Tag Archives: Kruger National Park

Just another day in the Kruger: 23 September 2013

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Never a day passes in the Kruger National Park that is not full of surprises.

We will be heading back home to Pretoria tomorrow, but today we had great sightings of huge elephant and buffalo herds, jackals, a massive eland bull, several grysbok and even an albino impala.

The highlight of the day was seeing a young male lion walking casually past a mixed herd of elephant and buffalo on the Dzundwini loop-road near Punda Maria – that’s three of the “Big-5” in the same spot! Unfortunately I could only manage a shot of the lion and elephant in the same frame.

Lion and elephants 20130923

That’s close enough! Kruger Park, 22 September 2013

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It was a cool, overcast day at Punda Maria in the Kruger National Park today, and this buffalo wasn’t impressed with us disturbing his slumber!

Close enough 20130922

Kruger’s Rare Antelope: 21 September 2013

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We were very fortunate to have encountered two of the rarer antelope species to be found in the Kruger National Park today: a roan antelope bull mixing with a herd of tsessebe, near Babalala picnic spot in the north of the Park

Rare antelope 20130921

Back in Kruger: 20 September 2013

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We bid you good evening from Letaba Rest Camp, in the Kruger National Park!

We arrived through Phalaborwa Gate early this morning and will spend one night here at Letaba before moving on to Punda Maria in the morning.

We had a fleeting late-morning sighting of a leopard on the prowl, but the highlight of the day unquestionably has to be the time we spent with the magnificent old elephant bull Masthulele, currently the biggest of Kruger’s tuskers, where he was feeding in the Letaba River not far from camp.

Edit: SANParks announced in September 2017 that Masthulele died during 2016.

Masthulele_20130920

Focus

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We encountered this male lion and his brother finishing off a wildebeest carcass near Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park. His displeasure at being disturbed is clear to see…

Focus

This week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme is “Focus“

World Elephant Day 2013

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World Elephant Day 2013 logo

Today, elephants in Africa and Asia are faced with the threats of escalating poaching, habitat loss and various other conflicts with humans. World Elephant Day was launched on August 12th, 2012, to bring attention to the plight of these iconic animals and will be observed for the second time this year.

World Elephant Day 2013

The African Elephant is one of our favourite species and every encounter with them is a moment to treasure. Shown here is a young bull crossing a road in the Kruger National Park, just south of Skukuza Rest Camp.

If you’d like to see some more of very special South African elephants, have a look here:

Isilo of Tembe

Kruger’s Big Tuskers

Masbambela

Masterpiece

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Nature’s beauty is unrivaled.

Krokodilbrug_30042013

We’ve posted this picture, taken near Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park earlier this year, before, but couldn’t resist posting it again in response to this week’s photo challenge.

Nostalgic: The Selati Line

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Crocodile Bridge

On the 8th of November 1912 a railway line connecting the border town of Komatipoort with the gold fields at Tzaneen in the north-western Lowveld of South Africa, cutting across the Sabie Game Reserve for a distance of approximately eighty kilometres, was inaugurated. Known as the Selati Line, it played an immense part in the history of the Kruger National Park.

The railway bridge over the Sabie River, seen from Skukuza Rest Camp

In 1923 the South African Railways introduced a nine day train tour through the Lowveld, incorporating the “Reserve” halt at Sabie Bridge on the Selati Line, where the train would park for one night and depart again an hour after sunrise. The stopover in the game reserve quickly became the highlight of the tours (which also included the beaches and night clubs of Lourenco Marques in Portuguese East Africa (today Maputo, Mozambique)), swinging public opinion in favour of the protection of the reserve and its subsequent proclamation as South Africa’s first National Park in 1926.

SELATI_3158

Construction of a new railway line running around the borders of the Park commenced in the late sixties, as the number of trains passing through the Park – up to 250 a week – was causing a huge number of animals to be maimed and killed on the tracks. The last train steamed through “Reserve” siding in September 1973.

