Tag Archives: travel

Silhouette

An early morning encounter with a territorial black wildebeest bull, in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.

Silhouette

“Silhouette” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge

And we’re back!

We’ve just returned from ten wonderful days in the Kruger National Park, and we’ll be telling you all about it in upcoming editions of de Wets Wild.

We hope this little albino vervet monkey we saw near the Timbavati picnic spot will convince you just how special our sightings were, and make you come back for more soon!

Albino Vervet, KNP Timbavati, August 2014

Lake Panic Sunrise

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We’re sharing the beautiful sunrise we enjoyed this morning at Lake Panic near Skukuza, to celebrate de Wets Wild’s 300th post!

Lake Panic sunrise 05082014

Back in Kruger, and what a welcome!

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We’ve arrived back at the Kruger National Park, and ended our day with a magnificent lion sighting near Skukuza; males, females and cubs crossing the road all around our vehicle.

Here’s a little teaser 😉

Lion Sighting 03Aug2014

Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp, Kruger National Park

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Nestled along the Matjulu Spruit, in the mountainous south-western corner of the Kruger National Park, just 12km from the Malelane Gate, lies the aptly named and very popular Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp (Afrikaans for “Mountain-and-Valley”).

Berg-en-Dal scenery

When it opened in February 1984, Berg-en-Dal’s face-brick architecture was a considerable departure from the “traditional” appearance of other Kruger camps. The camp’s buildings blend in perfectly with the mountainous surroundings and the small dam at the central visitor complex is a popular attraction to visitors who enjoy quietly watching a wide variety of game and birds come to the water.

Berg-en-Dal entrance

Berg-en-Dal dam

The camp covers an area of approximately 24 hectares, in which the natural vegetation has been preserved as far as possible, providing both privacy and a closeness with nature to Berg-en-Dal’s guests. The camping area has space for up to 70 caravans and tents, and accommodation is available in 69 bungalows, 23 cottages and two luxury guest houses. Facilities available include a restaurant and take-away kiosk, shop, fuel station, conference facilities, laundromat, swimming pool and amphitheatre in which wildlife films are shown in the evenings. Guided game-viewing drives and bush walks (the only way to see some of the San rock art found in the area if you are not booked on the three-night Bushman Wilderness Trail) can be booked in advance or at reception. In the reception building, the information centre provides fascinating insights into the biology and conservation of the black and white rhino. A new picnic facility for day visitors has recently been opened just a short distance from the camp, on the way to Malelane Gate.

Berg-en-Dal Accommodation

Berg-en-Dal Camping

Berg-en-Dal film show

Berg-en-Dal Rhino Hall

The Rhino Trail meanders from the dam at the restaurant along the camp’s fence for a total distance of over 2km, exposing guests to a wide variety of aromatic bushes and trees with frequent sightings of Berg-en-Dal’s avian inhabitants and sometimes even encounters with big game, safely on the other side of the electrified perimeter fence. The first part of the trail, about 600m in length, is made accessible to visually impaired nature enthusiasts by a guide rope linking displays and braille information boards.

Poignant memorial on the Rhino Trail

Wildlife encounter on the Rhino Trail

Wildlife encounter on the Rhino Trail – African Leopard Butterfly

Wildlife encounter on the Rhino Trail

Malelane is a small camp just 3km from the entrance gate with the same name, and 9km from Berg-en-Dal. The name means “out-of-sight”, referring to the outpost of warriors posted here to protect Swazi interests in the area in pre-colonial days. Agricultural and industrial development across the Crocodile River, which forms the southern border of the Kruger Park, unfortunately do detract from the visitor experience at this otherwise lovely camp and was a deciding factor in the National Parks Board opting to build Berg-en-Dal in the hills nearby. The Malelane of today is much smaller than the original camp, offering five bungalows and 15 campsites compared to the original camp of 25 huts and 30 camping sites, and does not offer any of the other amenities available at Berg-en-Dal.

