I’ve taken some “creative liberties” with the lyrics to one of my favourite songs for the title of this TR.
And you wonder will I leave her – but how?
I cross over borders but I’m still there now!
How can I leave her? Where would I start?
My Park’s only borders lie around my heart!
My friend got us 4 nights in the Nyati guest house in Skukuza again. When I confirmed that I have no work issues that could prevent me from going, the countdown clock started at 247 days.
There were 6 of us that were going – 2 friends from our trip in 2016 and 2 new friends.
Friday
Finally the day arrived, and just after 05h00 on 22 September 2017, I pointed the nose of my car east on the very familiar N4 route to Malelane. With 4 of us and our luggage in the car, it was a tight fit, but we met up with the other 2 along the way and spread the people and luggage across the 2 cars more evenly. We stopped for breakfast, and then it was time to get to the Malelane gate.
We reached the gate at about mid-day, and as always, I had to stop on the bridge to see who is about. A couple of heron species, fish eagles, kingfishers, impala and the first of the big 5 – elephants.
The queue at the gate was surprising – I could only assume it was due to the fact that it was the last day of SANPARKS week. The staff were friendly as always despite the busy day, and about 40 minutes later we drove into the Park. Our first sighting was a beautiful Bateleur.
We also saw a Yellow-throated Petronia. You can actually see the yellow spot on the throat quite clearly for a change.
We also saw our first giraffe and a small flock of White-crested Helmet-shrikes.
As we approached Afsaal, we noticed a couple of cars just off the H2-2. As we approached, we could see from the body language of the driver in the OSV that it may be something special. And it was very special!
Right next to the road there were two gorgeous cheetahs. I could not believe our luck – just a couple of hours into the Park and we have one of the best cheetah sightings ever.
It was very hot, and they were content to rest in the shade – although a strutting impala completely oblivious to them did cause a raising of the heads for a few seconds.
Our first day could not have started any better!
We stayed with them a short while and then continued.
We had a quick stop at Afsaal for something cold to drink and to take out our walkie talkies (we forgot to do this at the gate), and then it was off to Skukuza. There were zebras at Kwaggapan and more birdies along the way. The birds we saw include Yellow- and Red-billed Hornbills, Burchell’s Starlings and Lilac-breasted Rollers.
Shortly after that we saw our first elephants.
It is impossible for me to drive past De LaPorte without stopping. This time we were fortunate to see the first of many hyenas we would see during our visit.
Check-in was a breeze, and soon everything was unpacked in our rooms. Just look at this beautiful view from the guesthouse –
It was already 16h00, but there was no way I could stay in camp, so 4 of us headed for a quick visit to …. Yip, Lake Panic. On the way we saw the resident Bataleurs and a handsome Yellow-billed Kite.
The hide was already covered in shade, so the photos are not wonderful, but just being there even for a short while was just perfect. Who does not love this familiar view?
There were 3 kingfishers – Malachite, Brown-hooded and Pied kingfishers.
I also enjoyed seeing the Darter visiting, and then a new one for my Kruger list – a couple of Cut-throat Finches.
It had been a long day for some of us, and longer for others. After a delicious dinner of Boerie rolls and exceptional wine in the company of a Bush Baby, we all headed to bed.
Saturday
It had been scorching during the week leading up to our visit. The cooler weather on the Saturday was therefore quite surprising.
Not everyone wanted to get up and the crack of dawn, so it was only myself and my new birding friends who went for a walk in the camp. And what an exceptional morning’s birding it turned out to be. We recorded 53 species!
Some of the notable species we saw included White-browed Robin-Chat as well as White-throated Robin-Chat;
Orange-breasted Bushshrike; Brubru; Cut-throat Finch, Sombre and Yellow-bellied Greenbuls, Green Pigeons, Yellow-billed Kite; a large flock of Brown-headed Parrots, a Common Scimitarbill, Green Wood-hoopoo and a brief glimpse of a Purple-crested Turaco.
I also got another lifer in the form of a Terrestrial Brownbull.
