Always great to be back in Paradise. Nov. 2011. *

[JustN@ture]

This was a long awaited trip. I planned to stay a week outside the park as I usually do and then spend the weekend at Tamboti , this changed after I read some of the TR’s :lol: :lol: So I decided to spend an extra week in the park travelling up North where the ellies can be nasty :lol: :lol:. It is great to finally be back in KNP.

We were extremely blessed with our sightings, a lot were far off (which you will see by the photo's :roll: ) but one could see them...that's all that counts :D and then of course the elusive Leopard was its usual self…..elusive but we still had 8 Leopard sightings (one with kill and two with young), Lions (bit scares and lazy…except one sighting ), plenty of Ellie (plenty of young ones), Rhino and Buffalo (Huge herds) and numerous birds.

So to get started Day 1 travelling from the concrete jungle (Jo’burg) to Numbi gate. We left early so we could travel through the park to Ngwenya Lodge, our base for the first week outside Croc bridge. Got to the gate just after 11am and were not expecting to see much because of the time and it being hot …what a surprise.

Sightings for the day where
#Kudu, JABI (Impala), Buffalo, Steenbok, Ellies, Hippo, Water-buck, Wart hog, Wildebeest, Lion, Bush buck, Chacma Baboon, Giraffe, Vervet monkey, Tortoise
#Ground horn bill, Saddle-bill stork, Batleur Eagle, Fish Eagle and others

So posing first


Female Kudu

A bit further down the road we had our first “Big Five” encounter, being this big fella


Buffalo

As we were moving off a car pulled up and told us of a sighting about 2km further on…there were 12 Lions next to the road, they had killed a Zebra , we expected a major traffic jam but alas there were only 4 other cars OiO , we got there and one of the cars that was parked move off leaving us his spot with the loins about 2m from our car, they had devoured most of the Zebra and had split into four smaller groups eating and resting.








We left after our fill. One cannot ask for more when you are just going through the park and it being midday. We headed to Skukuza and then down to Lower Sabie, seeing these chaps on the way.


African Fish Eagle


Giant Kingfisher


Ellies

We stopped in at Sunset dam, I was amazed at how low the water level was. Then just after LS we came across these two


Bateleur

this was about it for the day as we needed to book in and do some shopping so headed down to Croc Bridge and left the park till tomorrow :P .

[JustN@ture]

Day 2
Got to the gate just as it opened. Sightings for the day were
#JABI, Kudu, Elephant, Wart hog, Water buck, Wildebeest, Hippo, Crocodile, Zebra, Vervet monkey, Tortoise, White Rhino, Buffalo, Lion, Klipspringer, Giraffe, Rabbit,
#Marshal Eagle, Batleur eagle
We decided to go down to hippo pools and see what it had to offer us, it was great to see Daniel again and I am always amazed how easily he spots the game, he showed us the Lion spoor on the pathway we were walking down that had been through his area that morning which he was searching for . He pointed out the Waterbuck, Hippo, Croc and the Kudu, he could just not find us the lions :lol: :lol: . What a great view.





Encountered this big fellow minding his own business having breakfast,



And then noticed some movement on the road…..


Dung Beetle, that’s the way he rolls :lol: :lol: .

We stopped in at Mpondo dam for coffee and these two young guys where lazing at the water’s edge, there was an ellie and a rhino on the far side...too far for a photo.






After coffee we head up towards Renosterkoppies dam and spotted this Martial Eagle on the edge of a water hole and then a bit further on found this fella….would think his tusk would be a bother to him







and a bit further on this one was already standing in the shade





There was a lone lioness in the shade just up the way from the dam in a hollow under a tree sleeping, we waited a while but she was in no mood to budge so we went up to Skukuza and the headed back down to LS via the S21, it was here we noticed why the animals were heading for the shade so early was a bit of a warm day




At first I thought the cars temperature gage was out….it had to be broken or faulty…..but the weather services confirmed the temp for us . I had no idea it gets so hot up that way, I feel so sorry for the animals in that heat.The sightings were scares and now I understood why.
On our way this group had gathered under the shade





We slowly made our way back down towards Croc Bridge stopping off at Sunset dam where the hippo’s were bathing and the Heron’s practice their surfing :lol: :lol: .





