When small Streams turn into Rivers

[Pumbaa]

Nature was very cruel when she arrived at the marabou stork. Why did the evolution make them so ugly?

Nice pic of the wildebeest

I am glad the weather improved

Cute little grebe

I like the white-faced ducks a lot

Totally right the marabou stork is not the beaufiest bird on earth but we nevertheless are always happy when seeing that many Indeed slowly it got sunnierer and dryer - Finally!

[Pumbaa]

Such lovely greenery, Pumbaa!

Leeupan is a must, haven't been there for ages!

Love the waterbird shots, but must say I do not love the marabou...

Nice shot of the wildebeest on the dam wall.

At Leeupan there is always something new to discover and in fact not quiet - We do love to spend time there also in view of closed roads / hides during our time in the park

[Pumbaa]

On top we were more than impressed by their enormous wing span they presented to us





and for sure had still fun in watching them catching such tiny insects.





We meanwhile spent 1 ½ hour there and it was indeed a more than wise decision to spent time there instead of driving on all the tar roads and we already planned another stay for tomorrow there. The many wildebeests were still around whilst driving back



and they were so relaxed



and so was a family of warthogs we somewhere discovered on our way back.



Obviously they had a more than great time in their day spa



but overall it was a more than quiet drive back to Skukuza at least we again came across many impalas.

[Pumbaa]

Back at the crossing close to camp we now noticed that also the H3 was now closed so we did everything right but the roads we were able to drive now were extreme limited. At least now it was time to check in and this year we got the key to bungalow No. 96 and after we moved in we moved over to the Selati Train Restaurant as after 5 braais in row we now where in the mood to eat something else. As always my obligatory chicken pizza was delicious and also Timon’s fish tasted yummy and so we strolled slowly back to our bungalow after lunch and discovered a green pigeon,



a yellowbreasted apalis



as well as a chinspot batis.



On the ground we noticed a caterpillar





and also a butterfly and finally enjoyed a lovely time on our verandah.



Normally we would have skipped our afternoon drive also in view of the limited roads to drive but the weather was so nice and so we finally decided to drive along the Sabie and soon met a couple of giraffes finally in the best evening light.





We stopped for an European roller,



met the pied kingfishers on a smaller bridge where we already spent time with them one of the previous days





and enjoyed the nicely posing hamerkop.



to be continued................................

[Lisbeth]

I love the giraffe with the flying tail

A nice yellow-breasted apalis

What is a chicken pizza? A pizza with chicken meat

Funny that those big marabou storks are catching tiny insects. They must need millions But I suppose that they eat bigger "things" also

Wikipedia:
Their diet consists predominantly of carrion, fish, termites, locusts, frogs, lizards, baby crocodiles, snakes, rats, mice, and birds.

[Richprins]

Interesting, Pumbaa!

Good to hear the food was nice!

And the caterpillar...you are becoming like me at Marloth!

Love the giraffe shots.

[Pumbaa]

I love the giraffe with the flying tail

A nice yellow-breasted apalis

What is a chicken pizza? A pizza with chicken meat

Funny that those big marabou storks are catching tiny insects. They must need millions But I suppose that they eat bigger "things" also

Wikipedia:
Their diet consists predominantly of carrion, fish, termites, locusts, frogs, lizards, baby crocodiles, snakes, rats, mice, and birds.

Yes, normal pizza with cheese, mushrooms and chicken meat - Extreme yummy and always a must For sure they eat bigger things, the maraous but it was funny to see nearly all of them catching such tiny insects

[Pumbaa]

Interesting, Pumbaa!

Good to hear the food was nice!

And the caterpillar...you are becoming like me at Marloth!

Love the giraffe shots.

We simply love animals either small or big and always interesting to discover also the smaller things

[Pumbaa]

A lovely yellow billed kite appeared



but soon decided to fly away



we met again the kudu bull we already met this morning and who we also met the next day nearly at the same spot



who finally crossed the road and we meanwhile also turned around as it got meanwhile late.



For sure we stopped at our idyllic spot on the smaller bridge and noticed again pied kingfishers



and a bit farer away hidden between the leaves also a giant kingfisher.



We had to wait a while until this giant was willing to clear the road and now



we even stopped at the low water causeway which was still flooded at least we could have a view onto same and were still impressed by the masses of water flowing down the river.



We finally returned to camp and spent the evening on our verandah with a cold one until it got too dark and slept like babies this night.

Thursday, 16th February 2023 – Skukuza

Explored roads: H1 – S1 . Nyamundwa – H4-1 – H1-2 – H4-1

As already said due to the closure of the H1-1 we in fact had not much choice of roads and so we decided to first drive the S1 up to Nyamundwa. The first stretch was a quiet drive besides the usual traffic but somewhere we stopped for a massive elephant bull



and not far from the first one we noticed another one



and were happy that the hyena we came across next stayed relaxed on the road.



After another elephant bull we noticed a lot of giraffes

[Pumbaa]

as well as zebras



and Mrs. zorro



but overall it was a more than quiet drive until we stopped on a smaller bridge crossing one of a smaller streams you can notice on that road quite often. First we only stopped for the view but after a more closer look through binoculars we discovered quite a lot of different birds such as this grey heron



as well as this giant kingfisher.



We detected also a woodland kingfisher a bit farer away and were happy to spot a couple of little bee eaters



as well as a green backed heron



and a pintailed whydah at least I suppose this is one.



For sure we soon made a plan to stop at this lovely spot again on our drive back and somehow until Nyamundwa dam it was in fact not far any longer and so we stopped there for a coffee break and although it was stunning to see the dam that full it was not much around and only far away on the other side of the dam we spotted a black winged stilt,



a grey heron as well as water dikkops. Nevertheless the view itself was more than lovely and so was now also the weather but after a while we turned around



and stood again on the bridge across the Nyamundwa stream to satisfy our birding although must say that here all the birds could only be seen a bit far away but overall it was a come and go of many different species.



Again we were fascinated by the little bee eaters



who were busy in catching either insects and this one even caught a huge moth compared to the size of the little bee eater.



to be continued................