days, I also haven't seen one this year in a number of trips! (One badly injured one...)

We counted ourselves very fortunate with these sightings. Last time we had to work really hard to find them

All different places but all so close up? You ARE incredibly lucky!

Yep all different places. We actually had two more sightings that were further away hence pics not included, so it was a fantastic day for seeing them

[PJL]

Sun 23rd June contd

On reaching Biyamiti Wier we had a really good look around the koppies for any more spots as well as the culverts as hyena youngsters are sometimes seen around there. No such luck today, but it was a very peaceful scene and we came across our first saddle billed storks for the trip





There was a hippo just behind the wier wall but it was so close to the wall that you couldn't see it when driving past

After sipping coffee at the leopard sighting we all agreed it was a good idea for a bathroom break at Afsaal, so we plotted a route along the S23/S13/H3 to get there. Along the S23 we found a fish eagle enjoying the warmth of the sun



The sun was providing enough heat for some vultures to get airborne



Crossing the Biyamiti bridge on the H3 there was a big herd of buffalo in the riverbed in the distance



Just off the bridge I caused a small traffic jam whilst photographing this crested barbet. For some reason they're one of those slightly unusual birds that I'm always on the lookout for... but by stopping to take pics, all the surrounding cars seemed to think we had found another big cat or something



Afsaal was already really busy and we heard from some people there that they were going to be heading up the H2-2 as lion had been seen up that way the day before on a rhino carcass. I can only imagine that the carcass must have been the sad result of what we all wish would stop
We decided to see if the lion were still around as the kids had realised that there was a good chance of it being another Big 5 in one day. We found the place easily enough due to the number of vultures, but they were on the ground as well so we figured the cats must have left already.

It was now decision time for the rest of the day. We opted for an early skottel lunch at Afsaal, after which we would head across the S112/S21 to check out the Sabie River side of the park in the afternoon. Afsaal was busy and it took some time before we managed to get a table and skottel, but it's a nice spot even if there are crowds. I felt very under-dressed whilst cooking when compared to the guys next to us with their cooking aprons



It was getting to the heat of the day as we trundled up the H3, and without many sightings cooling down became more important. H figured that wet wipes on the face was the best way... and she could freak out people driving the opposite direction at the same time



Sightings were at a premium, with very little to see as we crossed the park. However we did manage to find a chameleon and a tall horse





We finally got some more signs of life at Mhlupheka with a wooly necked stork and terrapin near the water with another giraffe in the distance







Before hitting the H4-1 we found our second saddle billed stork sighting, but this time with a chick in its nest

[Flutterby]

Lots of nice birds.

[Richprins]

A nice selection and the chameleon is a great shot with it looking back at you, Peej!

I like the flying vulture study too!

Where is Mhlupeka...

Pity about the dead rhino...

[Alf]

Wow a saddle billed chick

Really lucky to have seen so many rhinos