Malelane Gate

Guarding the entrance to Malelane Camp

Malelane Camp

Game-viewing in the scenic surroundings of Malelane and Berg-en-Dal can be a richly rewarding experience. Lion and hyena are often seen, but it is leopards and wild dogs that the area is renowned for. Kudu, giraffe and impala, being browsing animals, are frequently encountered, while elephant and buffalo are attracted to the area by the relative abundance of water. A firm favourite (late afternoon) destination with many visitors is the Matjulu waterhole just 4km from Berg-en-Dal, where they while away the last minutes of sunlight before heading back to camp before the gates close for the night. Further afield the H3 main road through to Afsaal picnic site, and the gravel roads to the east of it linking up with the gravel S114-road to the Biyamiti causeway (and onwards to Skukuza) and the S25 that leads to Crocodile Bridge, seldom fails to deliver something exciting.

Afsaal Picnic Site

Berg-en-Dal scenery

Pied Kingfisher

Berg-en-Dal scenery

Elephant

White rhinoceros

Buffalo

Spotted hyena

Berg-en-Dal scenery

Crossing the Mlambane Spruit on the S114

Berg-en-Dal scenery

Biyamiti weir

Kudu

Giraffe and Berg-en-Dal scenery

Berg-en-Dal scenery

African wild dog are often encountered around Berg-en-Dal

Ragged African Wild Dog

Containers

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Safely (well, relatively) packed into their tin cans, humans can explore the wild places of South Africa to their hearts content…

Tembe Elephant Park

Kruger National Park

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park

Kruger National Park

Lion, Kruger National Park

“Containers” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge

Orpen Rest Camp, Kruger National Park

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Orpen, on the western boundary of the Kruger National Park, is a popular gate into the central regions of the reserve, and just a few hundred meters away from the entrance is the quaint little rest camp with the same name.

Orpen Rest Camp welcomed its first guests in 1954, when the entrance into the Park was moved 10 kilometres westwards from the then entrance and camp at Rabelais that had been in operation since 1926. This expansion was possible due to the selfless actions of Mr James H. Orpen and his wife Eileen, who at their own expense bought seven farms, covering a massive 24,500 hectares, in this area between 1935 and 1944 and then donated it to be included in the Kruger Park. Mr Orpen, a surveyor by profession and also a member of the National Parks Board, further donated generously to the drilling of boreholes in the Kruger to provide permanent water sources for game inside the then unfenced Park, so that they did not need to migrate outside the protected area where they were at the mercy of hunters. The little museum hut on the site where Rabelais once stood is dedicated mostly to this generous couple, and the beautiful camp at Orpen carries their name in tribute.

Rabelais Hut Museum

Only a handful of guests can be accommodated in Orpen’s recently revamped, and fully equipped, lodgings – there’s twelve 2-bed bungalows and three 6-bed cottages – surrounded by rocky gardens and shady trees. The camp has a small but surprisingly well-stocked shop, with a fuel station available at the entrance gate (where there are also adequate facilities available for day visitors to stretch their legs and enjoy a picnic). In the camp, a swimming pool next to the perimeter fence is for the exclusive use of Orpen’s overnight guests.

Orpen Rest Camp

Red-billed hornbill in Orpen

Orpen Rest Camp

One of Orpen’s most endearing features is the floodlit waterhole just on the other side of the perimeter fence, attracting a steady stream of game and birds of all shapes and descriptions throughout the day and night. During our visit to Orpen in April 2014, we were thrilled to watch in the hour before the gates open three of Africa’s large predators visiting the waterhole one after the other in the dark of early morning – first a spotted hyena, followed by a pair of leopards and then a pair of lions – while enjoying a breakfast of coffee and rusks on the veranda of our cottage! It will therefore come as no surprise to you to learn that the Orpen webcam, accessible through SANParks’ website, has a massive following from dedicated cam-watchers in all corners of the globe.

