Camping... a pocket full of special*

[Heksie]

Day 6… going to Lower Sabie

I wake up 30 minutes earlier because I have to pack up camp and then hit the shower, again so glad that we had a lantern as it was pitch black. Packing up didn’t take up much time and then I hit the showers and afterwards boiled a kettle for my morning MMC. I made coffee and woke up mum so she can freshen up. During her absence I quickly packed her things in the car as well and when she arrived I was ready to hit the road.

We wave good bye to Tsendze knowing that next year July we would come visit again and take the highway down to Lower Sabie. It was misty this morning as well and we didn’t see anything till about 8:00, we did have a trumpeting ellie sighting a bit far in the Mopani trees but no kiekies were taken. Here are willies that we saw on the H1-6, there were also tsessebi, zebs and warties



Then another special sighting ran across the road… Mum was ecstatic, our first side striped jackal.





He moved into the grass and was gone after a few more kiekies. It started raining on our drive and we thought it rather weird for the middle of winter. Mum also found out this morning why she was so sleepy the past few days, she mixed her blood pressure pills with allergex. What a blonde moment…
Just before Letaba we had hippsters, waterbuck, giraffes and then this tortie having a drink.



We quickly had a bathroom break at Letaba and bought some roasted corn and banana chips. Me and BC had a deal to whatsapp eachother when we have sightings as he was a Talamati, which I thought was in the North as well-oops-and I informed him about a lion sighting that my friend Japie told me about also about these cute hyenas on the H1-5 (which confused him as he thought why would he drive to Letaba if he was on his way to LS as well)



As we crawled towards them they jumped of the road and we stopped behind the other car, they had a 9 year old child that swore at us and gooied her hands in the air as to show her irritation about us chasing away the hyenas (well, if I could read lips I swear she did) we waited like 10 minutes and the decided to move on as we went pass them I saw them on the left side of the road and we were parked on the right side, the girl shook her head at us. I just motioned with my hands that they should move to the other side of the road and left them with their hyenas. We had this ellie eating next to the road with a hornbill watching out for him.



Then we had white backed vultures, more hippos and ellies on the olifants bridge and then on our way to Satara we had an ostrich.





And my special sighting for the day, mum was asleep and I woke her when I saw a secretary bird next to the road, we got our cameras ready and to our surprise we saw a steenbokkie as well, now for the special part… the secretary bird was not happy about the bokkie getting all the attention and chased him for about 200m. Wish I had a better zoom and quicker fingers but these are a few kiekies to show what was going on…























We got to Satara very happy with what they morning brought us already and wanted to do the S100 but thought better of it as time was against us. We bought some prezzies for the sisters and went to look at the scopsies then it was time to drive to LS.

To be continued…

[Heksie]

Day 6… on our way to Lower Sabie

We are finished shopping and ready to take the road on towards our final destination of our trip. But before we drive straight we decide to visit Nyika pan where we found a grey heron and crocs basking on their own little island.





Kumana dam had their resident animals; some waterbuck and willies





We also had some kudu on our way to Tshokwane



Mum was sleeping again when I saw brown headed parrots and very excitedly I woke her and started reversing. As I looked back I saw them fly away but saw another bird in the bush next to the road. Both of us were looking to the right as I was reversing when all of a sudden we got the our biggest fright for the trip. We reverse and are in our own little sighting world when we just hear from my mums side…

‘LEOPARD!’
Both of us jump in our seat and I utter a few words that we do not share on a family forum. I look out mums window and this oke in his DDS truck look at us with pride about spotting the leopard.
Heks: ‘No owl!’
DDS oke: ‘oh, didn’t you see the birds flying out of the acacia? The leopard scared them’
Heks: ‘O----K…’
So we keep on reversing to take a kiekie of this pearlie



Happy with our pics we look in front of us and the oke is still there, he has no binocs but intently stares into the distance. We drive up to him and he informs us that he is sure there is a leopard in a tree about 300m from the road, I take out my binocs and nothing, nada, niks. He start telling us that leopards prefers staying in acacias and the thorns don’t bother them blah blah blah. All we thought was that this guy has sniffed too much gas in his truck as the birds (parrots) flew from the bush next to the road and there was no leopard… We decide to move on and leave him with his imaginary leopard. We quickly stopped at Tshokwane and then took the H10 (I wanted to drive H1-2 but mum wanted to this road) I found out too late that there were wild dogs from BC. Ok not to dwell on the things we didn’t see, here is our first H10 sighting.





