Tag Archives: travel

Caught between Painted Wolves and Cheetahs

Shortly after leaving Ndzhaka Camp on our first guided morning drive in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve earlier this month, we found a pack of Painted Wolves, better known as African Wild Dogs, in the road. There was great excitement among the younger Dogs in the pack as the adults had just returned to them with meat from a fresh kill, and all of them were in a very playful mood. We got some wonderful photographs and video of the Dogs playing around the vehicles at the sighting.

Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Playful Wild Dog pups in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

After a while we noticed two Cheetahs walking along the road in our direction, very aware of the Wild Dogs but apparently not fazed enough by them to immediately head for cover.

Two cheetahs walking along the road in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

It didn’t take long for the Wild Dogs to also notice the Cheetahs though, and they immediately set off in their direction.

Wild Dogs running along the road in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Now this is the point where I can kick myself! I thought I was videoing the whole sequence, but in the excitement I never pressed the recording button… Next time I will do better, I promise… As the Wild Dogs trotted ever closer one of the Cheetahs broke cover and charged at them, seemingly thinking that offense is the best defense. The Cheetah was however immediately surrounded by the adult Wild Dogs, hit with its front paws on the ground, hissing and spitting, and then ran through a gap in the Dogs and up a dead tree, where we pick up the action with a photograph or two.

Cheetah after being chased up a tree by Wild Dogs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah jumping out of the tree

With the Dogs satisfied that they’ve given the Cheetahs a run for their money and setting of on another hunt, we followed the now reunited Cheetahs for a while until they moved into dense cover where we lost sight of them. By then, the Wild Dogs had also ventured further into the bush and out of sight.

Cheetahs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

African Wild Dogs can cover enormous distances, and we found the pack again that afternoon, this time on a drive from Buffelshoek Camp. In the heat of the afternoon they were a lot less energetic and more content lazing in the shade at the side of the road than hunting.

African Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

African Wild Dogs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Don’t miss the opportunity to visit Manyeleti along with DeWetsWild and Hannes Rossouw Photography!

Memorable encounters with Manyeleti’s Monarchy

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The Manyeleti Nature Reserve is renowned for its large prides of Lions and so we had high hopes for excellent sightings before we arrived. We didn’t have to wait long into our first afternoon drive from Ndzhaka Camp for our first encounter with the “Kings of Beasts” as we happened upon a large pride walking with determination through the veld while our guide tried to manoeuvre the vehicle into position for the best pictures.

Lioness in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Lion family in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

A young male Lion in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

A big male Lion in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Young lion in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

A big male Lion in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

A young male Lion in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

As we drove out of Buffelshoek Camp our last morning at Manyeleti Nature Reserve dawned like a painting with a glorious orange sun backlighting large trees eerily peering through the mist that settled on the plains overnight.

Sunrise over Manyeleti

Years of visiting our wild places has given me a sixth sense that told me we won’t be waiting long for another audience with Manyeleti’s monarchy that morning, but our first sighting as we drove from camp was of two spotted hyenas lying lazily on the two-spoor track, as if just waiting for us to arrive.

Lazy Spotted Hyenas on the two-spoor track

Lazy young Spotted Hyena

And then, there they were! Two enormous Lionesses with their stomachs distended from a large meal enjoyed overnight. Eventually they got up and started moving in the direction of the nearby waterhole. We followed along for a few hundred metres, until they probably felt they needed another break and picked a termite mound as an elevated bed. One of the Queens flopped onto her side almost immediately, but the other was very interested in something happening between us and the camp, still visible in the distance.

Two very full Lionesses in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

The Queen is not impressed! A Lioness in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Two lionesses on the move in the Manyeleti

Two lionesses settling on a termite mound in the Manyeleti

Lioness with a very full belly

Beautiful Manyeleti Lioness

A very alert Lioness

Don’t miss the chance to visit Manyeleti along with DeWetsWild and Hannes Rossouw Photography!

Some of our encounters with Manyeleti’s Elephants

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Being an extreme fan of African Elephants, when I made my first visit to Manyeleti Nature Reserve I was wondering how many elephants we would see there. Thankfully I can now confirm that the reserve has a thriving population of the pachyderms and they were very much in evidence as we went driving around the reserve.

