Join us for a look back at the wonderfully wild South African destinations we visited during 2023. May 2024 be a blessed year for you and your family, memorable for all the best reasons.
Jakhalsfontein Guest Farm
Our camping setup at Bontle in Marakele National Park, March 2023
Chalet #1 in Lilydale Rest Camp
Hut #107 in Pretoriuskop Rest Camp, Kruger National Park (June 2023)
Hut #46 in Lower Sabie Rest Camp, Kruger National Park (June 2023)
Tent #10 in Tamboti Tented Camp, Kruger National Park (June 2023)
Guest House, Shingwedzi Research Camp, Kruger National Park, June 2023
Buffelshoek Camp, Manyeleti Nature Reserve, September 2023
Ndzhaka Camp, Manyeleti Nature Reserve, September 2023
Twanana Research Camp, Kruger National Park, September 2023
House #32, Kudu Private Nature Reserve, October 2023
The beach at the estuary of Lake Saint Lucia
Cape Vidal at low tide
Western Shores section of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Rest Hut #3, Mantuma Rest Camp, uMkhuze Game Reserve, November 2023
Of all the “Big 5” animals none are as difficult to find as the Leopard. Seeing one is usually the highlight of a visit to a nature reserve in South Africa. Having six sightings of these beautiful cats – of which four were on one day! – will mean our latest visit to the Kruger National Park will not soon be forgotten!
Our first sighting, near Lower Sabie late afternoon just minutes before the gates closed, was not very awe-inspiring, even by Leopard standards. Being as lazy as only cats can be this individual did not even deign to show us its face.
Lazy Leopard near Lower Sabie
Early one morning while travelling along the S56 Mphongolo Loop north of Shingwedzi we came across a pair of Leopards in a tall tree – a smaller individual very high up in the tree and visually afraid of the bigger one below guarding the remains of a kill. Visitors who were on the scene before us later shared how the male stole the female’s kill and chased her to the top of the tree where he was too heavy to get to her.
Lofty Leopard (Photo by Joubert)
The male at the lowest fork of the tree, with the kill well hidden (photo by Joubert)
The arrow indicates how high the female climbed into the tree to escape the male. By the way, parking into the veld and hanging out of your vehicle like the visitors in the Land Cruiser is not only bad etiquette but also dangerous.
After spending quite some time at the Leopards in the tree we decided to move on to breakfast at Babalala Picnic Spot when, only 4km further along the same road, we found a young and curiously calm Leopard next to the road at the turnoff to Sirheni Bushveld Camp. She posed beautifully for all the photographers in the car, not fazed in the least by our proximity! Having been treated with such grace by the young princess we slowly backed away from her so that she could repose in tranquility.
Young Leopard at the Sirheni turnoff (photo by Joubert)
Young Leopard at the Sirheni turnoff(Photo by Joubert)
Young Leopard at the Sirheni turnoff (photo by Joubert)
Young Leopard at the Sirheni turnoff
Young Leopard at the Sirheni turnoff (photo by Erlo van Aswegen)
Young Leopard at the Sirheni turnoff (photo by Joubert)
Mere minutes later, still sauntering along the S56 towards Babalala, we found our third Leopard encounter for the morning where it was using a small outcrop of rocks as a vantage point and being particularly interested in a huge kudu bull lying nearby. The kudu soon saw the Leopard and did not even think the cat enough of a threat to stand up. Knowing it was outgunned, the Leopard gave the kudu a wide berth and disappeared into the dense shrubbery next to the Shisha stream.
Leopard looking out for prey from a rocky outcrop (Photo by Joubert)
Leopard looking out for prey from a rocky outcrop
Leopard descending from the rocks to try its luck with a kudu bull
Stealthily moving closer (photo by Erlo van Aswegen)
Keeping cover (photo by Joubert)
Leopard posing beautifully (photo by Joubert)
That same afternoon, still extremely excited about our morning, which by then also included sightings of other charismatic or rare species of wildlife including lions, roan antelope, tsessebes, buffaloes and elephants we found our fourth Leopard sighting of the day along the S50 Kanniedood Road southeast of Shingwedzi. The apparently heavily pregnant female was in a hunting mood and stalking a mixed herd of impala, kudu and waterbuck mingling on the bank of the river. She was soon discovered however and slinked back across the road and out of sight.
Leopard along the Shingwedzi River (Photo by Joubert)
Leopard walking over the S50 to stalk a mixed herd of antelope (photo by Joubert)
Leopard walking over the S50 to stalk a mixed herd of antelope (photo by Joubert)
Leopard slinking away after being discovered by her prey
Leopard rushing away after being discovered by her prey (photo by Joubert)
Our final Leopard sighting of the trip (and I am sure we missed more than we saw thanks to their exceptional camouflage!) was before sunrise as we left Shingwedzi for a morning drive. This was a shy individual, trying to hide behind a palm frond for a minute or two and then deciding to retreat into the riverine vegetation lining the Shingwedzi.
