Tag Archives: outdoors

Winter in Southern Kruger

My sister, Ansie, and I headed to the Kruger National Park for a 5 night visit in the early morning of Friday 17th July. After our latest trip to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, Marilize had business to attend to and Joubert had to be back at school the following Monday, as the winter school holidays had come to an end. This therefore was a great opportunity for some sibling bonding in a place where we’d spend many wonderful days together growing up. Just a few hours easy drive along the N4-highway got us safely to Malelane Gate, on the southern border of the reserve, at around 08:30.

Malelane Gate, always a welcome sight after the drive from Pretoria

The route from Pretoria to Malelane, approximately 380km (drawn with Google Maps)

Just a few minutes spent getting our entry permit issued and to send a few quick text messages to let the loved ones back home know we arrived safely, before setting off into the Park. Our route took us along the S25 Crocodile River drive to Lower Sabie Rest Camp, where we’d booked the next two nights in a safari tent on the bank of the Sabie River.

Buffalo on the S25

Lilac-breasted roller

Spectacular giraffe sighting

Crocodile in the Sabie

Serrated Terrapin in the Sabie

Grey heron in the Sabie

Tiny, as yet unidentified, bird at the roadside

Elephants and impalas mingle on the bank of the Sabie

Crossing the Sabie

Lower Sabie Tent 26, July 2015

After checking into our accommodation and unpacking the luggage and supplies, it was time to get back on the road again for our afternoon drive. We opted for just a short drive past Duke’s waterhole and Nthandanyathi Hide to the south of camp, and spent the last few minutes before the gates closed enjoying a magnificent sunset from the causeway over the Sabie just outside camp.

Kudu crossing the road

Blue wildebeest

Remains of a leopard kill

Lower Sabie sunset

We awoke early on Saturday morning, eagerly anticipating what Kruger would have in store for us that day. We decided to stay out all day, and were one of the first vehicles waiting at the camp’s gates to open at 06:00. Lower Sabie’s renowned for predator sightings, which explains why it is so popular among visitors and often fully booked months in advance. Not long after leaving camp we encountered a pride of lions near Lubyelubye, keeping Lower Sabie’s reputation intact. After being robbed of our breakfast rusks by a big baboon at Nkuhlu Picnic Spot, we continued along the Sabie and onwards to Transport Dam via the S65-route. From there we had to get past a considerable traffic jam (where two lionesses, apparently with well-hidden cubs, were baking in the sun on a rocky outcrop), to get to Skukuza, where we enjoyed a picnic-lunch at the day visitors area near the Selati railway bridge. To get back to Lower Sabie, we chose the S21 Nwatimhiri Road, a gravel route that follows the course of the mostly dry stream of the same name. We were one of the first cars out that morning and one of the last to return to Lower Sabie that evening, just minutes before the gates closed at 17:30 – a long but very rewarding day in the wilds of the Kruger National Park.

Lion greeting near Lubyelubye

Early morning in Kruger

Grey duiker

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

Steenbok

Lionesses, on the rocks

Elephants drinking at De La Porte waterhole

Squirrel at Skukuza

Greater Blue-eared starling at Skukuza

Magpie shrike south of Skukuza

Kudu and impala at Renosterkoppies

Arrow-marked babbler at Nkuhlu

Elephant drinking from the Sabie

Saddle-billed stork

Elephant cow and calf

Sunset Dam, at sunset…

After dinner, it was time to take our usual stroll through the camp, taking some night time photos along the way, before turning in.

Elephant next to the fence

A family of Greater Greater Cane-rat

Night time view from our tent’s deck

Sunday was another early start to the day – we had to pack and head to Satara Rest Camp, northwards from Lower Sabie. We detoured to Mlondozi Picnic Site for breakfast, and ticked a quick leopard sighting (no photos unfortunately) about half-an-hour after leaving camp, completing the Big-5 for the trip less than two days into our visit. A quick pit-stop at Tshokwane and then arrived at Satara just in time for lunch, under the watchful eye of several of the camp’s feathered inhabitants.

Hyena on the S29 to Mlondozii

Mlondozi Dam

Hippos in Mlondozi Dam

Waterbuck

Warthog

Giraffe, with Nkumbe in th background

Klipspringer on Nkumbe Mountain

A herd of wildebeest seen from Nkumbe

Giraffe drinking at Mazithi (Kruger Park)

Plains zebras

Waterbuck

Frightened kudu

Bushbuck

Elephant

A huge troop of baboons

Another kudu

Cape Glossy Starling

Burchell’s starling

Yellow-billed hornbill

Impala lilies

African Mourning Dove

Satara is the departure point for the next part, and undoubtedly the highlight, of this particular trip to Kruger – the Sweni Wilderness Trail. I’ll be telling you all about this incredible experience soon, in another installment of de Wets Wild.

