Tag Archives: pilanesberg national park

Boys Weekend in the Pilanesberg

Early on this past Saturday morning Joubert and I headed for the Pilanesberg National Park’s Kwa Maritane Gate. Our plan was to spend all of Saturday, most of Sunday morning and the night between in one of South Africa’s most easily accessible wildlife destinations, enjoying a bit of father-son company and shared hobbies in the beautiful surroundings far from the city’s distractions. When the Gate opened at 05:30 we set off, enjoying some thrilling encounters with the Park’s wildlife right from the start.

With the kind help of wildlife photographer Brian Pettit (http://www.naturepicturesworldwide.com/ & https://www.zambezicruisesafaris.com/our-blog/), this massive insect was identified as the bush cricket Clonia wahlbergii

Pilanesberg’s tusker Mavuso

Grey Heron

Lioness feeding from the carcass of a poached rhino

Well-hidden lion

Plains Zebra searching for fresh green shoots

African Grey Hornbill

Secretary Bird

Speckled Pigeon (photo by Joubert)

Red Hartebeest

Red-billed Oxpecker

Southern Masked Weaver

White Rhinos hiding from the sun

Pied Crow (Joubert’s photo)

Steppe Buzzard in flight (Joubert’s photo)

Streaky-headed Seedeater

Steenbok Ram

Mountain Reedbuck family

Warthog

While we were enjoying the Pilanesberg’s sights and sounds from the coolness of the photographic hide at Makorwane Dam, Joubert suggested that we head for Bakgatla Resort to go setup camp before the day got any hotter.

Arrow-marked Babbler

Spur-winged Goose

African Darter in flight

Green-winged Pytilia (female)

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Giraffe

Bushveld Pipit

Baby elephants fast asleep in the heat while the rest of the herd stand guard

With our tent pitched and our camping chairs unpacked, we could enjoy our lunch, a few glasses of cold drink and an ice-cream treat surrounded by a selection of Bakgatla’s permanent residents of the feathered variety.

Camping at Bakgatla, Pilanesberg National Park, November 2018

Orange-breasted Bushshrike (male)

Red-billed Hornbill

Black-backed Puffback

Blue Waxbill

Chestnut-vented Warbler

Black-collared Barbet

The first stop on our afternoon drive was Rathlogo Hide, just a few kilometers from Bakgatla.

Hadeda Ibisses

Elephant enjoying a cooling mudbath

Elephant at Rathlogo

Buffy Pipit

Sabota Lark

Giraffe enjoying the shade

At Tilodi Dam we laughed at the antics of a male African Black Duck that was most impressed with himself for having chased off a White-faced Whistling Duck from “his” shoreline.

White-faced Whistling Duck

White-faced Whistling Duck being chased by an African Black Duck

African Black Duck enquiring whether his lady was suitably impressed?

There was much more wildlife to be seen as we traveled through the southeastern portions of the Park.

Immature Black-chested Snake Eagle

Hippos at Nkakane

Eland on Kwalata Drive

Baboons relaxing in the shade

Protective Tsessebe cow with her calf

At Lengau Dam a group of baboon youngsters were having great fun roughhousing in a dead tree and occasionally dropping into the water below – no doubt enjoying great relief from the oppressive heat but I was surprised that they weren’t more afraid of the crocodiles!

Baboons having fun at Lengau Dam

With the sun setting it was time to head towards Bakgatla.

Waterbuck

Elephant cow

Big Elephant herd at Makorwane

Sunset over Pilanesberg (photo by Joubert)

On Sunday morning we packed up our camp and headed for the Lenong Viewpoint to enjoy our morning tea and rusks from a beautiful vantage point high on top of one of Pilanesberg’s mountains. The rest of the morning we spent visiting more of our favourite spots in the Park, until the day started getting really hot again. We enjoyed a quick lunch at Fish Eagle Picnic Spot and then headed for Kwa Maritane Gate and home…

Buffalo cow

Lenong Viewpoint in the Pilanesberg National Park

White Rhino

Veld fire started by a lightning strike

Kori Bustard searching the burnt veld for prey

Big crocodile at Batlhako Dam

Immature Fish Eagle at Batlhako Dam

Familiar Chat

Speckled Rock Skink

Diederik Cuckoo

Marsh terrapins and sharptooth catfish fighting about scraps carelessly dropped by a tourist at Ruighoek Dam. (Another of Joubert’s photos)

Ruighoek Dam

Buffalo Quartet

Crested Francolin

Impala Ram

Young Kudu bull

Capped Wheatear

Barn Owl fast asleep at Fish Eagle Picnic Spot

White-throated Robin-Chat

Pilanesberg National Park is an easy 160km drive from our home in Pretoria.

A month of monochrome memories: On the Rocks

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A pair of confiding Klipspringers seen along Mankwe Drive, in the Pilanesberg National Park. Pilanesberg 29122015 (17)

Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and shared photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we called “a month of monochrome memories”.

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Warthog, Waterbuck and Giraffe meeting at the Malatse Dam in the Pilanesberg National Park Pilanesberg 29122015 (14)

Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.

A month of monochrome memories: Mud, Glorious Mud!

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A warthog finding respite from the heat in a pool of mud at the Mankwe Hide in Pilanesberg National Park.
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Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.

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A kudu bull seeking shelter from the harsh midday heat in Pilanesberg National Park Pilanesberg 29122015 (11)

Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.

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A blue wildebeest calf looking for reassurance at the side of his mother, in the Pilanesberg National Park.

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Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.

A month of monochrome memories: At The Water’s Edge

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In contrast to most of the other bodies of water in the Park, the large Lake Mankwe in the centre of the Pilanesberg still held a considerable volume of water, and was a predictable magnet for wildlife, such as this male impala.

Pilanesberg 29122015 (8)

Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.

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The prevailing dry conditions, and consequently denuded vegetation, meant that it wasn’t difficult to see several little Steenbok in Pilanesberg National Park during our recent visit. Pilanesberg 29122015 (7)

Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.

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A female springbok and her yearling lamb walking between a waterhole and their grazing grounds in the Pilanesberg National Park brings to mind the migrations these antelope undertook in their millions in days gone by.

Pilanesberg 29122015 (6)

Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.

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If it wasn’t for the plains zebra, this scene in the drought-affected Pilanesberg could easily have been mistaken for the dry Southern Kalahari desert, complete with springbok.

Pilanesberg 29122015 (5)

Our end-of-year 2015 holidays were absolutely packed to the brim. Apart from our ten-day visit to the Kruger National Park (read more about our time at Lower Sabie, Olifants and Shingwedzi in December), we also made day trips to five other reserves, and will be sharing photos from those (except Suikerbosrand, which we introduced in a post all of its own) daily through the month of February, in a series we call “a month of monochrome memories”.