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

We had a relatively long travel from Olifants to Shingwedzi (over 100 kms) which at Kruger speeds is about a 4-5 hour drive. We decided to have breakfast and leave and we were on the road around 8am. We did a stop at Letaba for toilet and coffee and then headed further north to Mopani. We saw all the standard game but unfortunately still no more predators. We arrived at Mopani just before midday and decided to get some takeaway meals for lunch.

Mopani’s restaurant is situated right over a lake and has some good birding. It also regularly has elephants drinking and bathing and this time was no exception. A sizeable herd was drinking and a few were fighting in the water (or so it seemed though some people around said they could just be playing). We got our takeaways and ate them at the lookout. The temperature was rising quickly and we were already into the 30 degrees and still rising. The further north we went the hotter it became.

After lunch we continued heading north toward Shingwedzi. The game viewing was a bit more sparse as the temperature rose the animals are definitely less active. Finding shelter from the sun was the order of the day and a lot of game were under the trees. We did see a small herd of tsessebe which are very rare in the park. In fact there are only an estimated 220 so it is quite difficult to see them. Often people drive past these sort of sightings and don’t appreciate that they are actually much harder to see than lion or leopard in the park.

Just as we were approaching Shingwedzi, we saw a giraffe carcass on the side of the road. At first we were confused as to why it was there as it was just lying there. Then we reversed a bit and saw the 3 lionesses lying under a bush in the shade. They had clearly recently managed to kill the giraffe and had eaten their fill but clearly weren’t finished with it. We watched for awhile and then a ranger drove up and got out of his vehicle to take a photo of the giraffe carcass! We tried to get his attention to point out that there were lion lying there and he just nodded and took the photo and then hopped back into his car and drove off. No idea why he did that! We purposed to come back later again and do another check in.

We checked in at the camp and had some down time until about 4pm when we decided to go out again. 2 cars went for a quick loop around the camp and then to the lions while one went straight to the lion kill. They messaged to say that the lionesses were eating and so we all headed over. Unfortunately everyone in the camp had the same idea and so there were tons of cars and really not a great view. We stayed for some time and managed to edge into a better view until some inconsiderate driver decided to park right in front of us and almost rolled her car into the lions and carcass! It is incredible how selfish people are at these sort of sightings and really annoys me as it spoils the Kruger experience.

We got back into camp just before the gates closed. We had chicken schnitzel for dinner accompanied by some very good wine courtesy of my birthday present which now had to get finished before we left the park thanks to the alcohol ban that is now in force.

It was a long and hot day but an enjoyable one with a great sighting of lion on a giraffe kill very close to the road.

Until later …

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

We decided to head out to Letaba and have breakfast at the day visitors site where you can rent a skottel for R30. We took the route north along the river which is notorious for grumpy elephants. We did see quite a few elephants and one trumpeted at us as we passed him but otherwise the trip there was uneventful and not a lot of other game was seen. We headed back after breakfast along the tar road which also didn’t yield much game.

We spent the day generally chilling in the camp and did do a short evening drive south along the river. There was quite a lot of game to be seen especially impala, giraffe, wildebees & zebra but no predators. It is quite incredible that after having been in the Kruger Park for 5 days we are yet to see lion. This is probably the longest I have been here in a stretch without seeing lion. Some of our group are also yet to see leopard or cheetah as well. If it hadn’t been for the time in Ngala we would be quite disappointed.

We did a braai for dinner (done by S). An uneventful day but relaxing day. The view from our accommodation at Olifants was fantastic though. It probably is one of the best views in the Kruger Park.

Until later …

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

(Finally have WiFi … will post some more updates soon)

Some people decided to skip the morning game drive. We took 2 cars (me, S, K & J in one and B & R in the other). We left at 6am as we wanted to ensure we got back by 9am as we had to check out by 10am. We headed south and as it was still dark S was the tracker with the torch out of the side window looking for eyes. We then turned west along the Sweni River. I have driven that road before and seen quite a bit and I just ‘felt’ that it was a the right decision.

