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South Africa Safari 2025 Day 17 …Almost the Big 5

Published on October 1, 2025November 22, 2025 by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

A frustrating start to the day…I had written Day 16 blog at the end of the previous day and scheduled it to post this morning…first it didn’t and then it did but the photos didn’t upload…..I spend considerable time writing the blog, I am not a natural with words, but dyslexics can achieve if they try hard and I am an achiever!! ….i have to read it back to John so I can hear my mistakes to make corrections. John down loads both his and my camera to his laptop. Then he selects the photos for the day, and I am proud to say a lot of them are mine, then he sends his selection of both of our shots back to me via messenger and I down load them and then upload them to the blog…..he has an arduous task, in getting them to me, if the internet is running slowly as do I in uploading…..it is particularly frustrating to think you’ve succeeded and then find out you’ve failed !!!! Thanks John for your patience.

Back to Day 17…. We were not really sorry to say goodbye to our only just basic mud- hut…opps I mean rondavel! Although we did spot 2 hippos on the river bank from our veranda.

A yogurt breakfast and then a brief conversation with the maintenance men who were trying, in vein, to unblock next doors sewage pipe….at least we hadn’t had that to contend with…..there was a giant African millipede next to the car which we asked them about, when I lived in Malawi we called them shongololo (or chongololo). The maintenance men told us its name in their language, it sounded very similar.

….and then we were off.

We headed down the 9km tar to the main road…not a single sighting… oh! John had selected Zebra and I had selected giraffe as first spot….We turned on the tar towards Satara. It was a cold morning but slightly brighter than the day before. Our first sighting were 3 warthogs in the riverbed, followed by 3 waterbuck.

Then we almost missed an elephant at the side of the road. You’d think something so big couldn’t hide in a small bush !!!

We turned off the tar to the right on the same gravel road we had taken yesterday. Braving the corrugations we rattled along…. Our first spot was a small group of Zebra..6-3 to John, he gloated he was catching up. Within a couple of minutes we came across a tower of giraffe, 11 in total…a real family gathering. We stopped where we had seen yesterday’s jackals and sure enough we saw a pair of ears sticking up and there was one of the jackals nestled down next to a bush. I was happy… walking along towards this area was a Kori bustard. It was a handsome male with his seemingly thick neck – the feathers around the neck are loose, giving the appearance of a thicker neck than they really have.

On we went and shortly came across three parked vehicles…we quickly saw what they were watching…yeah….a pack of wild dogs and some youngsters. There were some adults laid to the right of the track, who got up trotted around and crossed the road before lying down in the long grass making them vanish from view. The youngsters were huddled together under the edges of a thorn bush, protected from the coolish wind. What a wonderful sight.

We stayed watching for some time, eventually moving in front of the other cars, taking some pictures before moving on out of their way.

Not much further on we came across two male giraffes having a fisty-cuffs….its actually called “ necking”….male giraffes use their necks and heads to compete for dominance.

We were laughing about how wonderfully productive this route had turned out to be, when we caught sight of 3 ground hornbill. These are enormous, sociable, ground-loving birds which are easily recognized. The adult male has an extensive brilliant red face and throat wattles.

We scurried along to Timbavati picnic area…basically because I need the loo…the corrugated road really does shake your insides up!

Not long after my loo stop we pulled up next to a parked jeep. They kindly showed us where to look for 3 lionesses. We saw 2 ..they were watching zebra on the far bank of the river and soon disappeared from sight in stalking motion. We would never have seen these if the kindly couple hadn’t pointed them out and moved their car so we could get a glimpse.

Wow what a day we were having….around the next bend a martial eagle was eating something it had taken up a tree.

We continued on to the tar road which goes to Orpen gate…we turned the opposite way towards Satara.

Stopping at the dam we ate our lunch watching the hippos and their young frolicking in the water, while a hooded vulture watched on.

We continued along the tar sighting an ostrich before we got to camp.

We arrived at Satara Camp at 2.15pm and booked in…Luckily we were allocated C51…we like circle C and have often stayed in a rondavel there before. Whilst in reception we asked about a sunset drive, we had decided not to try for tonight as the windchill factor was high and we thought we’d be too cold. So we asked for the following night but it was fully booked. Oh No !!!!! …So I asked for the night after …our 3rd night and we booked that. I then asked for tonight and yes it was available…so to Johns some what dismay I booked that as well🤣🤣.