When everyone eventually got up and had breakfast, we decided to drive to Pretoriuskop for lunch. Just a few kms from Skukuza there were 2 very handsome Tawny Eagles on either side of the road.
It was heavily overcast, resulting in very few sightings. You cannot drive to Pretoriuskop without the obligatory stop at Transport Dam.
On the way to the dam we saw a small herd of zebras and some birds. And then there was 1 …2 …3 Magpie shrikes! It was very cool how first the one, then the second, then the third bird landed on the dame perch, neatly in a row!
At Transport dam we spotted a herd of Kudus on the far bank. They obviously know about the dangers that lurk in the water, because they were very nervous in approaching to drink.
The zebras were a lot more relaxed and drank without hesitation.
We continued to Pretoriuskop. A highlight of this trip was the large numbers of White-crested Helmet-shrikes we saw – more than any other trip.
We also came across a very sleepy hyena in a small river bed.
Then we had what was for me one of the best sightings of the trip – a den with 2 small hyenas. Just look at these cutie pies!
We would have more exceptional sightings, but for some reason this will be my favourite sighting of the entire trip. I tried to limit the photos, but they are so cute, it was very hard to select just a few!
We also saw a Lilac-breasted Roller with lunch. It looked like it had a nest in the tree, but we could not see any movement, and it flew off without leaving the delicious morsel.
This young Wahlberg’s eagle on its nest was also a wonderful sighting. I am sure it had just started flying, or it was days away from fledging.
Body breaks were desperately needed, so we skipped Sithlave dam and pushed on to Pretoriuskop. Just outside Pretoriuskop we came across a couple of elephants.
It was really chilly (the cold was really unexpected, so we had no jackets!), so the delicious Wimpy coffee was most welcome. The food was really great as well, and we left Pretoriuskop rejuvenated.
This time we did stop at Sithlave Dam. There were a couple of waterbuck, a Grey heron, a Blacksmith Lapwing and an African Fish Eagle.
We saw the baby hyenas again – I desperately wanted to cuddle this adorable little body!
The adults were also out and about. And then the little one got thirsty.
We saw a couple of Giraffes and kudus as we made our way back towards Skukuza.
We also stopped at Transport Dam again. It was quiet this time round and the only notable sighting was lots of Red-breasted Swallows.
Back on the tar road there were 3 huge elephants. This was one of those special elephant moments again. They crossed the road between our 2 cars. I made sure I gave them lots of space, but they were very relaxed. My love for elephants is infinite, and when I get up close and personal with these giants, something melts inside me.
Driving on we saw a car parked up ahead. I stopped a little behind them to see what they were looking at up ahead, when we heard one word on the walkie talkie – “Leopard”
We looked left behind us and saw a beautiful young leopard behind a bush.
He got up and approached quite fast.
Then he disappeared under the road, and appeared on the other side. A short pose, and he was gone. It was less than two and a half minutes from the first photo until the last photo.
It was such a quick sighting, but such a brilliant sighting. The car that had been parked next to the road when we got there drove off without ever seeing it, and cars that arrived 2 minutes after us missed it. But we have memories to last forever.
All of a sudden I realised that it was already quite late. The intention was to stop at LP again, but the overcast conditions made it quite dark, and it was really freezing. We all agreed the best decision was to head back to camp.
Just outside Skukuza we saw a couple of Dwarf Mongoose next to the road.
We had a braai and more excellent wine. We did go on an unsuccessful scorpion hunt which was a little disappointing. But the day as a whole was one of those brilliant days only Kruger can deliver!
Sunday
Today we were driving from Skukuza to LS. The initial plan was to drive a lot more, but it took us longer to get to LS than planned, and we had to revise our plans.
A few meters after turning left at the 4-way stop we found hyenas in the road. Almost exactly the same spot I saw 2 during my trip in April! I had to wonder if it was the same 2!
A little further on we saw some elephants.
We stopped briefly on the H12 bridge. There were hippos and impalas on the left and Nyalas on the right.
There was a troop of baboons with a couple of little ones. Two of them were having a great time playing and wrestling in the trees. My breath caught more than once thinking that they will slip and fall, but of course they did not.
