Today was the day to improve the birding list as we planned to leave at 5:30am and head north to Pafuri as quickly as we could. It is about 45 kms to the Luvuvhu River bridge. We did a stop and scan at the Klopperfontein Dam again (though nothing exciting) and then we headed north. Almost immediately we got into the Pafuri region we started to see birds everywhere. It is just incredible and every time we are here I am blown away by the bird life and the diversity. I think it is the best place I have birded in South Africa so far (though Mkhuze and Hluluwe are not far behind). First bird we saw was a lifer for H & O – Meve’s Starling and the morning just continued in that vain.
 
Unfortunately the bridge over the river did not yield us any specials – Bohm’s Spinetail and Pel’s Fishiing Owl are the two we were really hoping for – but then we headed east toward the border of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa. This spot is called Crook’s Corner because a crook in the late 1800s and early 1900s would head to this spot. There was a beacon in the middle of the Limpopo River which marks the corner of the 3 countries and the crook used to go there and sit on the beacon and watch the lawmen argue over who had jurisdiction to arrest the crook. Eventually they would abandon the argument and head off home leaving the crook to pick which country he/she wanted to head into.
 
The bird life in this narrow stretch along the Limpopo River is simply incredible. Things you can’t see elsewhere in South Africa you find in this small strip. We went to Crook’s Corner and on route M hit the big 500 lifers with a Broad Billed Roller.  We then headed back to the picnic spot which is on the Limpopo River and probably one of the nicest picnic spots in the Kruger Park. On route some more lifers were picked up by H & O. At the picnic spot someone pointed out another lifer for all of us including me – Black-throated Wattle Eye. This was one the birds that evaded us on our KZN road trip last year. It was sitting on its nest. That was lifer 3 for me on the trip. The lifers just kept coming for H & O yesterday morning including ones as we headed back to Punda Maria. They are both over 20 lifers for the trip now.
 
We got back just before midday and got Miss I off for her nap and the rest of us went to take it easy as well. Unfortunately the sickness that O had which went briefly to Miss I has now moved to M. So he decided to skip the evening drive and stayed in camp instead. The other 4 of us headed out at 3:45pm and did the Mahonie loop around the camp. It is a 25km circular route and it yielded another lifer for me (and when that happens it is generally a lifer for everyone). Disappointing for M but then he messaged to say he had seen a lifer of his own in the camp. Made us feel less bad. I finished the day on 193 birds for the trip.
 
We did steak on the braai for dinner which we then sliced and made into a steak salad. It was a nice way to finish off an excellent day.
 
P, M (he made 500 on a day he was sick so deserves 2^nd spot), H, O & I

PS: I know I am behind – signal bad and hoping to catch up soon.

We left on Monday morning for Punda Maria. As it was only a 75 km drive, we decided to sleep in and only leave around 8:30am and then to take a slow drive. Of course, H & I were awake by 5:30am and it seems Miss I has fallen into a similar routine as she was also awake early (much to M & O’s dislike). H & I went for a walk around the camp for the last time and it was quite pleasant to do it at that time of the morning as it was only mid 20s at that point.

As it was already quite late when we left, the temperate had risen to 32 degrees C and the bird life and animals were already heading for shelter from the heat. We did not see much either in the way of animals (except the standard ones) or birds.  I only added 2 new birds on the drive. We arrived at Punda Maria at about 11:30am and check in time was only 2pm. Usually if it is quiet they are happy to give you a key earlier, but they were still cleaning our accommodation. They said it would be ready at 12:30pm so we decided to order some lunch at the restaurant.

While we were waiting for them to bring our food, the receptionist came and gave us our key and as Miss I needed to sleep, M went to the chalet to drop off stuff and get it set up while we waited for the food to come. He came back and said the accommodation wasn’t great. Firstly, the one bedroom is a mezzanine room with very steep stairs but more importantly it wasn’t air-conditioned and then secondly, one of the other bedrooms air-conditioner was ridiculously noisy. M went to complain and pointed out the reservation says 3 air-conditioned bedrooms (which is factually incorrect). The receptionist said she would call the manager.