We soon found our chalet…this time we had a full kitchen and the rondavel was quite roomy. I rummaged through both cases finding a pair of jeans each for us. For John a polo neck to go over his tshirt and another tshirt to go over that, and his fleece, a pair of shoes and socks. For myself a cami vest, a long sleeved vest a cardigan, my fleece and a scarf….and because I am my mothers daughter – intuitive and resourceful, I also put 2 new hankies in my pocket so I could use them as earmuffs inside my headscarf….let me tell you they worked an absolute treat and my head and ears were as snug as a bug in a rug🤣🤣

Off we went on our sunset drive, John was still mumbling “waste of time….too cold to see anything..” Patrick was our driver…over the years he’s taken us many times…he has a wicked sense of humour and is a great spotter and guide…what’s more the truck wasn’t full so I moved to the double seat infront and Patrick really took the Micky when I said it was because my husbands “butt“ was too big 🤣🤣

Off we went, he started on the S100 then turned round and went on to the H6… a road which goes up to the Mozambique border. We hadn’t been going long when he stopped…there was a whole pack of hyenas, both youngsters and mature adults, both sides of the road.

We haven’t seen many yet, this holiday so it was a real treat.

Not much further along the road was the stench of death and our guide pointed out an elephant which had died of old age. He said the hyenas, jackals and vultures would soon dispose of every sign of it.

On we went and suddenly out of nowhere an adult rhino strolled across the road…what a treat. We’ve never seen rhino near Satara before. Within 5 minutes it was completely out of sight.

A while later we stopped again and about 80 metres from the road was a dead giraffe with lions feasting on it. As it was dusk it was difficult to focus on. We could see a lioness and several youngsters.

At this moment a young man on the truck dropped his phone out onto the ground. Patrick then spent a considerable time shifting the truck, moving the phone with a firebeater, shifting the truck again so that it was between the lions and the phone. He then stepped down from the passenger side and retrieved the phone. What a palaver, Patrick did so well and the young man didn’t even say thank you….so I thanked Patrick for being so kind. We watched the lions a little longer before heading back in the direction of camp…it was by now very dark and people were using the spotlights.

We passed the elephant carcass and our driver took us close to it so we could watch the hyena arriving for their supper….sure enough they did.

Continuing on ……Suddenly Patrick stopped the truck and right down in the grass on the verge of the road was a young female leopard. We watched it walk along the road and disappear back into the bush for nearly 10 minutes.

By now John was laughing and whispered in my ear “ who said we wouldn’t see much” …this was probably the most successful spotting day we have ever had and we will certainly remember it forever.

Even after the leopard our spotting wasn’t over, we had clear views of 3 different marsh owls both sat in the road, on a tree and in flight….wow.

Thank you Patrick for a marvellous drive, thank you John for forgetting to be cold and thank you Mother Nature for showing us your treasures.

Back in Camp we said goodbye to Patrick…he had certainly earnt his big tip.

Our viewing numbers for the entire day including sunset drive were 1 millipede, 99+ impala, 3 warthog, 8 steenbok, 24 hippo, 2 jackal, 1 Kori bustard, 5 WBV, 17 waterbuck, 15 elephant, 54 zebra, 36 wildebeest, 30 giraffe, 8 wild dog, 6 yellow billed hornbill, 1 quail, 1 grey Lourie, 2 African fish eagle, 1 bateleur eagle, 1 lilac breasted roller, 7 lion, 3 ground horn bill, 5 kudu, 1 crocodile, 1 ostrich, 1 martial eagle, 1 rhino, 1 leopard, 3 marsh owl, 1 hooded vulture, 11 hyena, 1 African wild cat.

We scurried to the Cattle Baron restaurant and ordered Chateaubriand flambé in brandy with chips, butternut and spinach and mushroom sauce …it was superb, we rounded it off with ice cream…..all for the superb price of £28.00 for us both….

We went straight to bed, it was too cold to sit outside playing cards…we were very happy, very grateful and very well blessed.

