The rain from the previous afternoon continued into the night. At 01h00 I was woken up by a loud thunderstorm. When my alarm went off just before 04h00, it was still raining hard. I lay in my sleeping bag listening to the sound of the rain falling in my tent. After a while the there was a break in the rain and I used the gap to go to the bathrooms for a quick shower. I don’t know if it was the heat of the past few days or something else, but I was not feeling great at all. As I was getting ready for my morning drive I actually thought about packing up and going home that day.
But it was as if the Park knew I was feeling under the weather and needed a “hug”, because it delivered on fabulous sightings, despite the weather and how I felt.
Eventually I left for my drive a little after 05h00. I decided to just do a short drive initially to see what the weather would do and how I felt. I drove towards the H4-1 – I wanted to see if the leopards from the previous day were perhaps still around and then drive the low-water bridge over the Sabie River. I found a Hyena on early morning patrol. You can see how wet the road was.
The driver of an OSC told me to turn left at the T-Junction. And the Park gave my my first “hug” of the day..
I had brief few minutes with this beautiful creature. It was still very dark and photos were challenging, but it was so cool to spend a few minutes with him, watching him scent mark before he disappeared into the thicket. What a start to this day!
There wasn’t any activity at the low water bridge, but I noticed some tracks in the sand that were not there the previous day. There must have been a few cats in the pride that crossed the bridge. 
I turned around to head back to camp. Just before the 4-way stop a car was parked next to the road. They indicated that they were looking at an hyena just disappearing into the bush. But I was more interested in a very wet bird. A new trip bird in the form of a Great Spotted Cuckoo.
He was very wet, but with the rain easing a little he started preening.
Another lovely sighting in the dark morning was 3 Amur Falcons, my first sighting of these birds this summer.
Then there was another hyena that had an old injury on its nose.
I went back to camp to get some coffee and snacks for a morning drive. I was still not feeling awesome, but the weather looked like it was improving and that improved my mood. I spotted this raptor in a tree near Reception. .
By the time I left camp for the second time that morning, it was just after 07h00. When I got to the 4-way stop the Park gave me my 2nd “hug” of the morning.
And it is also something I will classify as a “new” experience – time spent with baboons.
For some reason I have never liked baboons or monkeys. I may take a couple of photos of these animals every now and then, but I normally spend as little time with them as possible. This morning would be different, because – 
At first I could not quite figure out what this baboon was doing. But his pose was so very funny I that stopped and just laughed. Then I saw the little one behind him that was busy grooming him. 
I don’t know why the baboon chose that position for the grooming session, but it certainly made me smile.
A few meters further there were 2 more baboons busy with grooming.
Every few seconds you could see just how much this baboon was ….. umm …. “enjoying” the grooming. Again I just broke down laughing. It was just too funny.
It was a very large troop of baboons with lots of youngsters. For the first time I actually spent time with baboons. The little ones were just too cute.
This large baboon appeared to be fast asleep.
After a while he found a more comfortable position to continue his nap.
The younger ones were acting like typical children – full of energy.
These 2 were chasing each other and wrestling without pause.
The baboons had taken over the 4-way stop intersection completely. I literally did not know which way to look because everywhere there were baboons playing.
A 2nd wrestling match was in full swing.
I spent almost 40 minutes with the baboons – but I had as much fun watching them as they had playing.
Eventually I left them. But I drove away feeling a lot better than I did when I woke up.
There had been a few controlled burns in the Park. You can see the difference in visibility between the section on the western side of the H1-1 that had been burned and the section on the eastern side of the road where it had not been burned.
At the turn off to the S114 the Park gave my my 3rd “hug” of the morning. And it made me feel warm and fuzzy all over – hyena cubs. There were 7 cubs, and my day was made.
I melted into a puddle of happiness. Just look at this face – irresistible!!
I could not get enough of them. Except for elephants, I don’t think there is any mammal that makes me happier than hyenas.
The youngsters all came running and disappeared on the other side of the road.
Another little one was still enjoying his breakfast.
With most of them out of sight, I was able to tear myself away. It had been such a great sighting, and I hoped to see them again.
I decided to drive down the S114, then the S21 and back to Skukuza via the H4-1.
I found a few Crowned Lapwings.
There was a small herd of Impalas. A big ram was relaxing on the road. There were also a few young impalas in the group.
The road was quiet but then something caught my eye – a Red-crested Korhaan.
The rest of the S114 was quiet. When I reached the S21 turn off. There was a Bateleur in a tree. While looking at him, movement closer attracted my attention. Another new trip bird in the form of a Green-winged Pytilia.