Then we had some warties



And ellies far in the distance



We stopped at Numbe and with the help of my binocs I saw rhino, ostrich, zebra, giraffe and warties. The last stretch produced some great sightings and special antelope…
Willies


Rhino


Reedbuck (we had 2 sightings, one at the Muntshe t-junction and then one about 10km from LS) People just drove past us not bothering about these 3 reedbuck…







On the low water bridge we saw a reed comorant



Wendy already pitched up her tent when we arrived at camp and when we parked this birdy was perched just above us, an Amur Falcon



We quickly unpacked and set our camp then we sms’d Vinkie so that we could have a drink on the LS deck, he and Apex Predator was sitting and taking pics whilst waiting for the sunset drive. We left mum to study and drove to the Restaurant. Vinkie it was great meeting you and SO, and I’m so sorry that it was such a short kuier as well as your trip which was between Krugs and KZN a 2 week trip. We said our goodbyes and went to pick up mum for an afternoon drive. We quickly stopped at sunset dam where we had yellow billed storks, crocs, white faced ducks and hippsters. We also had a bit of a roadblock…





We turned around here and decided to take some kiekies of the sunset. The most amazing one I’ve seen yet on this trip.









We got home just after Wendy and had to get ready for our braai at the Browns. I opened a KPA and Wendy boiled her magical concoction. It took a while and I just informed them that we are well on our way. We took some wors with us and Wendy made an amazing quacamole, we almost lost our way to their humble abode but got there safely when we were friendly welcomed by BC, cow and all the girls. All I can say is: ‘ons het lekker gekuier’ through the rain and poor cow with her being not lekker, I’m telling you that they would’ve kuiered till way in the morning hours if it wasn’t for mum saying it is time to go. We left just past ten and Wendy and mum went for a shower whilst I sat and had a smoke in the dark.

To be continued…

[Dewi]

Great sighting and pics of the Reedbuck Heksie.

Love the sunset pics.

The raptor pic is a juvenile Little Sparrowhawk. Check out the yellow around the eyes. Hope it's a new one for you.

[Heksie]

Day 7… Lower Sabie

As usual I wake when my alarm goes off, I quickly have a shower and then get sommer already boiled water from the communal kitchen. I drink my MMC whilst mum and WendyA gets ready and have by obligatory cigarette. I informed my mum and Wendy that I went into deep conversation last night with God and asked for some lions for Wendy as she has seen just spots but no golden cats, a cheetah for mum as she has never seen them in the wild and a leopard for me, how obvious. He always has His hands full when we are in Kruger. We wanted to go visit CB today so we moved into a Southerly direction. Of course I had to take pics of the sunrise.





We had two pearlie sightings and only got to take a kiekie of this one



Stopping at Nthandanyati brought us only a hamerkop and a scratch on my car as I didn’t see one of those moerse rocks in the parking area…



It was very cloudy and some of our sightings for this morning were rhino







Ellies, kori bustard, zebs, willies



Giraffes and Warties



Fisheagle, more willies and then just a few kilometers before CB we got what I believe is the Gudzani pride lazing around in the distance. (YAY for Wendy’s golden kitties!!!)



We arrive at CB and I decide to do some bird watching and take my cam to the grass patch behind the day visitors’ picnic area. I’m telling you guys it’s a paradise so don’t give it a miss next time when you go to CB…
Purple crested Turaco



Lifer… Black-backed Puffback



If my ID is correct then: Lifer 2… Female Scarlet-chested Sunbird



This was only in 10 minutes as mum and Wendy isn’t keen into birdies like me and wanted to move on.

This might bore people but this drive was definitely a birdie highlight for me, here is more that I found on the S25…
Green winged Pytilia



Southern grey-headed Sparrow



Then for the animal lovers, a warno



Jumping back to the birders, a kori bustard on the S130



And a black headed oriole sharing a branch with a fork tailed drongo



Then we spent some time with a tusker in the making



And a steenbokkie came by to say ‘Howzit’



Just before we got to camp we came across this ellie that didn’ t look all Nellie, he was like a miniature, with weird tusks and he had a problem with his skin…



And to nto forget our buff sighting



And to just end of a great morning drive I got a white-bellied sunbird at the LS entrance gate.



We got to camp and had a KPA or two whilst mum did a bit of studying, I had some crackers with guacamole and we had a lekker chat, we also planned our afternoon drive.

To be continued…

[Heksie]

Day7… continued

We sit and relax for not long as my bum is always itching-you can miss a lot when in camp and I want to discover and experience everything that the park has to offer. We heard that there was a mating pair of leopards at the little river just before the S28. We took a turn into that direction then we wanted to drive the H4-1 to Nkuhlu and back. I got mum to put down her work and on the road we were again, unfortunately we got no spots there but we did have some kudu’s quenching their thirst.





