Tag Archives: nature

Wildlife

I’ve blogged about my fabulous leopard sighting near Skukuza in the Kruger National Park during my visit in July of this year before, but couldn’t resist publishing another photo of that encounter here as entry into LetsBeWild.com‘s weekly photo challenge – this week’s challenge is wildlife and I think it fits the bill perfectly. Let us know if you agree please!

(you can click on the image for a clearer view)

We are thrilled that this entry was awarded an honorable mention from the adjudicators of LetsBeWild.com’s wild weekly photo challenge!

Geometry

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The geometry of a tortoise carapace (shell):

Kruger National Park, October 2012

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As close to a wild lion as you can get!

Less than a month has passed since our previous visit, and the early spring rains have transformed the southern regions of the Kruger National Park into a lush green paradise. Animals abound – the reason why many of the Kruger-faithful refers to the south of the Park as “the zoo” – and a lot of the migratory birds that call South Africa home during our hot summer months have already made their appearance, joining the large number of bird species that are resident throughout the year.

We always lament the fact that a trip to the Kruger National Park seems to fly past in a heartbeat, and our three night visit (staying over in Skukuza and Crocodile Bridge Rest Camps) was no different. But this time Kruger kept the best for last – our parting gift, on the way to Malelane Gate, was a pride of about fifteen lions lazing around in and next to the road, delaying our exit by almost an hour (not that we’d ever complain!) before they decided to march right past our vehicle – a breathtaking experience that will remain in our memories for ever.

We’re happy to have been able to share some more pictures of our latest adventure with you (we’ve already published two images from this trip in weekly photo challenges – “Foreign” and “Escape“) in the hope that you’d be inspired by our natural heritage as much as we are!

Water

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These are the fever-tree lined shores of Nsumo Pan, a vast wetland which is a central feature of the uMkhuze Game Reserve (which has recently been incorporated into the Isimangaliso Wetland Park).

We’re participating in LetsBeWild.com‘s Wild Weekly Photo Challenge. This week’s challenge is Water.

Foreign

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We took this photograph this morning as we were driving to the Malelane Gate to exit the Kruger National Park, another wonderful trip over far too quickly (more on this latest trip to follow soon!). I was struck just how out of place we, the gawking tourists in our metal cocoons, are when confronted with the raw primeval power of Africa’s big cats – to them, we must seem decidedly “foreign”.

Escape

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It’s because of situations like these that the Kruger National Park is the place we escape to so regularly. On arriving this morning, these two white rhinoceroses blocked our way into the rest camp (the gates of which you can see just behind them)!

I’m participating in the LetsBeWild.com Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – this week’s challenge is Escape!

Mountain Zebra National Park

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A rising star with humble beginnings.

The Mountain Zebra National Park had an inauspicious start. Proclaimed in 1937 near the small town of Cradock to protect the then critically endangered Cape Mountain Zebra, the reserve covered only 1,712 hectares and contained only 6 individual animals of its most precious charges.

Gradually the park was expanded, with much public support, and today the Mountain Zebra National Park is a grand showcase spanning across 28,412 hectares of scenic plains and rugged mountains. Located at the interface between the arid Karoo and the central grasslands, the Park is home to at least 680 plant species which in turn provide habitat and sustenance to a myriad of faunal life.

Here, the Cape Mountain Zebra was saved from the brink of extinction and today the Park houses almost 500 individuals, with thousands more now occurring in other National Parks, numerous state-owned reserves and on private land across their former range.

The Park is now large enough to accommodate many other large, charismatic mammals and visitors have an excellent chance of spotting cheetah, black rhino and buffalo among the other natural denizens of South Africa’s central plains – animals like the black wildebeest and blesbok (both species themselves having been virtually wiped out by the early 1900’s), springbok, red hartebeest, eland, kudu and gemsbok and birds such as the ostrich and blue crane.

The South African National Parks provide accommodation and camping in a picturesque rest camp in the centre of the Park while the Doornhoek Guest House, exclusively located some distance further, provides a luxurious alternative to the standard accommodation fare. This Victorian farmstead has been meticulously restored, is a national monument and has been tastefully furnished with all the modern conveniences while retaining its old world charm thanks to the antique period pieces used to decorate both the interior and farmyard.

In recent times the Mountain Zebra National Park has been growing in popularity, and deservedly so. Park management have introduced a number of unique guided activities, such as cheetah tracking and visits to San rock art sites. Spend a few days at “Bergkwagga” (the Afrikaans name for the Mountain Zebra) and it will be a firm favourite for you too!

Silhouette

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When we came across these two male giraffes in the early morning near Shingwedzi in the Kruger National Park, they were already quite tired from sparring with one another. Shortly after this picture was taken one of them aimed a solid blow to the other animal but missed badly, hitting his own head against a tree trunk – all he got for his trouble was a massive bump on the forehead and a bloody nose!

Weather

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Just minutes before this picture was taken on the 17th of January 2006, a huge thunderstorm rumbled across the Pioneer Dam, overlooked by the Mopani Rest Camp, in the Kruger National Park. In this magical setting, with the afternoon sun dipping below the dark clouds, I proposed marriage to Marilize.