Is was a mission taking pics as the rising sun is straight in your face on that section of the H4-2
A leopard ............a little later
Browns in Kruger September 2021
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
A leopard ............a little later
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
I have always checked out your TT's and you guys have some amazing luckPumbaa wrote: ↑Thu Mar 31, 2022 10:00 pm Bushcraft,
what extreme cute lion cub and what luck you had with that sighting
Thanks for the hints with the leopards - The summer month can indeed be dense with all the bushes with nearly no view - For us in summer Skukuza is always a leopard ot spot
Skukuza is also part of most of our trips, not because we like the camp, it's for the leopard
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
Those Rasta dudes were cool guys, but proper stonersRogerFraser wrote: ↑Fri Apr 01, 2022 9:00 pmWow what a great sighting of the Cubbie .
![[Luv]](./images/smilies/icon_cuinlove.gif "Love")
Had a goodabout the Rasta dude episode
FYI I see Swazi has removed the testing requirement for Vaccinated people traveling through
We were down wind, so had a share 
I knew SA had removed the testing requirement, but I didn't know Swaziland had also
Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
Yes, they got rather pushy on the leopardPeter Betts wrote: ↑Sat Apr 02, 2022 1:26 pm I wouldnt Enjoy seeing this poor leopard Hounded up the Tar Road by idiots >> Hope that Lion Cub further on in the report wasnt hounded too much and cut off by cars
The lion cub wasn't hounded, probably because it was at 1st light so the gang wasn't around. She/he was super relaxed and approached at times Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
27th Lower Sabie to Talamati continued
Our next stop for pics was at N’watimhiri Dam as the hippo now had Hamerkops and a Heron using it as a hunting platform
We stopped again just before the H12 bridge for mating lions, 1 couple were on the bush side of the road and the other couple were down in the riverbed.
The bush couple started doing the deed, but all we could see was the male’s bum, so we gave up on them and moved closer to the river couple and that male eventually got enthusiastic, but he was very thin, which was a concern, however he ended up ignoring the aunty and moved deeper into the bush, so we moved on to the H12 were we found some relaxed ellies.
Our next stop for pics was at N’watimhiri Dam as the hippo now had Hamerkops and a Heron using it as a hunting platform
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We stopped again just before the H12 bridge for mating lions, 1 couple were on the bush side of the road and the other couple were down in the riverbed.
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The bush couple started doing the deed, but all we could see was the male’s bum, so we gave up on them and moved closer to the river couple and that male eventually got enthusiastic, but he was very thin, which was a concern, however he ended up ignoring the aunty and moved deeper into the bush, so we moved on to the H12 were we found some relaxed ellies.
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Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
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The H1-2 produced the 1st wild dog of the trip, however they were sleeping, so we moved on after a couple of pics and stopped again just outside Tshokwane for a tortoise that was in the road.
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We arrived at Tshokwane before 10am and it was already pushing mid 30-degree temperatures which made me a little nervous about Talamati later as there’s no aircons in the units and we had some history of serious heat while in that camp.
The sighting board didn’t indicate too much north of Tshokwane, so we decided to order wors rolls and just park off for an hour.
I have a habit of being a sighting board stalker, so chose to park off for chow in a spot where I could keep an eye on the sighting board and halfway through the wors roll someone arrived and put a leopard magnet on the board close to Tshokwane and then a cheetah magnetic just below the S125, so I sprung into integration mode and got all the details and the clan got rushed into finishing their rolls.
The leopard was hiding out from the sun in a tree about 2km from Tshokwane and he was in a deep sleep. We switched off and waited for some movement which fortunately came before we fried in the car, but he only picked his head up for a few seconds and then went back to sleep, so we continued on.
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Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
When we arrived at the “cheetah” spot just below the S125 we found a few cars still parked off, but no cheetah. The remains of a kill was still there and numerous vultures, however our timing for the cheetah was unfortunately out as it had just moved off due to the vulture invasion.
The rest of the drive to Talamati produced a few more of the usual gang, but we only took pics of our 1st ostrich of the trip
We arrived at Talamati a little early, but the Cow spun her charm story, and we were unpacking just before 2pm.
We always include at least 1 night at a bush camp in every Kruger trip, and they have become our “relaxed day”, so we now spend the time enjoying the camp rather than doing an afternoon drive (RP over the years has taught me to take a “timeout” when in Kruger). My hamster head doesn’t relax unless “numbed” though, so I was soon pushing the clan to walk around camp.
The train of ellies at the waterhole in front of camp doesn’t stop for long in winter, however there are always other animals to see around camp.