Inspiration

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It probably comes as no surprise that we’re inspired by the beauty of a tranquil South African sunset, like this one over the Sabie River near Lower Sabie Rest Camp, in the Kruger National Park.

Inspiration

“Inspiration” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge

World Ranger Day

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The 31st of July is set aside as World Ranger Day, a day to appreciate the work these dedicated people perform on behalf of humanity, to celebrate their successes and commemorate those that laid down their lives in the line of duty.

Ranger Day

Having just spent three days with two exemplary rangers on the Sweni Wilderness Trail in the Kruger National Park, it became as clear as ever just what an incredible debt of gratitude we owe the men and women protecting our natural heritage.

Ranger Day 2

Imfolozi, in the middle of a dry spell

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In the 20 years that I’ve been visiting the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, I’ve never seen the Black Umfolozi River bone-dry at the bridge on the way to Mpila Camp. That changed when we visited in July 2015. A drought has the north of Kwazulu-Natal Province in its firm grasp and it is evident that the Park is unfortunately not escaping its ravages.

Travelling south-west after entering at Memorial Gate, through the Hluhluwe-section of the Park, we couldn’t help noticing how parched even this normally lush area has become, a marked contrast from when we visited in December 2014. Game-viewing was easy going, as animals were congregating in their numbers around the remaining water sources and the denuded vegetation provided little cover. After checking in at Mpila, we headed for Sontuli Loop, our favourite drive in the reserve.

Yellow-fronted canaries searching for food in rhino dung

Giraffe cleaning regiments can be tricky…

Red-capped Robin-Chat in Hilltop Camp

Samango Monkey in Hilltop Camp

A dry Black Umfolozi

Lions on the sand in the bed of the Black Umfolozi

Impala

Elephants visiting a small pool remaining in the Black Umfolozi

The next morning saw us out exploring Imfolozi at the break of dawn. The animal population seems to be coping well with the harsh conditions and we had good sightings of several species of birds, mammals and reptiles. Unseasonably hot weather, in the low 30’s Celsius, saw us return to Mpila for a siesta during the midday heat before taking our afternoon drive to Ubhejane Hide .

Imfolozi sunrise

White rhinos

Blue wildebeest

Huge herd of buffalo heading for a pool in the Black Umfolozi

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Warthog

White rhinos

Vervet monkey

Nyala at Ubhejane Hide

Giraffe and Imfolozi scenery

Imfolozi sunset

Overnight a cold front accompanied by strong gusts of wind passed over the Park, seeing temperatures drop to less than half of what they were the previous day and overcast conditions prevailing throughout. This allowed us to stay out exploring for most of the day, visiting the Centenary Centre for lunch (we can highly recommend the ostrich burgers sold at the take-away kiosk!). A drive out to the extreme south-west corner of the reserve that afternoon put our minds at ease with the knowledge that the White Umfolozi River, that runs through the Park’s wilderness area, is still flowing, albeit only a trickle compared to the normal situation.

Buffalo on Sontuli Loop

Buffalo close-up

White rhinos

Thirsty baby zebra

Who can’t love that face?

African Pied wagtail

Cheetah mother and her large cub, seen close to Mpila

Wildebeest remains at Mohlolokozane

Green-winged pytilia (male)

Playful elephant youngsters

Baby white rhino

More of the same wintery weather greeted us as we woke on our last full day in the Park, and the hot cup of coffee and rusks we enjoyed that morning at Ubhejane Hide was indeed very welcome. By now we knew the few remaining pools at the viewpoint over the Black Umfolozi (near point 17 on the Park map) was like a magnet to wildlife, and finding three big male lions there guarding one of them was no surprise. The band of brothers remained in the same spot all day, doing what lions do best – sleeping! As for the de Wets, we headed for Sontuli Picnic Site for a lovely braai (South African barbeque) and then enjoyed our traditional last slow drive along Sontuli Loop at dusk before heading back to camp.

