Africa Wild

Hi all. I am new to this forum, thanks to B.C. for introducing me to it, so this is a test report. We are leaving tomorrow morning for Pilanesberg for our 1 week exclusive use at Manyane.

We have seen a lot of negative publicity w.r.t. to Pilanesberg Centre food, service, no stock etc etc in the press of late. This does concern us so we will find out for ourselves tomorrow. Hopefully we can come back with good news. Anyone else going to Pilanesberg next week? Do we put up yellow ribbons?

Hope that we can come back and post a really good trip report.

Hi Lisbeth - Welcome on board and we hope that you will enjoy the trip.

Hi nan - A warm welcome to you and trust that you will enjoy the trip.

Hey B.C. - Thanks for your patience. We hope that you will enjoy the trip.

Hi Flutterby - A very warm welcome to you. We hope that you will enjoy the trip.

Well, here goes:

DAY 1 – FRIDAY 7 OCTOBER 2011.

We, my brother Joe, sister-in-law Yvonne, daughter Melanie, son-in-law Norman, Joan and I, arrived at Manyane at about 12:00. As it was too early to check in we left the trailer at number 52 and took the road up to Fish Eagle picnic spot for lunch. This is our favourite picnic spot in the park as it has a wonderful view over Mankwe Dam. On our way up Joan got this shot of a hippo grazing on the banks of Tilodi Dam.



A group photo at Fish Eagle. Photo by Yvonne.



We then wound our way down to Mankwe Dam hide. Joan got this shot of a water monitor alongside the boardwalk to the hide.



A darter sunning itself.



Norman and Melanie.



A huge barbel came floating lazily by. Apologies for cutting off the tail.



A pied kingfisher with a meal.



After an hour of watching the comings and goings at this hide we made our way back to Manyane to check in. While waiting we saw this bit of grooming being done on the lawn at reception:



Which then led to this:



We also saw impala, wildebeest, springbuck, warthog and giraffe. So all in all it was not a bad afternoons viewing.

After a lovely braai it was off to bed and to dream of what would tomorrow bring.

DAY 2 – SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER 2011.

What a beautiful morning to open the curtains and see some impala quietly grazing outside. We set off just after 06:00 down Tshwene Drive to go and have a look for the leopard that I do believe hangs out on Tlhware Loop but have never seen. The terrain there is just so perfect for a leopard. No luck this morning so we doubled back to Korwe Link where we had had a real close up sighting of a leopard last year. Again no luck. Maybe its about time I got to realise that lightning does not strike twice in the same place. On Kgabo Drive we got these shots of a rhino and her youngster.





We stopped off at Ratlhago Hide but not much on the go except for these yellow billed ducks all in a row.



On Thutlwa Loop Joan got this group photo.



We do not normally take pics of impala but this guy stood so proudly for us Joan could not resist taking a shot.



On our way back to camp for lunch via Tshepe Drive just near Twin Dams Joe shouted “Whats that?” It was a brown hyena making his way up the opposite bank of the stream. Joan managed to fire off three shots before he disappeared. This is the best one.



While having lunch this fellow came down to visit. He pops in every day to greet us. He is quite tame and will let you get very close for a photo.



We normally relax after lunch until about 15:30 before taking a short late afternoon drive. Just as we were getting ready to go out we heard a loud commotion coming from the hut next door. These folk were having a rest and had left a window open resulting in the baboons raiding their hut and as quickly as they had entered they left all clutching something. One baboon had a whole packet of apples which, when at a safe distance, he tore open and started eating. No sharing with these guys. On the other side of the hut a huge fellow had escaped with a carton of 36 eggs. This he also tore open and started stuffing eggs into his mouth, cracking them open and then ate until none were left. Again there was no sharing. I kid you not - he finished each and every one. Joan got these two pics of him gorging himself.



He then proceeded to lick out the egg tray.



