On Holiday in Kruger

Our first elephant at Sable Dam

I've only been "on holiday" in Kruger National Park a couple of times in the last decade, although I have racked up well over a 1,000 days working in or close to the park, so it was a real pleasure to organise an 8 day trip for an old and dear friend of mine who desperately needed her "bush fix" after 8 months in chilly Canada.

Going on safari late summer is always a chancy affair and the weather forecast was quite gloomy, with lots of rain due for at least the first half of the week.

Nevertheless, we set off on a cool, wet morning for the long drive to Letaba Rest Camp in the northern half of Kruger.

We were lucky for the first 24 hours inside Kruger, just scattered thunder showers with hot steamy sunshine in between. We saw the full moon rise over the Letaba River and enjoyed red wine from our verandah. We couldn't afford to stay up too late as we were joining the morning Bush Walk at 5am the next day.

We were treated to a spectacular sunrise on the drive to the walking area - and the old saying "red in the morning, shepherd's warning" proved to be right on the nail later that day.........

Our walk was significantly more rugged than normal as the surrounding area had had masses of rain in the previous 24 hours and the basalt plains around Letaba were sticky mud. Instead we walked in the sandstone ridges west of the camp and had to ford this stream (usually dry) twice. Both C and I had an unexpected dip in the river on the first crossing! Fortunately no pictures ;)

White-fronted bee eater panting in the heat

Cape buffalo in thick mopani bush

 Game drives later in the day, were very, very hot, turning into lowering grey skies and we didn't see a large number of animals.

The bird life close to the river was entertaining though, and we were lucky to find a herd of buffalo in the thick mopani bush heading north.

We managed to get back to camp before the skies opened and a massive storm battered the camp for an hour or more.

Later that night we were woken by another storm with thunder and an absolute deluge of rain.....

We heard the next day that the central/northern lowveld had between 150 and 200mm of rain overnight.






It took us a while the next  morning, as we were packing up to leave, to realise that the Letaba River was in full flood. The visuals and sound of the surging waters were stunning.
  
Before we headed south we took more pictures from the high-level bridge over the river, and you can see for yourself what 12 hours and some heavy rain can do to a typical Kruger river......


Satara was our next stop for 2 nights and although the rain let up for a few brief spells, it was WET.

That didn't stop us going out looking for wildlife, and exclaiming over more flooding rivers and waterholes that had burst their banks.

A brief respite from rain on the central eastern plains of Kruger

Nsemani Dam - overflowing it's banks

Wildebeest calves frolicking in the drizzle

Cape Vulture trying to dry it's feathers

As we headed south to Lower Sabie Rest camp, the weather outlook was brightening, with the temperatures starting to soar again.

The long drive was relatively quiet overall, but we still had some exceptional sightings, including our first leopard - a youngster trying to ignore the excited sightseers and sleep in an Apple-leaf tree.......

As always on safari, we were up before dawn the next morning so that we could cover as much ground as possible in the wildlife-rich south eastern Kruger. The forecast was for a very hot day so we knew game sightings would fall off dramatically from 8am onwards.

A quick detour to view the dawn over the Sabie River.

We followed this pack of African Wild Dog for quite some way. That giraffe in the distance was rather concerned, but ultimately the Wild Dog ignored it.

 After a quick picnic breakfast at Crocodile Bridge we headed back to camp, and with the heat we saw few animals apart from elephant, impala and zebra.  The clearing, blue skies with sunshine on the lush green/gold grass made the drive a delight.

Great White Egret

 Bird action at Sunset Dam














We were scheduled on the 8pm Night Drive, and after a much needed siesta, and with the weather so beautiful we had our first braai overlooking the Sabie River.

Over the whole trip I think we saw just 2 lion, one sleepy in the grass near Satara, and a young male lion walking ahead of us on the night drive. This time of the year is really not the best time to look for lion!!


So, on to our second last day in Kruger. We moved from Lower Sabie to Skukuza Rest Camp for the last night, and we were starting to get a little tired after 6 days of driving and looking for animals.

A sleepy mother baboon, with active babies (not all hers) on the river road....











