Today was a fairly long drive of 170 km. We decided to leave at 5:30am as that really is the best time to be out game viewing given the heat. It was already 26 degrees when we left at 5:30am and it eventually rose to 46 degrees at 12:40 today – it was an absolute scorcher!

While yesterday was a good birding day and yet I only managed to add one lifer in Punda Maria region, the good news is that I actually did get two lifers yesterday as we also saw a Brown Necked Parrot (used to be called Grey Headed Parrot – who knows why they changed the name). Even better news was that this morning within an hour of leaving Punda Maria I had added another lifer – Greater Spotted Cuckoo – to the list. What makes it all the more pleasing is that it was not even something I was expecting to see.

By the time we stopped for coffee (which was just after 7am), the temperature was already in the 30 degrees C range and we can already see that the animals were choosing the shade of the trees. While we saw a reasonable amount of game over the balance of the drive, we never saw any predators and we were not surprised given the heat.

We stopped at a waterhole to have some breakfast (in the car) and stopped at Mopani camp to stretch our legs and buy an ice cream (at least for me) and arrived at Letaba at 12:30pm. Check in is only 2pm but usually we are able to get in earlier. They said they were still cleaning the place and we should come back at 1:30pm to get the key so we went to have some lunch at the restaurant that overlooks the Letaba river. Well H didn’t have any lunch unless you consider a Lime Milkshake lunch!

We were pleased to get into our hut and turn the aircon on and stay inside the balance of the afternoon. I need to do some work and speak to some people in the office (it is bonus & salary time) and H was reading and catching up on social media.

It was still well into the 30s C at 7pm tonight and so we skipped a braai and just had some leftovers and some pasta instead. It was a good choice as our neighbour was braaiing with a wet towel around his neck. You seriously don’t know how hot it is. It has been threatening to thunderstorm but so far no rain – hoping it does rain overnight to cool things off a touch – the heat is really oppressive at the moment and doesn’t make for good game viewing.

Until tomorrow …

P & H

The intention of coming to Punda Maria was so that we could go to Pafuri to do some birding. There are some birds that are only found in this region and so it is an important place to come to do some birding. We headed out at 5:30am as is our practice. Pafuri is about 50 kms away from Punda Maria so it takes roughly 2 hours to reach (allowing for stops for game viewing). On the way there I did add to my lifer list – Broad-billed Roller – while Helen was overtaking another car!

We were not disappointed in the Pafuri region. The birding was exceptional especially along the river. We were the only people who stopped for coffee at the picnic site and we added a few birds to the trip list while drinking morning coffee. After the coffee, H finally broke her bogey and found an owl. H is slightly obsessed with finding owls when in a game park and we have done a few recently and she hasn’t seen one. This was a particularly impressive spot and I have no idea how she saw it because it (and actually it turned out to be they!) were tucked behind some leaves. Spotted Eagle Owl in case you’re wondering.

Pafuri is where 3 countries meet – SA, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. There is a corner called Crooks Corner. There used to be a beacon at that point and apparently crooks used to flee here when being chased by the authorities. Then they would simply jump over to another country and say to the police they couldn’t come over and arrest them because they were in another country! It was 10am by the time we left the Pafuri region and the temperature was 35 degrees C. We knew it was going to be another scorcher of a day (it did rise to 42 degrees C at 6pm this evening).

Helen described this AMs drive as one of the best we have done. That is despite seeing any predators. The bird and game viewing was excellent though in the Pafuri region even though we didn’t see a predator. It is quite special and definitely something we would like to do again. The only issue is that Punda Maria (a) isn’t a great camp and (b) is relatively far from Pafuri. There is a bushcamp in Pafuri but it has no air-conditioning and at this time of the year that is essential.

We spent the rest of the day in the camp and only went out late afternoon for a very short drive. We think we may have added another lifer on that drive but awaiting confirmation from a birding friend before I will count it. Our trip list is now over 120 birds.

Dinner tonight was surprisingly not a braai – we gave it a 1-day break – and rather had pasta for dinner. We are changing camps again tomorrow and a relatively long drive ahead of us so we are off to bed soon.

Until tomorrow

P & H

We changed camps today as we went from Shingwedzi to Punda Maria. It is only about 70 kms away and as you can only check in at 2pm (usually) we decided to take a slow drive to get there. The problem is that the best game viewing is definitely early morning so we didn’t want to leave too late either. We compromised slightly and got up at 5:30am and packed up and left just after 6am. As our favourite road heads north (the direction we were going) we took that.

