Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 9:31 pm
Yep same one... I may have mentioned to him where it wasFlutterby wrote:Love the leguaan pic.It looks like the same one that BC got a pic of.
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A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
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Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 10:21 pm
Great Monitor shot, PJL,
and it is always more than brilliant to find cheetahs in Kruger and you had for sure a wonderful sightings of these spotted beauties
and it is always more than brilliant to find cheetahs in Kruger and you had for sure a wonderful sightings of these spotted beauties
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 7:58 am
That was a great cheetah sighting
I’m also wondering how you identified that they were all males.
I didn’t look 
I see you also have a clan with sharp eyes to find “Vin” between the H7 and Satara
I’m also wondering how you identified that they were all males.
I didn’t look I see you also have a clan with sharp eyes to find “Vin” between the H7 and Satara
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 11:04 am
It was a great cheetah afternoon nannan wrote:wow Cheetahs again
and like the tree's owner
So many questionsRichprins wrote:Very good, Peej!
Was it chilly in the evenings at least?
How do you know the cheetah are males?
Did the car seats get wet while in swimming gear?
I like the leguan, good pic in nice light.
No, not chilly in the evenings at all - well over 20 degrees
At the time we thought the cheetah were male because of them looking fully grown and all hanging out together which the girls don't do. But having seen BC's cheetah sighting it's possible they were siblings and not necessarily a male coalition
Car seats are leather... always sensible for those days when you need to climb in with your wet swim gear
Thanks FluttsFlutterby wrote:Great pics of the cheetah and a good start to the sunset drive!
Love the leguaan pic.
Thanks PumbaaPumbaa wrote:Great Monitor shot, PJL,
and it is always more than brilliant to find cheetahs in Kruger and you had for sure a wonderful sightings of these spotted beauties
Yep any spots are a highlight It was great that the cheetah decided to hang around for usBushcraft wrote:That was a great cheetah sighting
I’m also wondering how you identified that they were all males.
I see you also have a clan with sharp eyes to find “Vin” between the H7 and Satara
Once they wandered off they disappeared very quickly
I think Vin will be there for a good while to come
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 12:45 pm
April 3rd Continued
Cruising along the S100 on the game drive vehicle was a bumpy affair, and although it was a very quiet drive our kids were loving being in an open vehicle
After a while some giraffe came into view
And one of them was kind enough to escort us as the sun was setting to give a nice silhouette
In the fading light we also found a fish eagle who looked settled for the night
And then we were treated to a perfect view of the sunset
Our guide turned around at this point with a plan to try and find the lions nearer Satara. Once the light had dropped completely the fun with flashlights started which the kids also love... a few eyes popped up here and there with some kudu and elephant but nothing worth trying to photograph. Night photography is always a bit tricky - particularly as you're relying on other people pointing flashlights in the right direction which often results in big changes in light levels... so my first attempts that night weren't overly successful. As we went past Satara we saw a couple of genet, and I managed a very blurry pic of one of them
Seeing the results at least allowed me to make some changes to my camera settings with a hope of improvement. Our search for the lions started along with another sunset drive vehicle that was out as well, but they weren't anywhere to be seen along the main road, so we checked a few other access roads to the east, one of which had a scrub hare
The night photography thing seemed to be clicking into gear which was a good thing. The road opened up into what I think must have been an airstrip, when suddenly something appeared in the road in front of us
A couple of cheetah were visible as we scanned around, and we initially thought it was a different set to our earlier sighting because they hadn't been travelling this direction and these ones also seemed to be fighting. But fairly quickly we saw it was the same four and the reason for the fight was that one of them had literally just made an impala kill
You can just about see the one in front here still suffocating the impala
The cheetah were very skittish which is probably normal after a kill so we stayed as quiet as possible and people tried not to interfere with too many bright flashlights on them. Fairly soon they all came in and a bit of tug-of-war started over the impala
Two of the cheetah then dropped down almost completely out of sight and started tucking in to their meal. One of the others still seemed very wary and kept scanning the area
For a brief moment one of the cheetah paused his meal for a quick look around
Our guide had radioed the other sunset vehicle so at this point they came cruising in which scattered the cheetah temporarily. Slowly they started reappearing from the bush and we were treated to one coming through quite close to us
It was time to head and leave them in peace - particularly as jackal were already moving in
It had been an exhilarating end to the drive, but we were in for one more treat when we got back to camp. We were just chilling out when I noticed a lump which I was sure hadn't been there before - Miss Satara had come to pay us a visit
