We’re back in Pretoria after five wonderful days in the Kruger National Park, and we’re praying with this buffalo that it won’t be too long before we go back 😉
Please let the de Wets come visit us again soon?
We’ll share some more about this latest trip to the Kruger Park in upcoming editions of de Wets Wild, soon.
This was the scene above our heads after darkness fell over Shingwedzi in the Kruger National Park last night.
Milkyway above Shingwedzi
“Nighttime” is this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge
We’ve arrived at Shingwedzi Rest Camp, in the far northern Kruger National Park. We’ll be taking this baboon’s attitude to heart in the next few days as we explore what the Kruger still has in store for us
The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus, also known as the Cape Hunting Dog or Painted Wolf) must be the African mammal with the most stamina – they’ll easily cover distances of over 40km in a day, trotting along at speeds of around 10km/h, and when hunting can maintain speeds of 48km/h for distances of up to 5km (though they seldom need to chase prey that far before taking down their quarry). At full speed, they’ll easily reach 64km/h!
We witnessed these wild dogs chasing after a herd of impala in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park during a visit in 2008.
“Endurance” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge. Information from “The Behavior Guide to African Mammals”, by Richard Despard Estes.
Sometimes, people get up to some really dumb antics when “confronted” with nature.
This crowd of men, women and (most shockingly) children, for example, have trapped something against this building in the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve. What is it, you may ask? Well, only an extremely dangerous Mozambique Spitting Cobra (no, I wasn’t going to try and get close enough to a cornered venomous snake to take a picture 🙂 )
And these people seem not to realise that this elephant bull could, if he was so inclined, easily reach any of them inside the Mankwe Hide in the Pilanesberg National Park…
“Humanity” is this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme.
After spending 5 wonderful nights in Skukuza, Marilize unfortunately had to get back to Pretoria. Joubert and I safely delivered her back to the big city and, after we had a couple of hours of rest, it was time to head back to the Kruger again, this time accompanied by my younger brother Niel. Our destination: Satara Rest Camp, in the central plains of the Park.
There’s a reason Satara’s such a popular destination in the Kruger National Park, and we experienced it again during our August visit to the area. It’s the cats!
We made our way to Satara after entering at Malelane Gate, stopping at Skukuza and Tshokwane en-route. Though we enjoyed sightings of a myriad of animals and birds, not to mention the gorgeous natural scenery, the mating pair of lions we found at Olifantsdrinkgat, the lion pride with their giraffe kill just north of Tshokwane, and the young giraffe with a curious black blotch on its neck, were highlights of the drive northwards.
After pitching our tent and setting up camp next to the fence, there could only be one route to take in the afternoon, and Satara’s famous S100 did not disappoint. Apart from abundant plains game like zebra, waterbuck and giraffe, we found a big herd of buffalo. To end the day on the perfect note, in the fading light of dusk, we had a far-off glimpse of a leopard being dive-bombed by a pair of martial eagles. The light and distance was against us taking good enough photographs, but the memory will remain for a long time and the sighting meant that we had seen every member of the “Big-5” on our first day at Satara. That night, we enjoyed a simple dinner while a hungry hyena lay mere meters away from us on the other side of the fence, hoping that we’d toss it a few scraps. We firmly believe that you should not feed wild animals, and so the hyena had to lope away disappointed when we turned in for the night.
Our route for the 10th of August took us along the S100 to Nwanedzi Picnic Spot and the Sweni Hide, then along the Trichardt Road and past the spot where ranger Wolhuter had his infamous encounter with a hungry lion to Tshokwane, on to Nhlangulene and Muzandzeni Picnic Spots on the S36, and then back to Satara with a quick detour to Girivana waterhole. As we left camp in the morning, Niel joked that he would do nothing but search every tree that day to spot a leopard. By 14:45 that afternoon, his wish was granted. Another “Big-5” day completed, “our” hyena brought a friend to supper, but again had to get up from the table with an empty tummy.
Monday dawned over the Kruger and we headed for the Timbavati Picnic Spot and Ratelpan Hide. We’ve heard and seen reports of a white vervet monkey frequenting the area and were holding thumbs that we’d be able to get a glimpse of it too. You’d understand then that we were overjoyed when Joubert saw the white monkey strolling casually down the middle of the road towards us!
Back in Satara during the heat of the day, we walked around taking photographs of the camp and its birdlife. We’ll save those for a dedicated post on Satara that we’re planning to publish in the next few weeks.
Beautiful impala lily flowers
In the afternoon, we headed for the open plains to the east of Satara, opting to drive the S100 back to camp in the last light of the day. Our cheetah sighting on this drive will remain a lasting memory.
Come the 12th of August and it was time to pack up our campsite and head back home. We decided to leave the Park through Phalaborwa Gate, roughly 120km to the northwest of Satara, so that we could stretch our legs at Joubert’s favourite place to visit in the entire Kruger Park, Letaba’s Elephant Hall.
Of course, after a wonderful visit like this there was no way we could have had our fill of our beloved Kruger National Park, and so within a day of getting back to Pretoria we had to feed our addiction by making another reservation. We’ll be heading for the Shipandani Overnight Hide near Mopani, and heavenly Shingwedzi, later this month 😉 .
The de Wet clan exploring the wilderness of the Kruger National Park on foot (and safely guarded by two experienced, and armed, rangers).
“Adventure” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge
By now you’ll probably know that we were back in the Kruger National Park early in August. We’ve already shared with you our memorable encounter with a pride of lions, and shown you some pictures taken from the brilliant photographic hide at Lake Panic.
Memorable lion sighting near Skukuza, 3 August 2014
An hour or two at Lake Panic
In this post, we’re showcasing more of the amazing diversity of scenery and wildlife that the southern region of the Kruger National Park is renowned for and that we enjoyed during our 5 night stay at Skukuza. Click on any of the images, sit back and enjoy the gallery 😉
We’ll soon dedicate a post to Skukuza’s rich history, amenities and natural attractions, but next week we’ll be sharing some more from our winter 2014 visit to the Kruger National Park, the three nights we camped at Satara. Look out for lots of predators and more photos of the white monkey 😉
Lake Panic is a man-made body of water just outside of Skukuza, the headquarters and biggest rest camp of the Kruger National Park. The dam originally got its name when a flood threatened to destroy it shortly after it was built, but today, being home to enormous crocodiles and cantankerous hippos, the name is still just as apt.
The hide at Lake Panic, situated at the water’s edge surrounded by lush vegetation, is extremely popular with photographers. In the early morning the sunrise over the water, often shrouded in a cloak of mist, is absolutely breathtaking, and there’s a constant processions of birds and animals to focus on throughout the day.
While staying at Skukuza recently, we made sure we popped in at Lake Panic regularly, staying for an hour or two. These are just some of the sights we enjoyed.
The dust flies as two zebra stallions battle it out for control of a family group.
(seen near Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park during a visit in February 2012)
“Fray” is this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge theme
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