Three Weeks in Paradise (KNP TR April/May 2012)

[BluTuna]

Day 8, 29 April. Punda Maria.

Same weather as yesterday, clear sky and 30+ degrees C.

We went to Pafuri today, the most beautiful part of the park.

On the way, we encountered a sleepy Buffalo and at Klopperfontein Dam, a couple of Eles and an Impala ram.






The view from the bridge over the Luvuvhu is as beautiful as ever.



At Crook's Corner there were lots of medium sized Crocs.


And some interesting birds
A pair of Collared Sunbirds



A Yellow-Breasted Apalis - a first for us!


And a Long-Tailed Starling, usually only seen at Pafuri.


We returned to Punda for a siesta and later went around the Mahoney Loop anti-clockwise.
Most of our sightings - mainly Kudu, Nyala and Impalas were deep in the bush and not photogenic.

I did manage to get some female Nyalas.



A Brown-Hooded Kingfisher.


And some scenic pictures to remind me how beautiful the bush is in this area.

[BluTuna]

Day 9, 30 April. Punda Maria -> Shingwedzi.

Same weather as yesterday, clear sky and 30+ degrees C.

We moved from Punda Maria to Shingwedzi today - lots of work, packing up then putting up our camp.

We still had some great sightings despite not going for a morning drive.

We started off with some Buffs who were too frightened to have their picture taken, then on the H1-7 just south of the S58 some Lions on a kill in thick bush.



A bit further along was this promising tusker


a Secretary Bird


and a flock of Ostriches.


This afternoon we went down one of the best roads in the park, the S50 past Kanniedood Dam.

The first thing we saw was a band of Banded Mongooses. Although we see these fairly often they are usually running around at high speed and rarely allow their photos to be taken.



One of the beautiful trees that line the river banks.


Down one of the loops we met Machachule the Elephant - what a magnificent sight.



Along the water were a few Maribou Storks and lots of Crocodiles.



Some Buffs were in the Mopani bushes.


And this Baboon was playing the fool to get some attention.


A Ele teenager resented our presence.



And last but not least, the last rays of the setting sun caught these White-Fronted Bee-Eaters.

[BluTuna]

Day 10, 1 May. Shingwedzi.

Same weather as yesterday, clear sky and 30+ degrees C.

Another beautiful day! We drove down the Red Rocks Loop to Tshange lookout this morning.

Just outside the camp were the usual suspects greeting the day.


Down the Red Rocks Road we saw a few more Buffs.


A very scruffy looking Starling.


and some butterflies - either Monarchs or Mimics according to my SO.


At the Red Rocks Waterhole an Impala and some Zebras come to drink.




At Tshange Lookout were a couple of Rainbow Skinks and a snake skin.




And the view is as spectacular as ever.


On the way back to camp we found a Groundscraper Thrush.


After our usual siesta, we left early and drove down the S50 to the Nyawutsi Hide. (Next 3 pictures by SO with a Nikon S640 Coolpix)
En route we saw a White Helmet-Shrike and a Waterbuck.



Nyawutsi Hide is situated in little piece of paradise amongst the Mopani trees. (Next 3 pictures by SO with a Nikon S640 Coolpix)




It's such a pity that the hide is full of bat droppings.

Visible from the hide were these two Egyptian Geese and a big Crocodile.



Heading back to camp we saw some young Waterbuck.


A Giant Eagle-Owl peering through the branches.


And a Goliath Heron,


Last thing before gate closing time, some Buffs came down to drink.


A small herd of about 60 which had a brand new member, a tiny calf that was still a bit wobbly on its pins.

[BluTuna]

Day 11, 2 May. Shingwedzi.

Today started out cloudy but cleared by 08:00 hot again at 30+.

Last night I found Forumite Crested Barbet and SO and had a nice chat with them. Nice to meet you CB!

This morning we drove the S56 Mphogolo River Road. The first thing I was able to shoot was this Giant Eagle Owl.


A little later we spied this Vulture covered carcass in the river bed, probably an Elephant but difficult to tell.


A Bateleur taking off.


A family of Nyalas at one of the pools in the river bed.


And one with muddy legs.


