Tag: kruger-national-park

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

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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

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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.

Squirrel, kudu, Wildebeest, Buffalo and Elephant.

We headed for the restaurant and once again John had Venison pot pie and I had roasted chicken and …yes I did have a Savannah light🤣

The night saw us playing cards in the cage before an early to bed was required.

South Africa Safari 2025 Day 9 The day of the Blue Wildebeest

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We set off from Lower Sabi to Satara a 138 km drive. Taking the direct route on the tar road led us to cross The Sabi river and enjoy its multitude of various mammals, reptiles and bird life…it did not fail to deliver.

We continued up the H10 viewing large herds of Blue Wildebeest. We were delighted as the last twice we have visited they have been few and far between. Our count soon recorded 99+ of both the wildebeest and its companions the zebra. The Blue Wildebeest is a dark grey colour often with a brown sheen, but more often it stands out looking jet black amongst the dry landscape. Both sexes have horns and its tail is horselike. They like the zebra are grazers…..our former sunset drive guide told us they tend to group with zebras because there is safety in numbers. However many years ago a very knowledgable game ranger told us that the zebra and wildebeest eat different sections of the grass. The zebra eats the top sweeter grass and leaves behind bacteria in its saliva. The wildebeest eats the lower part of the grass and the zebras bacteria helps with the wildebeests digestive system. Who knows which of these philosophies are correct.

The road takes you up and over an escarpment. From the top you can see for literally miles and miles in every direction. There is not a building, industry, road or track, other than the one we were on, to be seen…this really is raw, unspoilt wilderness – untouched by humans and their progression of time …it takes your breath away …miles and miles of nothingness except nature at its very best…magnificent, this is why we keep returning…unless you’ve seen it you can’t imagine the feeling this vista gives you.

We had nearly reached the H1-4 at Tshokwane picnic/ rest site, when we saw a few cars on a bridge. Looking along the almost dry river bed on a low lying branch of a big tree was a leopard. It was in a typical, textbook leopard pose.

We stopped at Tshokwane for the toilets, a look around the shop and a stretch of our legs.

Not long after this we spotted a hyena cooling off in a muddy pool. We sat watching it while we ate our cheese sandwiches. This is the usual way in which hyena stay cool. Further on toward Satara we came across a big herd of buffalo.

During our day we saw 99+ impala, 99+ elephant, 10 hippo, 3 crocodile, 15 waterbuck, 2 warthog, 1 leopard, 99+ Wildebeest, 8 kudu, 99+ zebra, 4 vervet monkeys, 23 Chacma baboons, 2 nyala, 2 bateleur, 1 spotted hyena, 50 buffalo, 3 ground hornbill, 4 quail, 1 lion, 1 black backed jackal.

We arrive at Satara slightly after 2pm….the booking in queue was about 20/25 people long. So while John queued I nipped into the shop opposite to pick up bread, cheese, fruit, yogurts, eet-sum-mor biscuits , water, chocolate and crisps….alas it was very badly stocked, no bread or fruit at all, I came out with water, crisps, eet-sum-mor biscuits and chocolate a really great combination for someone who tries to eat healthily and reduce the sugar intake🤣🤣🤣…having paid the non smiling assistant I joined John in the queue.

We were eventually greeted by the stern check-in lady…I tried all the usual niceties but failed to raise a smile…but we did get our room key….geeeze F144 chalet was defiantly a museum piece…I don’t think it had been updated since I first stayed in Kruger in 1989🤣 The curtains almost met in the middle on one window the other had a foot gap…hey ho I could be accused of flashing if anyone was looking in but what the heck🤣 The air conditioner was an original model which rattled so loudly it even smothered the rumblings of the fridge it was next to….It had only three working settings, on, cold or hot. The cold worked very well blasting the pillows on each bed with winds from the Arctic…unfortunately there was nothing in between so I spent most the night turning it off, dozing and sweating and then turning it back on again. The fridge and the air conditioner took up the only plug socket apart from the one over the sink…so we plugged in the extension lead and hoped we didn’t electrocute ourselves during the night.🤣

Our late afternoon 2 hour drive was of course along the S100. This is a favourite dirt road we have driven hundreds of times because it always shows us the unexpected . We had been going on it for about 3/4 of an hour and seen very little, a few wildebeest, zebra, impala, ground hornbill, a giraffe and a massive tusker of an elephant who stood hidden in a bush next to the road and nearly gave me a heart attack when it suddenly moved. We asked several other vehicles coming in the other direction if they had seen much but they said nothing, it was very quiet. We decided to U-turn.