Nyala ewe

Blue wildebeest drinking at Ubhejane

Warthog sow

Lions in the Black Umfolozi

Buffalo chewing the cud

Irritated buffalo cow

Buffalo making their way over the Black Umfolozi’s sandy bed

Elephants claiming the right of way

Red-billed oxpeckers

White-backed vulture

Blue wildebeest

It’s unbelievable how quickly time passes when enjoying South Africa’s wild places. Leaving the Park on the morning of the 15th of July, we were concerned about the effects a prolonged drought would have on the Park’s vegetation and wildlife. Recent news about good rains falling in the area therefore was extremely welcome. It might not break the drought, but it will replenish the waterholes and hopefully carry the wildlife through to summer when (hopefully) more rain should come.

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For our July 2015 visit, we opted to enter and exit the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park at Memorial Gate, in the north of the reserve (a 7-hour, with stops, 570km drive from our home in Pretoria), and spent four nights at wonderfully wild Mpila Camp in the Imfolozi-section of the reserve.

Mpila cottage 17

View from our cottage

The neighbours at Mpila

House sparrow at Mpila

A view of the dry Black Umfolozi from Mpila

The route from Pretoria to Memorial Gate
(drawn with Google Maps)

Sadly the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park is under threat; if a proposed coal mine on the southern border of the reserve gets given the go-ahead it will mean the end of the reserve’s renowned wilderness area and much of its, and the Isimangaliso Wetland Park’s, ecological integrity. Visit “Save our Imfolozi Wilderness” if you’d like to add your voice in opposition to this unnecessary and unwelcome development.

Back from the Wilderness

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I’ve just returned from an amazing three days on the Sweni Wilderness Trail in the Kruger National Park, preceded by two nights at Lower Sabie Rest Camp. It was an experience I will never forget, for so many reasons, and I’ll be telling you all about it in upcoming editions of de Wets Wild.

Sweni sunrise

Symbol

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It is the winter school holidays in South Africa and we spent the last five days in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, where the authorities go to great lengths to ensure visitors enjoy the Park safely and responsibly. Naturally, we’ll be telling you all about our visit in upcoming editions of de Wets Wild.

Symbol

“Symbol” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge.

A winter exploration of St. Lucia’s Eastern Shores

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iSimangaliso Wetland Park, South Africa’s first World Heritage Site, is named after the isiZulu word meaning “Miracle” and “Wonder”. Our recent visit to the Park just reminded us again what an appropriate name that is.

Having visited the Western Shores in December last year, we focused our attention during our June visit on the Eastern Shores section of the Park, a diverse area lying between the Indian Ocean in the east, Lake Saint Lucia in the west, St. Lucia town and the lake’s estuary to the south and incorporating the popular destinations of Mission Rocks and Cape Vidal, where we stayed for three nights. The sunrises and sunsets alone made the trip worthwhile!

Sunrise on the Eastern Shores

Sunset on the Eastern Shores

Sunrise on the Eastern Shores

Sunrise on the Eastern Shores, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

Sunset on the Eastern Shores

As always, the game and bird-viewing on the Eastern Shores could only be described as splendid, but the Park is clearly not escaping the ravages of the drought that has Kwazulu-Natal Province in a firm choke hold, and none of the pans close to the roads held any water. Indeed a stark contrast to the lush oases of reeds and waterlilies these waterholes normally are, complete with hippos, crocodiles and wading birds in residence. Even the Mfazana Pans, where there’s a brilliant photographic hide, was little more than an almost-dry puddle of mud.

African stonechat (male)

Denham’s bustard

Yellow-throated Longclaw

Burchell’s coucal

Plains zebra

Plains zebras

Plains zebra

Baboon in repose

Kudu bull

Kudu family

Kudu cow

Kudu bull standing proudly on the crest of a grassy dune

Buffalo bull

Blue wildebeest

Tsessebe

Red Duiker

Cloud cisticola

Brown-hooded kingfisher

Southern Banded Snake Eagle

We seem to have extraordinary luck with finding leopards here and this trip was no exception, with no less than four sightings of these beautiful cats. A late afternoon sighting of a serval, a much smaller but also spotted cat, being chased by a group of lapwings as it crossed a burnt field, was a very pleasant surprise. Unfortunately we didn’t see anything more than a footprint of iSimangaliso’s spotted hyenas during this visit. On the other side of the scale, a tiny snake, the variegated slug eater, was a first-ever encounter for us and one we’ll remember just as long as any of the leopard sightings.