Orpen’s floodlit waterhole

Orpen’s waterhole

Less than four kilometres from Orpen, and administered from there, lies the twin facilities of Tamboti Tented Camp and Maroela Camping Area, both on the banks of the Timbavati River and both named after prominent trees occurring in the area. At Tamboti, 40 safari-style tents (ten of which have their own bathrooms and kitchenettes) are arranged along the fence, offering fantastic views over the river course and the wildlife frequenting it, while Maroela has space for a maximum of twenty groups camping with caravans and tents. Both camps have electricity, communal ablutions and camp kitchens. Keep an eye open for the resident family of black-backed jackals at the turnoff to Maroela and Tamboti, especially in the early morning and late afternoon!

Tamboti Tented Camp

Camping at Maroela

Black-backed jackal are frequently seen near Orpen, Maroela and Tamboti

The plains in the immediate vicinity of Orpen literally teems with an extraordinary number and variety of wildlife, which is a good thing as the road network from the camp is rather limited. The main tarred road heading into the Park from Orpen, the H7, leads to Satara Rest Camp and is one of the best roads in the Park for predator sightings, and thus extremely popular. Along the way, the gravel S106-loop that skirts Rabelais Pan offers an alternative to the tar road, which can get rather busy with holiday traffic on the way to Satara, for a few kilometres before joining it again, while the view point at Bobbejaankrans (“Baboon Cliff”) offers a beautiful vista over the Timbavati River below and the plains beyond (take time to scan the area with binoculars and you may be rewarded with glimpses of lions lazing on the sandy riverbed).

Impala are a guaranteed sighting on the road to Rabelais Pan

Elephant feeding near Bobbejaankrans

Lion are often encountered on the tar road to Satara

Kudu bull near Rabelais

You may be lucky to see a cheetah near Orpen

Bobbejaankrans viewsite

It takes a drive of 25-or-so kilometres from Orpen before you’ll have to decide whether you’re continuing towards Satara, or to turn off the tar onto either of two very rewarding, but long, gravel routes. Turn north and you’ll be following the S39-road to the popular Timbavati picnic spot (and onwards to the Olifants River if you wish), or turn south and follow the S36-road towards the rustic, and much quieter, Muzandzeni and Nhlanguleni picnic spots. Over the years, we’ve had excellent sightings on both roads though the road towards Timbavati probably offers slightly more frequent encounters with Kruger’s big game.

Giraffe youngster

Herds of wildebeest abound near Orpen

Gloomy skies over the H7 between Orpen and Satara

Orpen’s one of the Kruger’s smallest camps and as darkness settles on it, there’s little more than the soft mumbles of your fellow guests around their campfires to remind you that you’re not quite alone in this peaceful place. Staying awake as the rest of the camp’s guests retire to their accommodation, you’ll soon become aware of the symphony of African bush sounds laying claim to the night – a lion’s roar, a hyena’s whoop, an owl’s hoot, the call of a nightjar. And that scuffling sound coming from around the corner is well worth checking out with your flashlight; it may just be one of Orpen’s resident badgers, genets, civets or bushbabies coming to wish you a good night…

Extra!

51 Replies

Sometimes, you’re forced to get out of the car in big-five territory, for a little extra (unplanned) adventure, like I had to here in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park 😀

Extra

“Extra, Extra” is the theme for this week’s WordPress photo challenge

Autumn in Kruger: Berg-en-Dal, May 2014

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Along came the 1st of May, and we had another long drive southwards from Orpen to Berg-en-Dal Rest Camp, in the far south-west corner of the Kruger National Park. The three nights we’d spend at Berg-en-Dal would conclude our autumn visit to the Park, and though the thought that our time in Kruger was coming to an end weighed heavy on our minds, we were looking forward to finding out what was still lying in wait for us.

Lions between Orpen and Satara

As expected, we had wonderful sightings along the way and we enjoyed a nice lunch with good friends at the Skukuza Golf Club.

Lions between Orpen and Satara

Buffalo near Satara

Giant Eagle Owl near Satara

Elephant near Tshokwane

Kudu near Tshokwane

Crocodiles at the Sabie River

Skukuza golf course

Roller

White rhinoceros

Spotted hyena near Afsaal

Mlambane Spruit

Berg-en-Dal means “Mountain-and-Valley”

We’ll dedicate a special post to Berg-en-Dal soon, but wanted to include some photos of the camp and our accommodation (Wielewaal Cottage, #26) as a little appetiser.