South Africa Safari Day 16 The day of the Jackal

Published on September 30, 2025November 22, 2025 by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

“The day that the rains came” – by Jane Morgan No. 1 on the UK singles chart in 1959 – she died a couple of months ago aged 101….(makes my dad look like a spring chicken at 94 this year 🤣🤣🤣). NO! I am not old enough to remember it, but it seemed an appropriate song to start the day….cold, grey, drizzle…that wonderful smell the bush exudes when it’s been dry for so long and then it gets damped upon.. The temperature didn’t rise to more than 17 degrees Celsius all day and in England we would have called it a miserable grey day….but we’re not in England and in SA it was yet another day for wildlife spotting.

We had a slow start to the day…both of us aching from the rock hard beds…we’re so used to our luxury encapsulated sprung memory foam mattress…we forget how fortunate we are until a bed like last nights reminds us 🤣🤣. But thankfully the shower was powerful enough to massage the aches and pains…

We made a plan and decided to drive the river loops between Olifants and Letaba…that was plan “A”….. John was allowed two choices of first spot today because he is 6-1 down…. He chose elephant and giraffe and I chose zebra….off we went …Oh my goodness!!!! The vibration from the corrugated roads was the worse so far…thank goodness we don’t have false teeth because I am telling you even our jaws were rattling and we’d defiantly have lost any falsies🤣🤣🤣….i didn’t need to bring the “tens” machine with us, these roads shock every fibre within your body….

After 45 minutes without a single sighting Plan “B” was made and we took the circular road back to Olifants…. John was just saying “in 5 minutes time we’ll have been going an our without seeing a single creature, animal or bird”. As he finished talking I caught sight of a Grey Lourie ( now renamed The Go- away bird) . Then 2 minutes later we saw a giraffe standing next to 2 zebra…John claimed the point..6-2 …

Back on the tar we were going to go down to Balule Camp on the dirt…but as I was actually having to use the windscreen wipers, the drizzle was slow steady rain, we hatched Plan “C”. Staying on the tar we saw a nice small troop of Chacma baboons.

Turning down towards Satara we saw a herd of Waterbuck in the rivers shallow channels. Other cars were stopped and it was soon apparent that they weren’t looking at the buck. We asked a car and they said 3 lionesses had been seen……been was the operable word…they could no longer be seen. ….some cars crawled along the road at the edge of the river…we asked again and were told 2 male lions had been seen..yeah! Who started this rumour…no one still there had actually seen a lion….we left them to it.

A little further on we saw a lovely African harrier hawk in a tree next to the road.

As we went over the bridge I spied two magnificent Goliath Herons…they really are majestic…we haven’t seen one since we were with Same Aaron in Botswana in 2023. We spent some time watching them wade in the shallows.

We had been going to turn towards the East and take the road which runs parallel to the Mozambique boarder….but we still hadn’t seen many mammals so Plan “D” was hatched and we turned to the west. It was again a bone-shaker road. After a while we saw a fabulous Kori Bustard….they are very strange looking birds…the largest flying bird native to Africa.

We continued on and as the surrounding area opened up into scrub land plains…and there darting across the plains, across the road and back again were not only one but 3 Black Backed Jackals…..

Black backed jackals are a widely distributed species that are known for their cunning and daring. They are often seen nipping in to steal a morsel from Lions. They have a distinctive call known almost as well as the roar of a lion. They are the most common and best known of all the African carnivores. The name jackal is frequently used to denote the cunning and versatility so typical of this species. They have a dark saddle on the back, which runs from the nape of the neck to the base of the tail. They have a black, bushy tail and reddish flanks and limbs; standing about 400 mm at the shoulder and a meter in total length. Our 3 black backed Jackals were racing around.

A red billed hornbill even photo-bombed my attempt at capturing a running jackal.

I was ecstatic about our sighting as they are one of my absolute favourites.

Shortly after seeing these little fellas we about turned and retraced our steps. On the way back we saw pockets wildebeest keeping out of the rain under a tree.

At the tar road we went straight over on to the Balule Camp Road. We saw quite large groups of impala mostly laid down, keeping warm out of the wind, it had by now stopped raining.

A group of waterbuck grazed at the road side and small groups of zebra hid behind bushes.

We crossed the river on the low pontoon, nothing was on the banks or in the water.

We sat overlooking the water to eat our sandwich before heading back to Olifants camp. We were almost back to the tar when I almost drove past a massive elephant just munching on a bush at the side of the road. We had a quiet conversation and he continued to enjoy his snack while we slowly passed by.

A few metres further on was a much smaller elephant who had obvious aggression towards us…shaking his ears and stamping his feet…we accelerated passed tout de suite, without incident.