In the meantime, M & O went to put Miss I down to sleep in the non-noisy air-conditioned bedroom and when the manager arrived, I went to speak to him. He was very pleasant and agreed that the reservation was mis-stated in its description and that they were aware of the air-conditioner problem but the person coming to fix it could only come next week. I said that we couldn’t have one of us staying in the non-air-conditioned room and so we really needed another room at least and I was prepared to pay for that but staying there without air-con was not an option. Fortunately, they are not full now so he could easily give us a separate room for H & I and M, O & I could keep the house. He also offered that we check the other similar one out and we could have that (it was next door) if we preferred it. Both air-cons worked in that one so we agreed to swap after Miss I awoke from her afternoon nap.

O was not feeling well and so they all stayed and didn’t join H & I on the afternoon drive. We went to the Klopperfontein Dam and while we only added 3 more birds to our trip list, what struck us was the quantity of birds out in the late afternoon from what we had been experiencing. Things were looking up on the birding front it seemed.

Dinner was a braai of ribs and ostrich boerewors (sausage) and then off to bed.

P, H, M (for part-dealing with the accommodation issues), I (for being so good on the drives every day) & O

PS: Blog post delayed due to limited cellphone signal and hence no photos

It just seems to get hotter and we seem to see less. Today was meant to be get to 42 degrees C but the highest I saw on the car thermometer was 39 degrees. Not sure I can tell the difference between 39 and 42 anyway. All I can say it was hot again. Seems like the rest of our time here is now predicted to be in this same range of temperatures.

We slept in slightly and did a 6am drive heading down the Shingwedzi river. Lots of usual game – giraffe, elephant drinking in the river, buffalo, waterbuck, impala, baboon etc but no predators again and most especially a leopard evades us. I am not sure I have ever been in the KNP for 7 days and not seen a leopard so that is another first for me from this trip. O reckons it is her because she says every time she comes with us we don’t see anything. Somewhat superstitious and highly unlikely to be the cause – but I haven’t told her that yet and I’m happy to let her fall on her sword (figuratively speaking that is).

I made french toast (it’s a Sunday tradition) with the help of Miss I (she does the mixing and the dunking of the bread). We did have a visit from a troop of vervet monkeys which fascinated Miss I. The rest of the day was spent in our air-conditioned bedrooms. You would venture out to get some food or drink and occasionally someone would be brave enough to venture out to do some birding or look out over the river. When M did this (twice), on both occasions he spotted a woodpecker. They turned out to be different ones each time and one of them was a lifer for H. She is now on 490 lifers and closing in on the 500 lifers as well. M remains on 499 and is still seeking that elusive 500th Southern Africa bird. Trip list on 172 (same time last year we were on 189).

H stayed with Miss I – they went for a swim and then an ice cream – while the other 3 of us went on an unproductive evening drive. Not that you don’t see things – just nothing new – no new animals and no new birds. Dinner this evening was spaghetti bolognese made by O. Any form of cooking in this heat in the kitchen deserves a medal. It was lovely bolognese – the 1/2 bottle of red wine in it probably did the trick though O did a great job with limited ingredients – very tasty.

Until tomorrow …

P, O (for the cooking tonight), M (for the woodpeckers), H & I

The problem with me blogging every day is that on the morning drive I get the critique of the previous evenings blog for the first few minutes of a game drive. It usually goes along the lines of ‘You made a spelling or grammar error at that point” or “Why didn’t you include this incident or thing?” or “I really didn’t deserve last place on the blog, you forgot I did x, y or z”. This morning it was O asking why I never mentioned that we were charged by a buffalo yesterday. Yes, I did mean to (but got distracted by the loadshedding), and yes it is the only time I recall ever being charged by a buffalo in the Kruger Park and I have been coming for over 50 years now and probably have been here over 100 times now. And no, (before everyone starts panicking), we were not ever in any danger. I do think he was just a grumpy old buffalo (what they call “dagga boys” – a solitary old male buffalo). But it was a Kruger Park first for me though.

This morning we did the other very good road around here and that is to a place called Red Rocks. The road runs south west along the river the whole way and then you cross the river and run back up north east back to the main road and back to Shingwedzi. There was again plenty of game to be seen – waterbuck, impala, zebra, giraffe, wildebeest are all plentiful. But most importantly, we also saw a pride of lion lying in the sandy river bed. We counted at least 6 but there may have been more as our vision of the whole river was obscured. I was starting to feel the predators had gone missing but at least now we have seen 3 separate sets of lion (though leopard and cheetah are awol at this point).