That was it for the day... another great one

[JustN@ture]

Day 3
We and were traveling the H4-2 tar road and just after the S25 turnoff something was spotted in the road, (usual comments were made...(we all no of them) "what's that"...."Where"...."There", "Where", "There...IN THE ROAD" .... "Wild Dog", "Cat" -O -O -O -O -O ) ...as we got closer some Impala bolted across in front of us, one of them slipping on the tar and then we saw it was a hyena that was chasing them, it went off after the impala and then came back to the road and stop next to us, watching as the Impala made their escape , we heard a bit later that two hyenas had made an impala kill that morning at Croc Bridge





So sightings for the day were
#Impala, Hyena, Wildebeest, Zebra, Wart hog, Giraffe, White Rhino, meerkat, Steenbok, Chacma Baboon, Ostrich, Dwarf Mongoose, Water buck, Lion(sleeping), Hippo, Elephant, Kudu, Cheetah, Vervet monkeys and Crocodile #Marshal Eagle, Goliath Heron, ?Eagle (still to be identified)
We decided to do the S28 and have coffee at the hide near Nhangazwane dam or the Nhangazwane dam itself, it was a quiet drive and had some plain game on the drive, the hide was dry and empty and heard from the people who stopped there with us that we had just missed a lioness and 4 cubs cross the road further down the road . We stopped at Sunset dam for the coffee. As mentioned by others on the forum, always a winner and a great place to just sit and watch the game.






This chap was lurking at the water’s edge
We had planned to go up to Tshokwane for lunch and then come back down, did not make Tsokwane but that did not bother us as the sightings were worth it.
We had this chap…sleeping of course :lol: :lol: :lol:



Stopped in at Mlondozi for breakfast…which turned out to be brunch :roll: , this site kept us entertained for about 2 hours as there was plenty to see waterbuck, warthogs, wildebeest, baboon troops, zebra, giraffe, hippo and there was supposedly lions on the one bank in a hollow :roll: :roll:. 3 herds of ellies came down to drink and then there were the singles that came down too, the last two had their morning bath. Sorry for the poor quality of the photos they are fare away. :oops: :oops:


Some of the game that came to drink, the 2 ellies were having fun for a good bit of time,

Wildebeest and the 2 ellies a bit later

The heard came down and one of the big guys wanted to have somemore fun

And then the bathing ellies




We left and heard there where cheetah at the hillside waterhole a little way up sleeping, so of course we had to go see them. We got there just in time z0z z0z



They then got up and started to move as if on a mission, but went further into the bush.





We then went on a bit further to the lookout and then started making our way back to the gate. This guy court our attention with his call



We had one final stop on our way down to the gate and that is for this special lady….



Sorry for the poor quality photos again, she was also very far off :oops: :oops: :oops:

And then her baby popped in OiO OiO








Cropped
We only got to see the one cub but apparently she had 3 or 4 with her :D :D :D
Our first Cub z0z z0z

[JustN@ture]

Day 4
Today we decided to enter at Malelane Gate. On the bridge going to the gate we were told there was a Black Rhino on the river bank…it was far off and well this is all that we could see :roll:



The sightings for the day were
#Leopard …..Tortoise, Humongous snail :lol: :lol:, Dwarf Mongoose, Elephant, Impala, Hippo, Crocodile, Buffalo, Zebra, Giraffe, Wildebeest, Ground squirrel, White Rhino, Wart hog, Kudu, Klipspringer, Vervet monkey, Chacma baboons and babies,
#African paradise fly catcher, Malachite king fisher, Guinea Fowl, Goliath heron, Grey heron, Green backed heron, Fish eagle,
At the bridge this big croc was lazing on a sand bank


We stopped in at Berg-en- Dal and did the roads around the camp, it was very quiet yet we saw a Leopard …..Tortoise and as we approached the H3 we had a few buffalo next to the road, this guy was willing to pose for a few photo’s.