We had a very pleasant late afternoon drive seeing all the usual game and doing the leopard hunt on Tlhware Loop and Korwe Link but no luck. I still have not learnt. On our way back to camp via the Tilodi Loop we came across this major road block.



This elephant then turned and walked towards the bakkie. The bakkie stayed just where he was while we did an impromptu three point turn and started moving away. The elephant walked right next to and past the bakkie and then off into the bush. With this we repeated our three point turn and returned to camp via Tilodi Dam.

A lovely braai and then off to bed.

To be continued.

DAY 3 – SUNDAY 9 OCTOBER 2011. PART 1/2

Woke up to another beautiful morning this time with guinea fowl shouting the odds outside. The one sounded like a machine gun going off at full tilt. Joan and I went out early while the others decided to sleep in a bit and then watch the rugby. We took a slow drive down to Korwe Link for the usual reason and on the way down got this shot of an early morning Tilodi Dam.



Not much action here as it seems as if the resident hippos had also decided to sleep in. We must mention that we were very pleased to see all the dams almost full so early in the rainy season.

Once again nothing to be seen on Korwe so we headed back to camp to watch the rugby.
After the rugby it was time for Norman and Melanie to head home so we decided to drive down to Bakubung Gate to say our farewells. Usual game seen on Tshwene Drive on our way down. Stopped to check on our fish eagle nest at Mankwe Dam and Joan got this shot of one of the adults with some chicks in the nest.



Not much else seen until we reached Lengau Dam where there were 24 elephant walking along the far bank. At one spot they passed a tree in which there were two fish eagle surveying the surroundings. Joan got this shot of a mother and her baby passing underneath them.



Two random shots of them at the waters edge.




Now this is how we love to watch elephant.


Another mother with her youngster feeding.



We must have spent at least 45 minutes watching these magnificent creatures playing in the water. At last it was time to get to the gate to say our farewells to Norman and Melanie.

To be continued.

DAY 3 – SUNDAY 9 OCTOBER 2011. PART 2/2

After having said our farewells to Norman and Melanie we decided to take the long route back to Manyane via Ntshwe Drive, Kukama Drive and Moloto Drive. At Ruighoek Dam we just missed a rhino and her calf having a mud bath. All we saw were their bottoms disappearing into the bush. We did however see this hippo and his passenger.





We then stopped at the Batlhako Dam hide for a while and just watched all the bird activity. About a kilometre further up the road we came across a zebra lying in the grass in the middle of nowhere with no other zebra around. At one stage he lifted his head to look at his and we could see a bit of gash above his right eye. We then noticed that he had a fairly large open wound on his left shoulder. If you look carefully at the photo below you can see an oxpecker pecking at the wound.



He then put his head down and did not move again. It was early afternoon and very hot and we thought that this was a very strange thing for a zebra to do. After about 15 minutes he had still not moved we decided to move on but that we would come back tomorrow morning to see how he was doing. What would we see??? Would he still be there or would some predators be having a meal?

At the top of Moloto Drive we came across this khori bustard in the middle of the road. He then walked into the veld and posed very nicely for us.



Near the end of Moloto drive one comes across this beautiful plain and Joan could not resist taking this shot.



A few minutes later we saw this zebra and her youngster. Both stood still long enough for Joan to get a decent photo.



We turned onto Nare Link and found this Red Hartebeest and its baby.



A little further along this link we came across four rhino that caused a major road block as they stood in the middle of the road and then proceeded to walk along the road. Eventually they found some grass a little way in from the road so Joan managed to get this shot.



The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying some very pleasant game viewing. We stopped at Tilodi Dam at about 18:00 and just sat and enjoyed the peace and quiet. Joan got these two photos while sitting at the dam.
Crested Barbet



Grey Heron.



It is so nice to sit at this dam just before gate closing time at 18:30 as it is only 2km’s from the gate.

Back into camp for another braai and bed.

To be continued.

DAY 4 – MONDAY 10 OCTOBER 2011.

