Flutts, the Brat and Mommo go South*

[Flutterby]

Day 2 cont.

We checked into Lower Sabie where we had booked an EH3 hut. We haven't stayed in these since our first trip to Kruger in the 1970s and I don't think anything has changed since then!! The huts were clean and what you'd expect in that price range but the communal area outside and the ablutions were in a shocking state!

Anyway, we didn't ponder on the negative for too long and planned our afternoon drive. We decided to head down the S128, the S30 and back to camp on the H4-1. It was a relatively quiet drive with not too much to hold us up.

What my dad called a giraffe fondue!



We found this terrapin in the road on the S30 far from any water, and with a hole in it's shell.



On the H4-1 I spotted something in a tree and urgently made my dad reverse...my first Pearl-spotted owl!! I have seen plenty of pics of them but never realised how small they were!!



A little further on we slowed down next to a car that was stopped so the Brat made me ask what they had seen...a lion!! Our first lion in 2 days!! It wasn't too easy to see him and we had to wait for the other car to leave before we could get a clear view, but he was fast asleep and not likely to cause to0 much excitement!!



We made one more quick stop for the sunset and then it was back to camp.



I think this was now our third trip where we had seen leopard before lions!!

Later on, I could hear what I thought was an owl calling so I went to investigate...the owl was actually a bat!

[Bush Brat]

Thanks for all the great comments.

The next morning we decided to head down the S28 to Croc Bridge and back on the H4-2. We were hoping to see the leopard again, but she was gone and so was her kill.

We did see quite a few vultures and this one posed nicely for us!



I'm going to let mom tell you about the rest of our morning drive as I didn't get any good pics of our sightings, and I'll skip forward to the end of our afternoon drive!

Mommo decided to stay in camp to watch the Sharks in the Currie Cup semi-final, so it was just mom and I. The first part of our drive wasn't too exciting except for these two who blocked the road for a while.



We had heard earlier that the leopard had been seen again on the S28, so I asked mom if we could take another look. When we arrived at the spot there was no leopard and no cars, but we decided to wait a bit. A couple of minutes later another car arrived and told us they had been there half an hour before and she was on the side of the road so they went back to camp to fetch their kids. We decided to drive further down the road to see if we could spot her. We drove a few 100 metres and then turned around. As we got closer to the other car they started waving at as madly...she was crossing the road!! She was walking straight into the sun but I was quite pleased with these pics.









She walked past the tree she had been in the day before and jumped into the one behind it. We then realised her kill was now in that tree, so she had obviously moved it, but we had missed it that morning!







We eventually had to leave to get back to camp in time but I was a very happy chappy!! Unfortunately Mommo wasn't so happy about the Sharks' performance!

Sunset just before camp.

[Flutterby]

Day 3

Ok, time to back track again.

As the Brat has already said, we decided to try the S28. First up was this lovely African Hawk-eagle.



A Rattling Cisticola...I think.



Secretarybird



Just before the end of the S28 we came across some cars and saw lions doing what lions do best. We battled to get a good view of them until they started to move around.





We counted 8 altogether but could see that they weren't going to offer much more so decided to move on. The H4-2 was very quiet, although we did see another lion close to Lower Sabie but he was fast asleep in some long grass, and way too much traffic.

We decided to visit the low-level bridge before heading to Nkhulu for brunch, where I found another lifer...a Kittlitz's Plover.



About 2kms past Lower Sabie we saw a few cars stopped and scanned the riverbed, where I spotted a young male lion on the rocks.



He was soon joined by another 6 lions and one by one, they got up and started to walk back towards Lower Sabie. We turned around and followed them for about 1km. They showed some interest in a herd of impala, but the impala had been watching them and left in a hurry. I'm sure these lions belong to the Lubyelubye pride and we watched them doing exactly the same thing in August last year.



They eventually disappeared into the reeds and we left for Nkuhlu and a welcome meal.



There was a broom at our table which we moved out of the way, but one of the attendants quickly brought it back to us in case of a vervet/baboon attack!



After filling our tummies we were all ready to get back to camp and relax but had one last sighting on the way back...a rhino mum fast asleep with her calf watching over her!

[Flutterby]

Day 3 cont.

The Brat and I actually both had a nap when we got back to camp! The early mornings and long drives were catching up with us! Mommo stayed behind to watch the rugby and the Brat and I headed up the H10 to see if we could find some cheetahs which had been seen earlier, but no luck.

A roadblock somewhere along the way. It's not so easy driving and taking pics!!



A Greenbacked Heron at the low-level bridge.



Giant Kingfisher with a rather large morsel.



And then it was back to the S28 for our leopard encounter!













