Category Archives: Limpopo Province

Our experiences in the reserves of Limpopo, South Africa

Snaps on Tour: A Stingy Elephant

Last month, while following the course of the Mphongolo River north of Shingwedzi in the Kruger National Park on our morning drive, we came across this amusing scene at the Mavatsani waterhole, just south of the turnoff to Sirheni Bushveld Camp. The day was already quite hot and a herd of elephants, a couple of buffaloes, some baboons, nyalas and warthogs were milling around the muddy water. An elephant cow claimed a hole from which clear water was seeping but had her hands – or is that head, trunk and front leg? – full with a youngster trying to muscle his way in on her treasure. The calf protested with loud screams when she tried to shove him away but he did not give an inch and, her gentle nature obviously winning over her frustration, the cow eventually let him through to quench his thirst from her well.

Mavatsani Waterhole between Sirheni and Shingwedzi in the Kruger National Park

Elephant cow bullying a youngster at the waterhole

I am a fully accredited and legally registered tour guide (with all the necessary insurance, professional drivers license and first aid certification) – don’t hesitate to reach out if you’d like me to arrange a guided tour of beautiful South Africa and all her natural wonders, like the Kruger National Park, for you as well, or even just to assist with your holiday reservations for our national parks and nature reserves throughout the country.

Touring Kruger Park – 12 October 2024

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We spent most of today searching for wildlife along the few pools spread along the mostly dry Shingwedzi River to the southeast of camp, and the sightings were thrilling!

Common Duiker

Crested Francolin

Waterbuck

Lionesses at the Tinyarhini Waterhole in the Shingwedzi River

Nyala

Tiny baby elephant

Leopard stalking next to the Shingwedzi River

Cheetah

Grey-headed Bush-shrike

Elephant cow walking past Shingwedzi Camp’s entrance

Lioness at the Tinyarhini Waterhole in the Shingwedzi River

Baboon

Nile Crocodiles

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Touring Kruger Park – 11 October 2024

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Just some of the sights and sounds – and smells! – we experienced around Shingwedzi today.

Black-backed Jackal

Common Duiker

Tree Squirrels

White-fronted Bee-eater

Elephant cow bullying a youngster at the waterhole

Rock Monitor Lizard

Plains Zebra on the run

Martial Eagle

Tsessebe cow and calves

White-backed Vultures at a smelly elephant carcass

Lappet-faced Vulture

Touring Kruger Park – 9 & 10 October 2024

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Having seen our guests and Irving Knight off at Skukuza’s airport, Hannes Rossouw and I have extended our stay in the Kruger National Park by just a few days and have now moved base to Shingwedzi Rest Camp in the north of the Park.

Grey Heron

Buffalo at sunset

Elephant calf

Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl

Spotted Hyena with a wry smile

White-backed Vulture

Bushbuck

Giraffe calf

Yellow-billed Kite taking advantage of a roadkill spurfowl

Elephant Tusker

Three new Lodges added to DeWetsWild’s portfolio: Cliffhanger, Leopard Rock and Recce

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DeWetsWild is pleased to announce that we’ve added three more wonderful lodges to the portfolio of destinations to which we offer a reservation service, can use on guided tours or for hosting photographic safaris and workshops. The lodges are located on a private game reserve just outside of Bela-Bela in the Limpopo Province, about 160km north of Pretoria. All three are ideally suited for groups of family and friends looking for a comfortable self-catered breakaway within easy reach of the Gauteng metros. The Kritzinger Family, the lodges’ owners who have decorated them very tastefully and furnished the houses with all the modern conveniences, very graciously hosted us there last week to experience it first hand.

Recce Lodge

Recce sleeps up to 12 guests in four air-conditioned en-suite bedrooms, each with a queen-size bed. Two of the rooms also have a loft with two single beds each, suitable only for children.

Recce Lodge

Leopard Rock Lodge

Leopard Rock boasts 3 en-suite bedrooms with a queen-size bed each, two bedrooms also having a loft suitable for 2 children on single beds with a third separate loft providing three single beds, thus accommodating a total of 13 guests.

Leopard Rock Lodge

Cliffhanger Lodge

Cliffhanger has a lovely setting overlooking a dam and the expansive bushveld beyond. Three en-suite bedrooms are furnished with a queen-size bed below and a loft with 2 single beds above (accessed with a ladder and only suitable for children), while a fourth bedroom with a queen-size bed, perfect as a honeymoon suite, perches below the main lodge.