Not long after the turn we saw a hyena which walked right past the cars and then headed down the road. B&R decided to follow it but our car went on. Not more than 1km further down the road and we saw what we thought originally were three black backed jackal but actually turned out to be two jackal and an African Wild Cat in a bit of a stand off. Unfortunately B&R missed it because they were still tracking the hyena in the other direction. They all dispersed and we drove on and about 2km further along a car was stopped and the driver told me they had seen a leopard cross the road in front of them but had lost it. We reversed and then they called us parallel with them and we got to see the leopard as it was heading off into the bush. We drove on and about 5km further both K&J shouted stop and I reversed and we found a honey badger eating a tortoise. Unfortunately just before B&R arrived the badger got a fright and dropped the tortoise and disappeared into the bush. Definitely the most successful morning drive we have had so far.

We had breakfast and then packed up and left for Olifants camp. As it wasn’t a long drive we decided to take the dirt road rather than the tar road north and about half way up we came across a lot of parked cars. The one guy told us it was a cheetah but he had struggled to see it. We drove up and reversed a number of times and then finally while I was looking though the binoculars I realised that what I though was a tree stump was actually a cheetah sitting up. Our whole car managed to see it and I was happy especially for J (as he was very keen to see one). The cheetah then decided to stretch and got up and walked off further into the distance. Unfortunately the other cars never saw it.

We got to Olifants at lunch time and decided to have lunch in the restaurant. It was a good call because that night our President announced that restaurants would need to shut due to the 3rd wave of Covid and take away only allowed for next 2 weeks. The alcohol ban also created a problem or two for us as I had been given 4 bottles of really nice wine for my birthday present during the trip. Those now will need to be drunk before we exit the park as you can’t even transport alcohol for next 14 days.

We spent the afternoon just in the camp as our accommodation overlooked the river. You really can just sit there and enjoy the view. I also set up my birding scope I got from H for my 50th. It has magnification of up to 60x so you can literally see a lizard on a rock in the river! We saw things with it that you couldn’t otherwise have seen even with binoculars.

As we had braaied for 3 nights running we decided to have pasta for dinner and then the evening finished somewhat depressingly get updates on the new Covid restrictions and trying to figure out the implications for the balance of our travels. Fortunately it seems we can continue to do what we had hoped to do.

I have still been struggling with cellphone signal and so hopefully this one goes through. If it does I will try to post another one later today as well.

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

C is questioning whether I can remember this far back given I haven’t been able to send out a blog for a few days. Not sure whether she thinks that now that I’m over 50 my memory has gone or what?!

We left for a morning drive at 6:15am. The sun really only rises at about 6:30am at the moment so while the gates open at 6am, it seems a little more sensible to leave a bit later. We headed east out to the Nwanedzi Picnic site. The gravel road runs along the river and is generally excellent for sightings of lion due to the herds of zebra, wildebees and impala that are in the area. We unfortunately didn’t see any lion. After morning coffee we headed to the bird hide nearby and then headed back west along the tar road and then back to camp for a late breakfast. We did see hyena (including pups) on the way back. The pups are pretty cute especially compared to the adults.

We spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon in the camp just relaxing and then headed out for a late afternoon game drive which took us past two waterholes. Again nothing spectacular on that drive. Dinner was a braai and enjoyable conversation around the braai (as always). We got a visit from an African wildcat while we were braaiing. H & I have seen them before in Satara and it is known that they are resident around the camp. Still a special treat to see them in the wild.

The next morning we headed north out of the camp and soon after leaving the camp we came across a porcupine running up the road. I have not seen a lot of them (if any) in the Kruger Park and so it was quite a nice treat to see it in the road. We then headed west to the Timbavati picnic spot with a quick stop at the Ratel Pan bird hide on the way there. A reasonable amount of game to be seen but again no lion, leopard, cheetah.

For the afternoon/evening game drive we had less people wanting to come so we headed out with 2 cars only and headed due south on the tar road with the view to drive about 90 minutes down to the Kumara dam and then turn around and drive back to the camp again. There was plenty of game to be seen but once again just the standard game. The most interesting thing was seeing a hippo stuck in the mud at the dam and we reckon it wasn’t able to get out. Not sure what happened to it because we didn’t go back but I reckon it could have become food for predators.

We had a braai for dinner again and while getting the fires going we spotted a honey badger. H and I have seen them before in the camps and they are pretty vicious (if you have ever watched the Top Gear Southern Africa special you will know what Jeremy Clarkson thinks about them). Everyone came out to look at it as it was drinking some water from the drain and then it ran around the other side of the hut. Next thing we know it has jumped up onto the stoep and grabbed a bag of chicken (B&S chicken) and run off to eat it. B managed to salvage some of the chicken but the badger had licked it so we reckoned probably not safe to eat. B said he was prepared to sacrifice his chicken to see it (though not sure S felt the same way).