Our viewing count for the day was quite low 99+ impala, 2 lilac breasted rollers, 1 grey Lourie, I African fish eagle, 1 African harrier hawk, 6 giraffe, 25 zebra, 2 Goliath herons, 8 baboons, 1 yellow billed hornbill bill, 3 red billed hornbill, 17 waterbuck, 3 black backed jackals, 18 wildebeest, 3 elephants.

Back in the camp we spent the afternoon resting before going to the restaurant for supper. It was heaving as no-one wanted to braii in this inclement weather. We both had burgers, I had chicken breast and John had beef, a Diet Coke each and ice cream to round it off…all for the princely sum of £17.00.

We wandered back to our hut using torchlight then snuggled down for the night…too cold to sit outside and play cards and no room inside.

Tomorrow we head to Satara.

South Africa Safari 2025 Day 13 – The day of the Tsessebe.

Published on September 27, 2025November 22, 2025 by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

“Oh it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spend it with you
oh such a perfect day you just keep me hangin on
you just keep me hangin on” …

….That’s what you do Mother Nature…..and then you deliver, time and time again. ……half way through this perfect day we both burst into song….after all, the birds, wildlife, trees and plants aren’t going to tell us to shut up are they. It was a lovely bright day with temperatures back to around 26 Celsius.

We had a slow start to the day…both showered and hair washed, clean cloths and just a small pot each of yogurt for breakfast, supplies need replenishing. John made rolls for lunch while battling to keep the vervet monkeys off the food and out of the kitchen…if it wasn’t the monkeys it was the glossy starlings and the squirrels….quite a sight to see John “sshhhing” them away…one monkey distracted him while another sneaked in behind …eventually he succeeded. I had in the meantime been sorting out the dirty washing ready to go to the laundry.

Our house keeper arrived just as we were leaving. I asked her where the laundry was and she pointed but then she said she would do it for me. I asked how much and she said anything I wanted to give her…so I said 150 Rands ( £6) and she beamed from ear to ear…I gave her the detergent and she said she’d bring it all back tomorrow morning…bless her. When we got back at lunchtime she had decorated our beds with the towels and leaves and pods and she had put a glass on a doily full of flowers next to our beds….Josephine you are a lovely lady.

With the washing taken care of it meant we could go out game spotting much earlier. We went out of the back gate and headed along the river side….wow…it was prolific for game…within 10 minutes we had driven 2 kms and seen 8 different species……our first sight was a squirrel just as we left the camps gate. We saw loads of waterbuck, giraffe, elephants, small groups of dagger boys – old male buffalo, zebra, kudu, hippos, and of course we soon counted 99+ impala….for an area which has a reputation of being devoid of wildlife it was our most prolific day game viewing so far this holiday.

We spent along time looking up a tree with 2 other vehicles who informed us there was a leopard sleeping up the tree……if it was it was buried deep in the foliage of the tree …as you know leopards can sleep for along time and we decided to leave her to it.

We retraced our route back to camp. On the way back we came across a magnificent specimen of a bull Nyala…a very handsome male…he seemed to be on his own with no harem.

On arrival at the camp it was once again a hive of activity…bus and mini bus loads full of school children and locals. It was “heritage day” earlier in the week and we think the park drops the conservation daily fee for locals during the week. As we drove through camp I stopped and commented how beautiful a lady looked in traditional clothing, she wanted us to take her photo which we obligingly did…

We stopped at our chalet for a quick loo break before heading out of the front gate….lo and behold on the opposite bank of the river were two tsessebe antelope.

The tsessebe has a strange name which is fitting for its rather strange look. It is larger and somewhat different in appearance than the other two animals of the same genus (blesbok and bontebok). Both sexes carry horns which are more splayed, and a black (rather than a white) blaze marks the face. The tsessebes upper parts are dark reddish-brown with a distinct purplish sheen and paler belly. They have a characteristic shoulder hump which is higher than its rump. The tsessebe is reportedly the fasted of all antelope and it can reach speeds of up to 90 km. It is a grazer and is often the first to arrive on areas after a burn as they specifically like fresh growth and shoots.

As we watched these rarely seen beauties another car stopped and asked us what we were looking at. We told them and they drove straight on, obviously neither appreciating the rare sighting or the beauty of this magnificent creature.

