1 + 2 + 3 = 4 + 5 + 6 = A steamtrainfan clan Trip Report. *

[steamtrainfan]

If the above puzzle puzzles you then guess what it did to me trying to set the puzzle.

Answer to follow later today.

[steamtrainfan]

1 more sleepy until
2 adults ( Mom and Dad) and their
3 children ( Son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter) move
4ward and the
5 of us spend
6 nights in the Kruger.

[steamtrainfan]

Thanks to everyone for their good wishes.

We returned last night from a wonderful 6 nights and 7 days in Kruger. Saw 4 of the Big 5 but which ones will remain a mystery until my T.T. unfolds.

Also saw 3 rare species - 2 on the road and 1 in camp.

Now busy sorting through over 800 photos to put on this T.T. - sorry I keep calling it a Trip Report.

Also waiting for some of my sons photos as this T.T. would not be the same without some of his shots taken with his Blackberry.

By the way, can one download photos from a Blackberry to your hard drive? If so, please advise.

Have yourselves a fantastic day and chat to you again soon.

[steamtrainfan]

What a wonderful welcome back. Our thanks to all for the lovely comments.

We hope that you will enjoy this Trip Report with us just as much as we enjoyed putting it together.

Day 1 - Sunday July 15

First off please allow us to introduce the travellers:


JOAN AND YOURS TRULY.


NEILL (our son), LIZA (his wife) and the apple of our eye CAITLIN who is 3 years old.

We left Pretoria at 05:00 and met the kids at the Rayton toll gate at 05:30. After a very nice breakfast at Millys we arrived at Phabeni Gate at 11:00.
As is usual for us we turned off onto the Sabie River Road. A short while later we got a call from Neill, who was travelling behind us, and he whispered "ELEPHANT back here". We reversed and this is what we saw:


First a teenager.


Then a BIG one.


Then a mommy who threatened to sweep us away with her broom and her little one.

Not much else was seen until we arrived at Skukuza and checked into hut 225 where we saw our first kill.


A Grey Headed Shrike.





After unpacking and a bite to eat we took a late afternoon drive down Lower Sabie Road.


This old dagga boy seemed to have a huge hernia of sorts.

A short while later a herd of buffalo crossed the road.




A trio of rather bad tempered looking buffs.

After a lovely braai we all fell into bed totally exhausted after the long days driving.

[steamtrainfan]

Okey dokey, lets move on.

Day 2 - 16 July 2012 Part 1 of 2 .

Now where should we go this morning .



LAKE PANIC - of course




Joan, Caitlin and me at Lake Panic Hide. It was freezing.




A Goliath Heron, A Monstrous Croc and a little unknown featherd flyer.

We spent 45 minutes in total bliss and then moved on down the Lower Sabie Road to try and thaw out.


A magnifcent Kudu Bull with an impressive set of horns.


Waiting for our French Toast and Bacon breakfasts at Nkhulu.


What a view while enjoying breakfast.


Caitlin found that playing in the sand was far more enjoyable that watching fat hippos.


Moving on down towards Lower Sabie we saw this huge herd of buffalo on the other side of the river.


A short while later we saw this lonely dagga boy.


A close up of the dagga boy.


A Nice Fish Eagle at Sunset Dam. Could that be its nest next to it?????


At Sunset Dam we saw the Fish Eagle in flight. Not sure why the pic is so small.


While following the Fish eagle with her camera Joan got this rather lovely shot.

More pics to follow while we sat at Sunset Dam later.

Cheers for now.

[steamtrainfan]

Day 2 Part 2.

Still sitting at Sunset Dam Joan took a nice peaceful scene;



And then took a pic of a dust devil on the opposite side of the dam.



But take a look what jumped into the shot if you cannot see it in the above photo.



At Lower Sabie this Bulbul was quenching its thirst



On our return to Skukuza we stopped again at Sunset Dam and got this Pied Kingfisher trying to spot some lunch.



Further on up the road this ???? Eagle was sitting in a lovely dead tree.



Back at Skukuza it was time for some lunch. The others decided to stay in camp so I ventured off on my own to Lake Panic.

I saw this Bush Buck looking very nervous and staring at something ahead of it.



And this is what it was. All the folk in the hide were tense with excitement as to what the outcome was to be. Hope you can see the Bush Buck to the left.



