Author Archives: DeWetsWild

About DeWetsWild

Nature and wildlife enthusiast and tour guide, based in Pretoria, South Africa.

Our 2015 in pictures

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Looking back at the marvelous places we stayed at while exploring South Africa’s wild places in 2015 😀

Glen Reenen, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, December 2014

Comfortable log cabin accommodation at Forever Resorts Loskop Dam

Glen Reenen at night (April 2015)

Kamberg, May 2015

Camping at Kgaswane, May 2015

Cabin 18 at Cape Vidal, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Mpila cottage 17

Lower Sabie Tent 26, July 2015

Sweni Wilderness Trail hut, July 2015

Thendele Chalet 23

Ntshondwe Unit 15, Ithala Game Reserve, September 2015

Mopani bungalow no3

Mockford Cottage, Pafuri Border Camp

Lower Sabie cottage 93, December 2015

Olifants Rest Camp, unit 14, December 2015

Shingwedzi Cottage 29, December 2015

> Glen Reenen, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, January 2015

> Forever Resorts Loskop Dam, Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, April 2015

> Glen Reenen, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, April 2015

> Kamberg Nature Reserve, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, May 2015

> Kgaswane Mountain Reserve, May 2015

> Cape Vidal, iSimangaliso Wetland Park, June 2015

> Mpila, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, July 2015

> Lower Sabie, Kruger National Park, July 2015

> Sweni Wilderness Trail, Kruger National Park, July 2015

> Thendele, Royal Natal National Park, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, August 2015

> Ntshondwe, Ithala Game Reserve, September 2015

> Mopani Rest Camp, Kruger National Park, October 2015

> Pafuri Border Camp, Kruger National Park, October 2015

> Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi, Kruger National Park, December 2015 (trip reports to follow soon!)

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If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2015 South African Blog Awards.

We’ve entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog”, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site.

Thank you very much for your support!

Waterhole meeting

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There is always something interesting to see along the Mphongolo River, north of Shingwedzi Rest Camp, and the final afternoon of our recent visit to the Kruger National Park delivered another memorable sighting in this area. At one of the few pools remaining in the rived bed, and with temperatures peaking at a sweltering 40°C, a large herd of elephants and an equally sized herd of buffaloes were converging, and jostling for position at the water and mud (with the elephants obviously winning the contest). Hiding in the middle of the pool was a single crocodile, probably hoping and praying that none of the behemoths notice it!

Waterhole meeting

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If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2015 South African Blog Awards.

We’ve entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog”, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site.

Thank you very much for your support!

Almost orphans

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On the 15th of December, making our way to Olifants Rest Camp, in fact just about a kilometer before the camp’s gates, we came across two tiny warthog piglets, probably not any older than a day or two. They were frantically running around in the road, squeeling to high heaven, and approaching every passing vehicle seemingly hoping that it was their mother.

It seemed they were abandoned and they were clearly in distress.

Two tiny warthogs in a big, scary world

However, after spending a few minutes at the scene we noticed their mother hiding in the thickets, grunting to her little ones but probably frightened of the vehicles gathered around her babies. We decided to leave then, hoping that as soon as there were no more cars around she’d come and collect the errant piglets and take them back to the safety of her burrow.

When we passed the scene again a little later, the warthog family was nowhere to be seen and we hoped that the story had a happy ending.

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If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2015 South African Blog Awards.

We’ve entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog”, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site.

Thank you very much for your support!

Merry Christmas!

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Wishing all our friends here at de Wets Wild a joyous, blessed Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

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If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2015 South African Blog Awards.

We’ve entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog”, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site.

Thank you very much for your support!

Surprise osprey at Shingwedzi

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We were most excited to find an osprey, a rather uncommon bird in South Africa, fishing at a pool in the Shingwedzi River, just a few kilometers north of Dipene along the S50-route, during our recent visit to the Kruger National Park.

Osprey

It was just one of almost 200 bird species we identified on the ten day trip, and we’ll be telling you all about our visit and sharing many of the special wildlife encounters we enjoyed in the days and weeks ahead here at de Wets Wild!

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If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2015 South African Blog Awards.

We’ve entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog”, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site.

Thank you very much for your support!

Off air

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We arrived at Shingwedzi Rest Camp yesterday and had more wonderful sightings on the way and around here. Unfortunately cellular signal here is not good enough to post a daily photo, so that’ll have to wait ’til we’re back home.

Windblown Kings

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It;s not easy keeping a regal pose when battered by a howling gale, but these two lions seem to be doing a fine enough job of it!

Windblown Kings

(We encountered them on the S90 between Satara and Olifants Camps in the Kruger Park this morning)

Get lost!

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Ever wondered what a lion’s face looks like when you disturb him and his lady love?

Like this!

Get out of my face

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If you enjoy de Wets Wild as much as we enjoy sharing our love for South Africa’s wild places and their denizens with you, please vote for us in the 2015 South African Blog Awards.

We’ve entered the categories for “Best Travel Blog” and “Best Environmental Blog”, and you are allowed to vote for us in both. Clicking on the badge below will bring you to the voting site.

Thank you very much for your support!