Well, apparently, if your a Striped Skink love should bite if you’re doing it right! This couple was having their honeymoon right outside my vehicle in the parking area at Lower Sabie Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park, but then headed for the privacy of a crevice in the concrete when the scene was threatening to turn too steamy…
During my visit in May 2019, along the main road between Pretoriuskop and Skukuza camps in the Kruger National Park, I was lucky to come across two different spotted hyena clans with youngsters – one group had three babies and the other no less than eight bouncing bundles of joy! And they were bouncing, and biting and bullying, to their hearts content, causing me great amusement but obviously not impressing their mothers very much with their antics…
And just to remind you that spotted hyenas are actually very efficient hunters, I came across this fellow devouring a freshly killed impala very close to Lower Sabie:
An elephant enjoying his mud bath (or is that spa treatment?) near Skukuza in the Kruger National Park.
One would be forgiven for expecting that the most memorable experience of a visit to the Kruger National Park would entail one of the big, charismatic mammals exhibiting some or other fascinating behaviour: a pride of lions making a kill, an elephant cow giving birth or a thousand-strong herd of buffalo stampeding to a waterhole, for instance. However, as I found out during my solo visit to the Kruger Park at the end of May, a bounty of beautiful butterflies can easily make those hairy-and-scary creatures fade into the background! In both Pretoriuskop and Skukuza Rest Camps I found blooming Lowveld Bittertea bushes (Gymnanthemum coloratum) and the surrounding gardens and lawns attended by literally hundreds of butterflies of at least 28 different species! They kept me busy and entertained for quite some time and I hope this gallery of pictures convey at least a sense of this awesome experience.
Of course, the butterflies were not the only insects making good use of the proliferation of winter flowers, and various other insects, most notably bees and wasps, were to be seen in attendance. A few dragonflies and birds then also made use of the opportunity to catch an easy meal on the wing.
Two weeks later we returned to the Kruger Park, this time to Shingwedzi Rest Camp about 280km north of Skukuza. Here we found fewer butterflies – perhaps winter had set in now, with nighttime temperatures especially being on the cold side – but there were still enough of them flitting around to keep us thoroughly engaged while spending the midday hours in camp.
I’d like to dedicate this post to a great friend to de Wets Wild and the biggest butterfly fundi I know – AJ Vosse of “Ouch My Back Hurts” .
Ever get the feeling that your kindness is being abused, Mr. Hippo? Just asking…
This temporary island being used (abused really, don’t you think?) by sunbathing Marsh and Serrated Hinged Terrapins was seen at the Kruger National Park‘s Nwaswitshaka Waterhole on the S65 road between Skukuza and Pretoriuskop in May 2019.
We recently started nurturing more than a passing interest in South Africa’s different kinds of amphibians, adding another fascinating facet to our enjoyment of our natural heritage. When we visited the Royal Natal National Park in March the trout dam at Mahai proved an excellent spot to go looking for frogs and toads, and other aquatic life, as soon as darkness fell.
(Look out for a special feature post about the Common River Frog to be published here in early June, and follow the links for more on the Painted Reed Frog and Raucous Toad in the meantime)
By day, the dam at Mahai is a favourite spot for a quiet picnic. We also saw a few trout fisherman achieving success with their rods.
This afternoon we were relaxing on the veranda of our cottage here at Thendele in the Royal Natal National Park, when a flock of Helmeted Guineafowl came around for a visit, presenting Joubert with an excellent opportunity to practice some close-up bird photography – and with great success I might add!
The clouds also lifted just high enough for a while to provide a clear view of the Amphitheatre!
Drakensberg Amphitheatre seen from Thendele in the Royal Natal National Park, 23 March 2019
This afternoon, Joubert and I went searching for butterflies in the grasslands around Glen Reenen Rest Camp in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, and we were not disappointed!
The Natal Green Snake occurs only in southern Mozambique, Swaziland and South Africa (from the Garden Route, along the coast through the Eastern Cape into Kwazulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng) with two subspecies – Eastern and Western – being recognized. It inhabits forests and woodland habitats, often near houses, where they feed mainly on frogs, small reptiles, chicks and large insects. This is an alert, active and agile snake that is entirely lacking in venom and thus harmless to humans. They breed in early summer, with females laying small clutches of 3-8 eggs (occasionally as many as 14). Adults grow to a length of about a meter.
The IUCN considers the species to be of least concern.
While visiting Umlalazi Nature Reserve in December 2018, Marilize was first to notice this Eastern Natal Green Snake one afternoon while enjoying the early evening hours on the patio of our accommodation unit. It was remarkably relaxed and unperturbed by our presence, and allowed us a few photographs before sneaking off while we weren’t watching.
One of the greatest pleasures of visiting our wild places in the summer is seeing the great number of cute new baby mammals that made their recent entrance into the world, and our December visit to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park certainly had no shortage of cute babies to photograph!
DeWetsWild 