Not far in at one of the sections along the river with a reasonable amount of water, we spotted 4 hyena (the spotted hyena variety in case you never got that). A lot was going on so we stopped for our morning coffee and watched them for awhile. There were clearly a few youngsters among them as they were incredibly curious about everything including of the crocodile. They at least were sensible enough to jump back when it moved its tail but it did get annoyed by the harassment and slipped into the water. They also tried to get closer to some Egyptian Geese (and their youngsters) but they just waddle away and also went into the water. It was some good entertainment while we drank our coffee.

We saw quite a bit of other game on that section of the road (as we always do) including numerous birds. We are now over 110 birds for the trip and tomorrow we are heading for Pafuri which is meant to be the best birding in the Kruger. Time will tell!

We did get close to Punda Maria quite early (and well before 2pm) so we decided to do some of the loops that a bird book I own had recommended. They give specific birds on specific routes and sure enough the first one we took said we should White Crested Helmetshrike and that is exactly what we saw. The book is one of the best gifts I have been given by H. It also was the book we used on the recent road trip we did and again it was pretty accurate about what to see on which roads. Once we had finished that first road we still had more time to kill so we headed north to Pafuri with the plan to loop another road back down to Punda Maria (again which was recommended by the book). On the way up, we managed to see two cheetah just lying right next to the road!

We got to Punda Maria at 12:30pm and tried to check in but they said come back at 1:30pm. We went to have some lunch at the restaurant and then the manager came to say it was fine we could check in actually. We still had the lunch though and then got our accommodation. It turns out the place we have is actually outside the camp gates! The manager said exit the camp and turn left and you will see a white house – that is where you are staying. Of course while we were braaiing tonight we could hear a lion roaring! Definitely didn’t sound too far away either. First time I have stayed in the Kruger Park with accommodation outside the main camp gates. Does seem a little surreal.

We did go out for an evening drive. It was 38 degrees C still so not many animals doing too much. The road we took was meant to be excellent for birding but we only managed to add one new bird to our list for the trip. It is incredibly green and lush though around Punda Maria. H says it looks like what she would imagine the Garden of Eden to have been – without the dead trees!

Until tomorrow!

P & H

As we had seen the pride of 20 lions at Kanniedood Dam, we thought this AM we should head back there and see if we could see them again and maybe they had killed overnight. So at 5:30am that is the way we headed with the plan to drive the 6 kms quickly, check if we could see them and then head back to our favourite road for the balance of the morning drive. I was driving relatively quickly on a dirt road (but below the speed limit in case you’re wondering!) when I saw a leopard just lying there right on the side of the road. Slammed on anchors and that caused said leopard to get up and wander off into the bush. We got a great sighting though still and could watch it for a few minutes as it walked parallel with the road and then deeper into the bush. So much for driving the road to see the lions – which by the way we never did see.

We then took our favourite road north along the river and we saw tons of game this morning. No more predators but animals and birds aplenty. At the end of today we were over 100 birds and our likely best 2 days of birding are yet to come as we are heading further north tomorrow. Our biggest issue this morning was congestion Kruger style – giraffe on the road! It was overcast this morning and so much cooler for much longer. In fact by the time we got back (which was at around 10am) the temperature had only risen to 26 degrees C. Normally overcast conditions don’t make for good birding but this morning was the exception.

I needed to do some work this AM/early PM (bonus and salary time for my paying job and so that can’t get neglected) and Helen did some reading and then catching up on some sleep. We headed out again at 4:30pm – the temperature had risen to 33 degrees C by that point. While we saw the standard on the evening game drive (buffalo, zebra, giraffe, elephant, impala, waterbuck etc), we saw no predators. I reckon it was just to hot again – in fact in places the temperature was up to 37 degrees C.

Braai again for dinner – lamb ribs & chicken wings with stir fried veg, gem squash and a potato for me. In case you’re wondering why I give what I eat each night – it is especially for one of our readers who complains if I don’t tell her!

Until tomorrow …

P & H

Up at 5:15am (our routine now) and off at 5:30am when the gates opened. We tried a new road heading south. Game drive turned into Bird drive … very little game to be seen. New experiences don’t always turn out for the best it seems! Best part of the drive was stopping for coffee overlooking ‘Red Rocks’ which is a river pool where they used to pan for gold in the early 1900s before the KNP existed. We did see bushbuck for the first time on this trip though on the drive – so at least it wasn’t a totally fruitless drive. Also added some more birds to the trip list – we are now touching 90 for the trip (with 1 lifer). Just to put that into perspective – we saw 111 on the recent road trip over 10 days and we have seen 90 in 5 days in the Kruger (without really looking too hard). Last year over 2 weeks we saw 150 birds so I am hopeful that we will surpass that on this trip.