Shy Leopard in the early morning (photo by Joubert)
Shy Leopard in the early morning (photo by Joubert)
I made a little compilation video of some of the Leopard encounters I told you about.
Yesterday I lamented the fact that we’d be leaving the Kruger National Park today and heading back home to Pretoria. Well, as is often the case, the Kruger still had one present in store for us before we left. This morning, just a kilometer from Shingwedzi Rest Camp, that gift took the form of a buffalo carcass, two bloody lionesses and the smallest pair of lion cubs we’ve seen in a long time!
Lioness feeding on the buffalo carcass
Second lioness walking along the road, having fetched her cubs to join the feast (phot by Joubert)
Cutest, tiniest cubs (phot by Joubert)
Second lioness walking along the road, having fetched her cubs to join the feast (phot by Joubert)
Second lioness walking along the road, having fetched her cubs to join the feast (phot by Joubert)
Cutest, tiniest cubs (phot by Joubert)
The cubs playing on the sandy riverbed
The cubs playing on the sandy riverbed
The two lionesses reuniting
The cubs joining their mom and aunt
The cubs joining their mom and aunt
The first female, very bloodied, walks away for a drink of water
Here’s a little video compilation of the cubs as they walked along the road with their mother:
We had a feast of leopards around Shingwedzi today – no less than 4 separate encounters with these spotted beauties! These photos by Joubert are just a little teaser; we will share more when we get back home.
Lofty Leopard (Photo by Joubert)
Young Leopard at the Sirheni turnoff(Photo by Joubert)
Leopard looking out for prey from a rocky outcrop (Photo by Joubert)
Leopard along the Shingwedzi River (Photo by Joubert)
Well, if you ask us what makes the Kruger National Park “THE KRUGER”, our answer wouldn’t be the prolific game or birdlife, awesome as that might be. To us, what makes the Kruger National Park special is the wide variety of habitats and scenery where all this life finds a niche to flourish. At almost 20,000km² in size, the Kruger National Park is bigger than some countries, and naturally a piece of land that enormous would encompass many different landscapes and habitats; in fact there are pronounced differences in the scenery as one travels from south to north through Kruger’s 350km length.
This first gallery of images were taken during my solo visit at the end of May to Pretoriuskop and Skukuza in the south of the Park.
Scenery near Pretoriuskop, complete with a giraffe
Beautiful Blue Water Lily
Impala Lily
Growing Sausage-Tree fruit
The reed-grown bed of the Sabie River
A Sycomore Fig Tree in a dry stream bed near Phabeni Gate
Sunrise over the Sabie River
Sunset Dam at Lower Sabie
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Animals congregating at Transport Dam
Animals congregating at Transport Dam
The Mountains of Malelane
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area – this hill is called Shabeni
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Kruger sunset
Rocky outcrops are a feature of the Pretoriuskop area
Sunset near Pretoriuskop
The north of Kruger has a quite different character to the southern parts. Here, the Mopane and Baobab trees dominate the landscape, by virtue of their numbers and size, respectively.
This gallery of images were taken during our visit from 15 to 24 June to the northern reaches of the Park (based at Shingwedzi Rest Camp)
Animals congregating at a waterhole to the north of Babalala
A wide bend in the Shingwedzi River
Giraffe crossing the dry bed of the Shingwedzi
A pool at Red Rocks
A dry Shingwedzi River near Tshange viewpoint
A seemingly serene pool of water at Red Rocks
Baobab with Buffalo Weaver nests
Impala Lily
Impala Lily (Photo by Joubert)
Mopane leaves are uniquely butterfly- or spoor-shaped
Large Jackalberry tree on the Mphongolo Road
Baobab in a see of mopane, on the way to Bateleur
Sunset at the Mphongolo-Shingwedzi confluence
Mopane shrubs
Mopane tree
Sunset elephants in the Shingwedzi (Photo by Joubert)
The last photo taken today – sunset over the dry bed of the Shingwedzi River
When talking about “game-viewing”, most people immediately have images of Africa’s iconic Big Five flashing through their minds. And of course our recent trips to the Kruger National Park did not disappoint at all when it came to these most charismatic of African mammals, as well as many other furry creatures great and small.
This first gallery of pictures were taken during my solo trip to the southern part of the Kruger Park between 30 May and 2 June 2019.