Skukuza station

Today, Sabie Bridge is called Skukuza, the Kruger National Park’s headquarters and biggest rest camp. The two metal train bridges across the Crocodile and Sabie rivers stand silent witness to a long departed era of Kruger Park’s history. In 1978 “The Railways” donated steam engine 3638, named “Skukuza”, to the then National Parks Board for permanent display at the replica station inside the camp. Hitched to “Skukuza” are three coaches that today serve as the Selati Restaurant – a unique and nostalgic dining experience in one of the world’s most famous conservation areas.

Steam engine "Skukuza"

 

This post was inspired by this week’s WordPress photo challenge: Nostalgic.

A big thank you to my sister Ansie for allowing us to include her great photos of the locomotive and the signs on the platform at Skukuza!

Biyamiti Bushveld Camp, Kruger National Park

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Our most treasured memory of Biyamiti takes us back many years while visiting with our good friends, the Ristows. A pride of lions caught some hapless prey animal just after sunset in the riverbed in front of camp. Soon after, a pack of hyenas starting mobbing the kings of the jungle and tried taking over the kill, only to have their hysterical, blood-curdling giggling silenced in a most impressive fashion by the booming, window-rattling roaring of the lions. It was a night-time African symphony that will remain fresh in our memories forever.

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Biyamiti Bushveld Camp is beautifully located on the bank of the seasonal river of the same name, in the far south of the Kruger National Park. This is one of Kruger’s most popular camps, and it is often a hard task to book accommodation there even a year in advance. It’s a small camp, with only fifteen 4- or 5-sleeper, self-catered accommodation units, most offering a view over the river bed in front of the camp and all very privately situated. Bushbuck make themselves at home on the jackalberry-shaded lawns, and a wide variety of birds provide the background music throughout the day and night. There’s no restaurant or shop in Biyamiti, adding to the peaceful atmosphere.

Herd of elephant in the Biyamiti River in front of the camp

Herd of elephant in the Biyamiti River in front of the camp

Biyamiti cottage

Biyamiti cottage

This is one of the Kruger’s most prolific game-viewing areas, and as an added bonus the 22 kilometres of riverine road that leads to Biyamiti is only accessible to guests actually staying in the camp, ideal for those who don’t like sharing their big-five encounters with throngs of other tourists all jostling for the best view. Additionally, guided walks and drives are available and the night drives especially come highly recommended.

Lion too abound around Biyamiti
Waterbuck
Plains zebra
White rhinoceros
Hyena on night drive
Elephants frequent the Biyamiti rivercourse
Buffalo
Baboons enjoying the fruits of the sausage tree
Kudu
a Scrub Hare in camp
Ground hornbill
Baby elephant walk
Biyamiti is a reliable place for leopard sightings
Spotted hyena
Wild dog

The Biyamiti-area has two very scenic highlights to offer. The first is the causeway over the Biyamiti river, on the gravel S114-road between Malelane and Skukuza, where a little weir and several rock pools ensures a reliable source of water year round to which a wide variety of birds, reptiles and big game is drawn throughout the day.

Biyamiti scenery

Biyamiti scenery

Biyamiti weir is a beautiful but dangerous place

Biyamiti weir is a beautiful but dangerous place

Biyamiti scenery

Biyamiti scenery

Another treasure is a hilltop viewsite, only about two kilometers from camp, providing a panoramic vista over a broad bend in the river below. This is an ideal place to breathe in a spectacular African sunset before taking a slow drive back to camp and still be in time for the gates closing.

Biyamiti viewsite

Biyamiti viewsite

Biyamiti viewsite

Biyamiti viewsite

Biyamiti is a tranquil slice of game-viewing heaven and certainly deserves its popular reputation.

The Biyamiti at its confluence with the Crocodile River

The Biyamiti at its confluence with the Crocodile River

Companion

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Exploring South Africa’s wild places is always nicer when the experience is shared with good company!

Companion

Pictured here is Joubert and his friend Louw getting acquainted with one of the bushbuck that have found a safe, predator-free home inside Letaba Rest Camp, in the Kruger National Park.

“Companionable” is this week’s photo challenge from WordPress