We got back before 9am this morning and spent the majority of the day in the camp. A trip to restaurant for a milkshake (for H) and coke float & waffle for me but basically the rest of the time in the comfort of the air-conditioned chalet. It is not as hot as yesterday. At one point on the evening drive the temperature was 40 degrees (compared to 43 yesterday) but it really didn’t feel as hot today as yesterday (maybe we are getting used to the heat).

We went out at 4:30pm for our evening drive along the river toward the Kanniedood dam (for those none Afrikaans speakers that means ‘Cannot die dam’). It is our traditional evening game drive road from Shingwedzi. The game was immediately obvious and plentiful – impala, waterbuck, elephant, buffalo, tssebee (yes our 2nd sighting of this rare buck and this time 5 of them), kudu, giraffe. My optimistic self kicked in and I was positive we would see some predators again. We did see a crocodile that had cleared eaten a whole buck of some sort – mouth open, buck mainly down but not fully down – first time I have seen that in all the years of coming to Kruger.

When we got to the Kanniedood Dam, sure enough, a pride of lions. At initial count we got to 8 but that steadily increased as we identified more. We drove around to the other side to see if we could get a better view and by the time we got there some zebra and waterbuck were headed down to drink and had piqued the lionesses interest. They drank quickly and carefully and headed back up. At that point it was clear there were 12 lionesses. We drove back around again thinking the view would be better on the other side actually and after watching for awhile a obstinacy (yes that is the correct collective noun … now you’re googling again … that would also be a good collective noun for my family) of buffalo came down to drink and that got even more interest from the lionesses.

At that point some of the lionesses got up and started to make their way toward the buffalo and the buffalo started to head out as quickly as possible. As we watched we counted lions and including the 3 that suddenly appeared out of the grass and another 2 that came out of the trees, we counted 20 lionesses in total! A massive pride – probably the biggest I have ever seen. We watched the pride give up interest in the buffalo and head back into the river area and then eventually we realised we needed to head back to camp as we would otherwise be late for the gate closing. A great evening drive that made up for the poor morning drive.

Dinner tonight was a braai – boerewors & pork rashers with gem squash (done in braai) and ratatouille.

Until tomorrow …

P & H

We were up at 5:15am as the gates now only open at 5:30am since we have moved into February. Our plan was to drive my favorite road in the Kruger – north from Shingwedzi along the river. We have seen everything there is to see in the Kruger on that road and so we had high expectations again today as we set off.

The road yielded a lot of game but unfortunately we only saw hyena this morning when it comes to predators. It was 24 degrees when we set off and when we got back at 9:15am it was already 31 degrees. It was clear it was going to be a scorcher of a day. We went out again for late afternoon game drive and it was a ridiculous 40 degrees when we left and the temperature rose to 43 degrees when we were out! As you can imagine even the animals were lethargic and definitely no signs of predators in that heat. They were under a tree somewhere taking a nap. Our birding list continues to grow and now stands at 77. I am sure it will grow more over the next few days especially as we are spending some time birding on the morning game drives now.

The most excitement today all happened in the camp actually. Midday H & I went to the river (camp overlooks the river) and we saw a waterbuck with a broken leg. First time I have seen that in a game park that I can recall. I guess she won’t last long as she really is prime game for a predator. The front left leg was flapping around though she still managed to limp to the water and we even saw her run on 3 legs at one point. But I still can’t imagine she will last long.

The other excitement happened with vervet monkeys. They are a genuine pest in the camp because they have figured out guests have food and even know how to open doors and fridges. I am pretty vigilant when I see them around. I had just started the fire tonight when a troop of them made their way through the camp. One of them jumped onto the sill and looked at himself in the window for about 5 minutes – pretty vain I know! That same one then wandered over the tree and looked confused at to how to climb the tree. The tree was right next to my braai. I went to take a swig of my Kudu lager and when I turned around the monkey was grasping into the fire and found the potato I had put in there and ran off with it! It must have seen H throw me the potato (wrapped in foil) and it must know that means food. It couldn’t even see up to the level of the braai so it just put it’s hand in and felt around (amongst the coals!) to find the foil and then grabbed it and ran. This all happened in a matter of seconds while I was taking a swig on my beer! Fortunately we have sufficient potatoes that it could be replaced and I was more vigilant to ensure it didn’t steal that one as well!

Dinner tonight was rump steak salad … as good (if not better) than the ostrich steak salad. Only issue was that I was expiring from the heat. It is still over 30 degrees and it is 9:25pm! I am pretty sure I sweated off a few kgs today!

