Tag Archives: Kruger National Park

A memorable encounter with Sable Antelope

As mentioned in our previous post, the chief reason why Joubert and I decided to spend the first morning of our August trip to the Kruger National Park around Mlondozi Picnic Site was the recent sightings of a beautiful herd of sable antelope in that vicinity. Being one of our favourite antelope we couldn’t let the opportunity go by without going to see whether we can find the herd as well. Only on our second circuit around Muntshe Mountain and along the Mnondozi stream were we rewarded with the encounter we were hoping so dearly for. Without a doubt the best sighting I have had of Sable Antelope in over 30 years. As they crossed the road one-by-one we counted 25 individuals ranging from the magnificent bull to the long-eared calves.

Herd of Sable Antelope on the plains between Munstshe Mountain and the Mnondozi stream

Herd of Sable Antelope on the plains between Munstshe Mountain and the Mnondozi stream (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope calves

Sable Antelope bull (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope bull

Sable Antelope cow

Sable Antelope heifer (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope calf (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope heifer

Sable Antelope bull (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope bull

Sable Antelope females

Sable Antelope cow (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope heifer (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope calf (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope cow (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope cow

Herd of Sable Antelope on the plains between Munstshe Mountain and the Mnondozi stream

Herd of Sable Antelope on the plains between Munstshe Mountain and the Mnondozi stream (photo by Joubert)

On our way to the wilderness – day 2

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Joubert and I were the first people out the gate at Skukuza on our first morning in the Kruger National Park when we visited last week. In the week before our arrival other visitors were bragging on the Park’s social media pages with their sightings of a big herd of sable antelope north of Lower Sabie, and as these rare and beautiful antelope are a favourite of ours, our route for the morning took us along the Sabie River and then in the general direction of the Mlondozi Picnic Spot. Along the way we had the joyful encounter with the young elephant knight we showed you two days ago.

Hippos returning to the hippo pool in the early morning

Nyala calf

Friendly Nyala bull ( (photo by Joubert)

Serene spot along the Sabie

Baboons huddling together in the rays of early morning

Blue Wildebeest

Kudu cow

Swainson’s Spurfowl

Black-bellied Bustard (photo by Joubert)

Steenbok ram

Steenbok with Muntshe Mountain in the background

Secretary Bird

Lesser Striped Swallow – welcome sign that spring is around the corner!

Elephant youngster wielding his weapon of choice

Elephant matriarch with impressive tusks

Fever Tree

Tawny Eagle in flight

Curious Slender Mongoose peeping from within a thornbush

Huge herds of plains zebra congregating along the Mnondozi stream

By the time we reached Mlondozi, we hadn’t yet found the sables we came looking for. We were planning on having brunch at the picnic spot, but it was packed with other visitors and not a single table was available. We spent a few minutes enjoying the view, getting pictures of the birds and animals, and waiting for a table to clear, but eventually decided to rather move along.

Blue Waxbill (photo by Joubert)

Dark-capped Bulbul

Swainson’s Spurfowl

The view from Mlondozi Picnic Site

Elephant coming to drink from Mlondozi Dam

We decided to use the extra time we had available due to the postponed lunch to do another circuit around Muntshe Mountain, and how wonderfully that turned out! We found the sables, and had probably the best sighting of these magnificent antelope I had in 30+ years! More about that soon, I promise.

Plains Zebras

Southern Reedbuck ewe (photo by Joubert)

Sable Antelope bull

Extremely satisfied with our morning, we headed for Lower Sabie where, just before the camp, we had a quick sighting of a leopard and enjoyed the abundant life that always congregate at the causeway over the Sabie River.

Wire-tailed Swallow

Huge Nile Crocodile at the Lower Sabie causeway

In contrast to Mlondozi, the picnic site at Lower Sabie was deserted, and Joubert and I could lunch in peace surrounded only by birds and butterflies.