Cliffhanger Lodge

The most direct route to Recce Lodge entails a drive of 18km gravel roads, while that to Cliffhanger and Leopard Rock is about 8km of gravel. Cliffhanger and Leopard Rock Lodges are located in an exclusive-use area of the reserve where private vehicles are not allowed on the game-viewing routes. Guests can however rent an open safari vehicle for self-guided traversing over this part of the reserve, or can book to join guided walks and drives. These options are also available to guests staying at Recce Lodge but guests who overnight there may also access the wider reserve road network which is open to all visitors in their own vehicles, though a vehicle with high ground clearance would be recommended. Aside from the attractions on the game reserve itself guests staying at Recce, Cliffhanger and Leopard Rock can use them as bases from which to explore other attractions in the Waterberg, not least of which is some terrific golf courses located nearby.

Nyala ewe

Plains Zebra

Giraffe and Impala

South African Tree Squirrels

Kudu cows

Kudu bull

Blue Wildebeest

White-backed Duck

Waterbuck bull

Guinea-fowl Butterfly

African Black Ducks

Nile Monitor

Waterberg Bushveld Scenery

If you’d like more information or would like to make a booking at Cliffhanger, Leopard Rock or Recce Lodge, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You are welcome to email us on dries@dewetswild.com with your request or alternatively complete the following form if you would like DeWetsWild to take care of your next reservation in the bushveld (the more detail you provide us, the better service we can provide to you):

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Thank you for your response. ✨

Name & Surname

Please give us the email address we should use for correspondence related to this reservation only.

Please tell us which of the three lodges - Cliffhanger, Leopard Rock or Recce - you'd want to stay at?

Please tell us how many adults and children the required reservation is for (and please provide the ages of the children at the time of the visit)

Please tell us the dates of your intended visit, and please be as specific as possible about your first night, last night and number of nights you're hoping for at the destination, etc.

Any other information you'd want us to be aware of? Give us as much information as possible so that we can provide you with the best possible service.

Our 2023 in pictures

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Join us for a look back at the wonderfully wild South African destinations we visited during 2023. May 2024 be a blessed year for you and your family, memorable for all the best reasons.

Jakhalsfontein Guest Farm

Our camping setup at Bontle in Marakele National Park, March 2023

Chalet #1 in Lilydale Rest Camp

Hut #107 in Pretoriuskop Rest Camp, Kruger National Park (June 2023)

Hut #46 in Lower Sabie Rest Camp, Kruger National Park (June 2023)

Tent #10 in Tamboti Tented Camp, Kruger National Park (June 2023)

Guest House, Shingwedzi Research Camp, Kruger National Park, June 2023

Buffelshoek Camp, Manyeleti Nature Reserve, September 2023

Ndzhaka Camp, Manyeleti Nature Reserve, September 2023

Twanana Research Camp, Kruger National Park, September 2023

House #32, Kudu Private Nature Reserve, October 2023

The beach at the estuary of Lake Saint Lucia

Cape Vidal at low tide

Western Shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Rest Hut #3, Mantuma Rest Camp, uMkhuze Game Reserve, November 2023

Camping at Nyl River Bush Camp, December 2023

Even only two days in the Kruger National Park will show you more than you expected

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Colleague and friend Hannes and I might only have had two days in the Kruger National Park before we moved on to the Manyeleti Nature Reserve (of which I will start telling you in the next installment) recently, but we still had some terrific sightings around Mopani Rest Camp – even more than we could’ve expected, and we had some pretty high hopes!

The charm of the Kruger Park really lies in the amazing diversity of habitats, plants and wildlife that finds sanctuary there.

Hill covered by Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias next to the Tsendze River

A closer look at the Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias growing on a hill near Shipandani Hide

African Civet

Blue Wildebeest at Mooiplaas

Black-backed Jackal looking for a little shade at Tihongonyeni

Steenbok ram in close-up portrait

Black-backed Jackal and Blue Wildebeest at Mooiplaas

Plains Zebra

Giraffe

Waterbuck

Klipspringer

Sharpe Grysbok near Mopani

No matter the weather or the time of year, the Kruger National Park is always a slice of heaven for bird-watchers!

African Scops Owl

Chinspot Batis in Mopani

Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Kittlitz’s Plover

Grey-backed Sparrowlark

African Hawk-Eagles

Cardinal Woodpecker

African Green Pigeon

Black-backed Puffback

Black-headed Oriole

Southern Ground Hornbill

Seeing a Ground Hornbill trying to snatch something from between some mopane branches was a very entertaining sighting!

Buffaloes roam the north of the Kruger National Park in enormous herds, but there are also many old bulls that have broken away from the breeding groups and can be quite disagreeable!