I was surprised at how many kudus we saw compared to my April trip – they were behind almost every bush.
We stopped at Nkulu. It was quiet, too early for visitors, and even the river was quiet. At least the impala lilies were gorgeous as always.
An OSV stopped as well, and while the passengers stepped away, the vervet monkeys decided to explore the vehicle.
We continued our drive with a few more sightings along the way – buffaloes, impalas and drongos.
A little further on there were some pretty bee-eaters – it looked like adults as well as some young ones, looking at the paler colours of some.
This young Bateleur did not seem impressed at having his photo taken – just look at the look I got when I pointed the lens at him!
We saw our first lions of the trip just past the Lubuluye bridge. They were a little far, but it was great to see them none the less – Big 5 check.
While navigating our way through the traffic, we spotted a couple of red-breasted swallows.
We heard about 2 lions with a buffalo kill about 2kms past the Lower Sabie Bridge, so we decided to go and have a look. The 2 kms turned out to be 6kms, but we eventually found the traffic jam.
We turned around as we needed to be on the other side of the road as there was a little drop-off where the lions were. We waited patiently in the queue for our turn. Vultures were also waiting for their opportunity. While we waited I spotted the one male lion.
After about 30 minutes were we next to the kill site. From the ion’s body-language it looked as if he was stuffed and sleeping off his meal, but the carcass still looked fairly intact.
Before we stopped for lunch at Lower Sabie, we had a look if anything interesting was happening on the bridge. There was a troop of baboons. This one was getting a massage.
And the remains of something big.
Lunch at the M&B at lower Sabie was as good as ever. And while you wait for your food, there is always something to see. After lunch we stopped at Sunset Dam. There were the usual birds.
A few large crocs were resting on the far bank.
And 2 hippos were having a little dispute of some sort. The argument did not last long, and soon the water was calm without so much as a ripple.
We also saw another gorgeous Yellow-billed Kite.
The drive was relatively quiet, but every now and then we had some lovely sightings of a few Pytilias, kudus, elephants, buffaloes and hippos.
Then we came across the mother of all traffic jams.
And the reason – apparently a couple of lions wanted to kill a young buffalo. We only saw the buffaloes, and they were completely relaxed, so obviously the lions had lost the element of surprised, or, according to another frustrated motorist, had already moved off. We were finally able to make our way through the chaos, and could breathe freely again.
It was a relief to enjoy the sightings of kudus, more elephants and a couple of giraffes in relative quiet.
We also had a sighting that had me very excited – a pair of Common Buttonquails. This was a much better sighting than when I saw them in April. They are such pretty little birds!
There were more elephants all along the way to Skukuza, as well as some giraffes and Nyalas.
We stopped at Skukuza reception for a quick body break, and then headed to Lake Panic. There were 12 cars at Lake Panic. I decided to show my friends the golf course in the hope that by the time we got back some cars would have left. The Golf course added a few birds to our trip and day list. The highlight was my first sighting of a Southern Boubou in Kruger. We had some lovely bird sightings at the Golf Club, and were able to add quite a few to our trip and day list.
By the time we got back to Lake Panic, most of the cars had left, and we could stop and enjoy. There is always something happening at LP. It started with a Yellow-breasted Apalis sighting on the walkway.
The Goliath Heron looked like royalty in his gorgeous colours.
There were a number of other birdies as well. I love the young African Jacanas.
The shadows of a couple of Hadedas made me look up, just in time to see a Black Heron landing in the tree in front of the hide! Unfortunately he flew off immediately again, and no photo was possible. But it was a wonderful sighting!
We drove back to camp, content with another wonderful day.
Monday
Our last full day in the Park.
The other 2 birders and I headed off to Lake Panic while the other 3 slept in. On the way there we saw a Cardinal Woodpecker and giraffes.
I love the soft colours of the young African Jacanas.
The Goliath Heron was still there – his wonderful colours were so bright and gorgeous!
There were also two Black Crakes in and out of the reeds on the left. Although the Waterbuck was on the far side of the lake, it still made a pretty picture in the early morning light.
On the way back to camp we encountered a little bit of a road-block.
