Daily Visits into Paradise *

[Valandrich]

October 28th

We drove to Olifants today, which is quite a long drive from here, but we often have good sightings along the way, especially along the river on the H1-5, just before the Olifants turn off. We also enjoy sitting at the viewing area in the camp, and watching the comings and goings at the river.

We have been known to have a marula breakfast or a toasted sandwich there occasionally as well!!

Well today was a so-so day.
All the general game, and birds that you would expect, but nothing out of the ordinary.

I must just say that it is getting quite exciting, because the impala females are now highly pregnant, and will soon start dropping their babies I think.
It will be so good to see the newly borns, because we usually visit the park late December at the earliest, and by then they are starting to grow!!

I don't wish to appear a voyeur, but it would be good to actually see one being born!!

The last few times that we have visited Olifants we haven't seen the resident monkey troupe................have they been relocated, or is it just coincidence that they were elsewhere in the camp when we visited I wonder.

We had an enjoyable hour or so at the viewing area, and then as time was marching on, we decided to make tracks.

By now it was very hot, and we were grateful for the aircon in the car,,,,,,,,,,,which we try to do without, but on occasions need a quick blast now and again!!!

We also had the promise of our pool and a sundowner, on our return..............followed by rainbow trout!!

More tomorrow......................

[Valandrich]

Oct 30th.

Today we drove to Letaba via the back roads (you know the ones!!) and we were blessed with loads of general game along the way.

Ellies by the ton......some a little close for comfort!!

A nice buff herd, nowhere near as big as the ones we saw at the river the other day, but still quite a few!!!

Lots of giraffe, warthog, zebbies, impalas, klipies and several steenbokies, added to the tally.

We sat near the restaurant on a bench to eat our picnic, and there were ellies, impala, waterbuck, hippos, saddle bills, maribous, egrets and .............is that a kudu?? No it's a Nyala!!!

I've never seen them as far south as Letaba, though obviously they do venture down this far!!
It was my first decent sighting ever of one. I had seen a few on the H14 recently, but they were always in thick bush.

We then drove to the river bridge, taking the river loop, and we still wonder what has happened to the baboons in this area (not that I'm a big fan of baboons) but we used to see them regularly around Letaba,especially at the river bridge.
In our 6 weeks here so far, we have had one sightring!!

We returned to Phala on the tar road, and again saw loads of general game, and as we were looking forward to a swim and a sundowner, we were doing about 40kph.

All of a sudden an impala shot across the road, followed by a leopard!!
Dungie braked, but they were soon gone into thick bush. (Everywhere is so beautifully green now!!)

I don't know why but I glanced in the side mirror and there was another leopard crossing the road behind us!!!
I tried in vain to get a photo, but the mind was willing.......the body too slow!!!

We think it might have been the mother and teenage cub, that we have seen on separate occasions......this time together!!

The adrenalin finally stopped pumping, and we made our way home, to our sundowners, followed by roast pork and apple sauce.

More tomorrow........................

[Valandrich]

Nov 6th

After our trip to Punda and back, we had a quiet day at home yesterday, but this morning we were raring to go again!!

We had such a nice day in the park, though our sightings were not spectacular.

We drove to Letaba and along the way we saw plenty of game....buffs, zebs, giraffes, warthog, impala (still no babies) waterbuck and kudu.

As we pulled into the viewing area at Nhlanganini Dam, we saw a huge breeding herd of nellies arriving on the opposite side. We spent about half an hour with them, watching their interaction, and some of the antics of the babies was so comical.

Just after they arrived, their was a terrifyingly loud trumpet away in the distance, and we wondered what ever it could be!!

When two cars pulled alongside us, they explained that they had been driving in opposite directions and both slowed down and stopped when they saw the herd crossing the road. They think that unfortunately one of the babies crossed without Mom, and then the cars arrived, and she panicked!! She trumpeted and shook her head, and charged across the road just missing both cars!!

Letaba river bridge was quiet.....just one waterbuck and two hippos grazing, and the river outlook from the restaurant only produced a solitary ellie heading for the river.

Still all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed todays visit into Paradise.

More tomorrow.................

[Valandrich]

Nov 19th.

So excited today.

We had two separate Impala lamb sightings. They are so cute!!
The one standing was probably a few days old, but the one sitting down we think was not long born, because as we arrived Mum was still licking it.

Now I need to hear my Woodland Kingfisher, then life will be complete!!

More soon......................

[Valandrich]

Nov 20th

We had a truly wonderful day today.

First of all we saw more new-born Impala Lambs with their Mommies………gee but they’re so
cute, and each day now we see more and more of them!!!



Then near to the Rhdonda Pan (which by the way is just a muddy hole at the moment!!) we saw a secretarybird.
Since we arrived here in September we have now seen four of them, having never seen one here before that, in 36 years of visiting the park!!

Then we heard our first Woodland Kingfisher of the season, at Letaba.
I have been waiting to hear that sound since we first arrived at the end of September, and I was beginning to think that we would not hear it before we left at the end of the week!!
We eventually spotted him near the restaurant, and then just as we were driving out of the gate, we heard another one!!
Summer has now officially arrived!!