Wielewaal Cottage

Educational displays in the Rhino Hall

Apart from the wonderful array of wildlife in the Berg-en-Dal area, it is one of the most scenic parts of the Kruger Park.

Mlambane spruit crossing

Egret at the dam in front of Berg-en-Dal’s reception

Chameleon trapeze act

Mlambane spruit crossing

Steenbok

Cone-headed Mantid waiting for us to return to Wielewaal cottage

Berg-en-Dal sunset

Taking a morning drive to the Biyamiti weir turned out to be one of our most enjoyable drives of the trip.

a very determined hyena came rushing past

Elephants crossing the road near Afsaal

Giant Plated Lizard baking on a rock

Dainty klipspringer

Biyamiti River

Mozambique Tilapia in the Biyamiti

Biyamiti Weir is a beautiful photography spot

How Marilize managed to spot this boomslang at a distance of about 50 metres still has me amazed!

Can you spot the snake?

In camp, the Rhino Trail offers up close-and-personal encounters with a variety of wildlife; big and small, furry and feathery.

Waterbuck

Beautiful African Leopard (Phalanta-butterfly)

The marabous are rather suspicious of the approaching crocodile!

Time for one final afternoon drive:

Wire-tailed swallow

Kudu teenager

Pearl-spotted owlet

Heading for the hills

Nature’s beauty abounds

And as it often does, Kruger keeps the best for last. Heading back to camp on our final afternoon, with the sun almost at the horizon, we come across a pack of wild dogs in the road, one of them heavily pregnant. These are among Africa’s rarest animals, and it was indeed a very special treat to have such a close encounter with these top predators.

Wild Dog stretching for the hunt

Wild Dogs are very social

Wild dogs on the Matjulu Loop

It was the morning of the 4th of May and our autumn 2014 visit to the Kruger National Park has come to an end.

Thick-knee (Dikkop) in camp

On the way to Malelane Gate we had a splendid sighting of more hyenas in the very early morning.

Spotted hyena on the way to Malelane Gate

Eight nights of serene peace and quiet flew past in the wink of an eye. And of course we’re counting the days till we return!

Autumn in Kruger: Orpen, April 2014

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We had started our autumn trip through the Kruger National Park up in the far north of the reserve at Shingwedzi, and after three fantastic days there it was time to move camp again, heading south to tiny Orpen Rest Camp in the central regions of the Park.

We were in for a long drive down at leisurely game-viewing pace, stopping en-route at Mopani, Letaba and Satara to stretch our legs.

Reflections in Pioneer Dam, at Mopani

The wide, sandy Letaba riverbed

Elephant having a good stretch!

Old friend Masthulele was a bit shy

Waterbuck

Serrated Terrapins in the Olifants River

Natal spurfowl and chicks

Korhaan

Black-backed jackal are quite common near Orpen

Very near Orpen we received a nice reward for a long day of driving, encountering a beautiful cheetah just as dusk was descending over the lowveld.

Orpen cheetah sighting

Having spent most of the previous day in the car, on the 30th of April we decided to take only short morning and evening drives and spend the hotter hours of the day relaxing in the camp.

Orpen sunrise

Kudu bull

Kudu calf

Bobbejaankrans is a viewpoint close to Orpen, overlooking the Timbavati River

Green, or Red-billed, Wood-Hoopoe

Red-billed hornbill

Rock monitor in camp

Giraffes aplenty

Red-billed oxpeckers on a giraffe’s back

We’ll dedicate a special post to the Orpen Rest Camp in another blogpost, but for now just a quick introduction. We spent two nights at Orpen, in the very spacious Oasis Cottage (number 15) right in the corner of the camp, with a clear view of Orpen’s famous waterhole (which is floodlit at night, and you can follow the action live via a webcam!). Enjoying an early morning cup of coffee and a rusk or two on the veranda and watching first a pair of leopard and then a pair of lion walk past within half-an-hour was undeniably one of the highlights of our visit! The game viewing in the general vicinity of the camp is always excellent, though the road network near camp is rather limited.