Grooming Chacma Baboons
Baboon youngster thinking of mischief
Blue Wildebeest with an unusual chevron mark on its muzzle
Blue Wildebeest having a rest in the shade
Blue Wildebeest herd
Buffalo bull
Buffalo cow
Buffaloes next to the Sabie River
Bushbuck Ram at sunset
Grey Duiker
Dwarf Mongooses settling an argument in the camping area at Pretoriuskop
Dwarf Mongoose standing sentry atop a termite mound
Elephant youngster enjoying a snack while crossing the road
Elephant herd quenching their thirst at Shitlhave Dam
Elephant enjoying a mud bath
Elephant bull at Mestel Dam
Baby Ellie
Big Elephant Bull in contemplative mood
In the hot African sun any shade will do!
Giraffe
Giraffe
Giraffe
Hippo gang at Sunset Dam
Baby Hippo at Mestel Dam
Impala ram on the bank of the Sabie
Klipspringer
Big Kudu Bull
Immature Kudu Bull at Biyamiti Weir
Mating Kudus
Lioness on the bridge at Lower Sabie
Lions in the grass next to the Crocodile River
Plains Zebra
Plains Zebra
Spotted Hyenas in profile
Spotted Hyena youngster bullying a sibling
Steenbok pair
Tree Squirrel in the camping area at Pretoriuskop
Vervet Monkey youngster with a pod of some kind
Grooming Vervet Monkeys
Waterbuck Bull
Waterbuck Calf
Waterbuck Cow
Waterbuck herd at Transport Dam
Warthogs investing in their future.
African Wild Dogs
There’s also much interest in the Kruger’s invertebrates (including a bounty of beautiful butterflies), fish, amphibians and reptiles, many of which are difficult to see elsewhere in South Africa.
Water Monitor lizard
Marsh Terrapin encountered on dry land
Rainbow Skink
Striped Skink
Yellow-throated Plated Lizard
Baby Nile Crocodile
Medium-sized Nile Crocodile
Enormous Nile Crocodile at Sunset Dam
Tigerfish in the Sabie River
Juvenile Redbreast Tilapia
Speke’s Hinged Tortoise
Common River Frog in Skukuza
Platanna
Bushveld Rain Frog
Male Mozambique Tilapia (non-breeding colours)
Female Mozambique Tilapia
Young Nile Crocodile
Nile Crocodiles
Baby Nile Crocodile and Adult Water Monitor lying next to a pool in the Shingwedzi River
Matabele Ants
Solifuge a.k.a. Sun Spider
Western Stripe-bellied Sand Snake
Striped Skink
Common Tropical House Gecko
Returning to Kruger two weeks later, this time to Shingwedzi in the north of the Park, proved just as fruitful with memorable encounters not only with predators and rare antelope, but also a menagerie of other mammalian species.
Blue wildebeest herd
Buffalo cow
Buffalo calf
Buffalo bull emerging from the mopane
Buffalo bull
Buffalo cow and calf
Buffalo cow
Buffalo on the Mphongolo loop
Half-blind Buffalo bull
Buffalo calf
Prime Buffalo Bull
Big old Buffalo Bull
Dwarf Mongoose standing sentry atop a termite mound
With over 500 species recorded, the Kruger National Park deserves its reputation as one of South Africa’s finest bird-watching destinations through and through. We’ve already shown you the cute little Spurfowl chicks that strutted all over the Park during our visits in May and June this year, but there was so much more feathered variety to point our lenses at that it surely deserves a dedicated post!
This first gallery of images were taken in the south of the Park on my solo trip to Pretoriuskop and Skukuza – all in all I ticked 110 species in the 4 days I spent south of the Sabie River.
Ashy Flycatcher
Blacksmith Lapwings
Black-winged Stilt
Goliath Heron with its catch
Grey Heron
Laughing Dove
Purple-crested Turaco
Fulvous Whistling Duck “ducks” as two Water Thick-knees come in to land at Transport Dam
African Firefinch
African Hawk Eagle
Immature Bateleur
Bearded Woodpecker
Black-collared Barbet
Black Crake
Black-crowned Tchagra
Black Flycatcher
Blue Waxbill
Brown-headed Parrot
Brown Snake Eagle
Cape Glossy Starling
Cape Turtle Dove
Chinspot Batis
Common Fiscal
Crested Francolin
African Darter
Egyptian Geese flying low over Lake Panic
African Fish Eagle
Fork-tailed Drongo
Golden-breasted Bunting
Greater Blue-eared Starling
Grey Go-away Bird
Grey-headed Sparrow
Groundscraper Thrush
Helmeted Guineafowl
Helmeted Guineafowl
African Hoopoe
Kurrichane Buttonquail
Kurrichane Thrush
Lappet-faced Vulture
Lilac-breasted Roller
Little Bee-eater
Magpie Shrike
Neddicky
African Openbill
African Pied Wagtail
Purple Roller
Red-billed Oxpecker
Red-billed Queleas
Green, or Red-billed, Wood Hoopoe
Saddle-billed Stork with nestlings
African Spoonbill (with a Sacred Ibis just behind)
DeWetsWild 