A QUIET WEEK IN PILANESBERG

[steamtrainfan]

And you call that a quiet week?

Looking at your photos at the speed you posted them, it looks like an absolutely amazing trip! Great bird and raptor sightings (osprey - fantastic), wonderful antelopes, rhino, elephant, more lion and even a leopard thrown in for some more excitement!

Hi Mel. You are right. I think we have been spoiled over the past three years with really amazing sightings.

Thanks so much for the positive comments.

[Mel]

Oh, I can relate to that feeling! But we had to eat humble pie in the KTP before our latest trip,
so our view on things has very much changed. Like you said, it's more that one has been overly
lucky before, I guess.

[Lisbeth]

It's not that difficult to spend a whole day driving seeing only some birds and maybe a few common antelopes. It's when it's repeated over some days that it gets really annoying and boring

Then when you put it all together in a few pages, it seems that you have seen a lot, only that you saw it all over three days

[Lisbeth]

The helmeted guinea fowl looks like a funny ceramic sculpture, not like a real bird

You missed a couple of promising hunts there Nice sightings anyway

[steamtrainfan]

Oh, I can relate to that feeling! But we had to eat humble pie in the KTP before our latest trip,
so our view on things has very much changed. Like you said, it's more that one has been overly
lucky before, I guess.

That's the way it goes Mel - like a roller coaster.

It's not that difficult to spend a whole day driving seeing only some birds and maybe a few common antelopes. It's when it's repeated over some days that it gets really annoying and boring

Then when you put it all together in a few pages, it seems that you have seen a lot, only that you saw it all over three days

I think that is what happened to us Lisbeth.

The helmeted guinea fowl looks like a funny ceramic sculpture, not like a real bird

You missed a couple of promising hunts there Nice sightings anyway

That guinea fowl was a real clown. Wish I could have caught it on video.

Those missed hunts were mind blowing - will they, won't they etc etc..

[steamtrainfan]

9 October 2018.













Only realised now that this is a Black Rhino. Is it???????

How of us not to have realised it at the time.



A nice group photo.



Mountain Reedbuck.



Sunset near Manyane.



Sunset from Manyane Camp.

[Lisbeth]

It's a blackie all right

Lovely sunbird and some beautiful scenery shots

The reedbucks have a bad "fur" day Had it been raining

[Mel]

So you saw a blackie without knowing that you actually saw one… Great sighting nonetheless

Nice sundown too.

Oh, and you did see the lions again.

What about those reedbuck? Are they youngsters? Their fur looks a bit shaggy. Or is that a common feature in them?
Only saw them from afar, so wouldn't really know

[steamtrainfan]

It's a blackie all right

Lovely sunbird and some beautiful scenery shots

The reedbucks have a bad "fur" day Had it been raining

Thanks for confirmation Lisbeth.

Not sure why they looked so shaggy. It had not rained.

So you saw a blackie without knowing that you actually saw one… Great sighting nonetheless

Nice sundown too.

Oh, and you did see the lions again.

What about those reedbuck? Are they youngsters? Their fur looks a bit shaggy. Or is that a common feature in them?
Only saw them from afar, so wouldn't really know

Oi Mel and I call myself a wild life enthusiast and I cannot tell the difference between a white and a blackie.

I cannot explain why the MR's looked so shaggy. Maybe one of the other listees can explain.

[Pumbaa]

What great lion sightings you had, steamtrainfan,

plus lots of amazing birdies - Love here especially the sunbirds, the barn owl and osprey