After about 30 minutes of no one daring to breathe the Bush Buck turned around and walked off into the undergrowth.

All the usual bird and hippo activity kept us entertained and then this fellow (not the same one as in the photo above) came cruising by like a huge battleship.



All too soon it was time to head back to camp.

Day 3 to follow soon.

[steamtrainfan]

Day 3. Part 1.

Off to an early and the Salitje Road down to Mlondozi Dam.

First sighting of the morning - could not believe whar we saw in the distance and then he came walking right up to the car. Not sure where the rest of the pack was.





And then did his early morning comfort break.



Further down the road came across a troop of baboon all trying to warm up in the early morning sun. This guy got the photographers eye.



And then one of those scenes of the Sabie River that just makes one want to stay in the Park forever.



At Mndolozi got this chap making his get away after stealing someones breakfast apple.



On the way to Lower Sabie this youngster was trying to make like Dumbo.



At the Sabie River low level bridge this pod were enjoying the sun.



This chap was lying apart from the others as he had obviously had a disagreement with the boss.



Thanks very much for joining us once again. Day 3 to conclude soon.

[steamtrainfan]

Day 3 continued.

On arrival at Lower Sabie our first sighting was this Bulbul getting some refreshment.




From the deck at the restaurant we saw these ellies come down for a drink



And the a little further up river we some Impala.



The rocky outcrop at the junction of H1-1 and H3 always produces a lovely shot of Klipspringer.



Back at Lake Panic in the afternoon.



A series of 3 photos of a darter swallowing his catch.







The same darter with a bigger fish - it took him some time to get this one down. Afterwards he could barely take off to go and rest on a dead tree stump.



On the way back to camp Joan got this guy sunning himself. Am I correct in thinking it is a Juvenile Batleur????????



And then finally for today this inquisitive mongoose.



Thanks to all for staying on board. Day 4 to follow soon.

[steamtrainfan]

DAY 4 PART 1.

While staying at Skukuza we had noticed a pair of Purple-crested Turaco playing around in the trees next to our hut. I also picked up a lovely maroon coloured feather which I promptly picked up and stuck in my hat. Hope that is not breaking any laws????

On the morning of our departure we took an early morning drive before going back to camp for breakfast and to pack and then head up to Satara.

On the morning drive we only saw this rhino somewhere within a 100 km's of Skukuza.



During breakfast we explained to Caitlin that "ons gaan na 'n ander huisie by Satara". "We are going to another house at Satara". Please remember this for another instalment later on.

As we were getting into the cars to leave the PCT's started making a racket in the trees above us. I was determined to get a photo of one of them. This was not easy as they did not sit still long enough in one place or they hid themselves amongst the leaves. I took about 10 shots but all were useless, either out of focus or missed the PCT altogether. I was about to put the camera away when one them flew out of the tree into the distance. In a flash my mind told me to that the other was sure to follow so get the camera ready. Sure enough , the next instant the second one flew out and I aimed the camera , got him in the centre and followed as he flew and then pressed the trigger. It was pretty far away but thank goodness for the cropping facility. Below is the result, not perfect but good enough to place on our T.T..



At the low level bridge Joan got this guy looking for some breakfast.



Near the Marula Loop we saw this Ground Hornbill foraging around.



Its not often one can get a pic with 3 animals in so Joan took this shot. A nice peaceful scene.



Just before Leeupan we came across our first lion sightings of our trip. Not very visible but close to the road. The female did not budge with all the activity but the male did eventually look up.





This day was very windy and the wind was ice cold. We got this Martial Eagle hanging on for dear life in a flimsy tree. As Joan took the shot the wind blew a branch in in front of his face.



Is it our imagination or does the tree kind of resemble the fellow sitting in it????



At Nkaya Pan we saw our first Wooly Necked Stork. May I at this stage relate a story about a W.N.S. My brother and his brother in law were sitting on the stoep of my brothers house which is near the Umgeni River mouth. My brother saw a W.N.S. fly over and said " Look, there goes a Wooly Necked Stork" to which his brother in law replied " Where is Willy next door?"



Also at Nkaya Pan these Implala were giving this crocodile a wide berth.



In Part 2 we suffer from a rather sinking feeling.

Cheers for now.

