Kruger Newbies *

[Bushcraft]

It’s like looking at my trip from a different angle

You got great pics of Lubyelubye lions sun tanning I found it a mission to get an angle in the traffic chaos

It was great chatting PJL and agreed, next time we need to throw a braai or something

[PJL]

Day 9 Continued: Lower Sabie to Berg en Dal

Setting off from Lower Sabie we dropped onto the low level bridge to enjoy the view one last time.



The fish were doing a good job of trying to avoid a heron fishing close by - I think a green backed heron?







On the other side of the bridge, a terrapin was mountaineering its way out of the water, and we saw our first monitor lizard. Unfortunately the lizard wasn't interested in looking our way for a photo





We travelled down the H4-2 and took a detour off towards Duke waterhole where apparently the Gomondwane lion pride had been sighted with as many as 23 lion in the area
It's a tight squeeze down the S137 (as we had been warned by Bushcraft), but the sighting wasn't quite as crowded as it could have been. We settled in at the edge of the lion where this mom was chilling with one of her cubs



TBC

[PJL]

Day 9 Continued: Lower Sabie to Berg en Dal

I was desperate not to get totally blocked in at the lion sighting as we had a fair way to travel that afternoon to get to Berg en Dal, but when space opened up right in the middle we took a chance and hopped into the prime viewing spot.

Most of the adults were full up on zebra meat and were lying in the shade behind various bushes at a distance away. One lioness and a mix of youngsters were still awake and cleaning the remains of the carcass closer to us







Every now and then this little cub would play peek-a-boo with the line up of vehicles



The feeding continued and then the lioness was suddenly up and moving





She had figured that there was still some leg meat available for the youngsters and duly carried it back to them.







This brought more youngsters running in, and the munching continued.







We were all excited to see some action from the lions - particularly as it was the middle of the day, but we didn't stay much longer as we wanted to get on our way to the next camp.

TBC

[PJL]

Day 9 Continued: Lower Sabie to Berg en Dal

We picked out a route across to Berg en Dal along the S26 and S114 because Grandpa was sure the leopards from earlier in the trip would still be around the same trees
But with the drive being right in the heat of the day it was extremely quiet, and we only stopped at a few sightings along the way including a bateleur and some rhinos with juniors.



This first junior seemed very shy





The next junior was just too small to be seen properly






We cruised in to Berg en Dal with a bit of spare time, but after a long day in the car we were happy to relax at the camp. The atmosphere had changed dramatically since our arrival the week before due to the start of the school holidays. There seemed to be an explosion of noisy kids, and I was very glad we had taken ours out of school to enjoy some quiet in the place

TBC

[PJL]

Thanks Lis, Flutts, nan & RP for your comments

Day 10: Last Day

Despite the long journey ahead of us later in the day I was determined to be out the gate early to make the most of our last morning in the park. We planned a route round the S110 tar and up the S114 for a stop at Afsaal, and I was secretly wishing for some more leopard sightings along the way. However that wasn't to be. In fact the first part of the drive was extremely quiet with just a few regulars around, but this turned out to be a morning for juniors. We rounded a corner and had just enough time to get cameras at the ready for this really little rhino leading its mom across the road







Travelling along the S23 we stumbled upon a large herd of elephant spread out along the road. I wasn't keen to get too close to them, but we soon found ourselves surrounded on all sides so slowly made our way along the road in the midst of the herd.

These 2 appeared to have a long conversation about whether the grass was greener on the other side of the road



Junior decided it was greener, so led the way over to the rest of the clan





The morning light was playing nicely with the baby fur on its head and back



Junior then got very annoyed that one of the aunties photobombed this shot



It was great to be up close and personal with these huge animals, and for most of the time it was just our car. Eventually we made our way through for a pit-stop at Afsaal, then headed back south towards camp down the H3 as D was hoping on seeing some hyena at the den site. Along the way we found this little bee eater which stopped just long enough for a few pics





TBC

[PJL]

Thank you nan, Lisbeth, steamtrainfan, Bushcraft, Flutterby, Mel & Pumbaa for tagging along

