Few achievements in South Africa’s conservation history can rival that of Colonel James Stevenson-Hamilton, whose career of 45 years at the helm cemented the Kruger National Park as one of the world’s premier conservation areas. If you’d like to learn more about Stevenson-Hamilton and the Kruger’s formative years, have a look at our special post on Skukuza.
“Achievement” is this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme.
Time to pack up and head back to Pretoria this morning, but not before sharing one last photograph from the Golden Gate Highlands National Park; last night we were treated to a display of thunder and lighting over the mountains around Glen Reenen as a storm cell passed quickly through the area.
We woke up this morning to find the valleys of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park cloaked in a thick fog, drove to one of the mountain tops, found a spot above the low lying clouds, and were rewarded with the most beautiful sunrise.
While I was working today, Marilize and Joubert spent some time at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park’s Vulture Hide. And they were rewarded with a fantastic sighting of another rare South African bird, the Bearded Vulture! Am I jealous? Yes. Yes I am.
This afternoon we were very fortunate to enjoy a quality sighting of one of South Africa’s rarest bird species here at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park: the Southern Bald Ibis.
Not for us, thank you very much!
We’re visiting Golden Gate Highlands National Park again, for business and, come the weekend, pleasure. And of course we’ve already enjoyed an afternoon drive through the Park, taking in the magnificent scenery and plentiful wildlife.
I was inspired to try some “slow shutter panning shots” of these galloping black wildebeest by Susan Portnoy, The Insatiable Traveler. I’ll have to keep trying to get anywhere close to the awesome results she gets with the technique though. Thanks for the tips Susan!
It was hot. It was dry. It was dusty. The bellowing and snorting of buffalo filled our ears, their smell hanging thick in the air. The ground around our position was already littered with the trampled dung and tracks of hundreds of the animals. And still more of them kept coming, making their tiresome way in single file up the steep bank of the Mphongolo, then standing at the top catching their breath before rushing after the rest of the massive herd disappearing into the mopane. The last thing a tired buffalo needs at the end of a long, hot Lowveld day is to be caught alone when darkness falls…
During our September 2014 visit to the Kruger National Park, we encountered several exceptionally large buffalo herds around Mopani and Shingwedzi Rest Camps. This sighting however was the most memorable and we’ll undoubtedly think back to it every time we pass the location in future. The dry winter season had seen to it that the Mphongolo River was reduced to little more than a few stagnant pools surrounded by deep, soft, dusty sand. These pools sustain an incredibly diverse array of birds and game through the dry winter, making the 30km-long S56 Mphongolo River Loop, which follows the river course and offers dozens of good vantage points over the river, one of the best drives in the Shingwedzi area.
There’s the right way, and then there’s the quick way 😉
Downhill at the St. Lucia Crocodile Centre, in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Mind your step at the Bourke’s Luck Potholes, in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve
“Descent” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge
The north of the Kruger National Park is elephant country. When visiting the area, as we did at the end of September (again 😉 ), the problem is not so much finding elephants as it is staying safely out of their way while enjoying the sighting!
Take this bull as an example. When we arrived at the scene, he was standing out in the open in the middle of the road, but immediately then walked, in reverse, to behind this big tree, from where he kept watching us from either side. Having seen this behaviour before, we knew that he was planning an ambush and was just waiting for us to get closer so that he could have some fun with us. We thought better of the challenge and turned back…
Travelling along the rivers in the heat of the day, we came across breeding herds and solitary bulls making their way to the water for a drink and a swim, and resting in the cool shade of the riparian trees.
Kruger is famous for its big tuskers, and we were fortunate again to encounter about half-a-dozen bulls carrying above average ivory. We always cherish sightings of bulls this size as they’re living proof of the successes of those working very hard, day in and day out, to preserve and protect our natural heritage. The Park has a dedicated researcher monitoring these enigmatic animals, to whom you can submit photos and the location of any sightings.
If you love elephants as much as we do, then head for the north of the Kruger National Park. You are sure to have some special encounters, and if you treat them with respect, heed their body language and don’t invade their space, you’ll be perfectly safe.
DeWetsWild 