Kruger Newbies *

[PJL]

Day 5 Continued: Satara

After a well deserved afternoon of chilling, we hopped over to the meeting point for the sunset drive. I had read up a bit on people's experiences of the sunset & night drives, and was quite prepared to spend the evening stopping at pretty much anything that we came across. But I wasn't too concerned - the drive was more for the kids who hadn't been on an open game drive vehicle before and so were super excited about the trip



However, as luck would have it we scored with our guide Clive. He started the drive by saying that because none of us flew in to Satara, we had obviously all seen the regular animals so he would be aiming to spend the drive looking for more interesting things - particularly cats. Now that is my kind of game drive guide

We set off south towards the Sweni where the huge buffalo herd had been earlier in the day and at the S126 turnoff Clive stopped a couple of cars to find out if there was anything worth seeing. Someone had seen lion down that way, so we took a trip along to the Sweni waterhole to find them. We approached the waterhole at about the same time as a herd of elephant, who were quite happy to use the water container as their drinking trough







A little further along, the vultures gave away the lion position. This one seemed to be enjoying the sunset before giving us a beady eye





Quite a few of the gang on the vehicle were struggling to see the lion, as they were a fair way away from the road. They had obviously been feeding and with such full tummies would be in the area for quite a while, so Clive was keen to head back down the H1-3 to see what else we could find. If that proved to be quiet he promised he would head back to these lions later



Heading back towards the H1-3 the elephant herd had finished drinking and were meandering across the road. We had a good giggle at this one playing hide and seek



While another was busy dusting its underside



The sun really started sinking, and with it my anticipation was rising - we had cats already and Clive had seriously sharp eyes.





TBC

[Toko]

This is a vulture with a very full crop Cool photos

[PJL]

Nice, PJL!

What's your take on the amount of damage ellies do to vegetation in Kruger vs Addo?

Now that's an interesting question RP! The Addo ellie population has really increased over the past 5 years, but I haven't noticed a massive impact on the vegetation (apart from prickly pear which are like chocolate to them). I also didn't notice massive amounts of elephant damage in Kruger - though that might have been more down to the fact that the fire damage was much more obvious and could have hidden some of the elephant damage. If anything, water is probably more significantly impacted by larger elephant populations than the vegetation. Another thing to bear in mind is that ecology management is changing. Places like KNP have previously been managed in similar way to agricultural farms - limiting animal numbers, controlling fire, controlling water supplies etc. This meant that the park tried to limit elephant numbers to around 8000 based on Hwange's principle of 1 elephant per square mile, with a fear that higher numbers would result in vegetation damage. That density has no scientific basis - nobody had any empirical data on how many elephants KNP could actually support, and many of the fears seem to be somewhat unfounded now that the population has increased. Some of the damage that they cause is very important to the ecology of the parks, and I think it'll be the same in Addo - we're getting a high increase in elephant numbers right now, but that increase should stabilise at some point naturally

[PJL]

Day 5 Continued: Satara

Clive drove us south on the H1-3 and at one of the culverts there was a hyena clan starting to appear from their daytime slumber



Some youngsters were having breakfast



While for others it seemed too early to be waking up






We continued south and as darkness fell, we were surprised to see a campervan overtake us. Quite where they could have been trying to get to was beyond us
Clive was on leopard-lookout mode, and near Kumana dam he took a slow drive round near the Baobab tree to see if he could find any. There was no sign of leopard, but we got our 5th lion sighting of the day in the dry river bed





After seeing more lion, we all agreed that we didn't need to return to the others at Sweni so we continued on the hunt for leopard. Once it was totally dark we were invited to use the spotlights situated around the vehicle to look for eyes. The first set of eyes was just a duiker, but the second set spotted by Granny turned out to be a fantastic sighting of a serval





As we drove back up past Kumana dam, there were a number of eyes on a bank which had a definite cat look to them. It turned out to be 3 leopards, although in the dark it did get a bit confusing - one got up and walked one direction while others went a different way. Apologies for the poor photos - it was extremely dark, and people were swinging spotlights in different directions so there was very limited light
Still - 3 leopards at once!!





We were running short on time, so Clive hit the road again and our only other stop on the way back was a genet playing hide and seek in a tree. Not a chance of photos, but great to see

All the cat excitement must have worn D out as he fell asleep on the drive back

The kids were dying to see Miss Satara, who duly obliged by doing the rounds a few minutes after we got back to our huts - a very nice end to quite a spectacular day





TBC

[PJL]

Day 6: Satara to Tamboti

After all the sightings of the previous day it wasn't surprising that the next day was much quieter... that's just how it seems to go. We started our morning drive by checking out Nsemani, but apart from a couple of regulars it was very quiet. Heading up the S40 it was quiet enough that I even started taking pics of wildebeest



Further along the same road we had some white headed vultures pass overhead




The rest of the trip up to Timbavati picnic spot was very peaceful and despite nothing being around we all enjoyed the view at the picnic site while having breakfast



From Timbavati we took the S127 and came across our first close sighting of ground hornbills







One of them ran off into a bush and shortly came out with a lizard for breakfast



Which brought the rest of the gang running to check out if there were any more available



Driving back to camp along the H1-4 we had some distant views of buffalo and rhino, but our top sighting of the morning was closer to the road
Stoffel was busy digging around for snacks, and after a while came closer to us and crossed the road right behind our car



Back at the camp, the packing ritual started again. Our plan was to laze by the pool at Satara then head over to Tamboti after lunch.