We headed up to Afsaal for breakfast and finally got to see the resident Scops-owl



After breakfast it was up to Skukuza via Renosterkoppies dam and the S65 just before the dam at the rocks we spotted the klipspringers. We saw this guy on a dead branch and a Rhino in the shade and the Jabi with baby









Decided to stop in at Lake panic, what a stunning place, we ended up spending a lot of time here











Leaving the hide and heading down to Croc Bridge we stopped to watch the troop of baboons playing abit and then on our way to LS had a bit of a traffic jam with this guy in the road,







Was a good 40 minutes we were stuck behind him as he had no intention of leaving the road. Would wonder from one side to the other smelling the air. One of the Army vehicles went passed him pretty close and that made it a bit more difficult for us others as he was not happy with them passing
Day 5 to follow.

[JustN@ture]

Day 5
Was a nice overcast day which was a great change from the heat :lol: :lol: yet the humidity was higher so that made it feel hot :roll:. Sightings for the day were
#Buffalo, Impala, Water buck, Zebra, Wildebeest, Kudu, Wart hog, Giraffe, White Rhino, Dwarf mongoose, Lion Elephant, Chacma baboon, Hippo, Crocodile, Steenbok, Bush buck, Mongoose, Dwarf mongoose, Ground squirrel, Tortoise, Terrapin
#Male and Female Tree Agama
#Brown snake eagle, Pearl spotted owl, Batleur eagle, Guinea fowl
Just after the S130 turnoff this ellie was off in the distance, Looks like a nice set of tusks on him.


Then a bit further on we spotted a family of Dwarf Mongooses crossing the road, this one was the only one who was polite enough to pose for a photo…just love these little critters


On our way up to Sunset dam we had our first sighting of a kill OiO ; this fish eagle was busy with his breakfast.


We stopped in at Sunset for coffee and watched the male Diderick Cuckoo’s displaying for their mates and then there were the usual animals and birds around.










From sunset we travelled up towards Skukuza and had general game sightings including some lion on a giraffe kill OiO O\O Ei …unfortunately no photos as this was down in a hollow next to the road behind some bushes and we were not able to see much, we could just see a bit of the leg of the giraffe…(which seemed small so I think it was a young one :? ) and only this fat bellied Lion that was sleeping under the bushes to the side.


We headed back down to LS and while at LS we saw a pair of Tree Agama’s and then heard there had been a leopard sighting at the sausage tree down the way so we decided to head down that way and see if it was still around, cars where stopped all the way up the river as the leopard had been spotted on the other side of the river, we stopped in under the sausage tree and had coffee, there was no leopard but we did spot a Southern yellow billed hornbill (with kill :lol: :lol: ) and then a mother Pearl Spotted Owlet came to feed her baby, the baby kept an eye on us the whole time we were there z0z OiO z0z

Female


Male









We had a bit of time so we went down the H5 and then down the S25 to Croc bridge and saw some Ground Hornbills


And the on the tar road this little guy was being very independent and on his own mission till his mother had had enough





Sorry first attempt at video so hope it works Ei
Day 6 to follow

[JustN@ture]

Day 6
Sightings for the day
#Impala, Water buck, Wildebeest, Vervet monkey and baby, Mongoose, Tree squirrel, Lion, Wart Hog. Leopard, Hippo, Crocodile, Chacma baboon, Kudu, Elephant, White Rhino, Giraffe, Legevaan, Tortoise, Terrapin,
#White back vulture, Fish eagle, Pearl Owl
So to start off, today we headed up the S130 as we had heard there was a hyena den with pups, it was a quiet drive and needless to say we did not find the den :lol: :lol: . Don’t know when I will learn that the animals tend to move around and are not always nailed to the position they were seen anyhow we did get to see this ground squirrel on our way


And then we found two Vultures sunning themselves






A bit further on there were some European Bee-eaters,


We then continued up the H4-2 and found a bit of a traffic jam at the Sausage tree, the leopard was in the tree, but was difficult to see as it was lying on a branch and was concealed behind the leaves. The only photo we could get was this….. but hey its a leopard :lol: :lol: :lol:


We left and crossed the bridge at LS and found a troop of baboons foraging, this one was practicing his acrobatic moves :lol: :lol:






After doing a loop on the S29 and back down on the H10 to LS as got to the LS entrance a guy stopped and told us there were 4 lionesses about 2km down the S28 z0z so we turned back and headed there, there were no other cars around and the lionesses had settled in under the trees in the shade and did not look like they were planning on moving.




