Flavour of the Month Feb 2012: Klopperfontein

[Richprins]

Klopperfontein is a slightly remote but well-known spot, and really one of my absolute favourites!

[Toko]

Klopperfontein is the name of a spring. It is named after the ivory hunter Hans Klopper from Louis Trichardt, who camped here for days at a time during his regular hunting trips into northern Kruger in the late 19th century. Hunters from Schoemansdal and Louis Trichard preferred Klopperfontein and Malonga to set up camp when they hunted elephant, giraffe and other game in the area and gradually wiped out some of the antelope (eland, nyala and Lichtenstein’s hartebeest)


Map of Klopperfontein



My last visit there (2010) was not very exciting - I have seen a hamerkop and a steenbok.

[Richprins]

Klopperfontein Dam









Note the two parking areas...one at the fountain to the North, the other at the dam to the South!

[Richprins]

Klopperfontein

[Flutterby]

On our one and only visit to Klopperfontein, in October 2010, we saw this:

[Peter Betts]

I have spent hundreds of hours there and its great ..Cheetah, Lictensteins Hartebeest, Roan, Eland in the far distance running like hell AWAY and Ellies and buff stukkend...Havent seen lions there at all but one morning Spoor the size of Soup Plates...lets see what I can find..Mainly Vids and slides though and maybe the odd digital..Will have lots by Oct this year as I am going to Punda twice this year.

[Peter Betts]

Been avoiding Klopperfontein like the plague lately because of the toll road to Mocambique...but this was from 4 years ago

[Peter Betts]

The Peace and Quiet of Klopperfontein in the days before it became a speed stage for the Total Rally to Moz/Punda Gate but when I arrived this day there was a Pygmy Goose couple with 2 chicks floating around the far end before disappearing in the foliage, 2 x Racket Tailed Rollers displaying aerially from the tree above me, A bird party of Arnotts Chat, Green capped Eremomela and Groundscrapper Thrush couple and an Ostrich that walked through..Not to mention the 2 x African Hawk Eagles that came to visit for 20 mins.....

THE BEAUTY OF THE NORTH......now to get some political will to force NON guest to go through Komatipoort and close Pafuri gate forever...nothing less will do ..otherwise areas like Klopperfontein will become more urban than Zoo Lake JHB

[Dewi]

I've only been to Kruger three times, and went to Klopperfontein each time! Hard to believe that I've been more times than some the "locals". In saying that, we did not see much at the dam itself, only impala. We did see Dickinson'd Kestrels on the S60 heading towards the dam from Punda, and saw Lichtenstein's Hartebeest as we got onto the H-18 close to the turn off for this dam.

To get to the dam, you take the S60 from Punda and turn onto the S-61 before you hit the main tar road. Alternatively, turn off the H-18 onto the S61 as you head South from Baobab Hill.

Great ellie pics Peter & RP.

Love the Eland Fluts.

[Richprins]

The unusual thing about Klopperfontein is that there is a little dam, with some shade, where you can stop RIGHT at the water's adge, and then a bit further north another lookout loop, where you can watch animals differently, and run away to when the elephants chase you away from the dam!



Bird pic of the year, 2012, at the little dam wall:










Then proof of lion, circa 2005










And a giraffe!