Maybe she was born with it? Maybe it’s…
This Southern Ground Hornbill we saw along the S30 between Skukuza and Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park came close enough to our vehicle to allow us to appreciate her eyelashes from up-close!
I have been visiting South Africa’s wild places for all my 40+ years, and yet there’s still many of their treasures I am yet to see. Following our September visit to the Kruger National Park I can now finally tick my first ever encounter with a leopard cub! We found the little one lazily watching the passing vehicles from a rocky outcrop along the main road between Tshokwane and Skukuza.
What luck!
This Foam Nest Frog was sitting on a signboard from where it had a perfect view through the window of the ladies bathroom in the camping area at Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park.
Come to think of it, I probably didn’t look that kosher either, hanging around the ablution block with my camera…
This Foam Nest Frog was sitting on a signboard from whence it had a perfect view through the window of the ladies bathroom in the camping area at Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park.
Impala Street is a road through the staff village at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, and it leads past the indigenous nursery where the public may purchase local plants for their gardens at very reasonable cost. And just to prove how well deserved the name is, a male Impala was available to pose perfectly on cue for Joubert to take this picture in September.
We should have taken a drive to Lion Street, just in case…
Impala Street is a road through the staff village at Skukuza in the Kruger National Park, and it leads past the indigenous nursery where the public may purchase local plants for their gardens at very reasonable cost. And just to prove how well deserved the name is, a male Impala was available to pose perfectly on cue for Joubert to take this picture in September.
A committee of Vultures – Lappet-faced, White-headed and White-backed – assembling for their afternoon meeting near Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park.
*”Committee” is the collective noun for a group of vultures just sitting around.*
A committee of Vultures – Lappet-faced, White-headed and White-backed – assembling for their afternoon meeting near Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park
This adult Impala ram was followed quite dutifully by his much younger companions, who seemed to hang on his every word like real celebrity groupies would. Seen in September near Crocodile Bridge in the Kruger National Park.
This adult Impala ram was followed quite dutifully by his much younger companions, who seemed to hang on his every word like real celebrity groupies would.
This group of Plains Zebra, seen in September between Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park, illustrates perfectly just how well those black-and-white stripes are at breaking the individual animals’ outlines, making it much more difficult for a predator to single out a target.
This group of Plains Zebra, seen in September between Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie in the Kruger National Park, illustrates perfectly just how well those black-and-white stripes are at breaking the individual animals’ outlines, making it much more difficult for a predator to single out a target.
The 22nd of September marked the ninth World Rhino Day. We were in the Kruger National Park on the day, appreciating and enjoying the opportunity to see these wondrous creatures in real life in their natural habitat.
Sadly, the scourge of rhino poaching is still very real and present, with South Africa losing a total of 769 rhinos in 2018. While this is an encouraging decline of 25% from the numbers lost in 2017, the war has by no means been won yet. In the first six months of this year, we’ve already lost 318 more rhinos, 190 of which from the Kruger National Park. We continue to rally behind our rangers looking after these animals day and night, placing their lives on the line to ensure the survival of these animals so future generations may also experience the wonder of seeing the grey behemoths walking Africa’s savannas.
We also recently had the opportunity to visit a rehabilitation centre where rhinos injured or orphaned through poaching activities are cared for. It was a sobering experience to say the least; seeing with our own eyes the horrors inflicted on these beings by humankind, and the lengths their caregivers will go to to try and save them.
But we are back now, fresh from another jaunt in the Kruger National Park. It almost goes without saying that there are lots and lots of photos to share and stories to tell over the next few weeks, so let us start off with a little gallery of pictures taken by Joubert to get you all excited for what is to come.
DeWetsWild 