We were just saying that it was the first time ever the S100 had failed us when!! …….both myself and a car coming towards us jammed on our breaks….walking out from behind some tall grass across the road in front of us was a massive male lion. We sat and watched him for 3 minutes before he disappeared from sight again. We pulled up alongside the other car to compare our elation, they had actually seen a lioness cross first of all….wow…the S100 never fails to deliver the unexpected.

We headed back on the H1 and past Satara camp gates, deciding to head up the tar for 30 minutes and see what was about. It was prolific with elephants, zebra, wildebeest and impala. Just as we were about to turn around we saw a black backed jackal…these are one of my favourites.

We returned to camp highly satisfied with our days game viewing and a magnificent sunset.

We went straight to the Cattle Baron restaurant. We were as usual greeted with a smile and highly attentive service. Thank you Permission you certainly earnt your big tip….we thoroughly enjoyed our Chateaubriand flamed in Brandy followed by ice cream and chocolate sauce…naughty but nice…and to be even naughtier I had my first Savannah Light of the holiday…it all came to the princely sum of £32…..

We retired to our museum chalet for a few games of cards and an uncomfortable nights sleep.

South African Safari 2025 Day 8 The day of the Hippo

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We had a full day driving around the Lower Sabi area. A leisurely breakfast took place on our veranda, watching, elephant, hippos and giraffe zig zag across the river munching on the reeds and grasses and cooling off in the water…..what a splendid view…how privileged we are to be able to experience the uninhibited bushlands where gods creatures roam free and all wildlife lives its natural life in its natural habitat.

Our chalet/hut was still delightful although the shower wasn’t quite as good as the previous days….very hot, hard to get cool enough and fairly low pressure…but it sufficed.

We headed up the tar road to Skakuza, because John had ear-wagged our neighbours saying there was a lion kill. We didn’t see any lions but we did see the buffalo carcass with numerous vultures and other raptures feeding on it..near by waiting patiently was a hungry crocodile.

We drove a few more kilometres further down the tar before turning back. We crossed the Sabi on the tar road to Tshokwane and took the first right hand dirt road which loops around.

From the low pontoon bridge we saw numerous hippos, some young, some showing that they needed the dentist, some grazing, some sleeping in large pods and some just wallowing in the water…A hippo can live for an average of 35 years in the wild. A male hippo can weigh up to 4500kg and a female 1600kg. They walk under water and can remain submerged for up to 5 minutes. It is responsible for the most human fatalities and injuries and is therefore known as the most dangerous mammal in Africa. We saw 99+ hippos throughout the day.

Our loop on the dirt road showed us 99+ impala, 20 WBV, 10 crocodile, 99+ elephant, 10 giraffe, 1 African Fish Eagle, 1 yellow-billed hornbill, 2 lilac breasted roller, 9 waterbuck, 55 Wildebeest, 31 zebra, 6 nyala, 3 kori bustard, 1 steenbok, 2 guinea fowl

We stopped at Mlondozi picnic and viewing point. It really is a lovely spot meticulously kept by Sipho who insisted we wrote in his compliments book when I went to thank him for doing such a great job.

We returned to Lower Sabi and ate our cheese sandwiches overlooking the waterhole just outside the camp gates…more hippos were floating around…some people call them a “thunder” of hippos but we prefer the collective noun “a pod of hippos”.

