We decided to leave as the gates opened (6am) to go and see the lion kill and see what was happening and then head north along H & my favourite road which runs along the river north from Shingwedzi. There were already a number of cars watching and a lioness was feeding again from the giraffe carcass. It had been dragged slightly further off the road (and I mean slightly). We spent about an hour watching the lions playing around and eating from time to time and then headed off north.

The river road has a lot of game on it including a significant amount of bird life as well. While we did see a lot of game, we unfortunately did not see any predators though. We had decided to have breakfast at the Babalala picnic site before heading back to camp again. We rented a gas skottel again (in fact we rented two) and had eggs and bacon. There is something special about having breakfast in the bushveld.

Our cars had become very dusty and some of the younger persons among us had taken to writing on the caked in dust. The pic is of the rental car that S was driving (inscription not done by him though). S though though inscribing ‘I ♡ BMW’ on the back of my car. Now you know why S has descended at the end of this post. In fact, I was so disgusted that I was tempted to leave him off entirely.

We got back to camp mid-morning with 2 cars going to check on the lions on the way back. They were sleeping given it was well past 30 degrees C I wasn’t surprised! Our accommodation has a view of the river which was mainly dry but not totally. I spent a significant time early afternoon just sitting outside doing emails (cellphone signal was best under the tree looking over the river). My view was the picture below. Impressively I did manage to add another lifer to my list while sitting there – Grey Penduline Tit which made it my 3rd lifer for the trip.

The evening we went out for the loop around the camp and besides adding to the dust in and in our cars, we didn’t see much. It was our last dinner together before BSRJ left us and started on their homeward journey. A braai was obligatory, enjoyed with some good wine and as always, great company.

We did our usual highlights and lowlights of the trip after dinner. I can’t remember them all but here are a selection:
Highlights:
– Ngala experience
– Lioness meeting up with lion cubs
– Leopard and her cubs in the tree
– Rhino and calf
– Journey and company of friends
– Bush walk in Ngala

Lowlights:
– Lion kill because of the inconsiderate and selfish drivers and numerous cars
– Pilgrim’s Rest (because it is so run down)
– Lack of game spotted in the Kruger
– Long drives
– Full English Breakfast – which J described as neither ‘full’ nor ‘English’

But I think everyone would say that regardless of game we saw or didn’t see, the company and time with each other is the thing we all enjoy the most. Our only regret was that our other two friends S&L weren’t able to join us as was originally intended.

P, H, K, J, R, J, B, S, B, C, S