It has been ridiculously hot the last few days. By the time we got back to the camp today (at 9am) it was already 32 degrees C and when we went out for our evening drive it the temperature rose to 40 degrees C at one point. After we got back from the morning drive, everyone except me went for a swim in the pool and then we just spent the rest of the day in our air-conditioned bedrooms and only ventured out for necessities (like lunch). I did see some movement in the tree at one point and realised when I focused my binoculars on it that was a snake hanging down from the tree. That has caused some minor consternation.

The evening drive did not yield much though earlier in the day people had seen both cheetah and lion on the road we drove. They had unfortunately vacated that area when we came through. While we did get M today to 499 lifers on his bird list, it hasn’t been a particularly productive birding the last few days. While we were considerably ahead of last year by Day 2 and 3, we are now a full day and 14 birds behind what we had seen last year at this point (167 is my list versus 181 last year). Hopefully when we go further north we will get some more diversity of birds. That being said, O & H both have 11 lifers so far for the trip.

Dinner was a braai of steak and then H did a pasta side and beans and mushroom sauce. She was cursing she had agreed to do the pasta as she was doing it as she was extremely hot. At one point she had to leave the kitchen to cool off in the bedroom as she couldn’t take the heat anymore. How does that saying go … 🙂

Fortunately the camp has a generator and while it seems they took 30 minutes to get it going the first time, now they seem more prepared and get it going within a minute or so. The only issue is that every time the electricity goes off, our air-con goes off and we have to manually re-start it. We are grateful though that we have aircon at least!

Until tomorrow …

P, H (for cooking), M (for braaiing), I (she finally warmed up again to drive on grandpa’s lap) and O

After the more relaxed day yesterday, we decided today to do H & my favourite road in the Kruger Park which is just north of Shingwedzi and runs along the river. We crossed the river to a beautiful sunrise and then headed north to follow to the river. The road usually is teaming with game and today was no exception. Elephant, buffalo, impala, waterbuck, zebra and wildebeest are all in abundance. But unfortunately no predators (though we usually see at least one on that road).

We had breakfast at Babalaba picnic site. The idea was to do some bacon and eggs on the gas skottle (basically a gas wok). Usually you have to pay for the use of one but there was not a staff member in sight and so we just used the one we found. No one appeared the whole time we had breakfast so we never had an opportunity to pay – their loss in my view. On the way back to the camp we did manage to see another lifer for M, O & H which means M is now on 499 lifers. At the end of today I am on 161 birds for the trip which is actually now behind where we were last year at the same point (167 last year). It is very hot at the moment and I am sure that is affecting our bird & game viewing. Today got to 38 degrees (on car thermometer) today. We got back before 10am.

We spent the rest of the day in the camp. H would emerge from the bedroom, walk outside and say “No, I am going back to the room”. If you walked anywhere, you basically have to aim to walk in the shade because as soon as you walk in the direct sunlight you feel like you are immediately burning. Then we got a notification that load shedding could be returning and none of us liked the idea of this heat without air-conditioning. M checked with reception and they said they have a generator for the whole camp and so not to worry. Then just while I am typing this blog the power goes off (at 9pm) and doesn’t come back on. Just what we didn’t want. It is 9:30pm and 30 degrees currently. Fortunately after 30 minutes someone has woken up and turned the generator on and so the air-con is running again and there is a chance I could actually go to sleep. The room was getting very warm and that was only in 30 minutes.

Only H & I went out for an evening drive as M decided to stay with I and O still isn’t feeling well. They didn’t miss out on seeing anything new. Though we didn’t see anything new, H & I enjoyed the drive and H did spot a Lesser Spotted Eagle sitting on its nest which was really cool to see.

M did the braai this evening and for that I was quite thankful. Given it is predicted to be even hotter tomorrow I am hoping he volunteers again tomorrow 🙂 We had lamb chops, sweet potato & corn on cob on the braai accompanied by ratatouille made by H.

Tomorrow is apparently going to be even hotter so if we survive until then … see you tomorrow!

