Lower Sabie to Olifants
January 21, 2019

Yesterday we spent the majority of the day in the camp.  At around 4:30pm we headed out for an evening games drive. We didn’t see a lot of game but did find a hippo in a puddle of water right on the side of the road. It was barely big enough for it and it definitely had a monopoly on it.  It was obviously too lazy to wander back to the river after it had been eating overnight.  We saw no predators but did see elephant drinking from the Sabie River just as we were about to get back into the camp.

The wind was still blowing quite strongly but fortunately it finally started to subside around the time I started making the braai.  Helen went for a run to keep her Discovery points up while I got the braai going. The temperature was around 26 degrees and with the wind blowing it felt much cooler so really not bad conditions to run in.  Braai of chicken wings and boerewors (with mushrooms also done on braai), melon and salad.

This morning we woke slightly later (I woke up at 5:30am and Helen at 6am), had breakfast and then packed up as we were heading up to Olifants which was just over 120 kms away.  We left Lower Sabie just after 7am.  The drive up to Tsokwane was pretty quite game wise but enough to keep us interested. It was still relatively cool at around 22-23 degrees C most of that part of the drive. The wind has unfortunately picked up again which meant only one of us could have our window at a time otherwise we felt like we would blow out of window.

Quick stop at Tsokwane picnic spot for a coffee and then up to Satara.  Again no significant sightings on that road except quite a lot of elephants including a very large herd (or possibly two herds) swimming in one of the dams and fighting a lot.  I will post the video on our instagram feed again if you want to see what I’m talking about.  A stop at Satara for an ice cream and then back in the car again heading up to Olifants.

Just outside Satara we saw a male giraffe very interested in a younger female.  He kept following her around but she was not interested in doing the deed though and kept walking off.  It clearly was mating day as we did witness two bateleurs mating earlier in the drive. We did see two lionesses under a tree but as it was now around 30 degrees C they weren’t doing anything and so we didn’t stay long.

We got to Olifants at 2pm (just when check in opens) so we timed it perfectly.  We have had a late lunch and now just sitting at our hut looking over the Olifants river.  As we sit here we can see giraffe, hippo (some in the river and some out), waterbuck, white stork, egret and a black kite keeps flying past at eye level. Besides being a little buffeted by the wind, this is as close to heaven for us both!

Until tomorrow …

P & H

 

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