At least I managed to catch up 2 days and I hope to do another 2 days tomorrow so that we get back on track at least. It has been really difficult with cellphone reception being so poor. Not sure why because usually it is a reasonable but this trip we have really struggled.

Until tomorrow ….

P, H, S, K, J, R, J, B, S, B, C (see comment at start why she is now at end ….)

PS: Sorry no photos but struggling to get anything downloaded tonight again.

You might be wondering why the blogs suddenly stopped but the issue is not the desire to send a blog but rather the fact that my internet access suddenly dried up!

we had a morning game drive on Thursday at Ngala and we went out in search of rhino. Due to poaching, the prevalence of rhino’s in the area has declined substantially. The rangers told us that about 20 years ago you could go on a drive and you would definitely see 3-4 rhino on one single drive. We had been there for almost 3 days and hadn’t seen one at all. We set out to see if we could find one as they knew that a mother and calf where relatively close to the lodge. We did some roads to the north we had never done and then when heading south the tracker suddenly said ‘rhino’ and sure enough there was the mother and baby rhino. It was such an impressive sighting (my best ever of a rhino). The baby was frolicking around and kept running into his mother. Would run toward the game truck and then stop and turn and run back again. It was very cute to watch and enjoy!

We had our last coffee stop overlooking a dam and then back for breakfast at the lodge, pack up and leave. It was a fabulous 3 days but it was non-stop and you almost feel like you need a holiday after it! We had a 90 minute drive back to Hoedspruit as we had to drop MO off at the airport as they were flying back to Cape Town (they had a wedding to attend on Saturday). We also needed to do some grocery shopping in Hoedspruit before we headed back east again to the Orpen Gate of the Kruger National Park (KNP).

We headed into KNP and toward Satara which was our next stop for the next 3 nights. We saw a lot of the standard game (giraffe, zebra, impala, baboon, vervet monkey, steenbuck etc) on the way into the camp. We got in around 4pm and check in to find that the cellphone signal was very poor or non-existent (hence the lack of blogs). Dinner was a braai (as you should expect) and then it was off to bed and sleep pretty early as we were all exhausted from an early morning and a jam packed day!

Until the next time I’m able to post …

P, H, S, K, M, O (for the last time), C, J, B, R, J, S, B

PS: Sorry no pics – couldn’t upload them!

Today was my 50th birthday and I honestly could not think of a better way to spend it but in a game park with my family and closest friends. It was a fantastic day of great memories.

We headed out for our morning game drive at the usual time after being woken up at 5:30am. The plan was to do a ‘Grade 2’ walk and that means tracking elephant, rhino or buffalo on foot but in order to do that you need to find their spoor and then track them. We couldn’t all do that together so the plan was to split up and do separate ones. We headed to an area where they usually find rhino and the other vehicle headed to a different area after hearing there was an elephant bull in the area. The other vehicle with Eric as the ranger just happened across a lioness and that ruled out the possibility of them getting a walk in. That lioness then reunited with her cubs.

The possibility of spotting something on foot immediately was overridden by actually spending time with lions and cubs and so we headed over to the area and after the younger generation were finished, we took their spot and watched the lions interacting. It was amazing to see (and hear!) the cubs feeding. It was also interesting to watch a lioness return to the pride and how the other lions responded by rubbing up to the others. By the way, I forgot to say that before we saw the lions we happened upon 5 hyena including one carrying a rack of ribs!

We then started to head back to the camp but instead of breakfast at the lodge, they had organised breakfast in the bush for us and the other guests. It was a lovely experience especially on your birthday! We then walked from the breakfast venue back to the camp instead of driving back. The walk was a ‘Grade 1’ walk so really trying to avoid the game but rather just talk about the ‘smaller’ things of the bush including the different plants/trees, ant lions etc. It was really interesting though pretty warm. It took us just about an hour to walk back (though it was only 2 kms roughly). We did hear elephant noises and the guides were very quick to direct us away from them so that we didn’t in any way get into danger.

