Africa Wild

Our zebra sightings continued the longer we drove that road



and by the way of variety we detected a couple of purple rollers



and a couple of elephants who dug holes in the riverbed



to get water and that was already long time ago since we last saw that.



Despite the heat we in fact saw quite a lot and with that lone buffalo under a bush



we already returned back to camp now via the S135 and via the causeway from where also a lot was to be seen. That shot with elephant is one of my favourite pictures we took whilst standing on the causeway



and today masses of yellow billed storks as well as



great white egrets,



grey herons, crocodiles and green backed herons could be captured until we returned back to camp



where we had a more than nice lunch at the restaurant



and then relaxed for a final time on our verandah or in our bungalow until it was then time for our very last afternoon drive but before we started a green wood hopoe in camp had to be captured.

We wanted to drive that afternoon the S50 until Kaniedood and despite the heat we in the first only spotted a saddle billed stork



the rest was more than quiet until we nearly reached Kaniedood where masses of different elephants could be seen



in the riverbed and same were again busy or even finished in dipping holes in the Shingwedzi.



That small herd was more than cute to watch



whilst also impalas in the background were hanging around also a couple of smaller elephant bulls gathered together.



We found a nice spot to park and had the best view onto this small family







out of which that little one was simply too gorgeous.



Meanwhile more bulls had a meeting



and even more arrived



whilst the little calf decided to be on the wrong path.



to be continued………………with the very last instalment

super to watch Ellies digging to have water
and again lot of beautiful pictures and birds as well

Your lunch looks deliciously fattening What is the "monster" with mayonnaise/sauce Bearnaise dripping, between the two pieces of bread?

Great elephant entertainment and the lil'one is just too cute

nan wrote: ↑Sat May 20, 2023 9:58 pm super to watch Ellies digging to have water
and again lot of beautiful pictures and birds as well

Normally there is enough water in the rivers when we are in the park in February but during that trip the North obviously did not get enought rain so always fascinating when ellies do that

Lisbeth wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 11:15 am Your lunch looks deliciously fattening What is the "monster" with mayonnaise/sauce Bearnaise dripping, between the two pieces of bread?

Great elephant entertainment and the lil'one is just too cute

That are onion rings and it was a burger with chicken - Neither Timon nor I do eat fast food when at home and only very seldon fries but when in the park that is a must for us Lil ellie are in fact the cutest

A food pic at last, Pumbaa!

Looks absolutely delicious!

But what a wonderful drive around the S56 and S50, with lots to see!

As you say, rare these days to see the ellies digging for water, quite something to behold!

Nice birdies too, great pic of the cuckoo eating.

Richprins wrote: ↑Sun May 21, 2023 6:14 pm A food pic at last, Pumbaa!

Looks absolutely delicious!

But what a wonderful drive around the S56 and S50, with lots to see!

As you say, rare these days to see the ellies digging for water, quite something to behold!

Nice birdies too, great pic of the cuckoo eating.

It was in fact delicious We always love it when the ellies dig for water it is so lovely to watch

Although the sun was still shinning merciless from above we could not take our eyes from the spectacle the elephants in the riverbed offered.





in between a glossy starling landed in reach and so same had to be photographed as well



but for sure the elephants entertained us quite a lot. Now our smallest herd member got interest in a huge elephant bull and started to follow same on the heels.





The little one was obviously that fascinated by that huge bull that same could not stop in chasing him



but meanwhile the mother as well as the rest of the herd noticed that the youngster was on its own account and finally also pursued same and disappeared on the other side of the river.



Meanwhile it was also time to return slowly back to camp and besides the same saddle billed stork we already spotted on our way there it was again totally quiet but luckily at the Shingwedzi causeway we now spotted the grey heron in a nicely pose extreme close



and also a hippo plus quite a lot of crocodiles could be seen in the remaining puddle there.



The longer we checked out the remaining puddle the more



and even more crocodiles we noticed in same - that was indeed extreme scary.

We had a bit time left and so stopped a while on the Shingwedzi highwater bridge and from here we realized that obviously an elephant invasion took place with a buffalo here and there



and nearly each elephant was busy in digging its own water hole.



Finally we returned back to camp and were more than thankful for that wonderful very last full day in the park.

Sunday, 27. February 2022 – Shingwedzi – Punda Maria Gate

Explored roads: H1-7 – S58 – H13-1 – H13-2

Was yesterday such a successful day when it comes to sightings today it was the contrary and although we took it slow we unfortunately did not see that much. At least a beautiful Wahlberg’s eagle posed so nicely extreme close



so soon Timon took masses of shots again.



Another amur falcon could be captured,



two grey hornbills



entertained us quite a while



and finally a really impressive elephant bull



with an incredible pair of tusks



was the very last animal we saw that year.





Luckily today no barricades as well as road closures came across so we reached without no problems the airport after a couple of hours where we spent our final night and already started counting the days when we will be back.

The end finally!