This was the biggest herd we saw during our stay in the Manyeleti. In elephant society the breeding herds usually consists only of adults females and their offspring, with adult males only visiting the herd when there’s a cow in oestrus present.

Elephant family

Elephant calf

Elephant cow

Elephant mother and calf

Elephant family crossing the road, with the matriarch taking a prominent protective roll

This young bull we found a bit later at a dam was definitely interested in some or other smell exuded by another elephant or elephants, using his trunk to test both the air and urine spots left on the ground.

Young Elephant bull testing for smells with his trunk

One of our final sightings as we drove towards the gate on our way back home was of a small group of bachelor Elephant bulls hanging around at – and in – the large dam in the centre of the reserve.

Elephant bull at a large dam in Manyeleti

Elephant bulls playing in a large dam in Manyeleti

Elephant bull at a large dam in Manyeleti

Don’t miss the chance to visit Manyeleti along with DeWetsWild and Hannes Rossouw Photography!

A prized Rhino sighting in Manyeleti, just in time for World Rhino Day

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Today is World Rhino Day. The ongoing war against rhino poaching still features in the headlines all over the world and unfortunately it is seldom good news. As the numbers continue to dwindle sightings of these enigmatic creatures in our wild places are getting ever more scarce. That’s probably the reason why this wonderful encounter we had with a White Rhino bull in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve when we visited earlier in September is so precious and memorable.

White Rhino bull in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Don’t miss the chance to visit Manyeleti along with DeWetsWild and Hannes Rossouw Photography!

Manyeleti Nature Reserve

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Surprisingly for a reserve located in one of South Africa’s tourism hotspots, the Lowveld, the Manyeleti Nature Reserve is an unexploited and unpolished gem of a destination. I’ve just recently returned from my first visit to this special place, accompanied by friend and colleague Hannes Rossouw.

The Manyeleti Nature Reserve was established in the 1960’s by the government of the Apartheid homeland Gazankulu, for exclusive use by non-white visitors. Covering an area of 227km² and sharing unfenced borders with the Kruger National Park and the Timbavati and Sabi Sand Private Game Reserves, administration of the reserve passed to the Mpumalanga Provincial Government following the end of Apartheid in 1994.

Sunrise over Manyeleti

Six Pod Mahogany trees, growing in two clusters of three each, and the only ones of their kind in the reserve, is a curious feature of Manyeleti.

Sunrise over Manyeleti

Manyeleti means “Place of stars” – looking up at the night sky will confirm this to be a very apt name – and is covered mainly by open savanna-type vegetation communities, with dense riverine forest along the course of the usually dry Nwaswitsontso River. Several large dams inside the reserve provide a year-round water supply and are focal points for the reserve’s wildlife and, consequently, human visitors.

A big male Lion in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Young lion in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Lioness with a very full belly

A very alert Lioness

Young leopard in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah after being chased up a tree by Wild Dogs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Playful Wild Dog pups in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Giraffe

Elephant calf

White Rhino bull in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Hippos in a dam in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Hippo in a dam in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Waterbuck

Waterbuck calf

Blue Wildebeest

Nyala Bull

Young Nyala bull at Ndzhaka Camp in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Kudu cows being very curious about a troop of baboons

Steenbok ewe

Red-billed Oxpeckers on a nyala bull

Arrow-marked Babbler

Black Flycatcher

Black-backed Puffback

African Hoopoe

Young Saddle-billed Storks

Grey Heron

Brown Snake Eagle

Lilac-breasted Roller

During our recent visit to the reserve, Hannes and I were hosted for one night at each of Ndzhaka and Buffelshoek Camps, and I am proud to say that DeWetsWild is now a contracted reservation agent for both. In co-operation with Hannes Rossouw Photography we will also be holding regular photographic safaris and workshops there – we’re already taking bookings for the first of these scheduled for June 2024. The camps are rustic and off the grid, and with each accommodating no more than 10 guests in 5 comfortable en-suite safari-style tents, with all meals and two daily game drives included, are perfect for an authentic bush experience. Ndzhaka is set among the enormous trees on the banks of the Nwaswitsontso almost in the centre of Manyeleti, its grounds frequented by nyala, bushbuck and waterbuck. Buffelshoek on the other hand is located on a remote open plain towards the reserve’s south-eastern corner, with herds of game and predators moving around and sometimes even through the camp to reach the local waterhole.