We got back to the lodge at 11am and lunch was at the usual time of 1pm. Everyone was pretty full so we only headed to lunch a bit later and most people had very limited lunch given how late breakfast was. When we were finishing up at lunch we saw a herd of elephant come down to the pool area to have a drink so we all rushed over to watch them do that (the way it is constructed enables you to do that safely).

By the time we were finished watching it was already almost time to head off for the afternoon game drive. This time all the family went together to celebrate my birthday on the one truck. Immediately we got on the truck Nikki told us that they had found a female leopard with a Nyala kill and while they hadn’t see them, she had 2 cubs as well. We headed straight to the area to see if we could get an opportunity to see them. It was better than expected. The leopard was up the tree just lying but after a fe minutes the Nyala head fell from the tree ans she immediately jumped down to eat some and also to cover the scent. She then called in the cubs and basically out of nowhere they appeared. They both ended up scaling the tree and feeding from the remaining carcass. What an incredible sighting.

We then headed back north for a drinks stop but on route Nikki told us they spotted aarvark spoor and we should just check them out. They are very hard to see. After a few minutes our ranger said ‘Look there – one in the road’ and we all couldn’t believe it. M actually turned and told J how lucky he was to see it given how rare sightings are. As we moved closer the aardvark never moved and then we realised it was a bronzed aardvark! The rangers and their respective girlfriends (both of whom are also at the lodge) had played a prank on us! But the good news was that they had a bush drinks break already set up for us including a cake with a sparkler for my birthday. Another special experience!

After a long drinks break, we headed back to the camp and saw a hyena on the way back. Dinner was in the boma again tonight (beef & trout for main course) and a lovely way to top off a fantastic day to celebrate my 50th. The number of birthday messages was almost overwhelming. It was a truly special day with great friends and family. The only downside was that our friends who live in the UK never made it out due to Covid … we did miss you S&L!

Until tomorrow

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

There is a wake up call at 5:30am. H and I were already awake by this point. Coffee, rusks/biscuits in the main lodge and then onto the game trucks for our morning game drive. It was chilly this am when we left. Fortunately they give you hot water bottles and blankets. Double jerseys, beanies & gloves all part of the gear for a morning game drive. It didn’t take long for the rangers to find 3 lion. The one vehicle (with the younger generation) got to see them walking before they lay down. We joined later mainly because of the stops for birding. I did add another lifer (Stierling’s Wren-Warbler) which takes my tally to 483. Some of the other birders have added significantly to their tally’s during this trip.

The lion’s weren’t doing anything and so we left them after spending some time with them and then met up with the other truck for our coffee/tea stop. We got back to the camp just after 10am which meant we ended up finishing breakfast at 11am. Lunch was at 1pm, afternoon coffee/tea (and cake) at 3pm, game drive (including evening drinks stop) and then dinner at 7pm. Basically you go from meal to meal with a game drive to break the meals! One crazy person did manage to fit in a swim though (see pic above).

This evening’s game drive resulted in us seeing another 6 lion. This time though we got see two white lion. H and I had seen them in Feb when we drove into the Kruger Park and we got to see them again today. Our ranger (Nikki) told us that there are only 3 white lion in the world at the moment in natural habitats and we got to see 2 of them today. Unfortunately they also weren’t doing anything so we watched them for some time and then moved on to find a spot for our evening drinks. We had split ladies and men on tonight’s drive and the ladies joined us just as the sun was setting. There is nothing quite like a bushveld sunset.

After drinks we slowly made our way back into the camp and we managed to see a few animals but the most impressive was again seeing a Fiery-necked Nightjar just sitting in the road. It even obliged to have some photos taken with the spotlight being shone on it.

Dinner this evening was in the courtyard and the main was a choice of chicken or kudu loin. I (obviously) had the kudu loin which was really delicious. The tiredness of the fresh air and early morning and constant eating kicked in for everyone. It is not yet 10pm and I reckon most people are asleep already! I can hear the hyena calling though … lovely sound to fall asleep too.

Until tomorrow

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

Last night we could hear an owl hooting outside our window and so S and I went to track it down. We found a pair of them in the trees right outside the house we were staying in – African Wood Owl – which we had last seen in 2016 in Namibia. Really nice to see especially since we haven’t seen an owl for some time.

A sub-group went for a run this morning around the lodge and golf course and I went to buy some fruit et al for breakfast. The balance slept in until later and then the younger generation went to play Putt Putt before we checked out and left Kruger Park Lodge. On the way over to the Putt Putt S saw a lifer – bronze mannikin – and took me to see them too so that takes my lifer list to 482. Hopefully more to come during this trip.