We continued out to the S53 where we had seen the lions yesterday. On the way we saw a lot of white backed vultures, elephant, zebra and a lone wildebeest. The S53 was no longer lion ridden, there was no sigm of them. Not far from where they had been, a group of Chacma baboons happily sauntered across the track. The thick undergrowth and vegetation makes spotting a challenge and photo opportunities near on impossible…

On our way back to camp we spied a very elegant martial eagle in a tree close to the road.

We watched aline of zebra cross the dry river bed and disappear into the bush. Stopping back at the tsessebe we decided to eat our lunch. Back in camp it was time for a rest.

Our spotting count for the day was …we don’t include the sunset drive spots because it’s too difficult to record bouncing up and down all the time.. 99+ impala, 65 elephant, 6 squirrel, 13 warthog, 58 zebra, 63 waterbuck, 13 kudu, 21 giraffe, 6 yellow-billed stork, 48 buffalo, 2 yellow billed hornbill, 2 quail, 8 spur-fowl, 37 hippo, 1 grey lourie, 1 nyala, 1 African fish eagle, 21 Chacma baboons, 2 saddle-billed stork, 4 tsessebe, 3 vervet monkeys, 1 wildebeest, 9 WBV, 1 lilac breasted roller, 1 martial eagle……what a prolific game drive!

We wandered across to the carpark for the sunset drive at 4.15pm. I was immediately pounced upon by some colourfully dressed ladies who wanted their photos taken with the white, blonde lady….i was grateful when another couple joined us and shifted the photographic lime lite to them. It was a strange experience.

When the small 10 seater Safari vehicle arrived we quickly jumped on. While the driver did his paper work another group of local visitors jumped on the vehicle to have their photos taken on a Safari vehicle with the white people…it was all a bit overwhelming and surreal. We were glad when the driver returned along with 2 more guests who sat on the row of seats infront of us. Delight introduced himself, reminded us of the Safari vehicle game drive etiquette and informed us that the extra two people were also game rangers/ guides from one of the local 5* reserves. Great we had 3 guides instead of just one. We set of for out 3 hour drive with high hopes.

Delight followed the same route we had been in the morning. We saw some lovely sights along the river banks . Including 2 more tsessebe. He stopped several times to talk about both lion and impala scat- poo!! We went to where the leopard had been seen but the remaining car said it had already left the tree and disappeared into the undergrowth. We did however catch sight of a fish eagle.

On our return trip a large eagle owl was seen in the twilight.

We went some time before sighting a Scops owl at the edge of the road. It flew into a tree and we watched it for a while.

A couple of adorable bush babies were seen leaping around the bushes. Quite close to camp we saw a raging bush fire but Delight assured us it was a controlled burn. The Parks board does have areas they burn from time to time. They keep it under control by putting in firebreaks. It is so the earth regenerates and it allows seeds to germinate and fresh growth quickly appears. This is the time of year they do this, just before the rains begin.

On returning to camp we tipped Delight and thanked him for a very enjoyable 3 hour drive. We decided as it was 7.45pm we would eat in the restaurant. We both had pies, I had chicken, John had venison. Thankfully they had vegetables which were delightful, a mixture of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, mange-toot, courgette, peppers and corn….i think it was frozen but it was very welcomed. Our meal cost less than £15 for us both. We returned to our chalet happy and tired….an excellent day in the bush….oh what a perfect day…

South Africa Safari 2025 Day 11 The day of the Ant Hills

Published on September 25, 2025November 22, 2025 by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

We had a slow start to the day, I’d had to take an antihistamine which knocks me for six and it takes a good long sleep for my brain to catch up with my body. It’s not unusual when we are away, my delicate skin doesn’t like detergents, at home we use one for babies🤣🤣 consequently after about a week I end up itching like a baboon🤣🤣🤣hence the necessity for anti histamines….anyway that aside we have also been doing a lot of driving so we decided to take it easy.

John made lunch and elevenses – rolls..I had marmite in one and cheese and marmite in another, he opted for just cheese. We had a couple of yogurt before we set off at around 10.30 am.

We headed down the tar to the Phalaborwa gate, as we wouldn’t be doing this route at any other time. It was a slow day for game. The plains are dry with nothing to eat for grazing wildlife. This area has always been strewn with huge anthills.

Time hasn’t changed this they were everywhere old and new, large and small standing out like the Egyptian pyramids as far as the eye could see, to the horizon and probably beyond.