Common Purple Tips

Green-backed Camaroptera (photo by Joubert)

Rattling Cisticola

By the time we finished lunch it was still too early to head back to Skukuza, so we drove south in the direction of Crocodile Bridge for a few kilometers along the main road, returning along the gravel Mativuhlungu Loop to Lower Sabie. Stopping at the causeway over the river again we were rewarded with a clear, though distant, view of an African Fish Eagle swooping down to snatch a catfish from the water. We’ll share that full sequence of pictures with you another day this coming week.

Buffalo herd drinking from the Sabie River

Bateleur cleaning up roadkill

Dwarf Mongoose

Male Bennett’s Woodpecker

Hooded Vulture

Serrated Hinged Terrapin (photo by Joubert)

Fish Eagle with catfish prey

Just outside Lower Sabie, on the way to Skukuza, Sunset Dam is always a great place to stop and sit for a while, just soaking in the sights and sounds of the bush. On this occasion however the usual serenity of the place was shattered when a pair of teenage male baboons savagely attacked a much younger baboon at the water’s edge, seemingly intent on killing it. Baboons are always fascinating to watch, but I definitely have never experienced such a disturbing glimpse into their behaviour before. We’ll share some pictures from this harrowing sighting this coming Saturday, but please be warned!

Yellow-billed Storks at Sunset Dam

Baboon murder

It’s just a 45km drive, but with so much to see along the way it still took us 3 hours to get back to Skukuza and we made it back into camp with just a minute or two to spare before the gates closed. Our last sighting of the day was a pack of African Wild Dogs guarding the scraps of their kill against a bunch of vultures – what more could we ask for after such a wonderful day!?

Lionesses and cubs laying claim to a Sand Bank in the Sabie River

Giraffe drinking from the Sabie River

Wary family of giraffes

Spotted Hyena

Impala Lily

White-crowned Lapwing

A slice of the riverine forest along the Sabie River

Hamerkop at sunset

Hippo in the Sabie River (photo by Joubert)

African Wild Dog on the alert

Before ending off, I have to show you these photographs of a family of white rhinoceros we came across on day 2 of our trip to the wilderness. I won’t disclose when and where we saw them though so as not to tip off any poachers.

White Rhino cow and calf

White Rhino bull

On our way to the wilderness – day 1

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Before dawn on the 15th of August ’21, Joubert and I had the Duster packed and were ready to set off for the Kruger National Park. The whole route from Pretoria to Malelane Gate we drove under overcast skies, with thick mist and occasional drizzle.

Signing in at Malelane was a breeze and in no time at all we were on our way to Skukuza. With Afsaal picnic site packed to the brim with visiting people when we arrived we decided to give it a miss. We enjoy the Park packed with animals of all description much more than jostling with other picnickers for a spot at a table.

White-backed Vulture in flight

Kudu cow

Kudu bull (photo by Joubert)

Fork-tailed Drongo

Golden-breasted Bunting

Steenbok

Spotted Hyena family (photo by Joubert)

Spotted Hyena family

Pearl-spotted Owlet

Red-crested Korhaan keeping an eye on an eagle flying overhead (photo by Joubert)

Klipspringer

Warthog

Elephants congregating in a dry river bed (photo by Joubert)

Elephants congregating in a dry river bed

Magpie Shrike

Right at Skukuza’s gates we found this elegant nyala bull – only to find that he wasn’t as elegant as first impressions suggested…

Nyala bull (photo by Joubert)

Nyala bull – go buy some manners! (photo by Joubert)

At Skukuza’s reception our check-in went just as smoothly and pretty quickly we were unpacked and settled into our bungalow, allowing us a chance to stretch our legs and gawk at Skukuza’s resident birds.