Ahhh. Another beautiful morning. I was just wanting to head off to look for the zebra but the rest of the family were not interested. First off we saw this beautiful chrysalis on the upright to the patio sun shade.



We eventually set off , with me driving and wanting to get a move on but NO we had to make our way down slowly and stop in at Tilodi Dam where Joan got this swallow in the early morning light.



A few kilometres down Tshwene Drive we saw this lovely little steenbok who stood still long enough to get a photo. Her male friend however was not having any of it and took off into the bush.



At the bridge just before Mankwe Dam we saw this giant kingfisher just before he took off into the distance.





Can you believe it, it is now 08:30 and we are not halfway to seeing the zebra. Anyway, near Makorwane Dam we saw this brown snake eagle sitting very uncomfortably in a tree before he too took off and disappeared into the distance.





Getting close to the zebra spot now but NO we must turn off to go and look at Ruighoek Dam. Not much going on except for these white faced ducks all in a row.



At last we arrived at where we had seen the poor zebra on Moloto Drive but there was nothing to be seen. He had just gone. We spent about 30 minutes scanning the surrounding bush and trees to see if he had managed to drag himself to some shelter. We eventually moved on Bathako picnic spot for a late breakfast. The missing zebra was the topic of discussion over breakfast. Lovely view over the plains from this picnic spot.

Instead of carrying on along Moloto Drive we headed back Tlou Drive. Not much to be seen the rest of the afternoon except for the usual game and these waterbuck on Mankwe Drive.



We stopped at Mankwe Hide for a comfort break where we saw this guy by the toilets taking photos. We all thought to ourselves “Who is the idiot taking photos of the toilets?” Once we got closer this is what we saw:



And then of me videoing this gentle giant having lunch. I bet other folk coming into the parking lot said to themselves
" look at that twit filming the toilets." -O



This elephant was two metres from the fence. Needless to say this caused quite a stir before we settled down in the hide to calm our nerves. Time to move as it was getting quite late. Near the Tau Link we were blocked by three rhino, one of whom was getting a bit agitated. Note the curled up tail.



As people had claimed that they had seen my leopard (please note how personal this is getting now) on Thlware Loop last evening we did our slow patrol around the loop. Three times we did it but the leopard was not to be seen. Back to camp after a very lazy day.

To be continued.

DAY 5 – TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2011.

Before we even arrived at Manyane Joe had asked if we could go through to Sun City on one of the days as they were last there in the early 1970’s. This was agreed to and this was the day that we were going to go through. We decided to get there for a brunch at about 11:00 so we would leave camp at about 08:00. Joan and I decided to go for an early morning drive as they were going to lie in for a while. Just outside the gate we came across this European roller (I think).



We carried on down Tshwene Drive seeing all the usual game but by now we just drove past impala, kudu, wildebeest etc etc unless they were in a position that would make an unusual/interesting shot. We turned into Tlhware Loop to look for the leopard but all we saw were dassies high up on the rocks. Along Moltlobo Drive we watched as the ballon descended to off load passengers. This giraffe took a very keen interest in what was happening.



This mommy had taken her youngster to the opposite side of the road just for safety sake.



We picked up Joe and Yvonne and headed down Tswene Drive as we had decided to go out at Bakubung Gate so we could have the best of both worlds. A Parks Board van was stopped so we slowed down to see what he was looking at but could not see anything. We stopped behind him and looked in the direction he was looking. He pointed out a lioness that had just tried to take down a warthog but now she was walking away from us up the opposite bank of the stream. She was quite far away but as this was our first cat we had seen Joan took a few pics. This was the best and has been heavily cropped.



Just near the second Hippo Loop junction I spotted a head looking up from the grass. I first thought it was a lion but soon made out the darker colour of a brown hyena. Just as Joan was getting her camera ready a Parks Board water truck came rattling down the road making an awful racket. We thought that this was the last we would see of the hyena but he got up and made a dash across the road a little way in front of us. Here is a sequence of shots that Joan managed to fire off before he disappeared into grass on the other side.







