Tag Archives: picnic spots

A not so wintry day at Walter Sisulu Botanical Garden

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It is supposed to be mid-winter in South Africa, but with daytime temperatures in the comfortable low 20’s centigrade recently, we just couldn’t pass on the opportunity to visit the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Johannesburg again this past Sunday. We enjoyed a lovely day walking and picnicking with good friends, soaking up the glorious sunshine under a cloudless sky, and of course our cameras went along!

Even in winter the garden is a feast for the eyes, and especially the winter-blooming aloes and carpets of daisies are a sight to behold. You are seldom far from water anywhere in the garden, with the Crocodile River flowing serenely through it and the Witpoortjie Falls being the focal point for all visitors to the gardens.

Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid gardens at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Scenery at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Bee on succulent flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Splendid flowers at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
Yellow Pansy
Leopard Tortoise
Leopard Tortoise

Anyone with a love for or interest in birds, especially photographers, will really find a visit to the gardens worth their while. Apart from the highly visible nesting pair of Verreaux’s Eagles, the garden absolutely abounds with birdlife, even now in winter when so many of the summer migrants have departed for warmer climes. The hide at the Sasol Dam in a quieter corner of the garden must surely rank as one of the best facilities of its kind in the country in terms of the variety and quality of sightings on offer.

African Black Duck
Amethyst Sunbird
Blacksmith Lapwing
Bronze Mannikin juvenile
Cape Robin-chat
Cape Sparrow male
Common Moorhen
Dark-capped Bulbul
Egyptian Goose
Green-backed Heron
Grey Heron
Hadeda
Hamerkop
Kurrichane Thrush
Laughing Dove
Pied Kingfisher
Red Bishop female
Red-eyed Dove
Reed Cormorant
African Sacred Ibis
African Sacred Ibis
Southern Boubou
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Verreaux’s Eagles at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens
African Wattled Lapwing

If you’d like to know more about the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens, have a look at our post about our visit in November 2014 or visit their website.

 

A Quick Nature Fix at Rietvlei

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Our local Rietvlei Nature Reserve is often just what the doctor ordered when I need a quick nature fix. Located just 13km from our home, with a very fair rate of admission (R50 for adults currently, roughly $3.50), decent facilities, an extensive road network and an amazing diversity of wildlife, Rietvlei never fails to recharge the batteries! A week or so ago, in serious need of getting my head cleared following a few health worries, that’s exactly where I headed for a solo trip.

In all the years we’ve been visiting Rietvlei the reserve’s cheetahs have always eluded us – these large spotted cats are experts at hiding! I therefore felt extremely pleased when at long last I encountered a female with her three cubs, just after they had their fill of a freshly caught blesbok. I returned to the site several times later during the day, hoping that the family might still be in the vicinity, only to find the remains of the carcass variously attended by nervous black-backed jackals and pied crows squabbling over the left overs.

Cheetah female
The cheetahs’ blesbok meal
Cheetah female
Cheetah cubs
Cheetah cub
Cheetah cub
Cheetah cub
Black-backed Jackal
Black-backed Jackal nervously approaching the carcass
Pied crows at the remains of the blesbok
Pied crows at the remains of the blesbok
Pied crows at the remains of the blesbok

At one of the bird-viewing hides I had another encounter that will live in my memory forever. A reedbuck ewe hid her young lamb in a dense stand of reeds nearby, which is quite normal behaviour for the species. The curious (or should that be naughty?) youngster however did not want to stay put where his mom told him to, and quite unafraid approached me where I was sitting flat on the ground taking photos of him from a distance. Eventually he got so close that I had to get up and walk away, afraid that if he was to rub up against me his mother might catch my scent on him and abandon him. If I was pleased after the earlier cheetah sighting this experience really had me feeling utterly blessed!

Reedbuck lamb
Reedbuck lamb
Reedbuck lamb
Reedbuck lamb
Reedbuck lamb
Reedbuck lamb

Winter is getting a firm hold on South Africa’s Highveld now and early morning at Rietvlei is a pleasure to behold as mist rises from the waterways and the rising sun starts to thaw the frost covering the grass and trees.