 A big plus in our hot, wet summers are all the reptiles we get to see.....




















We were still to have some of our best sightings of the whole trip:- rhino, hyena, leopard and cheetah in the last 24 hours.........

Sunrise on our last morning.... and an active clan of Spotted Hyena making their way back to their den.

We we lucky enough to have all 3 of the largest spotted predators that we saw on that last game drive, walk close past our car!!

Leopard

Cheetah

So that was our Kruger holiday, and a really great break before the current crisis.

On safari - Kruger National Park, August 2016

Klipspringer, near the Olifants River

Three great safaris in 3 weeks - what more could a safari guide wish for?

Spring's hot, scorching days arriving a month early, combined with the gusty winds of August made the first week or two a little more unpredictable than usual.

Lion and leopard active on a mid-day game drive; thick fog early one morning; a couple of hours spent south of Skukuza, with absolutely ZERO other vehicles, on leopard, wild dog, rhino and hyena sightings....... and the list goes on.

Each safari produced totally different experiences - this is nothing especially out of the ordinary for Kruger safaris perhaps, but maybe I just appreciated it more since it's been six long months since I was last here.

On some of the best sightings I couldn't get the camera up as I needed to concentrate on positioning the vehicle in the best possible place.....

But despite that, this posting is going to be chock full of photos, so I hope you have the patience to scroll through them right to the end. (some I've already posted on Facebook, but there's also a lot more!)

As always, with late winter/spring, the focus, in this driest part of the dry season is the waterholes and rivers.

There were about 10 lion scattered around this waterhole, and although they weren't in "hunt mode"this lioness wasn't going to pass up a tasty warthog snack, if they had got close enough (the hogs look a lot closer than they actually were).







The "prey"animals are totally aware of this of course and are particularly wary and nervous when coming down to drink.

We couldn't see any predators around at this small waterhole, but that didn't stop the zebra scattering in panic a couple of times in between quick sips...

Croc at Lake Panic

We spent a lot of time along the Sabie River and weren't disappointed by the lion, leopard, hippo, buffalo and assorted antelope sightings..... 

Kudu in the tamboti

Buffalo crossing the Sabie River

Malachite Kingfisher

 The smaller, more colourful birds were also close to water.

Red-breasted swallow

Lesser-striped swallow

Elephant at Mohlabetsi Lodge

 





But when we ventured away from the rivers and larger waterholes we also had some great experiences........

Elephant, backdropped by the spring colours of the mopani veld

Including this very special encounter with two cheetah, early one morning, north of Satara.

As mentioned earlier in this posting we had an amazing morning drive south of Skukuza. The main target for the drive was to find rhino, which we did, but also leopard, wild dog and hyaena (and lot's more) - all on roads empty of other vehicles.

This hyena mother and cub were very alert, and heard the rhino well before we saw them. Needless to say the rhino could obviously scent the hyena and were also very alert as they crossed through the open area.

relaxing again......

We had strong gusty winds for much of the month but the weather's defining feature were the hot, parched days.

Whether the mornings started with thick fog, or gloriously clear blue skies, by 11 am every visible animal was huddled under the limited shade......

But, that's spring in Kruger.

Extremes of everything!

Special people, favourite places......

One of my most enthusiastic blog followers, who never failed to ask when my next posting was due, left this life last Monday.

John was a fellow adventurer, scuba diver and lover of the wilderness, including Kruger National Park. During trips to Truk Lagoon, Namibia & Botswana and many other adventures in Southern Africa, John and Rose, often with their kids Alex and Fran, were camp-fire companions, diving buddies and good friends, sharing tall stories over many a glass of good wine.

John will be sorely missed.

In remembering and celebrating John's life I thought I would share with you some of the more memorable places and animals in the Kruger National Park that we both loved.

(Most of the following photos I've published previously so for those of you that are regular followers and/or regular Kruger visitors (like John was) I'll be giving you a trip down memory lane as well!)