[steamtrainfan]

Day 4 – Part 2.
I am afraid that in Part 1 I rather ran ahead of myself by racing on to Nkaya Pan and forgetting to mention what happened at The Southernmost Baobab Tree. So let’s go back a couple of kilometres.

After having left a very windy and ice cold Tshokwane we turned in to see if we could spot the resident leopard at the Baobab tree. Travelling very slowly we crossed the sandy river bed and approached the big tree. Keeping our eyes peeled we moved on very slowly around the tree. We completed the circle without seeing anything and slowly headed back to the main road. At the river bed crossing I spotted a black object that looked very much like a piece of metal sticking out the sand right where the tracks were. I decided to move to the right to avoid this object and moved forward slowly as I had always believed that to cross water, mud or thick sand it was best to engage first gear and move forward very slowly keeping your revs at a constant speed. We were right in the middle of the river bed when I felt the car drop slightly and then come to a standstill. I thought I could get out of this situation by putting my foot flat down but all that happened was to smell burning rubber as the front tyres just spun like crazy on the coarse sand. I opened my door and found that the sand was almost up to the floorboards. What do we do now? I eventually decided to get out to try and dig some sand out from under the wheels. So after scanning the surrounding bushes and river bed and deciding the coast was clear, I climbed out and started to dig with my hands. However, for each handful I removed two handfuls slid into the hole. Neill, who was behind us and had stopped before coming onto the river bed, walked down and said that the best would be for him and Joan to push the car with me trying to drive out. I went and fetched the source of our problem and found it to be what looked like a mud flap from a 4 x 4. I stuck this under the right front wheel. Joan and Neill then pushed and I accelerated until eventually with the smell of burning rubber and clutch the car suddenly shot out of the sand and I did not stop until I was on terra firma once again much to my delight. However, Joan and Neill were not as delighted as they were left standing in the river bed covered in sand. -O -O Where oh where was the camera now. Needless to say Neill took the direct route and came out safely on the other side. I just do not know why Joan and Neill could not see the funny side of the situation.

OK, lets continue with the Part 2.

Nothing much more to be seen as we trundled north on the H1-3 until we reached the t-junction with the H6. A whole bunch of cars blocking the road so we took our place in the queue and waited our turn. At last we could see or rather not see what everybody was looking at. We were told that there were 7 lion lying in the grass and they some youngsters with them. Nothing to be seen except a black tuft waving in the air. Then one head popped up:



And then a second one a little bit further away than the first:



We decided that these guys and gals were not going anywhere soon so we wound our way through the maze of cars and cariied on north. It never ceases to amaze how some people, and I am now being very polite, park at a lion sighting.

As we were a bit early to check in we turned off onto the S100. We came across this waterbuck who thought he was a kudu:



And these zebra. We think that the two on the right of the photo were warming up to do what B.C. and clan see lions doing every day.



As it was moving on toward 14:00 we did a u-turn and headed for Satara. Just before camp we saw this jackal snuffeling around what looked like a mole hill or rat hole. We expected to see him pounce on something pretty soon but nothing happened - he just stood there with his ears cocked looking at the hole - so we moved on.



After checking in, which to us is always a pleasure at Satara, and while the others unpacked I took this shot of the local gang who had arrived to check us out.



At this stage I must apologise to those mites who do not understand Afrikaans as this story does not sound the same when translated into English.

Remember what we said to Caitlin when we left Skukuza - "Ons gaan na 'n ander huisie by Satara."

Once settled in at Satara Liza told us of something that Caitlin had said in their car just after leaving Tshokwane. Caitlin must have been bored with the lack of sightings for she asked Neill and Liza "Waneer kom ons by Tant Sara se huis?" Well, that had the four of us rolling with laughter and Caitlin sitting with a very puzzled look on her face as to what was so funny. Out of the mouths of babes.

Once we had regained our composure we decided to ga and see if the lions had made a move yet. On arrival there was still a traffic jam but no sign of lion so we too a turn on the H6 for about half an hour. Nothing to be seen not even impala so Joan took this pic as a reminder.



We turned around and headed back straight into the sun.

Joan got this shot of the sunset:



And Neill got this shot:



There was still a major traffic jam at the lions that could not be seen. As one of the guys said to me "I have been here 3 hours and the lions have won."

Back to camp for a braai, shower and sleep.

To be continued.