Rietvlei Spruit
A frosty start to the morning at the Finfoot Hide
Mist rising over the Rietvlei spruit
Autumn colours still much in evidence
Rietvlei Spruit in the Rietvlei Nature Reserve
A view over the reedy wetland from which Rietvlei takes its name

For a reserve almost entirely surrounded by urban sprawl and industries, Rietvlei harbours an impressive collection of large and easily visible mammalian inhabitants. My sightings included black wildebeest, blesbok, buffalo, eland, meerkat, plains zebra, hartebeest, springbok, waterbuck, white rhinos and yellow mongoose (as well as the already mentioned cheetahs, jackals and reedbuck).

Black wildebeest
Blesbok
Buffalo
Buffalo
Buffalo
Buffalo herd
Eland
Meerkat sentry
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra
Red Hartebeest
Springbok
Waterbuck
Waterbuck
Waterbuck
White Rhinos
White Rhino
White Rhino
White Rhino
Yellow Mongoose
Yellow Mongoose

I also managed to identify 55 different kinds of birds in the few hours I spent at Rietvlei!

African Hoopoe
Buffy Pipit
African Stonechat female
African Stonechat male
African Wattled Lapwing
Ant-eating Chat
Black-chested Snake Eagles
Black-winged Kite
Blacksmith Lapwing
Cape Glossy Starling
Cape Longclaw
Cape Turtle Dove
Common Fiscal
Crowned lapwing
Fiscal Flycatcher
Giant Kingfisher
Groundscraper Thrush
Hadeda
Helmeted Guineafowl
Laughing Dove
Female Lesser Masked Weaver
Long-tailed Widowbird female
Northern Black Korhaan male
Northern Black Korhaan female
Ostrich
Ostrich and Pied Crows
Pied Starling
Red-throated Wryneck
Reed Cormorant
Southern Masked Weaver
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Western Cattle Egret
White-breasted Cormorant
White-fronted Bee-eater
Yellow-billed Duck

All in all a very pleasant day’s outing; one that certainly got my head back in the right place!

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
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
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
Pride of lion just north of Tshokwane
Lion hiding from the rain
Big warthog boar
Blue wildebeest
Giraffe
Plains Zebra
Blue wildebeest
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra
Giraffe
Giraffe
Plains Zebra
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
Saddle-billed Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Wattled Starling
Wattled Starling
Marabou
Marabou
Marabou
Marabou
African Mourning Dove
Marabou
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)

A special time at the Giant’s Castle

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Spending Easter in a beautiful natural location is almost a given for the de Wets. Our original plans for this particular long weekend was to visit the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, and specifically the Cathedral Peak area, but a last minute change in reservations had us heading for the Giant’s Castle area of the Park instead. A special place to celebrate a special holiday!

While we had only three days to spend at Giant’s Castle, the weather made sure we experienced almost every climatic experience the Drakensberg mountain range can conjure (with the exception of snowfall). Dark thunder clouds one day gave way to heavy fog and a constant drenching drizzle the next, followed in turn by a day of glorious sunshine! Giant’s Castle must be one of the scenically most spectacular parts of the entire Drakensberg range, and you cannot help but stand in awe at the shear majesty of the landscape surrounding you.

Thunder clouds descending on the Giant’s Castle area
Waking to a heavy fog
The road into the Giant’s Castle area
Bushmans River under overcast skies
Crystal clear mountain water
Beautiful little pond just below the camp at Giant’s Castle
the Drakensberg bathed in a glorious sunrise
the Drakensberg bathed in a glorious sunrise
Can you see the giant lying on his back?
Giant’s Castle scenery
Walking along the Bushmans River
Walking along the Bushmans River
Walking along the Bushmans River
Walking along the Bushmans River
Giant’s Castle scenery
Giant’s Castle scenery
Giant’s Castle scenery

Whether it rains or shines, Giant’s Castle’s grandiose scenery will keep your jaw dropping every so often. When that happens, and you bend down to pick it back up, take a moment to enjoy the magnificent juxtaposition of tiny beauties – pretty flowers, exquisite butterflies, delightful droplets, ornamental moss and lichens, and dainty insects – all around you!