We had two separate sightings of a Sharpe’s Grysbok which also makes four this visit, again having never seen one before in 36 years!!
I just love to look at these pretty creatures!!!



Then finally on our way home along the H14, we saw movement, and when I looked it was a leopard eating a porcupine!!!
He was a beautiful creature, and he eyed us suspiciously, as I got my camera ready.
I think at one point he thought about pouncing on us, because he went into the position that we used to see our own cats do, before they pounced on an unsuspecting bird or mouse!!
However, he obviously decided against that, and continued eating his meal!!
We were alone with him for about 20 minutes, and then another car came along.
We felt so proud pointing out “our leopard”!!
Sadly he didn’t seem to like our new guests, so he retreated slowly backwards dragging his meal with him, and then we was gone into the bush.








We felt a bit sad that our first ever porcupine sighting, was one that was in the process of being eaten!!

We also saw loads of other game – about 50 elephants, 20 odd giraffe, huge hers of buffs, numerous zebra, and a lovely herd of Wildebeest.
We have only seen one Wildebeest in the 9 weeks that we have been here, and we were beginning to wonder if they had become extinct!!

On a sad note we came across a dead Impala Ram in a clearing near to Letaba. He was a large animal, and appeared to have no marks on him.
There were no predators about, so we wondered how he had died…….do Impala have heart attacks, or strokes, like humans?
We arrived home feeling quite elated, and after a few celebratory sundowners, we feasted on roast pork with stuffing and apple sauce!!

That was the perfect end to another visit into Paradise!!!

More next time.................

[Valandrich]

Nov 22nd
Today we went to Olifants Camp for the last time on this trip, and boy was it hot!!!

We saw loads of general game and birds.............3 of them were lifers!!!

There was still no sign of vervets at the camp, so maybe they have really gone!!

We saw hippos, ellies, waterbuck, crocs and Yellow-Billed Stork from the viewing deck, and at the restaurant we enjoyed a lovely tasty chicken mayo toastie, and a delicious bottle of orange juice, before setting off home to Phalaborwa!!!

We had more nice sightings on the way back, and arrived home in the rising heat of the evening to another power cut!!!

Thank goodness for our pool is all I can say, and the fact that we have a gas stove.

We stayed in the pool till we looked liked prunes, and then enjoyed a fillet steak, baked potato and salad.

We only had 4 more sleeps till we left Phala for the journey to Port Edward, so we had an early night to be well rested for our early morning start to Mopani!!

(By the way, the power came back on at 4pm the following afternoon!)


More tomorrow...................










White-Browed Robin-Chat



Great Spotted Cuckoo









Sabota Lark

[Valandrich]

Sadly most of my supporters seen to have left me..........but for my faithful followers and with just a few more days to go, I will continue.........

Nov 23rd
Today we decided to visit the area around Mopani for the last time on this trip, and I'm so glad that we decided to include Thiyongeni waterhole because I gather that it is going to be closed. :big_eyes:

As we only had a few days left in Paradise we decided to make it a full day, so drove to Letaba on the H9 and then up to Mopani on the H1-6 and then back down the H14 with a few dirt roads thrown in for measure!!

Game was plentiful and also some lovely birds, and we marvelled at how green the park had become in such a short time.

When we arrived home we had a well desreved swim in our pool, and then we sat out in our beautiful garden watching the birds come to eat and drink, while sipping or sundowners.

Dinner that night was cold roast chicken with various scrummy salads (courtesy of Mr Spar!!) as it was much too warm to be slaving over a hot stove!!

We looked at the Amarula bottle......divided the amount left in it by our time left in Phal, and decided a large one was in order.

As we sat there savouring the moment (and the Amarula!!) we listened to the insect chorus, looked up at the myriad of stars that had started twinkling and decided it doesn't get much better than this.


More tomorrow.............

[Valandrich]

Nov 24th
Today would be the last time we visited "our causeway" on this trip, so we left home fairly early with a picnic basket, and set off towards the gate.

I won't say that it was the most evenful visit that we had in our 9 weeks, but we saw most of our residents either at the causeway or en route!!!

Our picnic was cold chicken, coleslaw and three bean salad, washed down with "Chenin Blanc"..........only kidding......washed down with ice cold water!!

We arrived home early afternoon, and began the unpleasant task of packing up, and checking all was as we had found it in the cottage.

Then it was a quick swim, and preparations for our final braai.........fillet steak, wors, ratatouille, corn on the cob, and baked potatoes...............yum!!!

We were to be travelling through the park the following day, and out through Croc Bridge as day visitors, and therefore couldn't take any alcohol with us, so we had a few extra sundowners that night, and a few Amarulas to finish it all off!!!!

It was a beautiful evening, not too hot and with a cloudless night sky............just a perfect picture to remember our stay in a very special place.........

More tomorrow.............






Common Fiscal Shrike






Juvenile Cattle Egret






Magpie Shrike

[Valandrich]

Nov 25th
Today we were leaving the lovely town of Phalaborwa, after being there for nine and a half weeks.

We have had quite an amazing time, and seen some wonderful and unusual sightings.

We had the car packed and handed the keys of the cottage to the caretaker.....then it was time to head for the Phala Gate.