Is it our imagination or does this guy look a bit mangy or is their hair normally in this condition?????

Just before reaching Bakukbung Gate this long tailed mongoose dashed across the road in front of us and then waited looking at us as if to say “Come on take your photo”. Joan took a photo and he then vanished into the long grass.



After a lovely brunch at Wimpy we walked around Sun City for a while. Joe and Yvonne could not believe the changes that have taken place since the 1970’s. Joan and I each lost R200.00 and called it a day. We had a look at the wave pool, which looked very inviting, with folk swimming, surfing and sliding down all the fun slides. Mental note to self: Must come back here one day with our granddaughter. We stood on the bridge that shakes every now and again with smoke pouring out of the cave. We left there at about 14:00 and headed back to Bakubung Gate. We decided on taking the long route back via Moloto Road. All the usual game were to be seen but no photos taken. We took a drive up to Lenong view point. This our favourite spot in the whole park as the view is amazing. Instead of just taking a picture of the view we decided to put some people in it just to liven it up.

Joe and Yvonne with Mankwe and Makorwane Dams in the background. Mankwe Dam is between Joe and Yvonne and Makorwane behind Joe.



Joan and I with the same scene in the background. Here one is about 300 metres above the dams. We have a photo of this same scene for each year we have been going to Pilanesberg.



A number of folk have left small memory plates attached to rocks or left a bench in memory of a loved one. We had to drag ourselves away from this amazing place. Time to head back to camp but on our way we went on our leopard hunt road from where Joan got this lovely late afternoon shot. No leopard though.



Back to camp along Tshwene Drive. At the spot where we saw our lioness this morning what popped out the grass and into the road causing me to brake quite hard??? It was the lioness. She stood and looked at us, crossed the road and walked about a metre into the bush before turning and walking alongside the road. As it was 18:00 Joan was busy packing her camera away so she was unable to get a shot of the lioness crossing the road but she did get one of her walking beside the road.



Back at camp while braaing Joan got this shot of a full moon rising.



Another most enjoyable day with some good sightings plus a visit to Sun City.

Cheers for now.

DAY 6 – WEDNESDAY 12 OCTOBER 2011.

Today our first unusual sighting was a jackal snuffling around in some elephant dung. After some digging and scratching around he moved away and started howling. A response from quite far away followed so we listened to these two serenading each other for a while.



At Mankwe Hide, right next to the walkway, we had this hippo that looked like he was eating elephant dung. Joe thought it could have been hippo dung and that this guy was smelling or tasting it for territorial reasons.



He soon got bored with that



and settled down in a mud pool to sleep off the morning.
Driving off from Mankwe Hide we spotted this great white egret and his smaller cousin in the shallows of the dam.



On our way back to camp for lunch we saw a giraffe right next to the road. We slowed down and approached him very slowly. He did not move. Joan then got this shot of him looking down at us. Reminds one of that famous hand sock TV character Lamb Chop.



We stopped off at Tilodi Dam as was our usual practice and saw these elephant enjoying a midday drink and then a few fun and games.





After lunch and our early afternoon siesta we went for our late afternoon drive. Plenty of the usual game to be seen but yet again so sign of my leopard on Tlhware Loop. All Joan got this afternoon was this lovely sunset.



While braiing the full moon came up a bit later than last night and it had this red glow which had Joan experimenting with all the timer settings to try and get a nice shot. This was the best. One can actually see how far the moon rose in the few seconds that the shutter was open.



Tomorrow is our last full day so we were all wondering what would Pilanesberg show us on our last day. Until then stay well.

DAY 7 – THURSDAY 13 OCTOBER 2011.

As the saying goes “All good things must come to an end” and so it was with us today. Our last day and night in Pilanesberg. Ever since we arrived the days and nights had been getting warmer and warmer. On our first evening I put on a jacket while braaing and last night it was shorts and a short sleeve shirt and it was still warm. As is tradition our last night is also, shall I say, celebrated by going to the restaurant for dinner. Any way I am running ahead of myself now and let’s get back to the morning. Again we saw plenty of the usual game but nothing worthy of photographing. Eventually, just to make sure her camera was still working, Joan took this shot of some springbuck grazing in the sun. It was now 11:09 and the temperature was beginning to hit 35. We were on the Tlou Drive just before Kgabo Drive.