P, M (I forgot to mention yesterday that he paid for dinner last night and then today he did the braai), H, O (still sympathetic because illness drags on) & I (still rejects me in favour of one of the 3 other people on this trip)

After the long drive yesterday, we figured that today we could all sleep in. It is also H & my 32nd wedding anniversary (seemingly not an important date for our children though, of course, they are all as a result of the marriage in the first place) and so we also thought it appropriate for us to lie in a bit. The issue though is that our body clocks are now attuned to wake up at 5am and so both of us were awake much earlier than necessary for our 7am morning drive.

We decided to just stay close to the camp today and do a small drive along the river and to the Kanniedood bird hide and then continue on for another few kilometers. It is a lovely drive and while we did see some game, we didn’t see predators but we did all add to our bird lists. We were back by around 9am and H & M decided that 27 degrees was still cold enough to do a 30-minute run in (the things people do for Discovery points). O, I & myself had breakfast instead.

It was a relaxed day at Shingwedzi today. Some painting was done by H & Miss I, everyone besides O had a nap and occasionally we would wander outside and enjoy the view over the river and then when the heat overcame you (or the flies), you would come back inside to shelter in the comfort of the air-conditioned room. It got to 35 degrees C today but with hardly any wind at all, it felt hotter. Apparently tomorrow is going to be even hotter.

We did a shortish afternoon drive with the various loops around the camp. Unfortunately not a very successful drive. It was very hot and I think all the animals and birds were resting and not doing anything. My trip list is at 151 so far and that is equivalent to where it was last year at the same time. The birding started well but has slowed down over the last day. Lifers have been flowing though for the others still with H & O having 10 lifers each and M not far behind that but more importantly he is fast closing in on his 500th lifer (he is on 498 at the moment).

As it is our anniversary, H has a rule about not cooking on our anniversary so we headed to the restaurant when we got back and we all boringly had the same thing – chicken schnitzel and chips. It is so hot that even when doing nothing (like waiting for them to bring the food), you are sweating. Fortunately the air-conditioning in our room works very well and so it is nice and cool in the bedroom. H was getting some water when she came back to ask me to join her in the lounge as a bat was flying around. Suddenly I have become a bat expert. I forgot to say this in blog yesterday but yesterday afternoon we had to deal with a bat in the kitchen sink. I had it trapped but eventually the only way to remove it was with tongs and M managed to grab it and get it outside. Tonight I am just leaving the bat in lounge – all our doors are closed – it can stay there.

Until tomorrow …

H (she has been my wife of 32 years so deserves top spot today), P, M (for running with his mom this am in the heat), O (still feeling unwell so sympathy vote) & I (she has been rejecting sitting on my lap to drive for the last few days – grandpa entirely out of favour unless I am making French Toast … going to have to make that again soon)

We changed camps today and it was a 160 km drive. That doesn’t sound long if you think you can travel at 100 or 120 km/h but inside the Kruger that is at least a 6 hour drive (depending on your sightings). We decided to leave at around 6am this morning as we headed north to Shingwedzi (our base for the next 5 nights). It was overcast for the first hour or so of the drive and that definitely affects birding. We did see a number of black-backed jackal which given the length of the grass is quite nice to see. We realised how quickly and easily they disappeared into the grass as they crossed the road and ran off into the distance. We also saw to giraffe fighting which is always fascinating to see.

We stopped at Letaba for breakfast which was at around 8:30am (perfect timing for breakfast) and after a quick visit to the shop, we headed off again north with the idea our next stop would be at Mopani. Mopani overlooks a dam and there usually is good bird life though we were somewhat disappointed today as the dam was very full and the bird life significantly diminished. H did manage to spot and I identified a lifer for M&O though so not an entirely unfruitful stop. It was also 31 degrees at this point and some of us wanted an ice cream so it was also actually a necessary stop. The last section was from Mopani to Shingwedzi which is just over 60 kms. The last section of that road runs along the river so you usually get both good bird life and game viewings. That was the same as today as we saw a Kruger Park rarity – Grey-headed Gull – and then also buffalo on the river banks.

We got to Shingwedzi around 1:30pm and after a long drive we had no plans to do anything but just stay in the camp for the balance of the day. Miss I had an afternoon nap (she did extremely well in the drive today for a 2.5 year old) and then the 4 of them went swimming. I just wanted to stay in the air-conditioned bedroom! Our house at Shingwedzi overlooks the river and it is probably the most water I have seen in the river in all the years of coming here. It is quite relaxing to just sit on a bench and watch the game and birds.