Day 10: Last Day

As we came into the hyena den area there were a couple of cars sitting around, and we heard from one driver that the hyena had been seen down at Renoster Pan heading back in the den direction. This got D very excited, so we sat waiting for quite a long time expecting the hyena to come into view at any second. Eventually it was just us sat there, and I was getting bored so we took a trip down to the pan to see if we could find them anywhere along the way. There were a few regulars around, but no sign of hyena anywhere so we hopped back up to the H3 with D feeling disappointed

Just as we turned onto the H3 there was a culvert with a bit of movement, and after waiting quietly for a few minutes we were rewarded with a little head poking out



A car came speeding up in front of us looking around to see what we had stopped for which got the little one ducking away at speed
So we came up with a plan that when any other cars came along we'd simply look like we had just stopped for a coffee and map stop and hope they wouldn't disturb the young ones

Patience paid off, and the little one came out again, lay down and was then joined by its sibling









A few cars came by and our coffee break/map-stop acting played out brilliantly... so much so that the little ones started to sleep



A jeep jockey rolled up and asked us whether we had spotted anything, so we pointed out the youngsters and they got into a nice position without disturbing them. The passengers aroused the hyena's curiosity which made for some nice shots before a monster truck (no kidding) with a monster engine came roaring up the road which had them ducking for cover again.





Little D was thrilled to get a hyena sighting in on the final day, so we decided to continue our drive and leave the monster truck to its roaring.

TBC

[PJL]

Day 10: The End

Our drive back to camp was fairly uneventful. We did find this baby boon sucking its thumb and then pulling a big cheesy which had the kids in hysterics





Matjulu waterhole was all quiet but I finally managed to get a shot of a blue waxbill



Cruising the last bit of the S110 back to camp, there was a tawny circling with some kind of scraps in tow




It was sad to be packing up and leaving, but we had been treated to some great sightings during our stay and I would love to be able to head back again sometime... if only the drive wasn't such a long way I think we would be there on a much more regular basis

Thank you to all of you who tagged along on this TR

[PJL]

Definitely not our last trip... already trying to figure out when we can get back there
The tamron is certainly worth considering if you're either starting out or perhaps upgrading from kit lenses, but you're probably best saving your money for now if you have the sigma. Perhaps Canon will bring out something slightly longer than their old 100-400 to compete, in which case maybe save up for that

Glad to hear that you'll be returning PJL

From what I've seen in the comparisons between the generic and Nikon or Canon lenses there is not enough difference between them to warrant the massive extra cost unless you make your living from photography! By strange coincidence, Sigma have announced a new 150-600 at nearly twice the price of the Tamron!

BluTuna don't be fooled there is a HUGE difference in image quality between the Generics and say Nikkor lenses which I have used for 45 years...Taking my current D800 as an example ...you have to have high end Nikkor glass to get the best out of that huge sensor. I wouldn't put anything else on my camera but the real thing and am busy saving like mad to be able to retire with good glass.. a present to myself to enjoy in the golden years

I'm with BT on this one... I'm not convinced there is a huge difference in image quality. Perhaps it becomes more visible if you pixel-peep on a 36MP shot, but bear in mind most people are probably not shooting with that kind of sensor. I know if I compare my shots with something like a 400mm prime Canon L lens then yes there is a slight difference with the Canon having a slightly sharper result, nicer bokeh and faster autofocus, but my Tamron is a zoom which is more convenient and provides an additional 200mm of focal length. If I was to get anything similar from the top Canon L glass range then it would be the new 100-400 lens, and whilst I do think my images might be slightly better with it - and therefore I naturally would love to buy the lens - it costs R10,000 more than the Tamron plus another R5000 for an extender to give it a similar range to what I have at the moment. Is it worth that much extra? Probably not, and for many of us the cost is a prohibitive factor - and that's what BT is saying... it's not that we don't want the lovely high-class pro lenses... it's just that they're flippin expensive and there generally needs to be a very obvious reason to shell out so much extra cash. I don't blame you for sticking to Nikon lenses - in years gone by they would be leaps and bounds ahead of generics, but the generics have certainly caught up quite significantly in recent years.