The AWC then even posed in some bushes to give a more natural look
Cruising along the S100 on the game drive vehicle was a bumpy affair, and although it was a very quiet drive our kids were loving being in an open vehicle
After a while some giraffe came into view
And one of them was kind enough to escort us as the sun was setting to give a nice silhouette
In the fading light we also found a fish eagle who looked settled for the night
And then we were treated to a perfect view of the sunset
Our guide turned around at this point with a plan to try and find the lions nearer Satara. Once the light had dropped completely the fun with flashlights started which the kids also love... a few eyes popped up here and there with some kudu and elephant but nothing worth trying to photograph. Night photography is always a bit tricky - particularly as you're relying on other people pointing flashlights in the right direction which often results in big changes in light levels... so my first attempts that night weren't overly successful. As we went past Satara we saw a couple of genet, and I managed a very blurry pic of one of them
Seeing the results at least allowed me to make some changes to my camera settings with a hope of improvement. Our search for the lions started along with another sunset drive vehicle that was out as well, but they weren't anywhere to be seen along the main road, so we checked a few other access roads to the east, one of which had a scrub hare
The night photography thing seemed to be clicking into gear which was a good thing. The road opened up into what I think must have been an airstrip, when suddenly something appeared in the road in front of us
A couple of cheetah were visible as we scanned around, and we initially thought it was a different set to our earlier sighting because they hadn't been travelling this direction and these ones also seemed to be fighting. But fairly quickly we saw it was the same four and the reason for the fight was that one of them had literally just made an impala kill
You can just about see the one in front here still suffocating the impala
The cheetah were very skittish which is probably normal after a kill so we stayed as quiet as possible and people tried not to interfere with too many bright flashlights on them. Fairly soon they all came in and a bit of tug-of-war started over the impala
Two of the cheetah then dropped down almost completely out of sight and started tucking in to their meal. One of the others still seemed very wary and kept scanning the area
For a brief moment one of the cheetah paused his meal for a quick look around
Our guide had radioed the other sunset vehicle so at this point they came cruising in which scattered the cheetah temporarily. Slowly they started reappearing from the bush and we were treated to one coming through quite close to us
It was time to head and leave them in peace - particularly as jackal were already moving in
It had been an exhilarating end to the drive, but we were in for one more treat when we got back to camp. We were just chilling out when I noticed a lump which I was sure hadn't been there before - Miss Satara had come to pay us a visit
The AWC then even posed in some bushes to give a more natural look
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 12:50 pm
What a fantastically lucky cheetah sighting...not only did you see them at night, but also on a kill!!
Lovely sunset pics, with the giraffe and without.
Glad Miss Satara came to visit.
Lovely sunset pics, with the giraffe and without.
Glad Miss Satara came to visit.
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:01 pm
Wow, an awesome cheetah sighting on a sunset drive
I have only done 1 due to cost and our first was painful, so I never booked another, but this makes me want to book another
I have only done 1 due to cost and our first was painful, so I never booked another, but this makes me want to book another
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:12 pm
It was the only time the cat came round, but we did see it making its way between the rondavel circles one evening. No badgers this time thoughFlutterby wrote:What a fantastically lucky cheetah sighting...not only did you see them at night, but also on a kill!!
Lovely sunset pics, with the giraffe and without.
Glad Miss Satara came to visit.
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:16 pm
We figured we saved enough by camping to shell out on a couple of drives... but I have less kids to pay for than youBushcraft wrote:Wow, an awesome cheetah sighting on a sunset drive
I have only done 1 due to cost and our first was painful, so I never booked another, but this makes me want to book another
It seems the sightings can be a bit of a mixed bag... some not so great, but then that's the same as any drive. Our last sunset drive at Satara was incredible - hyena, lion, elephant, genet, 3x leopard and a serval for good measure.... I don't think that drive will ever be topped
Re: A Fantarantulatastic Trip To Kruger - April 2017
Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 1:50 pm
PJL wrote:We figured we saved enough by camping to shell out on a couple of drives... but I have less kids to pay for than youBushcraft wrote:Wow, an awesome cheetah sighting on a sunset drive
I have only done 1 due to cost and our first was painful, so I never booked another, but this makes me want to book another
It seems the sightings can be a bit of a mixed bag... some not so great, but then that's the same as any drive. Our last sunset drive at Satara was incredible - hyena, lion, elephant, genet, 3x leopard and a serval for good measure.... I don't think that drive will ever be topped
I have never done a sunset drive at Satara, but I'm plotting now