A pair of Saddlebilled Storks.


Elephant crossing.


Stop! Buffalo roadblock.


A calf getting the good stuff.


An even younger one (umbilicus still attached) was looking a bit bewildered.


and decided to have a lie down.


Then I sneezed! All heads turned towards me - I sneezed again and the whole herd thundered off, back the way they came.




Up to Babalalalala for a quick pit stop, then back to Shingwedzi on the H1.
At Boyela waterhole, we turned into the access road and noticed there were lots of birds making a fuss about this.



And further down the road was a flock of 7 Ground Hornbills - here are 5 of them.


Just outside the camp we spied some Impies with passengers,
A Red-Billed Oxpecker


And a Yellow-Billed Oxpecker - I was under the impression that these were only seen riding on Rhino & Buffalo but they seem to have expanded their host base.


This afternoon we took the S50 river loops again. There wasn't much happening but we did meet Forumite Witwolf.
A Bushbuck came down to drink.



And a Fish Eagle did a flypast.

[BluTuna]

Day 12, 3 May. Shingwedzi -> Mopani.

Another beautiful day, clear skies and 30+ degrees.

A change of plans today, my SO decided that we should take a break from camping and stay for a night at Mopani. We got up late, packed up the camp and left Shingewdzi at about 08:00.

First thing to photograph was a old bruiser of a Buff in the river bed.


A Redbilled Hornbill.


Then, in the distance we saw something running down the road, Hyaena! Our first this trip!!!!!
She was on a mission, running at a steady 18kph, we got right alongside her for a couple of minutes.




And she led us to this....




Mom showing her tender side.


What TR would be complete without a Lilac-Breasted Roller?


A pair of Hammerkops practicing their acrobatic skills.


When we arrived at Mopani I took a look around the garden beds and found quite a lot of subject matter.
A Long-Billed Crombec.


A Natal Spurfowl taking a sand bath.


A Dragonfly, some Butterflies




and a White Helmetshrike.


This afternoon we took the Capricorn loop.
A rather large Wildebeest taking a drink from Mom.


A Chestnutbacked Finchlark.


Temminck's Courser.


A Kori Bustard.


A very hot Purple Roller.


Dwarf Mongoose.


A Blacksmith Lapwing.


And lastly, A Kori Bustard walking into the sunset.

[BluTuna]

Day 13, 4 May. Mopani -> Balule.

Another beautiful day, clear skies and 30+ degrees.

We started the day by driving the Capricorn Loop again, starting at the south end of the S50.

Some of the Communal Spider webs were glinting in the early sunlight.



A yellowbilled Hornbill was posing so nicely in the beautiful light.


Then...... A zebra.....? NO..... Donkey with horns.....? NO...... Aaaaah, Roan!!!!!




Some Zebras moving towards Tihongonyeni waterhole.


Plenty of game at the waterhole.





Further down the road, an Ele in perfect light.


A Lilac-Breasted Roller with kill.


After breakfast at Mopani, we headed south. Along the way was a Secretary Bird.


Then, lots of dust as two Zebras were fighting.





And at Malopenyana, two old friends meet again.




By the time we arrived at Balule and set up camp, it was too late to go on an afternoon drive so we took the afternoon off.

[BluTuna]

Day 13, 4 May. Balule.

Clear skies and 30+ degrees again - I love this weather :)

The first thing we did this morning was to see the damage to the Balule bridge, it looks a lot worse at this end. According to Olifants reception they don't know when they are going to repair it.


Still lots of sand on this end.


We then headed south on the S90 and found a Hyaena den. These two large cubs were chewing cars, they seem to like tyres and bumbers.



But this one was too scared to come out to play.


The light was nice on these Giraffes.


Sitting a few metres away from the Giraffes was a BBJ.


Then we met up with some exuberant Impalas





Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO, it's Super-Impie.


Then, a little further along the road, we ended our spotty cat drought when this beautiful Leopard calmly strolled across the road in front of us.




Two Lappet-Faced Vultures have a nest that uses the entire top of this tree.


First sighting of a European Roller this trip.


And these two Swainson's Spurfowl were having an altercation.


A male Ostrich, resplendent in black and white.


