'twas just before dawn
and all through the veld
many creatures were stirring
in the Sand River belt'
(apologies to Henry Livingstone/Clement Clark Moore)
We have just returned from a recent visit to Olifants
, and though short, it was, as always, inspiring and breath-takingly fabulous. I find that we are starting to go to the northern camps more and more, especially after two disastrous visits to Pretoriuskop (drunk and disorderly youths) 
and Skukuza (traffic all night long) 
, it seems inevitable. To be fair, perhaps it was just bad luck... Anyhow, I live in Nelspruit, so Numbi was always a quick and convenient jaunt into the Park, but actually the Bushbuckridge road is fine, and I rather like the long drive to Orpen. 
We stopped at Satara for a quick cuppa and to moan at a young girl blithely snapping away merrily with her flash at the poor Scops owl, then on our way. I do so love that drive, between Satara and Olifants.
Although why stop there? If I had my way we'd continue up to Shingwedzi, my favourite camp, and stay forever -O . We saw a Kori Bustard, Blak-bellied Korhaan and Black-backed Jackal, lots of zebra (lots!), the ubiquitous impala, a few Giraffe and some glorious ellies, always seeming to me to be there to welcome us.
At the viewpoint (the one where you can get out of your car, can't seem to remember its name now), we saw a massive crocodile eating a zebra in the river, which elicited great excitement for my little boy.
We traveled to Letaba the following day, where the Honorary Rangers had a display table. Rayne, my son, had a field day with this, he monopolized the ranger for ages, we eventually had to drag him away! He has been visiting the Park with me since he was 3 months old, and has always had a very keen interest in wildlife, and knows many of the names of the birds and animals and loves to see them. They suggested he join the Junior rangers, but unfortunately, on investigation I see that he has to be 12 years old or older
(Hes 7).We spent quite a lot of time sitting at a quiet spot along the river, about 3 kms past the Olifants turnoff towards Letaba. We switched the car off and did some bird and river watching. We were well rewarded on a few occasions by a Crested Barbet, who carried on his business quite undeterred by our presence. There were also a few Prinias, Starlings and LBJ's, but the highlight of this was the White-hooded Vulture nest almost directly overhead, and one a little further in. I love to watch these majestic birds. There was a also a resident Fish Eagle, flying gracefully past every now and then, his haunting call echoing above the chattering of the Starlings.
A little further along was a hippo carcass, being eaten by crocodiles. There were about 4 - 5 crocodiles eating him, and a mammoth fellow striding along with the rather menacing gait they have. It brings to mind just how easy it is to miss something - right place at the right time. If we had been a few minutes later, we would have missed the whole thing (fascinating although rather grisly) and thought the dead hippo was a rock.
We also witnessed some fascinating behavior on the part of a herd of zebra, remarkable how they communicate with each other. No big cats, but that's ok with us, we think the smallest insect is interesting and there are plenty of those!
Some pics of our trip. Unfortunately we don't have a fancy camera, but the thought is there, and they evoke wonderful memories none-the-less (and many a wistful sigh and thoughts of return trips).
Regards,
Mellissa Bushby.
I'm sure we've seen those same two ellies in your first pic...although they were with some friends (take a look at my TT for the pic 
). I don't know what camera you have, but your pics are lovely!! 