As we were the only car there we stayed around for about an hour before moving of as nothing was happening. The kitties did not want to play nice in the heat of the day :lol: :lol: :lol:
On our way down to CB we spotted these Ellies and the Rhino in the shade, we stopped in at Gasanftombi water hole where there were zebra and the Lilac Breasted Roller







Day 7 to be up next travelling to Tamboti

[JustN@ture]

Day 7
So today was the start of the time in Kruger 0:0, we got a late start and entered the park at about 9am. We travelled the main road as it would be the quickest route to Tamboti. Was a quiet drive with mostly the usual suspects on route. Sightings for the day where Chacma Baboon, Impala, Tortoise, Wart Hog, Wildebeest, Giraffe, Leopard, White Rhino, Hippo, Zebra, Buffalo, Vervet monkey, Bush buck, Steenbok, Batleur eagle and Fish eagle.
As we approached the Sausage tree on the H4-2 we saw there were a good number of cars parked in the area so we stopped to see if we could spot the spotted culprit that was causing the congestion, was not a great photo opportunity and it was lying in the same spot as the day before but never the less one can see its coat again :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:



He did not look like he was going to be moving in any hurry so we checked in on the Pearl spotted owlet and though we could not see it we could hear it so we left and continued heading up the H10 to Tshokwane this little steenbok in the shade stayed put for a photo



We stopped in at Tshokwane for lunch and were entertained by the baboons in the vicinity, I watched as people throw rubbish in the bins and make sure it is closed just to have the baboon push and pull till it is open Ei , we then continued up and stopped in at the most southern baobab tree, first time I have seen it with leaves :lol: :lol: :lol:



There was a large herd of ellies that were coming up from the river bed and they had plenty of young ones



And then a bit further we saw four adults and a juvenile Ground Horn Bill resting in the shade. It is great to see their numbers increasing.



At Kumana dam this saddle bill stork was searching the waters and this hippo needed more water…hope they get rain soon.





We got to Orpen just after 5 and booked in, on our way to Tambotie we spotted a Night Jar in the road (I think it was Ei ) but it flew off before I could get a photo. We were in tent no 21 and what a great site, on the rivers bends. We unpacked and decided not to go out as it was nearly gate closing time. While unpacking someone parked and started unpacking at Tent 22. I saw they were flying ribbons so I introduced myself, it was Dup and SO Z1 Z1, I confessed that I had forgotten my ribbons and was not able to get any anywhere we were staying. Dup’s SO popped round a bit later and handed me some Green and Yellow ribbon they had. Thanks Dup they are now stored in the books that travel with for future use, was great meeting you and SO, hope we meet again (soon)

That night it was quiet with only this Tree Frog hopping in for a quick photo I was amazed at the agility and distance it can cover.





I scanned the river bed and fence for movement but no luck and was shocked at all the spiders in the area, their eye seemed to sparkle in the torch light It was off to shower and I had to go back for the camera to get this critter that was roaming the road.



All in all a good day, great to be back at


Day 8 to follow

[JustN@ture]

Day 8
Up early and out the gate just after they opened. We decided to travel to Satara and then do the H6, S41 and S100 loop back to Satara. The sightings for the day were as follows #Impala, Steenbok, Bush buck, Zebra,
Wildebeest, Giraffe, Water buck, Duiker, Wart hog, Hippo, Hyena, Vervet monkey, Chacma Baboons, Kudu, Giraffe, Mongoose, White Rhino, Tree Squirrel and a special visitor for our last night at Tamboti…(the not so great place) Large spotted genet. #Giant Blind Snake and birds were #Kite, Fish eagle, Vulture, Brown snake eagle and Scops owl (Resident at Satara).

We got to the H7 and it was quiet, we then got the Giant Blind Snake crossing the road….



We watch it crossed okay and then were on our way. A bit further up the road this ellie was grazing.