The South-East

Stretching between the Sabie River in the west and south and the Lebombo Ranges on the eastern border are the open basalt plains so beloved by wildlife photographers, game spotters and any tourist who revisits Kruger. Exciting wildlife encounters are almost guaranteed in this region and I've certainly seen cheetah here more often than anywhere else. This is also where one can find the larger herds of “plains” game – zebra, buffalo, wildebeest and even giraffe.....

looking south on the H10 - Muntshe Hill in the distance

Cheetah on the look-out

 

Giraffe coming down to drink

Rhino & buffalo uneasily sharing a small patch of scarce shade

Sunset Dam

Just outside Lower Sabie Rest Camp and still in the South-East, this waterhole produces great sightings summer or winter, early morning or in the heat of the day.

Dozens of hippo and scores of crocodile appear to cohabit quite peacefully

A dusty, dry end to the winter, and water is scarce.......

Yellow-billed Stork and Nile Crocodile

The South-West

South-western Kruger is a rolling landscape of prominent granite koppies, deep drainage lines and tall grass growing thickly through the woodlands. Animals abound here too, but are so much more difficult to spot and photograph. So the best time to visit this part of the park is during our dry winters.

Impala Lily at Malelane Gate

Blacksmith Lapwing at Biyamiti Weir

Buffalo and giraffe, both seen on Doispane Road........ during two totally different seasons........

There are lots of lion in the south of Kruger, but they don't seem to be that fond of the long grass either.

So we often see them relaxing on the cool sand of the drainage lines (dry river beds).

Lake Panic Bird Hide

Situated close to both Skukuza Rest Camp and the Kruger Gate, this bird hide can become uncomfortably busy, but very early in the morning, mid week, it's almost guaranteed to be quiet with great sightings of all types of animals – not just the birds.

Keeping a close eye on us......

Both birds &terrapin enjoy perching on hippo, but only whilst they're sleeping!

Dragon flies are very difficult to photograph!

 

Mazithi Dam

Located north of Tshokwane Picnic site, on the main north-south road in Kruger, day-visitors to the southern region rarely get to this waterhole. However, during my early years guiding in Kruger, most of our safaris involved staying in both Skukuza in the south and Letaba in the north. On the day we travelled between those two camps we almost always had great sightings at Mazithi Dam – including the best lion kill sighting I've ever had.

During the dry season the waterholes teem with wildlife

and during the hot summers they are a great "swimming"pool

The Central Plains

I've heard South African visitors compare this region of Kruger to a zoo. Which is not exactly a compliment!! However, for frequent and great sightings of lion, buffalo and other plains game, it's hard to beat this area located around Satara Rest Camp.

Plains Zebra during a good summer/wet season

Elephant & buffalo, during the winter/dry season

The Rivers

River reeds in the Sabie River are acceptable food during the dry season

Kruger National Park lies between the massive eastern escarpment of Southern Africa, and the warm waters of the western Indian Ocean. So it's no surprise that a half dozen of South Africa's infrequent perennial rivers flow through the Park. Whether their banks are teeming with wildlife or appear totally deserted, the rivers always trace richly green, meandering lines through the mostly dry savannah.

Sabie River, Feb 2009

This bridge is designed for floods but for several years now we've had much bigger floods which also damage the high bridges, roads and rest camps........

Elephant crossing the Letaba River (most favourite pic ever!!!)

The Olifants River - many of the big trees have been washed away in floods since 2008

Boababs are a prominent part of the northern landscape

 

The North

Further from our main population centres and mostly covered in semi-arid, mopani, shrub savannah, the north of Kruger is much less visited by tourists, including myself and John on his frequent forays into Kruger.

I would like to spend a lot more time here, and in the past I have had some amazing wildlife encounters too. The bird life during the wet, hot summer months is also quite spectacular.

The size of the buffalo herds in the north are legendary.

and where there's buffalo, there are also lion.......

And to conclude this epic posting...........

There are many, many more “favorite” spots of mine in Kruger. Too many for a single posting. They can also change from season to season, year to year.

But I've tried to focus this posting on those areas that John would have also visited, and to remember him as I do so.

Farewell John. Thank you for all the great times we shared together. Those memories will always be treasured.