Later on the Brat nearly stepped on this tiny little frog...it was only about the size of a R5 coin.

[Flutterby]

Day 4

So, our last full day in Kruger. While packing the car for our morning drive the Brat found this woodpecker. This was the best pic I could get as the Brat was impatient to get to the gate! We were number 3 in the queue, but I then realised that I'd left the coffee flasks in the hut because the Brat had been rushing us, so after going back to fetch them we ended up behind about 10 cars!

Bearded Woodpecker?



We had decided to do the H10 up to Tshokwane and then back to camp via Skukuza. A backlit hyena... apart from the 2 hyena we'd seen at Tamboti, this was our only other hyena sighting.



Morning road block



Padkos!



European Bee-eater



This Slender Mongoose posed nicely for us.





On the H1-2 this Yellow-billed Kite had found something on the ground but didn't stay too long.



Then another lifer...a White-faced Scops-owl!



My dad's cousin was staying in Skukuza with her whole family so we decided to pop in to say hello. They were at the Monis Guest House which was a far cry from our humble accommodation at Lower Sabie - the Brat was very envious!

Mommo and Cousin Ann



The Brat was hoping someone would point us in the right direction.

[Flutterby]

Day 4 cont.

We left the family and headed down the H4-1 where we came a cross a small traffic jam - 2 lionesses in the riverbed watching ellies in the riverbed.





A croc and a Black-winged Stilt



Back at camp we relaxed outside and tried to decide on the afternoon route. The Brat was now desperate to see cheetah or wild dogs. We saw on Latest sightings that dogs had been seen on the S26 so the Brat was keen, Mommo less so....he thought it was a long drive to chase someone else's sighting, but the Brat won in the end and off we went. Just after getting onto the H4-2 I spotted a bird that got me very excited...a Jacobin Cuckoo...another lifer! Unfortunately I battled to get any good pics!



The rest of the drive down to the S26 was totally dead and I was praying that the dogs would be there...luckily they were! Unfortunately, they were lying down in very thick bush and it was hard to see them unless they moved.





BC always says that he's sure they are not the only ones who have fun and games in the car...he's right! The Brat and Mommo often butt heads over how long we stay at a sighting (with the Brat normally wanting to stay as long as possible) and this was one of those moments. The Brat wanted to stick around to see the dogs wake up, and Mommo wanted to start heading back to camp. Some words were exchanged which caused a few pelicans, and as usual I had to play peacemaker! Anyway we stayed for a bit longer before making our way back to camp, but it wasn't a very successful sighting! We could have actually stayed a bit longer, so found ourselves with enough time to quickly shoot down the S28 to see if the leopard was still there...not today , but we did get some nice sunset shots before our last night in Kruger.

[Flutterby]

As mom moved off with the little one behind, she decided to do her morning ablutions...on baba's head!! Unfortunately I didn't get a pic!

Going back to my very first post, I managed to get some pics of the above from the video!

Sometimes mom just cr*ps on me for no reason!!

[Flutterby]

Allison Thomson posted this interesting info on FB:

Rhino babies eat their mothers dung!
It’s called Coprophagia! Coprophagia in Latin it means ‘faecal feeder’. This is practiced by different animals for different reasons. Rhinos are hind gut fermenters and need special bacteria to break down the plant matter they feed on. Rhino calves are however not born with these specialized bacteria and need to eat their Mother’s dung before they start feeding on plant matter, in order for their digestive systems to operate properly. Rhino babies will start eating this dung from a few months old until they are about 7 months. So next time you see an animal feeding on dung, there‘s a very good reason behind it!

[Bush Brat]

Morning all

My exams are finished and I'm basically on holiday now!! I wanted to post yesterday but then we had load shedding!!

How cute is this mongoose!



So, time to leave Kruger! We packed up quietly and headed down the H4-1 towards Kruger gate. I was upset that we hadn't seen any cheetah on this trip, and our only wild dog sighting wasn't great! We did the S79 hoping to maybe spot a cheetah, but no luck, and apart from the normal game, the H4-1 was quiet. THEN, about 6kms before the H4-1/H11 intersection we found this....



There were 11 dogs lying right next to the road, with very full tummies!!







These two still had some energy left and were rolling around, playing.











What a way to end our trip!!

[Flutterby]

Thanks for all the great comments!

My last pics....

A Chinspot Batis came to say goodbye before we left Lower Sabie.



On the H4-1 I thought I'd spotted an Osprey, but I think it's just a Wahlbergs.



And finally, some very chubby doggies!



The active ones looked like youngsters, and obviously had more energy than the adults.





The one on the left had a strange mark on it's shoulder.







So, that's it until our next trip! Thanks to everyone who has followed and commented on our TT!