We had a long journey ahead, as we were staying in Komatipoort that night, and we were hoping to get to Tshokwane by 1pm, as we had a tentative meet arranged with Vlakvarkvrou and her daughter.

We therefore had planned to stick to the main roads, and set off down the H9 for the last time.

Our first interesting encounter was with a huge flock of Wattled Starlings that were flying from tree to tree and making an incredible racket. There were hundreds of them, and they stayed with us for a good few kms!!

As we drove past Erfplaas our Dassie was there in his crevice to say "adieu" till next time, and many of our regulars came to say goodbye along the way.

We called into Nhlanganini Dam, and there were a few ellies having a well desreved drink, and the hippos were also there to wish us a fond farewell.

Quite a bit of the journey was uneventful for a good few kms, and then not far past the Olifants turning, we saw some vultures circling in the sky.

"There must be a kill somwhere near" we thought "but it will probably be way off in the bush " so we continued on our way.

Imagine our surprise, when a few metres on we found it!!!
It was an impala ram, and the large predators has finished with it, but the vultures had arrived in full force!!!

We then witnessed an amazing scene.

There were two Lappet- Faced vultures tucking in hungrily to their meal, and there were varoius other species standing to one side waiting their turn.

As soon as the Lappets had finished the Cape Vultures tucked in, then the White-Backed, White-Headed and finally the Hooded.............what we had witnessed was literally a "pecking order"!!!!

The lappets had finished eating, but they still hung around orchestrating the feeding frenzy of the other vultures. It was one of the most amazing sightings that we have ever had in Kruger!!!

Time was running away, so we eventually continued on our journey.

Now we had not seen rhino or cheetah in the whole time that we had been in Phala, and although we didn't say so, we were both hoping to remedy that today.

Somewhere between the Olifants turning and Tshokwane (no specific location for obvious reasons) I spotted something moving way in the distance near the horizon!!

A look through our binocs confirmed it was a white rhino, though it was a very poor sighting.
Still a rhino is a rhino, so we were thrilled!!

We got to Tshokwane just turned one, and were absolutely thrilled to see VVV and her daughter sitting at a table under the lapa.

We had met very very briefly at the cricket in March, but we really wanted to meet each other properly since reading each other's TRs!!

Well all I can say is, that in no time at all, we had made a new friend!!
What a kind and generous person VVV is.....and so passionate about wildlife.

Sadly time was limited for us all, and so after only an hour we had to say "Goodbye"
We knew though that we would meet again, sooner rather than later.

VVV had bought me a present.....namely a little white bear and some lovely hand cream.

When we got in the car I took out the bear and put it on the dash board........maybe it would bring us luck!!!

Well it did just that, because between Tshokwane and Croc Bridge, we had three separate rhino sightings (one baby) so we immediately named the bear after the lovely lady who gave her to me!!!

She was to bring us more luck the following day as well!!

All too soon we were approaching Croc Bridge Gate, and then we drove to Komatipoort to find our accommodation for the night.

We bought a cooked chook and yummy salads for an easy meal, and washed that down with a cheap chateau cardboard!!!

It was a beautifully cool evening (strange for Komatipoort at the end of November) but we were grateful because we were able to sit out and enjoy the night air, listening to the insect chorus, and wondering what our last morning in Paradise would bring us...........

More tomorrow............






Wattled Starling

[Valandrich]

Nov 26th
It was a beautifully sunny morning, and we were up early, showered, packed, and at the Croc Bridge Gate, just past opening time!!

We were still hoping to see cheetah.....though running out of time rapidly!!

The last cheetah that we had seen was in March 2009 on the S28 (together with a nice large lion pride)............so of course that road was a "must do" this morning!!!

Sadly we saw very little on that roa, except some of Dungie's relatives, and a huge ellie on the road (I was very brave!!)

We made our way to Sunset Dam, and sat for an hour watching the local residents going about their business. We do love this place, and it never fails to produce!!

Then it was time to head back to Croc Bridge, so we made our way along the tar road, which has usually been kind to us in the past.

We saw a shy bushbuck, ververts in profusion, warthog, giraffe and several ellies.

Then when we were very near the gate, I happened to look to my left, down an embankment, and there she was.............. a beautiful collared lioness!!!

There was one other car there, otherwise she was all ours for 15 minutes or so.

She walked up the bank and came to see what was going on.
The driver in the other car had not wound up his window, and we didn't dare look, but frantically tried to draw his attention to the fact!!!

However, she was very relaxed, walked around the car, and went back down the bank.

She sat for a while longer, and then as word had got out and more cars arrived, she walked off into the bush!!!

We could not believe our luck...what a great way to finish our time in Paradise!!

We called in at Croc bridge for a coffee and toastie, and a quick visit to the bathroom, then the moment had come to leave.

We had mixed feelings, because we love the ocean, so had that to look forward to for the next three months, but we had become so used to jumping in the car and visiting Paradise each day, that we knew it would be difficult not to be able to do that again for a while!!

Oh well there's always next year................










White-Crowned Lapwing



Grey heron



Yellow-Billed Stork



Wood Sandpiper