Leopard south of Cape Vidal

Spotted hyena track

Serval running from lapwings

Leopard after dark

Leopard sighting on the Grassland Loop on the Eastern Shores of Lake St Lucia – 15th June 2015

Variegated slug eater

We can never spend enough time at this wonderful place, and you’ll understand that we were not at all pleased that our long weekend flew past in the blink of an eye. Time to start making plans for the next visit then…

The Bhangazi gate into the Eastern Shores of Lake Saint Lucia lies roughly 640km South-East of Pretoria.
(Drawn using Google Maps)

Cape Vidal, the most beautiful beach

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To us, there is no more beautiful a beach in this country than Cape Vidal. Miles of sand stretching as far as the eye can see, lined between densely forested dunes and the warm blue water of the Indian Ocean (in the waves of which dolphins and whales can often be seen), with rock pools harbouring fascinating marine life exposed at low tide.

Cape Vidal

Littoral life at Cape Vidal

Cape Vidal rock pool

Littoral life at Cape Vidal

Crab on the beach

Enjoying the beach

Cape Vidal by Starlight

Dolphins in the waves at Cape Vidal

Crystal clear Indian Ocean

Littoral life at Cape Vidal

Rock pools at Cape Vidal

Grey-headed gulls

Grey-headed gull in flight

Grey-headed gull taking flight at Cape Vidal’s beach

Cape Vidal is named after Alexander Thomas Emeric Vidal, captain of the British surveying ship HMS Leven, that mapped this coastline in 1822. Today, this pristine area falls within the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, is one of the most popular destinations in the reserve and an excellent base from which to explore the Eastern Shores of Lake Saint Lucia. The accommodation and campsite is managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and often booked out months in advance. There’s a fuel station and a small shop selling only basic essentials, so it is best to stock-up on your groceries at St. Lucia town before entering through Bhangazi Gate 35km to the south of Cape Vidal. Apart from all the activities that the beach caters for, Cape Vidal is also one of the best spots in the country to easily see a wide variety of otherwise very shy forest birds and animals (like Samango Monkeys and Red Duiker).

Cabin 18 at Cape Vidal, iSimangaliso Wetland Park

The road to Cape Vidal

Banded mongoose

Dark-capped Bulbul

Thick-tailed bushbay

Natal Red Duiker

Samango Monkey

The rugged beauty of Mission Rocks

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Today a very popular picnic and fishing spot north of St. Lucia Town in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park, Mission Rocks is named for a Catholic mission station established in the area in 1888. The path leading from the parking area to the beach opens onto a scene of rugged, rocky beauty, revealing rock pools teeming with life at low tide and impressing with the thundering of crashing waves at high tide. There’s a sandy, open beach 500m northwards of the rocks, with a sea-cave where thousands of bats roost.

Mission Rocks

Mission Rocks picnic spot

Mission Rocks

de Wet family shadows at Mission Rocks

Mission Rocks

Keep an eye open for the vervet monkeys while having a picnic at Mission Rocks

Natal Rock Crab at Mission Rocks

Mission Rocks

Fiscal flycatcher

On the way to Mission Rocks, the uMziki viewpoints and picnic site, set right in the coastal forest, is a worthwhile stop. From atop the dune there’s views over Lake Saint Lucia to the west and the Indian Ocean to the east, and down below in the forested picnic site there’s an astounding variety of birds that would normally be very shy but here seems quite habituated to having humans around. There’s also usually a couple of red duiker to be seen.

uMziki viewpoint over Lake Saint Lucia

uMziki viewpoint over Indian Ocean

uMziki viewpoint

Golden-tailed woodpecker

White-eared barbet

Livingstone’s turaco

Red-capped robin-chat

Red duiker

Cruising Lake St. Lucia

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Participating in a guided launch tour of Lake St. Lucia is one of the most memorable experiences to be had in the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. Several operators offer tours lasting about two hours and departing at different times of the day. In this time the cruisers move about 8km up into the lake from the jetties in St. Lucia town, bringing visitors close to a variety of aquatic life and giving an interesting glimpse into the ecology of the lake system.

During our recent visit to iSimangaliso, we enjoyed a tour on the 80-seater Santa Lucia, a joint operation between Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Thompsons Tours. A cashbar on board sells drinks and snacks while a guide gives detailed explanations of the surroundings and wildlife encountered along the way. We passed several pods of hippos (witnessing one naughty youngster chewing on another tourboat), a few crocodiles, numerous birds, wildlife on the shore, got a chance to view the mangrove marshes and even saw a shark’s dorsal fin briefly break the water’s surface.

This gallery should give you some idea of what you can look forward to on a guided launch tour of Lake Saint Lucia!