Category Archives: Mpumalanga Province

Our experiences in the reserves of Mpumalanga, South Africa

The night before we ventured into the Wilderness…

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Earlier this month I was joined by my mother, sister and brother in the Kruger National Park, chiefly to participate in the Napi Wilderness Trail, one of several guided multi-day walking trails available in the Park.

However, with the trail only starting on Sunday afternoon, we weren’t going to let the weekend go to waste and got underway from Gauteng to Kruger in the wee hours of Saturday morning. Arriving at Kruger’s Malelane Gate around 07:30 allowed us time to enjoy a quick picnic breakfast and coffee before following a meandering route along the quieter gravel roads as we made our slow way to Lower Sabie, making frequent stops to appreciate the wildlife and scenery for which the Kruger Park is world renowned.

Malelane Gate, morning of 5 August 2017
Dwarf Mongoose den
Giraffe
Common Duiker
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
White Rhino Calf suckling
White Rhino Cow and Calf
White Rhino calf
Young elephant
Immature Saddle-billed Storks
Shy Nyala bull
African Grey Hornbill
Burchell’s Coucal

Our accommodation for the night was a basic but comfortable 4-bed hut located close to a communal kitchen and bathroom at Lower Sabie‘s eastern fenceline. These huts are surrounded by enormous trees and indigenous shrubbery frequented by a myriad of birds and small reptiles that are quite used to having humans poking lenses in their faces…

Lower Sabie hut 49, Kruger National Park, August 2017
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Chinspot Batis (female)
Spectacled Weaver
White-bellied Sunbird
Yellow-fronted Canary
Dark-capped Bulbul
Juvenile Bateleur flying overhead
Tree Agama

Our game drive for the afternoon took us first to Sunset Dam just outside the camp’s gates, then a quick detour across the causeway over the Sabie River, and then along the S28, S137 and H4-2 roads to the south of Lower Sabie, returning to camp just before the gates closed.

Yellow-billed Storks
Hippopotamus
Hippo jawbone in the Sabie
Hippopotamus
Lion laying claim to his stretch of the Sabie River
The view from Nthandanyathi Hide
Striped Skink
Waterbuck cow
Blue wildebeest
Kudu herd
Warthog drinking from a shrinking stream
African Fish Eagle

Walking around camp in the dark after dinner, looking for nocturnal wildlife with a flashlight, is a firmly entrenched tradition for the de Wets. Both inside and outside Lower Sabie, there’s always plenty to see, and we’re almost unwilling to go to bed for fear of missing out on something interesting!

Bushbuck ewe
Lesser Bushbaby

Being one of the first vehicles to leave Lower Sabie when the gates opened at 06:00 on Sunday morning, we opted to take the main road to Skukuza before this hugely popular route gets too busy with traffic. A quick detour along the short Nwatimhiri causeway-loop rewarded us handsomly with a sighting of three young lions trying to hide, with limited success, in the thick riverine vegetation. Along the way we also popped into Nkuhlu Picnic Spot, Skukuza’s airport, the Skukuza Golf Club and Lake Panic birdhide, before heading for historic Pretoriuskop, all the time enjoying some more of the Kruger Park’s sights, sounds and smells.

Young lion failing in his quest to keep hidden from the de Wets!
Helmeted Guineafowl
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Cape Turtle Dove
Hamerkop
Young Chacma Baboon
Epauletted Fruit Bat
Nyala bull
Nile crocodile
Water Thick-knee
Skukuza Golf Club
Nyala ewe
Big old elephant bull
Kudu bull
Waterbuck bull at Transport Dam
Egyptian Goose and goslings
Waterbuck calves
Brown Snake Eagle
Slender mongoose
Waterbuck herd at Shitlhave Dam

After arriving at Pretoriuskop there’s more than enough time to pop into reception to complete all the necessary formalities for the Napi Trail and then take a gentle stroll through the camp appreciating the astounding variety of birdlife that occurs there.