These termite mounds are called Macrotermes mounds or heuweltjies as the locals call them ( means little hills in Afrikaans). They are inhabited by termites which build an underground network of tunnels and nests The mounds are made of a combination of soil, termite saliva and dung. The extensive tunnels and alleyways are used to control the temperature inside the mound. The heat is pushed up through the chimney type structure. Termite mounds usually last longer than the colonies of termites themselves. The disused mounds are often used by other species of animals. The warthog is particularly partial to digging a hole in the mound and reversing in blocking the entrance with its head so it can still look out. We always keep an eye out for the elusive aardvark and the, never seen by us, pangolin, both of whom enjoy feasting on termites.

After initially sighting a pair of giraffe and some Waterbuck we clocked up a lot of kilometres before seeing anything other than ant hills.

Eventually we came across a herd of huge tuskers at a water tower quickly followed by several giraffe.

At the gate we asked security if we could use the toilet. We parked inside the park gate and walked back to the loos the other side…wow it was mayhem…coaches trying to get in, cars queuing to get in, vehicles queueing to get out….we’ve never seen an entry gate like it…there were dozens of security checking vehicles, police organising the traffic, a few very shady characters loitering around….how things change over time, this used to be a very quiet sleepy gate with little or no traffic. We quickly used the loo and returned to the car.

We took the dirt road back, with the hope of seeing a little more. We did see a few impala, two zebra and another herd of elephant. Not long after this sighting a car coming towards us flashed us so we stopped….the lady looked like an honorary ranger and if she wasn’t one she should have been…her enthusiasm in sharing her recent sighting was infectious………”Take the next left track, then take the right one then 5 kms further there are two mating lions at the side of the road…it’s quite along way 36 kms further but this road is dead” she gushed at us….we said thank you and decided to follow her instructions…..about 15 kms further on another car stopped us the young man and his lady informed us “there are two mating male lions in about 15 kms”, we thanked them and continued…when we were well out of sight of these kind youngsters we had to chuckle with each other “ I don’t think we’ve ever seen two mating male lions”🤣. Our information was very correct to the exact kilometre we came across and lion and lioness mating…. I must admit the lion was a handsome fella with a lovely mane.

Just before reaching the lions the river is very visible. On the opposite bank was the body of a dead hippo and literally dozens of different raptors feasting. It was a strange sight. I had read a face book post a couple of days ago with a picture of a hippo floating down the river with a crocodile feasting on it. I had presumed it was photoshopped, but seeing the sight ourselves, it was probably the same hippo.

We continued our drive around another gravel loop where the young couple had said they had seen 7 lionesses, but we were not that fortunate.

We returned to camp on the tar road enjoying seeing some more wildlife in particular along the riverside and on the bridge.

Our number count for today was considerably lower than on previous days…99+ impala but it took us until 5.30 pm to reach this number, 1 squirrel, 18 waterbuck, 4 crocodile, 3 lilac breasted roller, 1 grey heron, 36 elephant, 8 giraffe, 5 zebra, 11 kudu, 1 yellow billed hornbill, 2 red billed hornbill, 2 spoonbill, 2 quail, 5 Spurfowl, 1 steenbok, 1 terrapin, 2 lion, 31 Chacma baboon, 30 WBV, 3 warthog, 4 guinea fowl, ……. It was still a day full of wonderful sightings even if it wasn’t as prolific as previous days.

We finished our viewing by driving on to a nearby bridge and photographing the sunset and its reflection.

We ate in the restaurant before retiring to our chalet for a game of cards and bed.

South African Safari 2025 Day 10 – The day of the Waterbuck

Published on September 25, 2025November 22, 2025 by 2jsworldofadventureLeave a comment

After a restless nights sleep, which involved plenty of exercise in the form of getting in and out of bed to turn on and off the air conditioning, we prepared for our journey up to Letaba. The weather was very different to yesterdays….yesterday at 11 am it was 36 degrees Celsius where as today it was only 24 degrees Celsius. Letaba camp is about 90km north of Satara. We haven’t been up this high for probably 10 years….basically because the game has been scarce and sightings were few and far between. However we had been unable to book into Satara ( our preferred area due to prolific game) for longer, as it was full. So being flexible we decided to carry on up the park. John has never been to Punda Marie neither has he stayed in Shingwedzi. It must be about 20 years since I’ve stayed in the later…although for many years prior to this Shingwedzi was my favourite camp and I knew most the staff by name. We decided to stay 2 nights in Letaba before stopping in Shingwedzi for 3 nights….I couldn’t be persuaded to stay in Punda Marie, but have agreed to drive up there so John can have a look at the area. Many years ago I had booked Punda Marie, my son was a youngster and they provided me with a mattress for him on the floor…..the mattress was so old and stained that I wouldn’t even have let my dog sleep on it…disgusting..and it has put me off staying there ever since…I am certain 30+ years later it is absolutely fine but my memories remain vivid so for us it’s a no-no.