TBC

[PJL]

Day 6 Continued: Satara to Tamboti

We were all enjoying the relaxing surroundings at Satara so much that we didn't really feel like leaving the camp

But Tamboti was our next stop, and I had heard plenty of stories about the honey badgers, monkeys and baboons so was excited to see what it was like. Not to mention the odd cat being on unexpected sides of the fence... stories which had S wondering what she was letting herself in for

We set off from Satara early afternoon, so with the heat and simply wanting to get to the next camp to unpack I didn't stop for any photographs en-route. The check-in was smooth at Orpen, and before long we were at the entrance to Tamboti



While we unpacked, a couple of white backed vultures kept an eye on proceedings



We decided on an early braai so that we could sneak in a short drive before closing, but my timing was a bit out so it ended up being a very quick outing. Unfortunately there was very little around to see, but the evening light was giving a nice glow to this giraffe



After driving along the H7 for a while we came across an elephant road-block with the start of a major traffic jam behind - all wanting to get to Orpen before gate closing time.



I wasn't keen to get into that kind of confusion so we swung around back to camp where we were treated to a hyena walking the fence line. Sleep didn't happen much that night as it started blowing a gale and the temperature plummeted. It was only about 6 degrees when we got up the next morning .
Stoffel did the night visit at one point, and there were lion roaring close by from about 2am as well

TBC

[PJL]

Day 7: Tamboti

The wind from the night had calmed down by dawn, but it really was a chilly start to the day. After listening to the roaring nearby for half the night I took a stroll down to the southern fence line but there was no sign of any lion... just a hyena cruising the dry river bed in the distance. It was a bit frustrating knowing that they must be so close but not visible.

Our morning drive took us along the H7 with a plan to sit with some breakfast at one of the lookout points as there had been plenty of wild dog sightings along the Timbavati river bed over the previous days. As we cruised along, we saw several bateleurs circling overhead



The lookout didn't provide any dogs, but there was a nice herd of nyala doing their best to make photography difficult by being in the sun and shade at the same time







We discovered that lion had been seen at the Rabelais waterhole, so the kids forced us to take the S106 down that way. After hunting around a bit we eventually spotted 2 males, but they were quite far away and one got up and wandered off for better shade.





Back on the H7 we had an incident where I wished I had never stopped. I spotted a chameleon in the middle of the road and after reversing back to see it we stopped for some pics with a car behind us. We did a good job of warning an approaching car and they stopped to take some pics as well.... so I assumed the car parked behind already knew what we were looking at. But when they went past us they either got their width wrong or were simply blind as they managed to turn the poor chameleon into some scavenger's breakfast

The kids were distraught seeing it unfold right before them
So we tried to console them with happier memories of the chameleon in their photos. Which didn't work to be honest



Thankfully Nsemani provided some decent distractions including this nice herd of ellies which trundled down to the water and slowly made their way closer to us









After everyone appeared to have recovered from the mornings trauma we stopped in at Satara for a good break and some lunch.

TBC

[PJL]

Day 7 Continued: Tamboti

After lazing around at Satara we mulled over route options for the afternoon and decided to try out the S126 and S36 for a bit of variety on our way back towards Tamboti. On one of the first bridges on the H1-3 we found the water attracting plenty of general game









A short while later on the H1-3 we came across a big bird of prey which I think must have been a juvenile martial eagle



The buffalo and lions on near Sweni a couple of days previously must have moved away as it was all fairly quiet driving along the S126. We had a troop of baboon cross the road with little ones entertaining us with their antics







As we got closer to Muzandzeni picnic spot, a large elephant came wandering along a burnt area towards us. He was a majestic chap - not a huge tusker, but pretty big all the same. Eventually I ran out of reverse-zoom to fit him in... and realised that was probably time to move out of his way







TBC

[PJL]

Day 7 Continued: Tamboti

We took a quick pit-stop at Muzandzeni and heard that there had been cheetah at the waterhole there the previous day... what with the Orpen wild dog pack playing hard to find and cheetah springing up in places and disappearing just as quickly it felt a bit like we were chasing other people's sightings.

After our stop we made our way back to camp up the S36 and along the H7. Apart from the regular game, we got a nice view of a LBR doing a good balancing act in the breeze.





Down at the Timbavati there were some nyala and bushbuck milling around





As we approached the Orpen area, we had our first sighting of a BBJ
It was strange not seeing many as we were used to seeing plenty of them when we visit Addo



As we finally rolled down the track towards camp, we enjoyed another spectacular sunset



TBC

[PJL]

Day 8: Tamboti to Lower Sabie

We slept a load better than the night before, and I woke up excited by the prospect of travelling across and down to Lower Sabie. The sunrise looked very similar to the previous evening's sunset



After the lion sighting at Rabelais the previous day we took a quick detour down that way, but they weren't still around. As we popped back to the H7 we caught this tawny eagle trying to warm itself up.



I was convinced that the Orpen wild dog pack would be making an appearance for us along the H7, but they must have been mis-informed about our route
The vultures were circling in places, so perhaps the doggies were busy with breakfast somewhere just out of sight



Nsemani produced the usual suspects, but I was pleased to finally catch one of the fish eagles in flight



While parked there, one of the resident crocs made an exit from the water and judging from the tummy-buldge had been feasting recently



We made a short pit-stop at Satara where someone was kind enough (or perhaps I should say mean enough) to show me their photos of a cheetah sighting down the H1-3. It had only been about 10 minutes prior, so we quickly shot off in that direction and even skipped a lion sighting to see if they were still around, but this squirrel kindly informed us we were too late



We hopped back to the lions for a quick shot. They were a fair distance away, but this was our 9th lion sighting of the trip so we were pretty stoked
The lady with her head up had a collar, so it felt a little bit like being back in Addo



Travelling down the H1-3 we came across a steenbok couple who were busy chasing each other around the bush. They made a very cute couple





A little further along we came across another set of ground hornbill very close to the road. It was great to see these endangered birds up close again





TBC