Something is always going on and this evening while we had just started the braai, H came running in to say a crocodile had a waterbuck in its jaws. I got outside just as the waterbuck managed to free itself from the croc and thereafter a standoff ensued. The croc looking straight at the waterbuck and the waterbuck looking straight back and neither doing anything. You would think the waterbuck would have just taken off but no it stayed for the standoff for probably around an hour until when the crocodile went back into the water and then the waterbuck wandered off with a slight limp (not fatal I think). One lucky waterbuck I think.

Dinner of braai’d chicken and boerewors and potato and butternut done in the fire. At this point the sweat was pouring down everywhere and I desperately needed a shower and to get into the room with the aircon going. A shower definitely did the trick (along with the very cool bedroom) and now ready to sleep.

Until tomorrow …

P, I (because she was such a good girl in the car today), O (feeling sorry for her as she is unwell which isn’t easy in the heat and managing a 2.5 year old), M (for starting the fire today) & H

We left again this morning at 5:30am. We decided to head north and then west to the Timbavati picnic spot. It takes you through the open plains north of Satara which are known for large herds of impala, zebra and wildebeest and then because of those, lions are usually nearby. In my family, these sorts of piece of knowledge that I share are often scorned and mocked when neither materialize but this morning wasn’t one of those days. About 10 km out of Satara we came upon a number of cars and very quickly could see why – a pride of 6 lions littering the road. And they were doing anything except to block the traffic. They all looked very healthy and in good condition and the male especially looked in excellent condition. Clearly being well fed from the large herds around. After watching them for some time, we decided to move on but to get past wasn’t easy as you had to navigate past the lions and the cars. We did it successfully without driving over a lion or two fortunately!

We had coffee and hot chocolate at the Timbavati picnic spot which overlooks the Timbavati River and then we drove up to the Ratel Pan Hide. There wasn’t much to be seen at the hide so we headed back south to Satara and back to the camp. We did add a number of birds to the trip list including some lifers for some people (none for me).

Back at Satara, after we had breakfast (French Toast for those wondering made by yours truly), we went for a bird walk and again added quite a few birds. H maintains that you can come to Kruger Park and just stay in the camp and bird watch and you’ll see everything. That is somewhat true but you will still struggle with some categories of birds (like water birds, vultures etc). Her argument was somewhat strengthened today though when M&O added a number of lifers from inside the camp.

M, I & H didn’t come on the evening game drive and instead went for a swim while M & myself headed due south with the aim of going to the Kumala Dam. Shortly after we left camp we saw a lot of cars parked on a road heading east and after a quick chat to one inhabitant we saw the lion (well known around here and named Casper) lying on his back with his paws in the air. We realised he wasn’t planning on going anywhere and given the excellent sighting this AM of the lions on the road, we reckoned it wasn’t worth staying. That proved true because when we returned about an hour later he was still sleeping. We did also get to see buffalo on the evening drive so M & I had a 3 of the big 5 game day.

M & I were worried that by the time we had gotten to the dam and turned around to come back that we hand’t even added one bird to our list for the trip but fortunately on the way back we did add to the trip list. H was in the lead but I am not longer sure she is after M & my trip this evening. I am now on 123 birds for the trip so far. Last year it took us 3 days to get to 123 birds so we are definitely better than last year.

Mandatory braai for dinner – this time Ostrich Steak which we then used to make steak salad and then off to bed as we have an early start and long drive tomorrow as we head north to our next camp. In case you’re wondering what sort of accommodation we have at Satara – pic below – it is a 3-bedroom house with a kitchen, lounge and dining room and a lovely outside veranda.

Until tomorrow

P, M (came on the evening drive with me), H (found some lifers for people today), I (gave grandpa a big hug before bed tonight) & O

Today we embarked on our annual 2 week trip which besides one year, has been to the Kruger Park since our 25th anniversary. This trip hasn’t had the easiest of starts though. Our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter are accompanying us for the first time for the full trip (last year they did some days in the middle of the trip). At about 10pm last night, M messaged us to say I (granddaughter) was throwing up! That went on to past midnight and so when we picked them up on the way to the airport this morning there were two tired parents and 2.5 year old who seemed in perfect order.