Back to the present…we had a meagre breakfast of 2 yogurts each and set off up the tar. The terrain is very different here…wide open flat spaces of nothingness. Our first half an hour was extremely enjoyable with 99+ zebra and wilderness traversing the plains.

After this our sightings became few and far between. We saw a few families of elephants in the almost dried up waterholes the road passes by. A couple of these waterholes had a flurry of mixed sightings. One in particular had zebra, Wildebeest, kudu and impala all streaming in longlines down to and then away from the water. A lovely view.

Some of the little streams of water had waterbuck on the shallow banks.

The Waterbuck is a large antelope, it has reddish brown course fur with white around its nose and eyes and a white collar around its neck. It also has a very distinctive “follow-me” white circle on its rump…many say this looks like a toilet seat or even a target 🤣. Like many antelope the waterbuck male has horns where as the slightly smaller female does not. The waterbuck is a very strong swimmer, it uses its hollow bearded neck hair for buoyancy. Its fur releases a smelly musky oil which repels water. We have also been told on numerous occasions by game rangers that the waterbuck also releases this oil when it is frightened. The lion is its main predator but has learnt to leave it alone because the oil it releases taints its meat which makes it unpalatable.

Our trip continued along the tar. As we drew closer to Letaba we decided to take one of the gravel road loops down and along the Letaba river. We saw zebra, elephant and impala.

We stopped at the edge of the water for elevenses. We are now reduced to park purchased processed cheese on some Woolworths crackers..not too bad. We watched three waterbuck walk along in front of us…they had a youngster with them. We saw a saddle-billed stork waddle along. An enjoyable half hour break from driving.

Our total viewing for the day was 99+ impala, 99+ wildebeest, 99+ zebra, 15 giraffe, 3 warthog, 2 grey Lourie, 6 kudu, 4 hippo, 37 elephants, 28 buffalo, 17 waterbuck, 2 steenbok, 1 bateleur, 1 saddlebilled stork, 1 squirrel.

We arrived at the Letaba reception at around 11.30….. too early for check in which is 2 pm. However we did book on to the sunset drive. We went to wait until check-in at the restaurant and decided to have a toasted bacon sandwich for lunch while overlooking the river, with its many islands which appear during the dry season.

At 2 pm we picked up our chalet key. Once again the chalet was the tired old variety but as it was on the perimeter fence we overlooked the river. It had a closed in veranda, with mosquito netting and wire , which makes you feel as if you are in a cage looking out🤣. This time we had a microwave, toaster, kettle ( thank heavens…can’t wait for a coffee), and full utensils but no hotplate or sink…however there is a large tub for putting your dirty dishes in and carrying to the communal kitchen to wash up….ummmm…no! I can’t see either John or I doing that so I guess it will be the restaurant for the next two nights🤣🤣

We arrived early for the sunset drive and our name was first on the list so we got a choice of where we wanted to sit. The truck was almost completely full, but this time with people who actually wanted to game view and knew the etiquette of the bush.

Off we set with our driver and guide “Happiness” . Unfortunate her name did not deliver. We saw lots of giraffes. Several were stood in “ push-me pull-me” positions. Lots of animals do this in particular zebras and impala, it is so they each look in different directions so they can see if any predators are coming.

The 3 hour drive showed us giraffe and elephant. A rather lovely sighting was a nyala buck and 3 cows in a dried river bed. As we were nearing the end of our drive we saw a black backed jackal, however Happiness was reluctant to reverse the truck so that everyone could see it. Just before we turned in the camp gate 2 hyena appeared, but once again Happiness didn’t reverse even though most the truck were asking her to….a little disappointing…..so for the first time this trip we decided not to tip….we don’t believe in tipping when it’s not earnt or deserving.