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The rest of the drive to Talamati produced a few more of the usual gang, but we only took pics of our 1st ostrich of the trip
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We arrived at Talamati a little early, but the Cow spun her charm story, and we were unpacking just before 2pm.
We always include at least 1 night at a bush camp in every Kruger trip, and they have become our “relaxed day”, so we now spend the time enjoying the camp rather than doing an afternoon drive (RP over the years has taught me to take a “timeout” when in Kruger). My hamster head doesn’t relax unless “numbed” though, so I was soon pushing the clan to walk around camp.
The train of ellies at the waterhole in front of camp doesn’t stop for long in winter, however there are always other animals to see around camp.
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Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
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Re: Browns in Kruger September 2021
I started the fire at around 3:30pm after the walkaround and we just relaxed chatting at the unit as the plan was to park off in the hide after dark for an hour.
At around 5:30pm I was finished braaiing and bored again so Albert and I cruised off to the hide and arrived to a commotion because a lion had come in to drink at the waterhole, however the ellie gang were charging around and chased it off, but I knew it would return to drink, so we roared back to our unit to call the Cow and Bushpig.
When we returned to the hide the news of the lion had spread, so the hide was packed and I don’t do crowds of people at the best of times, so we headed for the public Lapa type thing which also has limited views of the waterhole.
We sat around under the Lapa chatting, but the waterhole was quiet, so I left the clan and wobbled to the hide just before 6pm to investigate the crowd, but it was still packed, however someone arrived at camp and jumped out his car shouting.
“Lion are coming!”
I charged back to the waiting clan at the Lapa with the news, however no lion appeared which caused confusion, but we decided to wait it out and suddenly at around 6:30pm a male lion appeared, started drinking and minutes later the rest of the pride arrived.
Trying to take pics handheld with my camera in the dark is a recipe for a tantrum, but I managed some “ISO off the charts” proof pics.
The faulty male lion lost all interest in drinking and tried to “jump” each aunty as they started drinking, however trying to take pics in the dark while laughing doesn’t work.
The lions then walked off towards the cement reservoir and lay around it, so we moved to the benches outside the hide to maintain a view.
I had given up on trying to take pics and decided to just sit back and enjoy the sighting, however Albert had taken over the camera and some young dude was following along while giving a full on photography lesson on what she should and shouldn’t be doing, so I was waiting for Albert to give him the “Paul Kruger” face and bash the camera on his head, however she eventually also gave up and just sat back to enjoy the sighting and the young dude got the hint and pushed off.
More ellies eventually arrived and the lions started to move off, so we headed back to our unit where we found 3 other visitors, 2 genet and a scops, so Albert had her chance to take pics with the flash at close range.
At around 5:30pm I was finished braaiing and bored again so Albert and I cruised off to the hide and arrived to a commotion because a lion had come in to drink at the waterhole, however the ellie gang were charging around and chased it off, but I knew it would return to drink, so we roared back to our unit to call the Cow and Bushpig.
When we returned to the hide the news of the lion had spread, so the hide was packed and I don’t do crowds of people at the best of times, so we headed for the public Lapa type thing which also has limited views of the waterhole.
We sat around under the Lapa chatting, but the waterhole was quiet, so I left the clan and wobbled to the hide just before 6pm to investigate the crowd, but it was still packed, however someone arrived at camp and jumped out his car shouting.
“Lion are coming!”
I charged back to the waiting clan at the Lapa with the news, however no lion appeared which caused confusion, but we decided to wait it out and suddenly at around 6:30pm a male lion appeared, started drinking and minutes later the rest of the pride arrived.
Trying to take pics handheld with my camera in the dark is a recipe for a tantrum, but I managed some “ISO off the charts” proof pics.
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The faulty male lion lost all interest in drinking and tried to “jump” each aunty as they started drinking, however trying to take pics in the dark while laughing doesn’t work.
The lions then walked off towards the cement reservoir and lay around it, so we moved to the benches outside the hide to maintain a view.
I had given up on trying to take pics and decided to just sit back and enjoy the sighting, however Albert had taken over the camera and some young dude was following along while giving a full on photography lesson on what she should and shouldn’t be doing, so I was waiting for Albert to give him the “Paul Kruger” face and bash the camera on his head, however she eventually also gave up and just sat back to enjoy the sighting and the young dude got the hint and pushed off.
More ellies eventually arrived and the lions started to move off, so we headed back to our unit where we found 3 other visitors, 2 genet and a scops, so Albert had her chance to take pics with the flash at close range.
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