The check in process was smooth and easy and then we went to the lounge. Much to M’s delight, he could take me into a lounge at the airport which I could not get into for this particular flight (I can and do use it when flying other flights). Comments like “Don’t worry Dad I have got this one” and “Can I take my parents into this lounge with me as they don’t qualify by themselves” were flowing freely. It seemingly will be the highlight of M’s holiday. All this because he is Discovery believer and disciple. At least after 27 years and 18 days he has done something for H & I that we benefited from.

When we got to the boarding gate for our flight to Hoedspruit, the gate staff said there was a technical issue with the plane and they were going to have to swap out the plane but the one they would use was still on route from JHB and only landing 30 minutes after we were meant to depart. It was clear that we weren’t going to be on time. In the end we left 90 minutes late. That meant we were starting to run out of time to be able to get to the shops before they closed at 3pm. The gate staff were excellent and told us to go back to the lounge and he would call me when they were ready for boarding. I thought “no chance they are doing that” but sure enough my cellphone rang at just before 10am and they told us to come back to the gate. Then they couldn’t board us because they couldn’t get a bus to take us the plane. But what can you do, it is all out of your hands.

We purposed that I would go and quickly get the car while the rest of them collected the luggage. The problem was ‘quickly collect the car’. One customer in front of me and that took 10 minutes and I arrived mid-transaction. It was clear that quickly was not in their vocab. Then when she started with me, their computer system went down. And then she says, ‘oh I see you’ve booked a car chair but we don’t have one here, do you really need it’. At this point my patience is being tested and when I express that we are in somewhat of a hurry to get to the store before it closes, she offers to let me take the car without paperwork, without taking my credit card details and without a car chair. I accept and they bring the car around so we can pack it and head off. At this point M comes inside and points out that the rear windows don’t open at all of the Ford (basically a panel van) they are renting us. I point this out to the lady who replies “You can’t open your windows in the Kruger Park anyway”. Blood pressure rising quickly at this point. While typing this I am marveling at my own restraint actually. I pointed out to her that I have been going to the Kruger Park my whole life and I never gone and not opened the window. I did get them to agree to find us another car and to do a swap tomorrow. I then managed to contact my PA and she has done a wonderful job of getting them into gear and hopefully tomorrow we will get another car.

Off the shops to do our grocery buying (and some alcoholic beverages) and we met a guy in the parking area to give us a car chair (which they found who knows where – probably an employees own one from the looks of it). We had about 40 minutes to do the shopping before the store closed. At one stage we had 4 trolleys amongst the 5 of us – and I didn’t have one! We did remarkably well with a co-ordinated attack on the store and we got everything loaded into the car and headed toward the Kruger Park. We entered the Kruger around 4pm at the Orpen Gate. Our first camp is Satara and that is about 50 kms from the Orpen gate. The speed limit is only 50 km/h and given you’re going to stop for animals and birds, that would usually take around 1.5-2 hours (which is what we did it in).

All the usual game – elephant, giraffe, waterbuck, impala, wildebeest, zebra, steenbok, warthog, baboon and add to that the buffalo we saw from the plane before we landed, it meant a 2 of the Big 5 day. We did however manage to find one lifer for H & O – Banded Martin – which is also actually a Kruger Park rarity so a pretty good spot (I saw it, M identified it).

We got to Satara just before 6pm and I went and fetched our key and the rest went to the shop for some essentials (especially wood for the braai). I had an early supper and headed off the bed (it was a long day for a 2.5 year old but she did remarkably well the whole day but then again of course I’m biased). I (this time representing me not I) started the fire for the braai. We had lamb chops and sweet potato on the braai and H made a salad. A beer watching the fire burn down with the bush in the background and the birds calling … just what you need to forget the difficulties of the day.

I think I am the last one awake now and it is 9:30pm. Everyone is tired and of course we will be up early tomorrow for our morning game drive. My bird list after 2 hours in the park is 37 at this point.

Until tomorrow …

P, I (let’s face it a 2.5 year old putting up with all that today and being pretty good about it deserves 2nd spot on the blog), M (he did take me into the lounge which is worthy of place uplift), H & O