After a rest back at camp we made our way to the car park. We had booked a Parks Board Sunset Drive. It was in the big truck, a 24 seater. I must say we’ve had better drives…there was a group of 11 Finnish men and boys…….we have never been on a Safari truck with such loud, rude people. The youngest child of about 12years of age didn’t know how to talk and shouted the whole time…I shushed him several times. The men stood up most the time. I demanded that the two in front of me sat down stating quite clearly that we had all paid the same and all had the right to view…..grrrr …when one from the back decided to stand at the front I snapped “ sit down we can’t see” he proceeded to squat in the gang way. When he finally went back to his seat I sat sideways with my legs across the gangway so he couldn’t pass by. When we saw a herd of buffalo I stood up so he couldn’t pass or step over my legs…it was not a pleasant experience. We did see a beautiful male nyala I said stop to the driver who had missed it…unfortunately the chi,d decided to repeat my request and his shouting sent the poor bull scarpering, so no opportunity for a picture. Our driver and guide was quite apologetic when we said goodbye. We still tipped him because it wasn’t his fault these rude people had ruined the drive and he would not have been trained in how to deal with loud mouthed Finnish men.

We ate in the restaurant after our drive. It’s a Mug and Bean so John had a jalapeño big burger and I had buttermilk chicken burger…..another nice day ended with us playing cards on our veranda.

South Africa Safari 2025. Day 5

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We had a lie in at Pestana Lodge due to the previous day being very tiring from the long drive and the exciting game drive. Unfortunately the longed for shower was rather deflating as although it had a huge rain water sprinkler…sprinkle was all it did with a few large drops from some of the areas of the head…why oh why do people think these showers are great…you have to wash your hair even if you don’t want too and you can’t direct the fine spray to the areas you do want too🤣🤣🤣 After a rather disappointing wetting, we headed for breakfast….the least said about that the better…cold and dried up sums it up….but customer relations promises to do better on our return visit…..if they don’t we will be crossing Pestana Lodge off our places to stay and not recommending them to anyone…the jury is still out and we will see if they perform better at the end of out holiday. One of the reasons we have always stayed here in the past is its tremendous location …..the bridge you see from the deck at Pestana is the one which leads you to the Kruger Malalane Gate ….so we are hoping they improve the quality and quantity of the food by the time we return in 3 weeks time.

We headed into Malalane to pick up our perishable consumables…low and behold just 9 days ago they opened a Woolworths – for those who don’t know Woolworths in South Africa is the same as Marks and Spencer’s in the UK…..(many years ago they couldn’t trade under M&S so they traded under Woolworths and it’s stayed the same since )… Great news, their food is always good and we could buy prepared mixed salads, mixed fruit platters, lovely black cherry yogurts, lurpak butter, mini cheese cakes, pork sausages, sirloin steaks etc etc…We bought a bag of ice and put it in the bottom of the cool box, hey presto we have our own on the go refrigerator …… shopping done we headed to Kruger gate.

Once in Kruger we headed up the tar and looped back along the dirt roads…a 5 hour game viewing drive..

After the evening drive the day before we were not surprised that we didn’t have lots of “big” sightings. We did see 99+ impala, 20 warthog, 14 zebra, 83 elephant, 9 giraffe, 9 kudu, 2 lion, 4 steenbok, 1 bushbuck, 1 squirrel, 12 white backed vulture, 1 bateleur eagle, 2 guinea fowl.

As you can see John is keeping a tally of what we see each day- once we’ve seen 100 they get tallied as 99+🤣🤣…..some wonderful sightings.

We arrived at Berg-en-dal camp just after 5pm. We had been allocated chalet no.10. It’s not a perimeter chalet but it is nice and quiet. The chalet is in excellent condition…with everything working. The camp seems extremely quiet, we haven’t seen many people and we’ve heard none of the usual noise of adults chattering and children playing.

Around 7.00 pm we made a braii- barbecue- It was our first time doing this…..although I’ve had plenty of braii’s I’ve never actually made one or cooked on one myself…..so our first attempt scored about 3 out of 10🤣 and we can only get better🤣….but our sausage and mash was very tasty and neither of us have died from food poisoning- yet🤣🤣…Thank goodness for the berry cheesecake for dessert…. Whilst eating we heard the roaring of a lion a wonderful serenade to our supper….A few games of cards later and we were ready for bed……looking forward to tomorrow.