We then left Hazyview and headed for the game park. For the next 3 nights we are staying at &Beyond Ngala Safari Lodge (https://www.andbeyond.com/our-lodges/africa/south-africa/kruger-national-park/ngala-private-game-reserve/andbeyond-ngala-safari-lodge/). It is situated right next to the Kruger Park in the northern section near the Orpen gate. The drive took us about 2.5 hours to get to the lodge itself including about 45 minutes of driving on a dirt track once in the game viewing area.

We arrived at the lodge just before 1pm and once we had been allocated our rooms and settled in we met for lunch. Lunch finished at 2:30pm and then we had 30 minutes free before meeting at 3pm for afternoon tea/coffee and our first game drive. We have two rangers – Nicky & Eric. We decided to split the trucks between young and old and the older group headed off with Nicky. They were trying to find a rhino with a young calf and so dropped off the trackers to try and find them and we went on to see what else we could see. We saw a herd of elephant just finishing drinking at a waterhole and then another vehicle saw a leopard and started following it.

We joined the other two vehicles following the leopard. To do this required a lot of off road tracking through some thick bush at stages. You have to pay attention or you get taken out by the branches! We followed the leopard for some time as it first tried to take out an impala (but didn’t succeed) and then tried opportunistically to take out a hare (and again wasn’t successful). We had some really good views of the leopard even though the light was fading quickly. A great experience for everyone including for the first timer!

Drinks just after sunset in the middle of nowhere and then we headed back into the camp at got back just before 7pm. We had dinner in the boma (selection of meat – lamb, pork ribs and boerewors). But 8:30pm we were all tired and headed off to our bedrooms. A lovely day and a reminder of how blessed we are to experience these things even in Covid times. We don’t take it for granted that we are all healthy and to enjoy the time together.

Until tomorrow …

P, S (for the lifer he found and took me too), H, K, C, J, M, O, S, B, R, J, B (the latter B is the husband of S and gets his place on the blog for critiquing yesterday’s blog)

We woke to a cold, misty morning at Hazyview. It was 2 degrees when I woke up at 6am. It actually didn’t feel that cold – though I’m not experienced at feeling 2am!

We had a late morning breakfast and then after breakfast walked around Dullstroom again. We eventually left Dullstroom at around 11am. We could only check in at our next accommodation at 4pm so we decided to detour via Pilgrim’s Rest and God’s Window. The road to Lydenberg (on route to Pilgrim’s Rest) has significant potholes. In fact all the roads we drove on today had the same problem. The phrase of the day on Waze was “Watch out, pothole on road ahead”. The road was littered with them. One road even had each one numbered and we only noticed that at a point that started with 49 (we were traveling in descending order). That was in about a 5 km stretch so it gives you an idea of how many potholes there are on these roads.

We did a brief stop at Pilgrim’s Rest but it was incredibly disappointing at how run down it was. It was a shadow of what we had experienced previously but admittedly we haven’t been there for at least 10 years. We gave up on the town very quickly and headed into Graskop for lunch at Harry’s Pancakes (fairly famous for it’s pancakes). M was the first person to place an order and he ordered a salad. The waitress said “This is a pancake place! You can get lettuce at home!” 🙂

After lunch we headed for God’s Window. It is a beautiful viewpoint from around 1700m you can look down to the Eastern Lowveld which is at around 700m above sea level. Stunning views which no photo really can do justice for what you see in person.

After God’s Window we headed to Hazyview which is where we are staying tonight. We are staying at Kruger Park Lodge (https://www.legacyhotels.co.za/local-destinations/kruger-park/kruger-park-lodge) which is situated on the Sabie River and on a 9-hole gold course. It would have been nice to have been able to play 9-holes but with such a late check in and the sun setting at around 5:30pm, it was not a viable option.

We have two separate houses here at Kruger Park Lodge – one with 4 bedrooms and one with 3 bedrooms. They are very nicely appointed and while you could self-cater, we decided to keep it easy and eat at the restuarant rather tonight. It was another enjoyable evening with lots of banter.

Until tomorrow

P, H, S (because he was only one to remember that it was father’s day and wished me straight away), K, C, J, M, O, B, S, B, R, J