A few kilometers along the S21 I cam across a herd of elephants.
As I came around a bend in the road I saw a little Marico Sunbird and some Waterbuck.
It was getting really hot and I was relieved when I found a shady spot to have some coffee. While I sat in the shade I noticed a number of birds in the area. First there was an African Hoopoo.
There were also a few Blue Waxbills.
By now I had seen maybe a hundred Red-backed Shrikes. I love these summer visitors.
Just before I reached the tar road there were more Impalas and Waterbuck.
The H4-1 was quiet. I did see some Lappet-faced Vultures overhead, always a great sighting. In one of the loops there was a pretty little White-browed Scrub-robin.
I don’t know if it was a combination of the overnight rain and the heat that kept the animals in hiding, but other than some more Impalas and Kudus, the drive was quiet.
I made a quick stop at Lake Panic before lunch.
The new experience of many babies continued with more baby Thick-knees.
They were a little older than the ones from Transport Dam, but still very cute.
The African Fish Eagle looked absolutely stunning.
A little Tawny-flanked Prinia was singing his little heart out.
I was getting rather hungry so I headed back to Skukuza for lunch. I bought a take away lunch and sat at one of the little tables overlooking the river. It was so peaceful and relaxing. A little Tree Agama peeked at me.
After lunch I decided to visit the Southern-White-crowned Shrike nest again and then come back via the Marula loop. On the way to the nest I found a cute piglet.
Things were somewhat quiet at the Southern White-crowned Shrike nest. The adults must have been off looking for food and the little ones were waiting patiently on the nest.
The drive along the Sand River and the Marula loop was quiet. I saw some baby impalas and a couple of Dagga Boys in the thicket. All of a sudden there were lots of vultures flying to the north and then turning back. There were White-backed and Hooded Vultures.
I stopped at one of the shady spots along the road and found an Emerald-spotted Wood Dove as well as a pair of Woodland Kingfishers. I’d been hearing them call all over the place, but getting them to pose for photos had been hard!
There was still not much happening at the Shrike nest, and I did not stay too long.
It was also very hot and I decided to head back to camp.
At the low water bridge over the Sabie River a Yellow-billed Kite was sunning himself and I found a pair of Hamerkop grooming.
At the turn off to the day visitors’ area I found baboons again. I think it may have been the same troop from the morning.
They were still playing.
I decided not to go on an afternoon drive but rather spend time in camp. Two Tree Agamas were looking for food near my tent.
They are really pretty and I just love watching them.
I wanted to see if there were any birds around, so I went for an afternoon walk around the camp.
When I reached the walkway along the river I spotted a couple of Buffalo wallowing on the other side of the river.
I saw quite a few African Green Pigeons, but for some reason they were very skittish.
I made my way towards reception. A male White-Bellied Sunbird was singing from his perch on top of a tree. The bats were still roosting next to the post office.
I saw some movement in a tree as I made my way back to my camp site. It was a pair of Chinspot Batises.
The female looked really lovely in the afternoon light.
Just before I reached my tent I saw some vervet monkeys getting ready for bed.
These guys made me most nervous about camping, but even though there were a few in the camp, I did not have any issues with them,
The weather was much better than the previous evening and I was able to have an early braai. After my meal I had to go for another walk. I saw a few new creatures for my trip list. Bibron’s Geckos are very skittish, but I managed to get a bad photo of one.
I think this pretty moth could be a Red-lined Emerald Moth.
I also found this pretty Mantid.
I found 2 Field spider species – one of the Hairy kind and one of the Spikey kind.
I just really love Rhino Beetles.
A Green Pea Spider had made a web in the garden outside the reception area.
The Reed Frogs were out en force again, trying to out-compete each other with their loud calling. I just love them so much.
How cute is this little guy!
As I was walking towards the conference center, I heard a strange sound. I looked around and saw movement beneath a bush next to the fence.
It was another new experience – my first ever Porcupine in Kruger!
I could not believe it. For a few seconds I just stood speechless. Then I moved forward on my tippy toes to see if I could get a record shot. I managed one photo before he ran off at the speed of light. 
I continued my walk with a big smile on my face. In the parking area at the conference center my
new experience of so many babies
continued when I found 2 mommy spiders with their young babies.
Another new creature for my bug list was this freaky looking African Riverine Tiger Beetle.
It freaked me out just a little, but at the same time I found it to be really beautiful.
I ended my very productive evening walk with a very large Hairy Field Spider enjoying a late supper.
Despite the fact that I did not feel great at the start of the day, it had been one of those epic Kruger days where the Park entertained in some very interesting ways.