We got to Satara and I got to see the resident scops owl there, they are really cute





We headed up the H6 and once again it was very quiet, did not see much and stopped a car from the front to find out if they had seen anything. He said there was a Buff kill by two male lions very late the night before about 10km up the road OiO but that a pack of hyenas had chased them off and taken the kill for themselves. We headed that way and saw the first signs…



And then the hyenas, there was no sign of the carcass







We had our fill and moves on, not that there was any traffic :lol:. Heading back to Satara on the S41 and this Greyduiker was kind enough to let us take a photo. Then on the H100 we had the general game, the giraffe was rather dark and the pale one in front displayed it nicely…(I thought anyhow :lol: :lol: :lol: )









We then found a bit of a traffic jam, we thought …L I O N, but nope there she was, just standing there in the bushes, a JABI, the people there said she was giving birth. z0z z0z z0z . After about 30 minutes of watching her graze, push and stand, we decided she was constipated and not pregnant as she only produced droppings in that 30 minutes -O -O -O -O -O -O -O -O

Grazing


Pushing


Standing

Then the cycle repeated itself, over and over again -O -O -O -O
A bit further up the road from the JABI we saw a Brown snake eagle far off on a stump



On our way back to camp we spotted this fella on a branch



and then at the camp while chilling we had the visitor of note. It came up the steps and then hopped down onto the ledge at the bottom and posed for some photo’s then went to the path and darted off after its meal





(Oh by the way, the camp did not produce any great sightings and is really not such a great place as it is made out to be in the TR … Dup hope this is what you meant)

Day 9 to follow, up to Balule.

[JustN@ture]

Day 9
We decided we would leave camp early and do a drive then come back and pack, rather than packing and leaving later for Balule. Sightings for the day were #Steenbok, Impala, Giraffe, Leopard, Wildebeest, Squirrel, Kudu, Elephant, vervet monkey, Chacma baboon, Dwarf Mongoose, Nyala, Hippo, Water buck, Buffalo, Zebra, White Rhino, #Pair of Ostrich with 18 tiny chicks, Marabou Stork, Lilac breasted roller, and then that night at the camp fence where 3 hyena, elephant.

It was drizzling and in the past we have not seen much in that sort of weather so we were happy to find our first fully exposed leopard :roll: :roll: . We saw it crossing the road about 300m ahead of us and when we got there it was in the bush, it did however give me an opportunity to photograph it when it went up into the tree for a short time. OiO



After doing the loop we headed back to Tamboti to pack and saw a sad sighting on the side of the road. an African Wild Cat kitten. It looked to have die of natural causes as it was a bout 2m from the road.



We got back to the camp and packed then headed up to Balule taking the H7 and and then the H1-4
At Nsemani dam we watched these two ellies playing in the water, they seemed to be having stacks of fun. 0Y 0Y 0Y




Periscope up…dive dive !!! :lol: :lol: :lol:




At Satara the scenery was amazing


A bit further on we had this fella making a noise next to the road in some shade.



At Ngotso waterhole we spotted a pair of Ostriches with about 18 young ones



The only animals that were worth while taking photos of were the ellies as the rest were far of or the light was bad so here are some of the ellies. We then stopped on the bridge at Olifants where one can alight from the vehicle and spend a while there watching the herds of ellies come down to drink and the young ones messing around, I can watch these giants for hours especially the babies. This legaun was also crossing the bridge























Scenery from the lookout before Olifants always a nice view and then one of the Hyenas that visiter the camp fence.





Day 10 to follow

[JustN@ture]

Day 10

Was another overcast morning but the day did produce the following sightings #Hyena, Giraffe, Impala, Elephant, Water buck, Wart hog, Hippo, Chacma Baboon, Steenbok, Kudu, Zebra, Wildebeest, Buffalo and then #Fish eagle, Kite.

We headed down to the bridge to watch the sun make its way up, what an awesome sunrise we were blessed with :D :D







The day was spend mostly taking in the scenery and doing the roads around Letaba and Olifants, doing some of the river drives and going to the hide so hence a lot of scenery photos coming up with a few game photo’s in between. Traveling next to the river we had this chap eating breakfast in the shade and some Blue Waxbills in the bushes near the road. OiO







We spotted a herd of 28 Ellies ranging in all sizes walking in a long line



Stopping along the way up to Letaba there were more stunning views of the river and a lone tree













From Letaba we went to the hid on on the way this ellie was in the shade of the tree, at first I thought he was scratching himself but he was standing dead still just leaning against the tree and then a buffalo cooling itself in a pool.





At the hide there was not much going on other than a bunch of camouflaged hippos grazing







Back at Balule we were once again blessed with a beautiful sunset and the hyenas that patrol the fences. OiO



Day 11 is travelling to Shingwedzi