Beautiful impala lily in bloom at Skukuza’s reception (photo by Joubert)

Unit #3 in Skukuza’s Nwaswitshaka Research Camp

Cardinal Woodpecker

African Dusky Flycatcher (photo by Joubert)

Red-capped Robin Chat (photo by Joubert)

Yellow-fronted Canary (photo by Joubert)

Brown-headed Parrot (photo by Joubert)

Brown-headed Parrot

By the time we hit the road for our afternoon game drive there was only about three hours left before the gates would close, so we stuck to the roads around camp and along the Sabie River.

Nyala ewe just outside the Skukuza nursery

Water Thick-knee at the causeway over the Sabie River

Elephant munching on a thorny branch

Hippos in a quiet pool of the Sabie

Spotted Hyena on the move (photo by Joubert)

Spotted Hyena profile

Buffalo chewing the cud

After our braai (barbeque) – what else would two South African men be eating when they’re forced to feed themselves than “pap en wors” (maize meal porridge with barbequed sausage) – and before going to bed, we walked around camp with our torch looking for nocturnal creatures.

We think this might be a baby Turner’s Thick-toed Gecko (photo by Joubert)

On Sunday we’ll tell you about day two as we prepared to tackle the Sweni Wilderness Trail from Joubert’s birthday.

A Wilderness Birthday

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Parents often anguish about the perfect gift to give their children on their birthdays. This year however, for us anyway, things couldn’t have worked out better in preparation for Joubert’s 12th birthday.

You see, the minimum age requirement to join one of the wilderness trails in the Kruger National Park is 12 years. Joubert has been wanting to go on a trail for almost as long as he can walk. When a late cancellation then became available on the Sweni Trail, the most popular of all the trails in the Kruger Park, right on his birthday, there was just no way we could pass on the opportunity, even if it means he’ll have to work very hard to catch up his missed school work this coming week.

Joubert and I spent the past week in the Kruger National Park, half of it on the trail. This first set of photographs were all taken in the days leading up to his wilderness birthday.

Klipspringer

Elephant youngster wielding his weapon of choice

Sable Antelope bull

Baboon murder

Hamerkop at sunset

Black-backed Jackal

Hunting Cheetah

Lazy Leopard

Leaping Kudu

Lions at Orpen Rocks

Of course, there’s a bunch of stories to be told – and you can be sure that we will – but as a little teaser, Joubert was 12 years and 1 day old when these lions took offence at us invading their territory ON FOOT. We will tell you all about it soon.

The wide-angle lens doesn’t show adequately how close those lionesses were!

Yep, she’s growling at us!

And here she comes!

Back from our Easter Bush Breakaway

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We’re fresh back from our Easter break around Skukuza and Mopani in the Kruger National Park, and of course well be sharing lots and lots more photos from this beautiful place with you soon! (as well as replying to all the comments you left us over the last few days).

Buffalo near Mopani

Lion near Skukuza

Elephant near Mopani

Leopard near Lower Sabie

White rhino’s poor attempt at hiding

Napi Wilderness Trail

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And so on Sunday afternoon the time arrived. Ranger-guides Ronnie and Saul met us, and four fellow trailists, at the designated spot in Pretoriuskop for the start of our time on the Napi Wilderness Trail in the Kruger National Park. Excitedly we packed all our baggage into the trailer, ensuring that our cameras and binoculars stayed close at hand, and clambered into the open game viewing vehicle that would transport us into the Wilderness.

We had barely left camp when we encountered our first special sighting: a magnificent sable antelope bull – a prime specimen of one of the rarest species in Kruger! As good an omen as one could hope for at the start of such an epic adventure.

It took about an hour to reach the Napi Wilderness Trail’s base camp, our home for the next three nights. Located on a bend in the Biyamiti River between Pretoriuskop and Skukuza, the camp consists of four two-sleeper tents (with en-suite bathrooms!) with a central thatched “dining room” and cement slab for the obligatory nightly campfire. There’s no electricity (or cellphone reception) at the camp, with gas-powered geysers in the bathrooms and paraffin and solar lamps used for lighting. We also meet Armondo, the camp’s shy caretaker and talented cook.

