Escape from the Rat Race. Another live TT from BT.

[Bushcraft]

Wow, more fantastic pics

[Mel]

Don't you just hate having to leave a brilliant sighting because you have to make gate closing time.

Love the giraffe series, although your comment about the females...

Great birdies as well! I'm particularly fond of the fish eagle against the rising sun and the openbill.

[BluTuna]

Incredible how fitting the names of the moths are

I love your macro photos

The tree agama is a beauty

Thanks Lisbeth, and thanks for the tusker thread URL.

Love the little grasshopper -O , and the vulture & giraffe pics are great!! Lovely lion sighting.

There is a Tusker ID thread under the reference library, but you can also email Aat...I think there's a link on his site.

That grasshopper was the cutest bug I've managed to shoot this trip

nice White-backed Vulture landing
and the green Gasshopper, Oppenbilled Stork, small Heron

Thanks Nan, I think the Vulture was a fledgeling practicing some flying skills.

Wow, more fantastic pics

Thanks again BC

Don't you just hate having to leave a brilliant sighting because you have to make gate closing time.

Love the giraffe series, although your comment about the females...

Great birdies as well! I'm particularly fond of the fish eagle against the rising sun and the openbill.

It's happened to us often, having to rush to the camp and leave something really interesting. We had the same problem with the Wild Dogs on Day 0.

Playing hard to get. Pretty typical female behavior if you ask me

[BluTuna]

Day 13. Lower Sabie -> Skukuza.

Time to pack up the tent for the last time this trip but before we started I took an hour or so to visit Sunset Dam as I hadn't managed to get there in the early morning this trip.

The light was wonderful and I managed to snap a few of the locals








Back at camp, Masked Weavers were busy building nests right above our tent.







On the way up the H4 to Nkuhlu it was already scorching hot at 9:30 and this Ele was taking advantage of the shade.



At Nkuhlu I wanted to try out the infamous Buffalo Pie but they had sold out So we had to opt for the breakfast which was excellent and great value for money - unlike Wooden Banana.



Then I went on the hunt for some little things. At first I thought this was a dead leaf.



Some kind of wasp or wild bee that was digging a hole



and a beetle on the wall.



Carrying on towards Skukuza we turned into a river loop and I saw our first Woodie this trip.



When we got to Skukuza we had a little while to wait before we could check in and the SO found this unusual moth for me to shoot.




And along the river walk one of the resident Skinks



After we found our hut and we'd unloaded my single bag and the SO's multitude of stuff, I couldn't wait any longer and headed off for a magical afternoon at Lake Panic.

Which will be covered in the next episode.

[Flutterby]

Love the impie reflection. Those weavers are true master builders! -O That breakfast looks yum!!

[JustN@ture]

Fantastic installments BT, love the photos of the residents around sunset dam
the lions inn the previous installment were also awesome as well as the tall horses

[Lisbeth]

Great pics of the weavers very clever builders

[nan]

Sunset dam
and the Hairy... could do envy... for some

[Richprins]

Imagine the extra time should one not have to pack up the tent! But I'll stop with that now! -O

Highly intrigueing stuff, BT!

Check the number of people crawling around camps on hands and knees after this!

[Mel]

Great stuff once again! I'm not particularly fond of hairy stuff,
but your unusual moth looks quite interesting.

Beautiful shot of the kingfisher.