Buffalo Calf

Buffalo Bull

Buffalo Cow

You know that I can never get enough of Elephants, and in the north of the Kruger Park there’s ample opportunity to enjoy these magnificent creatures, so I still have a few more photo’s and a video to share!

Elephant feeding on mopane leaves near Tihongonyeni

The very noticeable “grass notch” shows that this elephant is left-handed!

These feet were made for walking

Elephant bulls walking away from Tihongonyeni Waterhole

Of course the large predators also get us very excited, even for people who visit the Park fairly regularly like we do. We’ll be remembering our two leopard sightings – one while we had just driven into the Park, and the other the following day – every time we pass those spots in future!

Leopard up a tree near Phalaborwa Gate

Leopard in a tree on the bank of the Tsendze River south of Mopani

Remember that if you are looking to visit the Kruger National Park by yourself or guided by someone who knows it intimately, DeWetsWild is there for you!

Pondering again the allure of the waterhole

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September is generally regarded as the start of the spring season in South Africa, but with the rainy season still weeks away and temperatures starting to climb higher as the days grow longer, it is a very dry period of the year in most of the northern parts of the country. In our wild places, like the Kruger National Park, animals are seen congregating at or near the few remaining sources of water. The Mopani area of the Park is well served by several reliable waterholes and here visitors to the Park can expect interesting sightings of birds and animals taking turns at the water’s edge.

A Steenbok drinking from a puddle in the Ngobeni streambed

Elephants on the banks of the Letaba River

Mopani is situated on a hill overlooking the large Pioneer Dam, making this the most prominent of the area’s water sources. Visitors can get close to the water along the trail through the camp or at the Pioneer Hide.

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Black-winged Stilts

Goliath Heron

African Jacana

Yellow-billed Stork

Black Crake

Lazy Hippos

Juvenile Black Crake

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Squacco Heron at Pioneer Dam

Wood Sandpiper

Big Nile Crocodiles makes Pioneer Dam a dangerous place

Immature African Fish Eagle

Marico Sunbird

Another large body of water in this section of the Kruger Park is Grootvlei Dam, more distantly located from Mopani along the S50 gravel road to Shingwedzi.

Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam

Plains zebras drinking from Grootvlei Dam

African Fish Eagle at Grootvlei Dam

Black-winged Stilt

Flock of Cut-throat Finches at Grootvlei Dam

Enormous Nile Crocodile at Grootvlei Dam

Grootvlei Dam harbours many Nile Crocodiles

Watch this short video of a big Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam on a hot September morning:

On the way to Grootvlei visitors can make a detour first to the Mooiplaas waterhole, where a drinking trough is fed by a windpump and reservoir, and then along the Nshawu Marsh where several springs provide water even in drought years. Both these places are also well frequented by large predators waiting for thirsty herbivores to ambush.

Elephants at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant herd walking away from Mooiplaas Waterhole

A lion in the light of early morning, searching the Nshawu Marsh for easy pickings

Elephants, plains zebras and a giraffe around one of the springs in the Nshawu Marsh

Because Mooiplaas (meaning “pretty farm”) is so close to Mopani, we love whiling away the last few minutes before the gates close there, and that’s exactly what we did when this herd of Elephants were having their sundowners.

A memorable encounter with Elephant bulls near Tihongonyeni

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South Africa’s Kruger National Park is renowned for wonderful encounters with African Elephants, and our quick visit last week proved no exception. We were based in the Mopani region of the Park, where mopane shrubs and trees dominate the plains and elephants congregate in their numbers near permanent water sources, like the Tihongonyeni waterhole. It was on our way to Tihongonyeni late one morning that these two bulls decided to make use of a flimsy shadow cast over the road by a big tree to rest their tired legs. Every time we ventured closer to try and sneak past on the verge of the road, the bull nearer to us would give a warning step or two in our direction, trunk outstretched, and so I’d back up again. Eventually we waited half-an-hour before the two eventually allowed us, with a shake of the head and a toss of the trunk as if they’d grown tired of our meekness and just wanted to be rid of us, to pass them.

Impressive tusker near Tihongonyeni

African Elephant bull near Tihongonyeni waterhole in Kruger

African Elephant bulls near Tihongonyeni waterhole in Kruger

Here’s a short video of an encounter we’ll remember fondly when passing that way again in future.

Returning to familiar favourites and finding new treasures in the Lowveld

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I have just returned from a visit to the Lowveld and in particular the Kruger National Park and Manyeleti Game Reserve with Hannes Rossouw Photography. The following photographs are just a little appetiser of what you can look forward to in the next few posts on DeWetsWild.