Wildflowers abound in the Drakensberg
Mist-formed droplets on a spiders web
Orange Acraea
Lichen on a rockface
Beetles congregating on a bloom
Ladybug
Common Hottentot Skipper (male)
Water Bronze
Gaudy Commodore (dry season form)
Wichgraf’s Brown
Wildflowers abound in the Drakensberg
Wildflowers abound in the Drakensberg
Eyed Pansy

It goes without saying that such a scenically attractive piece of earth wouldn’t be complete without a myriad of wildlife to round off the picture, even if, as at Giant’s Castle, they have to be content with taking a back seat to the surrounding landscape.

Eland being dwarfed by the magnificent landscape
Eland being dwarfed by the magnificent landscape
Silhouetted Eland
The rangers’ horses huddled together on a cold morning
The rangers’ horses huddled together on a cold morning
Bushbuck ewe
Mountain reedbuck in silhouette
Buff-streaked Chat
Olive Thrush
Cape Robin-Chat in the garden at Giant’s Castle Camp
Chorister Robin-Chat
Cape Rock-Thrush (male)
Red-winged Starling atop a boulder
Lucky visitors may spot a Bearded Vulture soaring above
Jackal Buzzard in flight
Black Saw-Wing
Common waxbill
White-necked Raven
White-necked Raven
Bold baboons frequent the camp at Giant’s Castle
Bold baboons frequent the camp at Giant’s Castle
Bold baboons frequent the camp at Giant’s Castle
Bold baboons frequent the camp at Giant’s Castle
Bold baboons frequent the camp at Giant’s Castle

Giant’s Castle is one of our favourite destinations in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, and we can’t imagine that we’d ever get enough of it (our previous visit was also over Easter, in 2014). Excellent amenities in the camp (managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife) and a terrific network of short and longer walking trails ensures that every visit is a pleasant and fulfilling experience, one we can highly recommend!

Giant’s Castle Chalet #4, uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park, April 2017

A quick breakaway to Loskop

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We spent the past weekend with good friends in and around the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, taking in the peaceful atmosphere, spectacular scenery and diverse wildlife. Here’s a gallery showing some of what we saw and experienced – if you’d like to know more about Loskop Dam and the general area, have a read here.

On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
Waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
Waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
On the trail to the waterfall at Waterfall Safari Lodge
View from Waterfall Safari Lodge
Garden Commodore (wet season colouration)
Natal Acraea
Guinea-fowl Butterfly
Foxy Emperor
Spotted Joker
Mixed bag of butterflies at a mud puddle
Poisonous Koppie Foam Grasshopper
Common Stick Grasshopper camouflage
Elegant Grasshopper nymphs
Golden Orb Web Spider – the female is considerably larger than the male
Red Toad at the Waterfall Safari Lodge
Arrow-marked Babbler
Male Red-backed Shrike
Woodland Kingfisher
Bushbuck ram
Bushbuck ewe
Warthog
Warthog
Kudu
Kudu
Waterbuck ewe
Waterbuck bull
Impala ram
Impala lamb
Impala lamb
Giraffe
Vervet monkey
Loskop scenery
Loskop scenery
Loskop scenery
Lily Dam Hide in Loskop Dam Nature Reserve
Lily Dam Hide in Loskop Dam Nature Reserve

Don’t forget to look down!

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When you’re surrounded by a landscape filled with big and dangerous animals it is easy to forget that there’s a wholly different but equally fascinating world of smaller creatures to enjoy down on ground level! While out exploring Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in December we used the time we spent in camp and at the numerous picnic spots, hides and viewsites throughout the Park to appreciate the smaller fry as well.

Striped Skink
Spotted Jokers congregating on rotting fallen fruit in Mpila
Female Tree Agama
Foam Nest Frog at Thiyeni Hide
A Flying Handkerchief – the male Mocker Swallowtail – seen along the trail in Hilltop Camp
Rock monitor lizard at Sontuli
Natal Hinged Tortoise

Wonderfully Wild Mpila

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Mpila, set high on a hill with sweeping views over both the Black and White Umfolozi Rivers, is the main accommodation base in the Imfolozi section of the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park. Apart from a single strand of electric wire strung high above the ground, designed to keep the elephants from coming into camp and digging up the water pipes, animals – including predators – have free access to the grounds. This of course make the place just all the more alluring to the de Wets!

