And then the rain set in or at dusk the bush comes alive

[Richprins]

Naughty bee-eater....not eating bees but dragonflies!

And disgraceful baboon...

Looks like this was an owl trip, Pumbaa?

[Lisbeth]

Lovely sequence of the bee-eater

The baboon must have scared you to death It is not like seeing it coming, you had it right in front of you

Nice bird shots

As yet I have not seen a woodie, but I have heard them

[Flutterby]

So many lovely pics to catch up on! Especially the giraffe and bee-eaters.

[Pumbaa]

So many beautiful birds again. The north rocks

Yeah that baboon is huge and not scared of anybody and he is creating a huge problem. They need to make a plan quickly before someone gets hurt

The North always is rocking but that baboon was indeed a pest as he was that huge

[Pumbaa]

Naughty bee-eater....not eating bees but dragonflies!

And disgraceful baboon...

Looks like this was an owl trip, Pumbaa?

At least when it comes to the giant eagle owls but we were extreme happy to see that many of them

[Pumbaa]

Lovely sequence of the bee-eater

The baboon must have scared you to death It is not like seeing it coming, you had it right in front of you

Nice bird shots

As yet I have not seen a woodie, but I have heard them

I will still hold thumbs to spot your first woodie during that trip At least the baboon did not move and we were only eying each other

[Pumbaa]

So many lovely pics to catch up on! Especially the giraffe and bee-eaters.

That White fronted bee eaters are indeed extreme good posers

[Pumbaa]

We drove until the Kaniedood hide and paid a bit time there but as absolutely nothing appeared we turned around and still enjoyed the drive under the shady trees and stopped for a forktailed drongo,



more red-billed hornbills



and luckily to our delight a melba finch was willing to pose excessively



as we often only see this bird species well hidden in or behind a bush or too active for decent shots.



We also stopped for a thrush



and more Carmine bee eaters



before we returned then to camp and finally also the cleaning lady finished her work and we finally could enjoy our delicious mango without being disturbed by any baboon. We also left camp relatively late as we did not want to drive that far so we visited the Confluence which is always a lovely shady spot and whilst we listened to the woodland kingfisher concert we noticed a large crocodile taking a sunbath



and as it was still a bit time left we even paid a visit to the causeway at the beginning of the S52 and there we noticed a hammerhead with a bald spot on its head.



We also spotted our first elephant for that day,



a grey heron,



a couple of paradise whydahs quite far away



and another brown eagle.

[Pumbaa]

Whilst driving already back to camp the obligatory baboon troop crossed our way



and we noticed another nyala in the riverbed.



As it was today our very last evening inside the park we went to the restaurant – The food itself was once again delicious and the chicken burger simply yummy but as we decided to sit outside the darker it got the more bugs rained down on us and also onto our table and even onto our plates and heads and so on. Whenever the waiters were busy in walking by their steps made some cracking noise as they squashed always a great number of bugs with each step. We also experienced the presence of a couple of bugs during previous evenings but today it was in fact a bug rain at least it was another bush experience to be told and when we got back to our bungalow we still found a couple of bugs on our backpacks and cloths, however, finally we slept more than well without any more bugs!

Sunday, 25. February 2018 – Shingwedzi – Punda Maria Gate

Explored roads: H1-7 – S56 – H1-7 – S58 – H13-1 – S99 – H13-1

Now it was time to leave the park, however, we still had nearly the whole day inside the park and so we enjoyed our final sunrise for that year inside the park.



Already yesterday those colours were simply breathtaking and so we stood quite a long time on the highwater bridge across the river and watched that play of colours.





We carried on but it was another more than quiet morning in the park at least we noticed whilst riding past the S135 that same had been opened today so we had also hope that our beloved S56 had been opened as well but the veld looked partly still extreme dry, however, the wildebeests were present again



and then we noted with frustration that the S56 was still closed and so we had no other choice than to drive along the tar road but finally we got compensated with the next sighting as we neared Nkulumbeni South we hardly believed our eyes as we spotted a large herd of elands





and here exactly at that spot it was again extreme green and lush and sometimes we had difficulties in seeing them as lots of bushes were blocking the view.





At least they were not that far away and so we could watch them either quenching their thirst from the waterhole or simply grazing.





to be continued.........

[Alf]

Again more stunning birds and another pretty sunrise

Wow and then Eland