20 November 2017 Letaba to Olifants

Once again it was  very hot  in the Kruger National Park today.  We are caravanning/tenting at Letaba Camp and are so grateful for the shady trees.   It is not difficult to get up at 5 in the morning here.  Natures alarm rouses you with the cheerful dawn chorus of the birds.

By 6:15 we left to drive along the Letaba River to Olifants Camp where we had breakfast.    When The Earl and I used to stay in the chalets, Olifant’s was our favourite camp.  They don’t have camping facilities so we’re not staying there this time round.

We had a stunning time there and back, as the birding was fantastic.  What fun we had watching their antics and debating what species we were observing.  Although we’re not the type of birders that chase after rare birds to get our tick list up, we do keep holiday lists and try to see as many species as The Kruger will show us.  Today we did pretty well.

Scenes like these never fail to give one a thrill.

Along the way there are many little ‘omrits’ or loops that take you closer to the river so you can get a better view.  There you can stop and enjoy the birds.  At our first omrit we heard the Diederick Cuckoo.  He tends to hide among the foliage of the trees so when he posed in the open for us, we were thrilled.

We also got this beautiful kingfisher

The small creatures of the bushveld are just as exciting as the larger predators.  Seeing two scrub hares was a real highlight as they’re shy and not often seen.

In the shallows of the river there was a great deal of activity.

As we left our omrit to get back onto the road again we got an enormous scare when we found this chap blocking the road.  Luckily there was another track that bypassed him.

You’d be surprised how hungry intense birding can making you.  Our many stops to see the feathered friends delayed our breakfast time and we were starving by the time we reached Olifants.  The Rustic Kitchen is set up there too. It is at the lookout point which is just the most stunning venue.   Hopefully, they will be there for a very long time!

Our return trip was even more enjoyable than our trip there.  We went to the low-level bridge across the Olifant’s River and didn’t want to leave as there was so much activity to watch.   The highlight was a green-backed heron that kept hiding behind the rocks but then eventually emerged and showed us how to catch your own breakfast.

 

We were very happy with our mornings sightings and returned to camp for or midday rest.  We went out again for a short drive to Matambeni hide and were back by 6:15  These were the best photographs I could get.

Pat and Tony were the designated cooks tonight and they made us a delicious beef stir-fry on their skottel.  Who would believe you could eat so well in the middle of the African Bushveld.