Welcome to Mpila!
But beware the residents!
Yes, that is lion scat lying in front of our veranda…
Mpila Chalet 21, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, December 2016
Mpila Chalet 21, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, December 2016
At times the wildlife even comes into your unit! This is a Common Tropical House Gecko

This image of a spotted hyena licking our braai (barbeque) grid was taken on a previous visit to Mpila

Hyena in Mpila

A walk in the Park

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There’s no doubt that hiking is the biggest pastime enjoyed by visitors to the Royal Natal National Park. Walking through the mountains allows access to so many beautiful spots. We particularly enjoy the easy trails that lead from the Mahai campsite and visitor centre, like Otto’s walk and the trails to the Cascades and Fairy Glen.

The beautiful campsite at Mahai
Bushbuck are commonly encountered along the trails
Bushbuck are commonly encountered along the trails
Looking up at the mountains
Looking up at the mountains
Looking up at the mountains
The cascades trail
The cascades trail
The cascades trail
The cascades trail
The cascades trail
The cascades trail
The cascades trail
Crystal clear mountain streams
Crystal clear mountain streams

This was the last installment on our December visit to Royal Natal National Park in the uKhahlamba Drakensberg. From here we travelled to Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in Zululand, and from tomorrow we’ll be sharing some of what we experienced there.

Breathtaking Mountains

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Come rain or shine, and no matter which way you look, the mountain scenery at Royal Natal National Park, dominated by the magnificent cliff face of the Amphitheatre, will take your breath away!

Mahai Picnic Area
Mahai Dam
Tugela Falls
Thendele view
Highveld Cabbage Tree
Thendele rain
Tugela River Valley
Tugela River Valley
Thendele storm
Mahai Dam
Golden Everlasting
Thendele view
Thendele view
Thendele view
Thendele view
Mountain reedbuck ewe in Thendele
Mahai Panorama

Let nature come to you at Glen Reenen

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Glen Reenen Rest Camp is one of our favoured options for an overnight stay when visiting Golden Gate Highlands National Park. The camp has an amazing setting surrounded by the magnificent mountains, with two crystal clear mountain streams flowing past and converging at one end, and is frequented by an equally impressive diversity of wildlife – we showed you the antics of the baboons yesterday, as well as the ground woodpeckers that call Glen Reenen home – just one of many kinds of birds that you’ll find there, and at night you may be lucky to see a jackal or various kinds of antelope roaming between the huts and campsites. It is also a fantastic base from which to explore the Park, be it on foot, horseback or in your own vehicle.

Glen Reenen, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Unit 27, December 2016
Glen Reenen huts with the Brandwag Buttress in the background
The most popular trail in the Park, to the top of Brandwag, starts at Glen Reenen
View from our cottage
Looking along the stream towards the mountains
Looking upstream
The Little Caledon stream
Tadpoles in a pool
Crystal clear mountain water
Crystal clear mountain water
Water-dependent insects abound, indicating how healthy the water is. This is a White Malachite.
Water-dependent insects abound, indicating how healthy the water is
Freshwater crab in a mountain stream
The Common Myna is an alien invasive species
Speckled Pigeons breed in the cliffs around Glen Reenen
Speckled Pigeons breed in the cliffs around Glen Reenen
Immature Fiscal Shrike
Mature Fiscal Shrike pecking up baboon leftovers
Cape Weaver male
Pied Starling striding across the lawns at Glen Reenen
Male Red-Winged Starling
Female Red-Winged Starling
Red-winged Starling chick waiting for his parents
Cape Wagtail
Crested Barbet

Glen Reenen, and Golden Gate Highlands National Park, is managed by the South African National Parks and is an easy 350 to 400km drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Our new favourite route to Golden Gate, via Sasolburg, Heilbron, Petrus Steyn and Bethlehem, a distance of about 400km from Pretoria (map drawn with Google Maps)

Our new favourite route to Golden Gate, via Sasolburg, Heilbron, Petrus Steyn and Bethlehem, a distance of about 400km from Pretoria (map drawn with Google Maps)