Nice relaxing day even though we didn’t see any of the big predators. We did still see a lot of game including a massive herd of buffalo. There is always something interesting to see and experience in the Kruger!

Until tomorrow …

P & H

We were up at 5am and heading out the gates at 5:20am. Sunrise was actually 5:30am only – gates actually open at 4:30am in January but I saw no point in driving around in the dark. We decided to drive east toward the Mozambique border. The road is one of the best roads in the KNP for lion sightings and we were not disappointed.

Not far down the road we added buffalo – Big 5 number 3 and shortly after that we added Big 5 number 4 as well. About 10km in and we spotted a male lion walking east in line with the road. Not far down the road we saw a herd of impala and a confusion of wildebeest (yes that is the proper collective noun – you’ve learnt something today … now you’re all Googling it to …). They were very alert and all looking in the one direction and sure enough we then spotted the balance of the pride (females) walking along too. It seems they were on the hunt and some impala or wildebeest for breakfast would have been ideal. We watched them for 15 minutes but no action and the lions seemed to give up and head in the other direction.

The rest of the road yielded a lot of game including two cheetah. We stopped for coffee at the Nwanetsi picnic spot which overlooks the dam and while we were drinking coffee I managed to add another lifer to my list of birds – we saw African Finfoot. After coffee we stopped in at the Sweni bird hide where 2 years ago Helen had almost passed out. Fortunately this time was not a repeat. The bird life has been incredible so far. We saw over 50 birds in one day. Obviously things slow down the longer we stay here but this is probably the best start to a KNP trip I have had when it comes to birding.

We got back to the camp just before 10am in the end and spent the balance of the day in the camp just relaxing – napping, I did some work, Helen read etc. It was pretty hot again but not as hot as yesterday (around 32-33 degrees C today). We went out for a short evening game drive at 4pm and got back before 6pm. We added some birds to the trip list and while there was a reasonable amount of game – it was things we had seen already.

Started the braai (Ostrich steak salad for supper tonight) and while it was burning down, I noticed movement under our car. Shone the torch and out pops a spotted genet which then tamely walks away. We followed it for a bit trying to take a photo. I forgot to say that last night we also had a visit from a honey badger while we were eating and he/she reappeared again tonight while we were eating. Helen tried to get a photo of that too but unfortunately we missed it.

Pretty good day for our 1st full day in the game park. Looking forward to tomorrow!

P & H

H & I left for the Kruger National Park today. It is our 3rd year in a row that we have done a Jan/Feb KNP trip – it is becoming a ‘must-do’ holiday for us now. We are not generally given to tradition but this might just be one tradition we have to keep going forward. We left Cape Town on a 10:50am flight to Hoedspruit which is right in the heart of game parks. There is nothing better than getting onto a plane where the majority are foreigners and clearly heading for a ‘safari’. We landed at 1:10pm which was exactly on time. Helen got the luggage (which they simply offload into a shed of sorts) while I picked up the rental car.

It was 37 degrees C when we got into the car and headed to do some shopping in Hoedspruit so that we had food for next 11 days (KNP shops aren’t really great for food). After a quick shop at the very nice Pick n Pay, we followed another tradition and bought KFC for lunch (fastest drive through I have ever had anywhere) and then we headed to the Orpen Gate (about 50 kms away) to enter KNP. We entered the park at about 3:30pm and had another 50 km drive to our camp for tonight.

A few hundred meters from the gate we saw we zebra, wildebeest & impala and we already had the feeling it was going to be a good 11 days. 10kms from the gate we saw our first of the Big 5 – leopard. Not the one you would generally expect to see first but quite nice to tick that off about 15 minutes into the park! It was right on the side of the road and then decided to walk down the road. The only issue was that it did it in front of the car in front of us so we couldn’t always see it. It eventually headed off the road and went and lay down under a bush for an afternoon rest. At that point it was clear it wasn’t going anywhere so we headed off to the camp.

It is incredibly green and the bird life is unbelievable at the moment. We have also seen a lot of game already – wildebees, impala, giraffe, elephant (2nd of Big 5), zebra, kudu and baboon. While no lifers as yet, we have had good sightings of a lot of Birds of Prey already too. We arrived at Satara camp at just after 5pm and checked in for the next 2 nights. It was 34 degrees and very hot still so unpacking was sweaty business!

Braai (chicken wings and lamb chops) for dinner washed down with a beer for me and G&T for H (well actually those technically went down before we ate). Soon off to bed – for some reason being in the game park makes you need to get to sleep early.

Until tomorrow …

P & H