In the vehicle, on the way to the Napi Wilderness Trail base camp

Sable Antelope

The turnoff into the wilderness

Tents at Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp

Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp Tent, August 2017

The hide in the Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp

Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp – view from behind our tent

The “dining room” in Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp

The fireplace and view from Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp

Sombre Greenbul in Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp

View from Napi Wilderness Trail Base Camp

After a good night’s sleep we are guided out of camp by Ronnie and Saul just after sunrise (and a welcome rusk or two dipped in an even more welcome cup of coffee!). We cross a few dry stream beds, stand beside mud wallows and rhino dung middens, gape in awe at the enormous size of an elephant skull, watch astonished as Ronnie coax two dozen (maybe even more) tiny spiders from a communal nest, listen to him explain the intricacies of trapping egg-stealing snakes with the shell of a dead Giant African Land Snail and enjoy a picnic in the unexpected downpour of a winter rainstorm, all the while soaking in the Napi wilderness surrounding us. Heading back to camp we find our way blocked by a huge herd of one of Africa’s most dangerous animals; the African Buffalo, but under the safe guidance of the two rangers we’re free to admire these powerful creatures at close quarters until one cantankerous bull, separated from the herd and with the devil’s fire burning in his eyes, decides it is time for us to move on…

Walking into the wilderness

Elephant skull (died during the terrible drought last year)

A grindstone – indication of earlier human habitation

Little nest in a leafless shrub

Nest of communal spiders

Communal spiders

Shell of a Giant African Land Snail

An unexpected winter downpour caught us out in the wilderness

Wet picnic

Encounter with a big herd of buffalo

African Buffalo

One angry African Buffalo bull

Dried up mud wallow, with Ronnie explaining how every animal that visits helps to enlarge it

Arriving back at Napi base camp

Relaxing back at home base we find out that the human guests are not the only ones waiting for Armondo to finish preparing lunch, as a pack of Dwarf Mongooses scurry around his kitchen hoping for a few scraps (that never came). We also find out that the camp is alive with birds and small reptiles, and that there’s also a wide variety of wildlife arriving at the small waterhole in front of camp to quench their first.

Dwarf Mongoose

Bushbuck ram

Southern Boubou

Bushbuck ram

Freckled Nightjar

Hamerkop

Marico Sunbird

Immature African Fish Eagle

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Striped Skink

Our late afternoon is spent walking a short circuit around some of the enormous granitic outcrops, which is such a familiar sight in this part of the Kruger Park, before enjoying a glowing red African sunset from one of these special vantage points. Driving back to camp we pass the busy den of a clan of Spotted Hyenas, where the cute cubs have everyone on the vehicle smiling from ear to ear, and again find our road back in the darkness blocked by a herd of buffalo.

Setting off on our afternoon hike

Approaching white rhino on foot

Climbing a koppie (rocky hill)

Blue wildebeest eyeing us from a distance

Sunset on the Napi Trail

Happy family: Napi Wilderness Trail with my mother, sister and brother

Huge natural rock pool

Spotted hyena cub

Spotted hyena cubs

Buffalo cow in spotlight

View from atop an enormous granite outcrop

At night there’s just as much life inside as outside the Napi Wilderness Trail’s base camp. At least three species of owl frequent the camp, their distinct calls punctuating our fireside conversations, and walking around with a spotlight is sure to show up some interesting nocturnal bugs!

African Scops Owl

Golden Orb Web Spider

Non-venomous Tree Creeper Scorpion (notice slender tail and large pincers)

We heard lions roaring during the night, but I didn’t expect that we’d come across their fresh tracks as close to camp as we did the next morning. Our ranger-guides tried their best to follow the big cats, but they must have been aware that we were tracking them and only led us in circles. This strategy did however bring us close to another enormous herd of buffaloes – likely the lions were stalking the same herd when they became aware of us. Ronnie and Saul brought us to a small termite mound where we could stand and watch as the herd approached closer and closer. Being confronted by a throng of bellowing buffaloes, hundreds strong in number and probably less than 30 meters from us by the time we moved out of their way, surely must be my favourite memory of the Napi Wilderness Trail.