There were also birdies all the way back to Skukuza – Yellow-billed Kite, another Cardinal Woodpecker, a Bearded Woodpecker and a White-browed Scrub-Robin.
Back at camp the others were still not quite ready to head out. While we waited for everyone to decide what to do, I enjoyed my coffee in the company of some feathered ones and a handsome lizard.
After a while we realised that not everyone was in a hurry to go for a drive. Three of us decided to go on a drive while the others still got ready – knowing how often we would stop for birds we were comfortable that they would catch up. We had to be back at four for the sunset drive, and I still had to have my traditional lunch at the Cattle Baron, so it was only going to be a short drive along the tar road on the Marula loop, the H12 Bridge, and back to Skukuza. A large herd of buffalo crossing the road stopped us for a while.
We saw a Giant Kingfisher from the low-water bridge. There were also White-fronted Bee-eaters, a Yellow-billed Hornbill and juvenile Wire-tailed Swallows.
Just after crossing the sand river we came across a snake – unfortunately he disappeared onto the grass. This lizard was happy to pose – I actually think we saved its life as it looked as if the snake may have been interested in him for lunch.
We scanned the river bed for any interesting sightings, and our interested was piqued by two stationary cars. Lions!
Once again not the best sighting. More cars started arriving. We started driving off when we realised that by driving a little way away, we actually had a much better view of the lions. There were three lionesses and what looked like four cubs. It was only when I looked at the photos at home that I realised that there were two more cubs, and they were really tiny!
The rest of the drive was rather quiet. We did see some ellies having fun in the water.
Once they left we focused on some of the other creatures enjoying the water. There were a number of other creatures to see – a couple of hamerkops were foraging, woolly-necked storks were enjoying the sun, as was a rather big crocodile. There were even some Saddle-billed storks in the distance. And an African Fish eagle did a beautiful fly-by.
Just as we were about to drive away, another small herd of elephants approached. We thought they might have a bath, but they were only interested in catching up with what was presumably the rest of their herd.
Finally we saw two Southern Ground Hornbills – our only sighting of these birds during our trip. No matter how many times I see these birds, they remain incredibly cool.
On the H12 bridge there was a lot of cars. The reason – a one lion under a bush. The slow traffic on the bridge allowed me to take some photos of the Fish Eagles and vultures above.
A couple of impalas were practicing for the next breeding season.
On a little loop just before the turn off to Skukuza there was a Martial eagle having lunch in a tree. Unfortunately this was the best view, but the photos actually turned out really great. I e-mailed a photo to the Fitz-Patrick Institute, and it was confirmed that this is a male that was ringed in November 2014, with quite a number of reported sightings since and it seems to be staying in the area where it was ringed.
Every time he spotted another bird in the sky above, he became very protective of his lunch.
We had lunch at the Cattle Baron. Sadly they did not have Avo so I could not have my “usual”, but my alternative choice was delicious. The combination of beer and milkshakes had everyone ready for a nap before the sunset drive. Not me – I believe that I can sleep when I am back at home. I used this short time for some one on one time with Kruger. At first I thought of driving to De LaPorte and back, but the lure of Lake Panic was to strong. On the way there was a small herd of waterbuck.
There were young a Goliath Heron, African Jacanas and a Malachite Kingfisher at Lake panic.
There were a couple of black crakes – much more willing to show themselves than usual.
I became aware of a commotion on the right side of the hide. The Thick-knees were very agitated. The reason was a monitor lizard. The monitor lizard caused quite a commotion. The Lapwing dive-bombed him frequently, and the two Thick-knees got quite agitated every time he looked like he would go near the area where they had an egg. It was fascinating to watch. Eventually it looked as if he got the message and started to move away. But he was being watched the whole time.
The monitor was not perturbed at all, and seemed completely relaxed despite the agitation around him. He was actually quite audacious, and soon wandered off in the direction of the Thick-knees. They would have none of this, and once again chased him away.
Time passes way to quickly when you are having fun, and all too soon I had to head back to Skukuza to be in time for the sunset drive. There were some ellies in the reeds in the N’waswitshaka river.