We also had a juvenile brown snake eagle



On our way back we saw a huge roadblock on the low water bridge and a few cars were on the H4-2 we asked the one oke what he is seeing as we were totally lost and he said there were 2 leopards at the bridge and one was walking this way, well after a few minutes there were still no spots so we moved on. The H4-1 was much more to our liking as we had 2 golden boytjies , one in the riverbed and one on the opposite side(I hope you see him, he is sitting upright). What made me excited was that a breeding herd of ellies were on their way towards the King in the riverbed, we had a great spot and I wanted to see what would pan out. Well. It didn’t work out my way as the ellies ignored the golden oldie flat and just kept on munching on the reeds.











After an hour we moved on towards Nkuhlu, we got a Mr Magnificent peering at us behind some branches.



And a graff having an early meal



We were entertained by two monkeys playing in the road, and just a few meters on we watched some bobbies grooming…







It was time to turn around, earlier on this road we past BC and co and he informed us about his mating imaginary mating leopards that he saw on the S79, and as we turned around we were informed via bbm about a brilliant sighting somewhere of something that must not be named. We missed that sighting by 5 minutes, aai tog! We did see this martial at least…



And as the day before, Wendy stopped and stayed a bit at Sunset dam and we moved towards the H10 Bridge as it gives you the best sunsets in the Park. We sat there till it was time to go to camp, it is really how I would like to end every single day of my life, except maybe with a sundowner in hand…





We got to camp just in time, happy that we had two kitty sightings for the day and a lot of birdies to boot. We had lamb chops and sweet potatoes on our fire, we were semi-invited to crash a prestigious party of another mite by BC but we thought better of it, as us ladies do not go bos in the bush. We had a few MMC’s and chatted till my yawns were bigger than the moon and it was time to catch dreams. Everything was perfect in the camp except that our next door neighbours were listening bobby van Jaarsveld…BUT WHY!!!! Well I got lullabied that night by an Afrikaanse hunk and not by owls and bush sounds.

To be continued…

[Heksie]

Day 8… Lower Sabie (our last full day)

This morning I snooze my alarm clock a bit and after an extra 15 minutes of sleep I have to go to the shower otherwise we won’t leave the camp on time, well well what I didn’t know was that the few minutes of sleep caused me to wait for an open cubicle. So unfortunately we only left the camp at 6:15 this morning, our plan was to go to Skuks via the H4-1 and then take the S21 back hoping to see some doggies. But as you know people deviate and when we reached the high water bridge we decided to rather take Maroela loop and then the H1-2 to Skuks. Now you guys can think I’m spinning a bunch of stories but no lies… I told my mum we were blessed yesterday with the golden cats so I went back and asked again for my mums cheetah but being a bit more specific, in a road so she can see him clearly and be able to take pics and also my leopard. So with high expectations we went on the road, our first sighting of the day was some ground hornbills, we actually had 2 sightings of them on the H4-1 and because we took the S79, in search of BC’s mating leopards, whilst WendyA drove tar she had a third hornbill sighting.





We also had some brown hooded kingfisher sightings



Just after the S79 we BC and co caught up to us and were a bit worried as they drove past Wendy ‘making coffee’ in her car in didn’t want to greet as they didn’t want to catch her with pants down. We reassured them that she was really making coffee and we were waiting for her. They moved on and we saw them again at Nkuhlu where we were informed about the lekker kuier that went on the previous night, he wasn’t feeling 4x4, and to top it up he wanted to break a curse as he took ice from Mr. Manbags’ icebucket… apparently if you dare take ice from there then you won’t see any cats the following day? Maybe they just drank so much every time that they didn’t leave the camp? BC and co was to go back to LS to pack up so we wished them luck in their kitty hunting and bid them farewell.
On the H12 Bridge we got to see our first Giant Kingfisher for the trip



The animals were scarce but we did have a few birdies again; white hooded vulture





A Gymnogene



And a wartie trotted up to us on S83



We got to Skuks and bought some droewors and also filled up our cars with petrol, Wendy of course had to fill up her flask as she drank almost 2L of MMC between LS and Skuks. Everybody was happy and the padkos was ready for our way back. On the S114 we got some life again, the Southern white-crowned Shrike



Mr Magnificent



Hooded Vulture



Somewhere during the day we saw this rhino as well



Then it was time to turn unto the S21. This road brought me a lot of luck in December, I don’t know why but it was my first time ever driving that road and I prefer to drive this road ever since. Got to see my first little bee-eater for the year on this road. (a bit far I know)



And mum-heks spotted her first lifer, the green pigeon



The day was very slow and we got a few kudus and squirrels on the road but not even ellies, when we got back on the H4-1 we took a quick turn towards the dam just a few kms from us, there we had hippos chilling outside and being them lazy selves.