We watched these guys for a while then moved on and turned left on Kgabo Drive. We were all now very tired and our eyelids were drooping every few minutes and our tummies were shouting for lunch. It had been a long morning. Driving at about 40kph toward Bakgatla my eyes suddenly focussed on something under a tree. I braked fairly hard which resulted in a lot of grunts and groans coming from the passengers. As I reversed I said very slowly “Here we have a leopard.” The grunts and groans immediately turned into whoops of delight with shouts of “Where? Where?” Not the one on Tlhware Loop that we had been searching for every day but one about 2kms from the Pilanesberg Centre on the tar road up to Bakgatla. It was now 11:15.
This is how I saw it before stopping.



Once we had stopped he was about 15 metres from us in the shade of a tree with a lot of burnt grass around him. Not another car in sight. After about five minutes another car approached and whizzed straight past. Some folk just do not learn especially as we were parked on the wrong side of the road and on the grass verge with cameras and binoculars all pointing in the same direction. Here are five pics of the 60 or so that Joan took.











Being the first car there we manouvered ourselves into the prime spot as, as can be seen from the photos, he was surrounded by bushes and dead branches and the only really clear spot to see him was where we were.
It was not long before another car approached and asked what we were looking at. We sat there watching him for at least 90 minutes. At one stage he got up, and we thought he was going to come toward us, but all he did was to turn around and flop down again. It was getting very hot in the car as the car was switched off and the airconditioning was off, we needed a comfort break and it looked as if the leopard was not going anywhere. By now there must have been about 6 cars around so we wiggled our way out which caused a major bun fight to try and get into the position where we had been. We reckoned that of the 6 cars there only 2 could see the leopard clearly. We headed for Ratlhogo Hide as this was the closest place to get to for a comfort break. We sat here for a while and only got this pic of a grey heron.



Feeling a lot more comfortable and cooler we decided to head back toward the leopard. On approaching we saw about 10 cars all packed around so we decided to skip it and head back to camp for a delayed lunch. After our siesta we set off to see if the leopard was still there. As luck would have it, just inside the gate, we were stopped by a roadblock.



Fortunately he did not keep us too long and we were soon on our way again. Coming down the road we could see that there were no cars around. We stopped and scanned the area around where we had seen him and the question on all our lips was “Where has he gone to?” For all we know he could have been lying in a tree or under a bush somewhere watching us.

Yet again Pilanesberg had not failed to give us an excellent sighting on our last day. More of this in another episode.

Near Mankwe Dam Joan took this shot of an ostrich.



A little later this giraffe crossed the road while giving us the once over.



At Mankwe Dam this pair of pied kingfisher posed ever so nicely for Joan.



Stopping off at Tilodi Dam for the last time we were prevented from crossing the dam wall by this guy.



So we settled for a late afternoon/early evening photo of Tilodi Dam.



A most enjoyable meal at the restaurant was had and then it was back to the hut to start packing.

DAY 8 - FRIDAY 14 OCTOBER 2011.

A lovely breakfast on the patio.



As we started taking things out to the car our friend popped in to say farewell and posed so nicely for a photo.



All packed and ready to go we said farewell to number 52. During the week I had bought an exercise book and labelled it very nicely “Sightings Book.Unit 52 Manyane” and wrote our daily sightings in it for future guests to read. Hopefully they will do the same so that when we go back during October 2013 we will have some jolly fine reading to catch up on.

Thank you to everybody for taking the time to read this trip report and trust that you have enjoyed reading it as much as we have enjoyed writing it.

We do hope that this T.R. has given those of you who have not visited Pilanesberg a small incentive to do so.