Ndzhaka Camp, Manyeleti Nature Reserve, September 2023

Buffelshoek Camp, Manyeleti Nature Reserve, September 2023

A morning coffee stop in the bush at Manyeleti, compliments of Buffelshoek Camp

On the perimeter of Ndzhaka Camp a small trough of water is like a magnet to visiting antelope. I set up my little trailcam there to see what might come visiting while we’re out on our game drive or asleep in the tent.

In upcoming posts on DeWetsWild I will be sharing some of the incredible sightings we enjoyed during our visits to Ndzhaka and Buffelshoek in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve.

Even only two days in the Kruger National Park will show you more than you expected

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Colleague and friend Hannes and I might only have had two days in the Kruger National Park before we moved on to the Manyeleti Nature Reserve (of which I will start telling you in the next installment) recently, but we still had some terrific sightings around Mopani Rest Camp – even more than we could’ve expected, and we had some pretty high hopes!

The charm of the Kruger Park really lies in the amazing diversity of habitats, plants and wildlife that finds sanctuary there.

Hill covered by Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias next to the Tsendze River

A closer look at the Bushveld Candelabra Euphorbias growing on a hill near Shipandani Hide

African Civet

Blue Wildebeest at Mooiplaas

Black-backed Jackal looking for a little shade at Tihongonyeni

Steenbok ram in close-up portrait

Black-backed Jackal and Blue Wildebeest at Mooiplaas

Plains Zebra

Giraffe

Waterbuck

Klipspringer

Sharpe Grysbok near Mopani

No matter the weather or the time of year, the Kruger National Park is always a slice of heaven for bird-watchers!

African Scops Owl

Chinspot Batis in Mopani

Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Kittlitz’s Plover

Grey-backed Sparrowlark

African Hawk-Eagles

Cardinal Woodpecker

African Green Pigeon

Black-backed Puffback

Black-headed Oriole

Southern Ground Hornbill

Seeing a Ground Hornbill trying to snatch something from between some mopane branches was a very entertaining sighting!

Buffaloes roam the north of the Kruger National Park in enormous herds, but there are also many old bulls that have broken away from the breeding groups and can be quite disagreeable!

Buffalo Calf

Buffalo Bull

Buffalo Cow

You know that I can never get enough of Elephants, and in the north of the Kruger Park there’s ample opportunity to enjoy these magnificent creatures, so I still have a few more photo’s and a video to share!

Elephant feeding on mopane leaves near Tihongonyeni

The very noticeable “grass notch” shows that this elephant is left-handed!

These feet were made for walking

Elephant bulls walking away from Tihongonyeni Waterhole

Of course the large predators also get us very excited, even for people who visit the Park fairly regularly like we do. We’ll be remembering our two leopard sightings – one while we had just driven into the Park, and the other the following day – every time we pass those spots in future!

Leopard up a tree near Phalaborwa Gate

Leopard in a tree on the bank of the Tsendze River south of Mopani

Remember that if you are looking to visit the Kruger National Park by yourself or guided by someone who knows it intimately, DeWetsWild is there for you!

Pondering again the allure of the waterhole

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September is generally regarded as the start of the spring season in South Africa, but with the rainy season still weeks away and temperatures starting to climb higher as the days grow longer, it is a very dry period of the year in most of the northern parts of the country. In our wild places, like the Kruger National Park, animals are seen congregating at or near the few remaining sources of water. The Mopani area of the Park is well served by several reliable waterholes and here visitors to the Park can expect interesting sightings of birds and animals taking turns at the water’s edge.

A Steenbok drinking from a puddle in the Ngobeni streambed

Elephants on the banks of the Letaba River

Mopani is situated on a hill overlooking the large Pioneer Dam, making this the most prominent of the area’s water sources. Visitors can get close to the water along the trail through the camp or at the Pioneer Hide.