After spending some time there we turned back towards camp and after a few kilometers further we got a buffblock, there were a lot of cars so we took a few kiekies and just dug through the crowd…



…and what do we find on Lubye-Lubye bridge? Another roadblock, someone informed us that a leopard was eating an imp just in such a weird spot that only a few cars could view it at a time, it was on the bridge so we waited and there was this car in front of us that didn’t want to move, we were getting unhappy but waited patiently. Well the other cars didn’t feel the same and after 20 minutes people started hooting and behaving horribly, we only had to move two cars then we could’ve seen the leopard but the bloody people scared him away with their behavior. One reason why I hate the South-the traffic! We went straight home to freshen up and just have a KPA and relax, well after my drink we hit the road again, we left Wendy in the camp as mum wanted to do the S29 which have brought great sightings in the past. We entered in the S entrance and just past Mlondozi mum complained that we didn’t have good sightings… NO! I exclaimed as we saw verves,



Kori bustard



Ostrich



And a secretary bird, I also for a split second didn’t look where I was driving and picked up some leaves along the way. Now we were talking away the time and as we turned around a bend I see spots… I immediately scream ‘Leopard’ but driving closer we see a second body in the middle of the road and it dawns upon us that this is tow cheetahs!!!!! YAY!!!! Mum was so flabbergasted that she took changed the setting of her cam and by accident took a video which got her more excited as she didn’t know what was happening with her cam. At last she got it right and was able to take a few kiekies. We were there first and the cheetahs weren’t happy with us so as soon as they saw us they moved on.











Mum was elated and I was jumping up and down for her part. Her first cheetah sighting and sommer in the road, another special moment for us. The last bit of road we saw a purple roller,



We went back to Lubye-Lubye as all the day visitors had to be gone by now and we hoped that the leppie would return. We were sitting and waiting hoping and every now and then a passing car would slack down and ask us what we are seeing, ‘uhm, ne, there was a leopard with a kill but he left, so we hope and wait’ We did however a great badger sighting, just not so great kiekies



And also something that you don’t see in the park very often,



We got home very happy with the sightings of the day, I set up a braai and it was Babelas wors with butternut and sweet potato, we ate like kings dreading the following day but still inviting a good night’s rest.

To be continued…

[Heksie]

Day 9… Leaving the Park

This morning I really didn’t want to get up as it meant that we need to pack up and then leave the Park, but I couldn’t delay the inevitable so out of my tent I climbed. After packing up all my belongings I went for a shower and then made a steaming cup of MMC, I then woke mum and then we packed the rest of our things, we were finished in record time and after making a second cup for the road we exited the camp, we were the first to leave which was great and mum and I decided to drive over the LS-Bridge on last time whilst Wendy went to sunset dam. Nothing were there for us and we received a BBM from Wendy that she is slowly moving on so we were on her tail, we were driving to Lubye-lubye when I saw her car parked on the bridge and I saw a flash go off and I knew what was waiting for us… We had her for 20 minutes on our own and sat for another 20 minutes before we moved on leaving her to laze about for the rest of the spectators.











I was so glad, my prayers came true, all three things I asked for got ticked in three days and we didn’t have to sit in any traffic jam for this sighting. We then took the S79 and had a great close encounter with a duiker, they normally are so hard to take pics of as they are so skittish.



And I’ve never had so many bushbucks on this road, we had 6 sightings of this beautiful antelope on the H4-1.



Oh and how excited I got about this sighting, he just flew across the road and I got horrible kiekies but oh well, my first Grey-headed Bush-shrike



And we got to see a Juvenile Martial Eagle



We also saw some warties having a brekkie



Now we stopped at Skuks to put in some petrol and freshen up when I saw some fluttering about at the aloe garden and I just grabbed my cam and started taking a gazillion kiekies, my sighting of the day definitely, another lifer; the Collared Sunbird (sorry but I’ve never taken such nice birdy shots so have to share) and a White-bellied Sunbird. They had to drag me away…













So we were on our last stretch, the S1 and dreading every kilometer we got closer to the Gate. We did see a slender mongoose on the road at least,





Also a kudu ewe near the S3,



We got some verves as well that entertained us for the last time on our trip,



Our last animals in the Park was these ellies munching in the riverbed



And our last birdy was this Dark Chanting Goshawk



This in the end a bag full of specials and not just a pocket as I thought in the first place, with sightings like genet, badger, caracal, hyenas, SSJ, cheetah and leppie and not to forget all my lifers that I ticked off. Tsendze also stole our hearts and it was mums' first camping trip, definitely a trip with stories that won't be forgotten soon.
We left the Park with heavy hearts but knew that it would be a few more days (+-140) until we would return for a very long camping trip. So now I’m counting down the days till we would return to my beloved Park…