Scarlet-chested Sunbird (male)
Black-collared Barbet
Southern Black Flycatcher
Kurrichane Thrush
Black-headed Oriole
African Hoopoe

Right on time (at 15:00) we were met at the designated spot by our two guides and group of four fellow trailists for the main event; the Napi Wilderness Trail (more about that wonderful experience in our next post, so stay tuned!).

 

 

Back from the bush… Again!

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I’ve just arrived back home again after another fantastic trip to the Kruger National Park, this time to participate in the Napi Wilderness Trail along with my mom, sister and brother.

Sunset on the Napi Trail

It will be a few days before I’ll be ready to tell you all about our experiences on the trail, and in the meantime will get to all the comments you’ve left while I was away and line up some more scheduled posts on interesting South African wildlife.

Camping fest at Satara

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At the end of April, we had the privilege of visiting the Kruger National Park with a wonderful group of friends; altogether 21 adults and children from 5 families and by far the biggest group we’ve ever accompanied to the Park! Our base for the four nights was the camping area at Satara Rest Camp, allowing us to introduce our friends to many of our favourite places in the central section of the Park.

A wonderful group of friends enjoying the scenery at Nwanedzi

Our previous visit to the Satara area was in the winter holidays of 2016, at the height of one of the worst droughts on record in South Africa. What a pleasure seeing the region transformed into a sea of lush green vegetation now at the end of the summer rainfall season, and experiencing a few of the final showers rolling over the Lowveld before winter sets in!

Wonderful to see so much water in the Park – here at Nsemani Dam
Satara scenery
Scenery along the S100
Dusty sunset on the S100
Scenery along the S100
Wonderful to see so much water in the Park – here at Gudzani Dam
Wonderful to see so much water in the Park – here at a stream crossing on the S41
Sunset at Nsemani Dam
Downpour approaching along the Olifants River valley
Downpour approaching along the Olifants River valley
Rainbow over the Olifants
Sunset at Satara

Of course the dense vegetation made game-viewing very tricky, and in stark contrast with our visit last year when there seemed to be predators resident at every one of the few remaining pools of water, we really had to work hard to find the meat-eaters for which Satara is so famous on this visit. We don’t consider ourselves “Big-5” chasers, but when you’re introducing a couple of newbies to Kruger’s wonders you do want her to put her best foot forward, and luckily Satara remained true to her reputation as one of the best game-viewing areas in the Park. Even if the predators kept us in suspense at their appearance, there were still a myriad of other species of game to be found in good numbers and keeping us enthralled on our drives, and even in camp! Of course, we expected to find high concentrations of plains zebra, blue wildebeest and giraffe roaming the central plains, but we were very surprised to find so many elephants around Satara!

Waterbuck among the spiderwebs
Banded mongoose
Hippos at sunset
African Wild Cat visiting our campsite in Satara
Kudu cow
African Buffalo
African Buffalo
Huge herd of impala
Spotted Hyena on a night drive
Waterbuck calf
Well camouflaged Foam Nest Frog
There seemed to be armoured crickets everywhere you looked! This one was feasting on a trampled comrade in Satara’s parking area…
Pride of lion just north of Tshokwane
Pride of lion just north of Tshokwane
Lion hiding from the rain
Big warthog boar
Blue wildebeest
Giraffe
Plains Zebra
Blue wildebeest
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra
Giraffe
Giraffe
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra
Giraffe in rainstorm
Plains Zebras caught in rainstorm
Elephant
Elephant cow with deformed right tusk
Elephant
Wary elephant trio
Big Bull showing off (photo by Joubert)
Elephant in a downpour

For anyone looking for birds, Kruger could never disappoint, however on this visit the Park seemed to be bursting at the seems with feathered inhabitants even more than usually. We’ve shown you the enormous flocks (rather swarms!) of queleas in an earlier post, but notably we’ve also seen bigger flocks of marabou stork and wattled starling on this trip than ever before – no doubt in response to an eruption of food in the form of grass-seeds and the insects that feed on it.