Ronnie demonstrating another grinding stone we came across

Young kudu bull

Lion track!

More encounters with buffalo

African Buffalo

More encounters with buffalo

African Buffalo

Impressive buffalo bull

African Buffalo

More encounters with buffalo

The group at a huge hamerkop nest

Bush picnic

Walking in the Napi Wilderness

Impala herd eyeing us nervously

Elephants near Napi base camp

Approaching camp from across the Biyamiti

Lunchtime in camp is just another excuse to appreciate the plethora of wildlife species both inside and outside the camp’s low perimeter fence from a more relaxed position, and although there isn’t much sitting going on once you start following birds between the tents trying for decent photographs of them, it is still an utterly relaxing exercise!

Elephant coming down into the Biyamiti River bed

Kudu seen from camp

Grey Go-away-birds

African Barred Owlet

Crested Barbet

Black-backed Puffback

Burchell’s Starling

White-bellied Sunbird

Green-backed Camaroptera

Long-billed Crombec

Little Sparrowhawk

White-throated Robin-Chat

Our final outing from the camp is a drive with expert guide Saul at the wheel to Transport Dam. We enjoy our sundowners in the presence of hippos, crocodiles and a menagerie of thirsty animals and birds before returning to camp, and a traditional braai (barbeque) prepared by Armondo, passing the hyena den again on the way.

Plains Zebra

Bushveld Pipit

White Rhino calf

Sabota Lark

Warthog boar

Zebra crossing in Kruger!

Giraffe

Elephant road block

Lilac-breasted Roller

Waterbuck cow

Natal Spurfowl and chicks

Giraffe

Serrated Terrapin

Impala drinking at Transport Dam

Grey Heron

Hippo posturing

Single-striped Grass Mouse

Spotted hyena suckling cub

After dinner we go in search of the camp’s owls again, and while the Pearl-Spotted Owlets only serenaded us with their calls without posing for photos, the African Scops Owls and African Barred Owlets were much more accommodating.

African Scops Owl

African Barred Owlet

Come Wednesday morning and Armondo’s beating on his breakfast drum signaled that our time on the Napi Wilderness Trail has come to an end. After a hearty breakfast, with scrumptious freshly baked bread, we’re off back to Pretoriuskop and civilisation. Another sighting of a sable antelope and then a pride of lions feeding on a young buffalo helps to bring some consolation…

A final look at the Napi view, at sunrise on 9 August 2017

Sable Antelope

Lions feeding on a young buffalo, seen on our way back to Pretoriuskop at the end of the trail

African Green Pigeon

The 60km drive from Pretoriuskop down to Malelane Gate went far too quickly for our liking. Lucky for my sister she could join up with her husband at Malelane Gate for four more nights’ stay in the Park, but for me, my mom and brother it was time to head back to hectic Gauteng.

Spotted hyena cub and mother

Red-crested Korhaan

White-backed Vultures

This was my third Wilderness Trail experience in the Kruger National Park; having previously participated in the Olifants and Sweni WIlderness Trails (follow the links to read about those trips). South African National Parks offers a total of seven Wilderness Trails and three Backpack Trails in the Kruger National Park, each three nights in duration and accommodating no more than 8 participants twice a week (commencing Wednesdays and Sundays), and guided by two knowledgeable rangers.

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!).

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

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

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

Lion hiding from the rain

Big warthog boar

Blue wildebeest

Giraffe

Plains Zebra

Blue wildebeest

Plains Zebra

Giraffe

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

Wattled Starling

Marabou

African Mourning Dove

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)

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

Them Big Old Bulls

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What better way to wrap up the report back on our winter visit to the Kruger National Park‘s Satara and Mopani Rest Camps, than to appreciate those majestic elephant bulls that roam the Lowveld!