According to the notices at Satara, this is "The most photographed Scops Owl in the world".


We drove to the Olifants River bridge this afternoon, meeting up with a Kori Bustard on the way.


The new look Olifants River - looking downstream.


And upstream.


The road back to Balule.


And a quick stop at the Hyaena den.


Where one of the small cubs was out and about.

[BluTuna]

Day 15, 6 May. Balule.

Today started off cloudy and breezy but it cleared by midday and was again clear and 30+

This morning we took the S39 to Timbavati picnic site, then went on to Olifants for breakfast.

One of the view points comes up to this ridge of rock that runs down the middle of the park. Spot the Klipspringer.


Then we saw these three brothers.




A young Zebra foal.


A martial Eagle, who had just finished breakfast


and one who had just started.


At the restaurant at Olifants, the Redwinged Starlings were on the lookout for titbits.



Only a short drive down to Bangu waterhole this afternoon. On the way a Steenbok, unusual at this time of year as they hide in the tall grass.


A Sabota Lark got close enout to photograph.


A mature Kudu bull with a younger male.


At Bangu waterhole some Eles were quenching their thirst.


And these ones were stepping up to the tank.



On the way back, a tiny Zebra was taking a drink.



There was another moody sunset.


Back at the den, one of the Hyaena cubs was getting some milk and TLC.

[BluTuna]

Day 16, 7 May. Balule.

Today started off cloudy and breezy but it cleared by midday and was again clear and 30+

We traveled down the S90 again and started with a look at the Hyaena den. The small cubs were getting roughed-up by the others.



But Mom saved them from their bigger clanmates.


Before we even got to the junction of the S89, Lions - 3 females who moved off into the bush fairly quickly.



A pair of African Hawk Eagles and a Stonechat.



Then, at Gudzani Waterhole, more Lions :)



We turned onto the S41 towards and then drove the infamous S100.
It always pays to stop at the bottom of the dongas.


A Wildebeest group hug.


On the S41 about 1km from the S100 junction, guess what!



At the Shibotwana Waterhole, a crowd of Zebras.



and across the road, two mismatched Waterbuck bulls sparring.


About 4kms from the end of the S100, OH NO, NOT AGAIN :)


This Greater Blue-Eared Starling got his breakfast before we did.


After a breakfast without coffee because both of their new coffee machines were not working. I managed to get some of the birds bathing at the water feature in front of the restaurant.




This afternoon we drove to the Olifants bridge and then down the S90 to Bangu waterhole.
At the bridge was a Croc on a rock and his pal.



On the way to Bangu, a LBJ.


And on the way back to Balule, another boring sunset

[BluTuna]

Day 17, 8 May. Balule -> Skukuza.

Today was cloudy but it cleared in the late afternoon.

We got up when we woke up and packed up camp, leaving Balule at around 08:30.

Balule camp is, as usual, beautifully kept by Titus. They have made some concrete water channels though the camp but it seemed otherwise unchanged after the flood except the big shady tree in the bottom left corner is gone..
The big problem at Balule at present is the Vervet Monkeys, they are completely out of control and managed to get into our tent by undoing the zip. Caravanners have to lower the tops before they leave or the monkeys will rip holes in the netting to get inside.
The broken low-level bridge means that we were restricted as far as drive routes were concerned but a much more serious situation is the detour around the break in the H1-5. They are using the S91/S92 and the H8 and the 'through drivers' are driving the dirt road at 70-80km/h. If SANParks don't do something about it, there is going to me a major pile-up on that road.

While we were packing up, a female Chinspot Batis with a chick were hopping around in the tree above us.



Not much to photograph until we got to Skukuza. At the camp site was a band of Banded Mongooses.


After setting up, we went to Lake Panic for a reconnaissance. The sun was quite low when we arrived but I managed to get a couple of pictures of an African Darter and a Giant Kingfisher.




Back to camp. This is the first time we've ever stayed at Skukuza and it's a bit of a shock, we've gone from one of the quietest camps to a really noisy one. Next door have their bloody TV loud enough to hear that they are watching some soap-opera. Isn't it sad that some people can't leave their TV behind when they go to the bush.