Just before the Skukuza gate I drove past a rather unusual looking “stick” in the grass next to the road. I turned around immediately as I realised it was not a “stick” at all. It was a huge monitor lizard.
When I parked next to it on the opposite side of the road, it slowly started moving towards the tar. I waved to the approaching cars, and as he started to cross the road, he quickly created a mini traffic jam. He was in no rush to get to the other side, but everyone was more than happy to wait for him as he was huge and extremely handsome.
The sunset drive started on time. At the 4-way stop we turned west – a new direction for me when doing an organised drive from Skukuza. We stopped at the ellies in the N’waswitshaka river again. I also spotted two Burchell’s coucals.
We continued our drive, and turned left into the S1. Then we came across the first herd of impala. I was preparing myself for the customary talk about impalas that I have heard so many times. But then Willie, our guide, surprised me, and asked if anyone really wants to hear about them, or if we could continue and look for more “interesting” sightings. You can all guess what the consensus was, and we continued without giving them a second glance. Shame, I hope we did not hurt their feelings!
But it seems Willie had something up his sleeve, and a few meters after the turn off to the S65 we found out what it was. There were a male and female lion sleeping next to the road, taking a break from their amorous activities.
While we watched them, a second lioness approached, and crossed the road in front of us.
As the two lovers were not showing any signs of moving, Willie quickly drove on to a little waterhole next to the road. His intuition was spot on as the lioness came for a drink. What a moment.
She continued on from the waterhole, at one point roaring softly.
We went back to the 2 sleeping beauties – by now they had lifted their heads a little. This did not last long and they flopped down again.
A gorgeous sunset formed the perfect back-drop to this wonderful lion sighting.
After a while we left her and the still sleeping lovers and continued on the S65. We saw a couple of kudu bulls, steenbokkies, duikers and impalas. A couple of nocturnal animals in the form of scrub hares and night jars also put in an appearance.
But other than that it was a very quiet drive. We turned around at the N’waswitshaka waterhole and I suppressed a sigh as it meant we would drive back on the same extremely corrugated road.
We reached the lions and they were still in the same spot.
We went to have a look if anything was at the water, and found two lions on the tar – possible the same female from earlier and a young male. When they disappeared, we turned back to the lovers, and we were just in time to see the male get up and respond to the female’s seductive call. The mating lasted 6 seconds and they were done, and disappeared.
The rest of the drive back to Skukuza was very quiet. The only sighting we had was a Verreaux Eagle Owl in a tree. It had caught its supper, and was busy plucking hair from the prey. At one point it literally ripped off about half of the body and swallowed it.
Grey Rocks
We saw 7 Grey Rocks during our short trip. Unfortunately none of the sightings were great photo opportunities, but it was wonderful to see them.
Tuesday
The two other guys and I were up early again to go for a last walk in the camp before we left. The last sunrise of our trip was gorgeous.
There were a few buffaloes in the riverbed.
Once again we recorded 50 species on our walk! A couple of new additions to our Skukuza list were Shikra, Yellow-breasted Apalis and an immature Scarlet-chested Sunbird.
There were also a couple of Black-headed Orioles, Red-billed firefinches, Common Waxbills, and a flycatcher.
We saw a Banded Mongoose troop near the swimming pool, and then later 2 near the shop parking lot clearing up all the dropped scraps.
The White-browed Robin-chats were extremely vocal. At one point there were 4 of them together, and their song was rather deafening! But it was really cool to see them together like that.
We were back at the guest house just before 08h00 and enjoyed a last cup of coffee. Birdies and a Bushbuck came to say goodbye. A slender mongoose was also skulking around.
Since we wanted to have breakfast in White River and had to drop 2 guys off at the airport, we left Skukuza before 09h00. We exited at the Kruger gate. On the very short drive to the gate we saw a sleepy hyena in the reeds in the N’waswitshaka riverbed. Can you see him?
Other sightings included a Purple-crested Turaco, some kudus and zebras, as well as a dwarf mongoose. All too soon we were at the gate and said good bye to Oom Paul.
It was a short trip, but a very rewarding trip.
You can see a few more photos from the trip here.