Juvenlie Bateleur
Saddle-billed Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Wattled Starling
Wattled Starling
Marabou
Marabou
Marabou
Marabou
African Mourning Dove
Marabou
Marabou
Burchell’s Starling
Lilac-breasted Roller
Ostrich
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Pied crows
Egyptian Goose
Brown Snake-Eagle
Wattled Starling
African Scops Owl

At the end of our stay we had to contend with every camper’s worst nightmare – having to break up camp in pouring rain! They say that any friendship that survives going on holiday together will remain standing come what may, and happily it seems despite the hardships of dripping wet, muddy bodies and thoroughly soaked camping equipment, our friendship with the Bernards, Krugers, Nels and Therons have come through the tribulations with flying colours.

Camping at Satara, Kruger National Park, April 2017 – click the image for an enlarged view

(If you’d like to find out more about Satara and surrounds, have a look at the dedicated blog post we published about this popular part of the Kruger National Park)

Red-billed Quelea

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Quelea quelea

Some of the most impressive sights of our recent visit to the Satara area of the Kruger National Park was the enormous flocks of Red-billed Quelea occupying the grasslands of the central plains. Following the good rains that bought respite from an awful drought, the savannas are heavy with a rich harvest of seeding grasses, and literally millions of the little birds are making the most of the abundant foodsource. When their population reaches a peak, as it currently has, there could be as many as 33-million Red-billed Queleas swirling in cloudy swarms over the Park!

Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017
Red-billed Queleas at Satara in April 2017

The Red-billed Quelea is a small (20g) seed-eating sparrow-like nomad inhabiting grasslands and grainfields (causing enormous losses to farming communities). Swarms that could number in the millions descend on watering holes at least twice daily. While feeding they “roll” over the grasslands in a wave-like motion, most impressive to witness! While seeds make up the vast majority of their diet they do catch small insects as well, especially when raising chicks.

Nesting occurs communally in the rainy months and hundreds, even thousands, of nests are woven per tree (prefers thorn trees) by the males. Breeding colonies could consist of more than 2 million monogamous pairs, and is a magnet for every imaginable predatory bird, reptile and mammal that is large enough to take adults and chicks. Clutches normally number three eggs and the female incubates them for only 12 days, whereafter the chicks fledge within another two weeks!

The Red-billed Quelea may well be the most abundant bird on the planet, with an estimated population as large as ten billion, and as such is considered as being of least concern by the IUCN. It occurs widely in the savannas of Sub-Saharan Africa and can be found in every one of South Africa’s provinces, where it must number in the hundreds of millions.

(The photos in the following gallery were taken on visits to the Kruger Park and elsewhere)

Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Quelea female
Female Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea female
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea pair
Red-billed Quelea female
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Queleas
Flock of Red-billed Queleas
Flock of Red-billed Queleas
Flock of Red-billed Queleas
Flock of Red-billed Queleas
Flock of Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Quelea (photo by Joubert)
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Queleas
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea
Red-billed Quelea

de Wets Wild turns five!

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We’re fresh back from a wonderful breakaway in the Kruger National Park, and of course have lots to share with you from our latest trip to the bush, so stay tuned!

Today also marks the fifth birthday of de Wets Wild – Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged us along the way!

Sunset at Satara

 

 

African Bullfrog

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Pyxicephalus edulis

While I doubt it reached proportions that would convince the Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to leave Egypt, the “eruption” of little froglets we saw at uMkhuze Game Reserve during our recent visit was quite fascinating. Rain or shine, literally hundreds (if not more) of tiny frogs could be seen jumping around on the roads all over the reserve, making driving quite tricky if you didn’t want to squash them under the vehicle’s wheels.

Juvenile African (Edible) (Lesser) Bullfrog
Juvenile African (Edible) (Lesser) Bullfrog
Juvenile African (Edible) (Lesser) Bullfrog
Juvenile African (Edible) (Lesser) Bullfrog “swarm”

Thanks to the help of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park the little ones were identified as juvenile African Bullfrogs (also known as Edible or Lesser Bullfrogs), a species that occurs over wide areas of Eastern, Central and Southern Africa, and indeed is eaten by humans in many countries where they occur. Though these newly metamorphosed juveniles were only about the size of a thumbnail, the African Bullfrog can grow to 12cm in length.