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Black-winged Stilts

Goliath Heron

African Jacana

Yellow-billed Stork

Black Crake

Lazy Hippos

Juvenile Black Crake

White-faced Whistling Ducks

Squacco Heron at Pioneer Dam

Wood Sandpiper

Big Nile Crocodiles makes Pioneer Dam a dangerous place

Immature African Fish Eagle

Marico Sunbird

Another large body of water in this section of the Kruger Park is Grootvlei Dam, more distantly located from Mopani along the S50 gravel road to Shingwedzi.

Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam

Plains zebras drinking from Grootvlei Dam

African Fish Eagle at Grootvlei Dam

Black-winged Stilt

Flock of Cut-throat Finches at Grootvlei Dam

Enormous Nile Crocodile at Grootvlei Dam

Grootvlei Dam harbours many Nile Crocodiles

Watch this short video of a big Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam on a hot September morning:

On the way to Grootvlei visitors can make a detour first to the Mooiplaas waterhole, where a drinking trough is fed by a windpump and reservoir, and then along the Nshawu Marsh where several springs provide water even in drought years. Both these places are also well frequented by large predators waiting for thirsty herbivores to ambush.

Elephants at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant herd walking away from Mooiplaas Waterhole

A lion in the light of early morning, searching the Nshawu Marsh for easy pickings

Elephants, plains zebras and a giraffe around one of the springs in the Nshawu Marsh

Because Mooiplaas (meaning “pretty farm”) is so close to Mopani, we love whiling away the last few minutes before the gates close there, and that’s exactly what we did when this herd of Elephants were having their sundowners.

A memorable encounter with Elephant bulls near Tihongonyeni

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South Africa’s Kruger National Park is renowned for wonderful encounters with African Elephants, and our quick visit last week proved no exception. We were based in the Mopani region of the Park, where mopane shrubs and trees dominate the plains and elephants congregate in their numbers near permanent water sources, like the Tihongonyeni waterhole. It was on our way to Tihongonyeni late one morning that these two bulls decided to make use of a flimsy shadow cast over the road by a big tree to rest their tired legs. Every time we ventured closer to try and sneak past on the verge of the road, the bull nearer to us would give a warning step or two in our direction, trunk outstretched, and so I’d back up again. Eventually we waited half-an-hour before the two eventually allowed us, with a shake of the head and a toss of the trunk as if they’d grown tired of our meekness and just wanted to be rid of us, to pass them.

Impressive tusker near Tihongonyeni

African Elephant bull near Tihongonyeni waterhole in Kruger

African Elephant bulls near Tihongonyeni waterhole in Kruger

Here’s a short video of an encounter we’ll remember fondly when passing that way again in future.

Returning to familiar favourites and finding new treasures in the Lowveld

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I have just returned from a visit to the Lowveld and in particular the Kruger National Park and Manyeleti Game Reserve with Hannes Rossouw Photography. The following photographs are just a little appetiser of what you can look forward to in the next few posts on DeWetsWild.

Leopard up a tree near Phalaborwa Gate

Sharpe Grysbok near Mopani

Elephant at Mooiplaas Waterhole

Elephant herd walking away from Mooiplaas Waterhole

Plains zebras drinking from Grootvlei Dam

Elephant bull drinking from Grootvlei Dam

Impressive tusker near Tihongonyeni

Elephant feeding on mopane leaves near Tihongonyeni

Squacco Heron at Pioneer Dam

African Scops Owl

Buffalo Calf

Buffalo Bull

Leopard in a tree on the bank of the Tsendze River south of Mopani

African Civet

Blue Wildebeest at Mooiplaas

Young Nyala bull at Ndzhaka Camp in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Young leopard in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Young lion in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

A big male Lion in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Playful Wild Dog pups in Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Wild Dog in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah after being chased up a tree by Wild Dogs in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Cheetah in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Elephant calf

Nyala Bull

Lilac-breasted Roller

White Rhino bull in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Sunrise over Manyeleti

Lioness with a very full belly

A very alert Lioness

Hippos in a dam in the Manyeleti Nature Reserve

Some birds we saw this winter holiday in the Kruger National Park

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The Kruger National Park boasts with a list of 550+ species of birds recorded within its boundaries, and even though some of these were rare vagrants while many others are summer visitors, the Park always has a huge variety and number of birds to entertain keen birdwatchers – even in winter.