African Bullfrog

They can be found in seasonally flooded savannas and grassy woodlands, remaining dormant underground for most of the year (up to 10 months) and emerging only when sufficient rain has fallen for breeding to commence. During the breeding season males act very aggressively towards one another and will even kill each other. Eggs are laid in well vegetated, shallow, seasonal bodies of water where the males guard the eggs and tadpoles against other males and predators. Interestingly, when the tadpoles’ pools start drying up the males will dig channels to deeper pools. African Bullfrogs feed on a variety of invertebrates and small vertebrates, including other frogs, and feature in turn in the diets of various species of birds, reptiles and mammals (humans included).

During a visit to the Kruger National Park in December 2019 we witnessed the breeding habits of the African Bullfrog following a few days of continuous rain.

Bull Frogs
African Bull Frogs
African Bull Frog
African Bull Frogs
African Bull Frogs

 

Two days in Kruger

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How much can you see in only two days in the Kruger National Park? Well, as this gallery taken over less than 48 hours around Skukuza Rest Camp during March 2017 proves, a whole lot actually!

Shitlave Dam, on the road from Pretoriuskop to Skukuza
Dark Chanting Goshawk
Napi Boulders
Taller than the trees
Plains Zebra
Thick-tailed Bushbaby
Painted Reed Frog
Sand River Lion
Elephant
Impala
Blacksmith Lapwing
Natal Francolin
Nile Crocodile
Hadeda Ibis
Warthog youngster in Skukuza
Water Thick-knee
Giraffe cousins
Kudu
Marabou roost at sunset
Spotted hyena
Spotted hyena
Hidden leopard
Elephant breakfast
Baby baboon getting a piggy-back ride
Spotted hyena
White Stork
European Roller
Zebra foals mutual grooming

 

Skukuza Nightlife

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One of our favourite activities when out visiting South Africa’s wild places is to search the grounds of the places where we are staying with a flashlight at night, looking for nocturnal wildlife. Skukuza, being the biggest of the camps in the Kruger National Park, is usually especially productive, as most of the wildlife inhabiting the camp is exceptionally used to having humans gawking at them!

It may look like some sort of giant cross between a dragonfly and a moth, but this large insect is actually an adult Blotched Long-horned Antlion!
Grey Duiker
Cape Porcupine
Thick-tailed Bushbaby

The pond in front of Skukuza’s reception is a wonderful place to photograph a variety of amphibians – on our latest visit the reeds and rocks there were alive with the calls of male Painted Reed Frogs and Sharp-nosed Grass Frogs trying their best to impress their female counterparts.

Skukuza Pond
Common River Frog in Skukuza
Painted Reed Frog
Painted Reed Frog
Painted Reed Frog
Painted Reed Frog

 

 

 

Playing hide-and-seek with a leopard

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Believe it or not, but in the middle of this picture there’s a leopard hidden in the grass. Don’t worry; If I didn’t see her walk in there I wouldn’t have known it either.

Luckily she grew tired of her hiding spot, got up and walked into even denser vegetation, allowing just one quickly fired shot as proof…

This leopard was lying not two meters from our car and was totally invisible – what wonderful camouflage these cats have!

(Seen along the H3-road just south of Skukuza on Friday last week as we were departing from the Kruger National Park)

Alone time with the King of Beasts

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A week ago, on an early morning drive along the Sand River near Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, this magnificent male lion popped out of the thickets to patrol and mark his territory along the road.

Sand River Lion
Sand River Lion
Sand River Lion
Sand River Lion
Sand River Lion
Sand River Lion
Sand River Lion

After spending quite a bit of time with him as he walked at pace along the river road, mostly within arm’s length of the vehicle, another car arrived on the scene, and I drove off in order to allow them the thrill of some alone time with The King as well.