27 November – Lower Sabie

Once again the mercury dropped and we we back in jeans and fleeces all day today.  We took a drive to Crocodile Bridge Camp where we bought pies and coffee for breakfast as they do not have breakfast facilities.  These are the highlights of what we saw there and back,

A pair of wattled starlings in a tree

Woodland’s Kingfisher

Brown-hooded Kingfisher

It is the season for baby animals in The Park – Here a young impala is trying to get him mother to stand up so he can have a drink!

Yellow-billed Kite

When we got back to Lower Sabie we went to restaurant where there is a deck overlooking the Sabie River.   We took a walk along the boardwalk and this is what we saw.

Red-billed oxpecker cleaning ears

Red-backed mannikin

Swee Waxbill

White-browed Robin

In the afternoon we went for a drive along the S122

These are the highlights

This rather large crocodile seen as we crossed the bridge

Male red-crested korhaan

Female red-crested Korhaan

Baby red-crested korhaan

Scrub Hare

We saw lions on two occasions but they were just lying around!

We had a bit of a scare with elephants a few times.  I think they have a sense of humour and tease the tourists.  Sometimes you come upon them all of a sudden and they raise their trunks and trumpet at you giving you an awful fright.  Today as we drove toward home we noticed a car ahead – a young couple we’d chatted to earlier – but now they were rapidly reversing toward us – because an elephant was coming down the road and they were afraid to upset him by driving past.  We decided to reverse too and then the other car came along side us.  The ellie was some distance away and both cars had a chance to turn around.  The Earl decided not to move away but said, If he comes too close I’ll be able to race off but I think he’ll move into the bush.  Of course he was right.   As soon as Ellie saw this can of tourists wasn’t getting out of his way he veered off into the bush.

To end our drive we stopped at Sunset Dam and watched a pair of hippos have a confrontation.

Another exciting day in Africa ended with a lovely braai.

21 November 2017 – Birds and Dogs

“Stop!   A Bird of Prey!”  yelled one of us in the car.   “What bird is that?!”

“An immature Bateleur,” I said confidently.  “No way,” came the reply.  “Nothing like a bateleur.”
“Look carefully,” I instructed in my school teacher voice. “The shape of the head, the crest, the short tail, the general shape of the bird.   It’s a bateleur. My granddaughter could have told you that when she was 10!”

Much searching through the field guide ensued until finally they concurred.  Of course, it is indeed a Bateluer!

The adult is more striking – photos of one in a later blog I hope

The next exciting call out was for the behaviour of a bird rather than the often seen bird itself.  Hornbills make their nests in the holes in the trunk of trees. When it is done the mother hornbill enters the nest, lays her eggs and sheds her feather and the father closes up the hole and only lets her out once the chicks are hatched.   She is completely reliant on him for food after that.  Today we saw a pair who we believe were preparing a nest. They usually inspect a site together and then begin to line it.

Inspecting the nest

Harry – I think this hole will do

One of the birds whose call sounds like an engine running is the Crested Barbet.  You hear it before you see it.

Finally he posed for a portrait

Not as pretty as the lilac breasted roller – The European Roller is still a stunning bird

We were lucky to get this red-breasted swallow sitting still for a minute

We went out fairly late for our afternoon drive and enjoyed seeing some of the usual elephant, buffalo and buck.   We were cruising along the tar road to get back to camp in time when we saw a few stationary cars ahead – always a sign that something exciting has been spotted.  And sure enough there they were!  The third sighting of these creature for The Earl and me but P&T had not had the privilege yet.

Oh dear they’re so well hidden in the undergrowth – and sleepy too!

Oh good – one has his head up

Omigosh one is getting up!

He marked his territory right next to our car

Who are you guys anyway!

The leader scurried about, marking his territory and doing some ablutions and then the whole pack got up and scurried through the bush.

No better way to end your day than with a great sighing of African Wild Dog!

17 November 2017

Giraffe are the most ramp models of the bushveld.  They are so graceful with their super-long necks and leggy lope.   We had an almost spiritual encounter with a beautiful journey of them early this morning.  There they were just standing quietly in the middle of the road and the did not move for ages.  They just stared at us and we at them.   It was awesome.

The Lilac Breasted Roller is another beauty of the bushveld.  Who can resist taking a million photographs of this stunning bird.

And below is his close cousin – the purple roller

The yellow-billed oxpecker enjoys grooming his buffalo clients but sometimes he is in need of some pampering himself.

Eeww – Must we clean this wound?

I just need some Me Time – Please!

The male and female red-backed shrike are quite different in appearance – but both are rather pretty

Male Red-backed shrike

Female red-backed shrike

Our route this morning did not come near to a picnic site so we decided to pack a finger breakfast, stop at a water-hole and have our morning meal in the car.   It’s difficult to concentrate on eating with creatures keep grabbing your attention while you’re trying to pour the coffee!

We heard the piping call of the water thick-knees but finding them was another story – they camouflage so well

This marsh sandpiper is just as good at disguises

As we left we observed a large herd of buffalo heading to the waterhole and mud holes behind it.  They seemed to want the mud more than the water.

We spent some time watching them until they moved off.  They needed to get over the road and certainly took their time about it.  Talk about a road block!

Please be patient – Waiting time can be anything from 10 minutes to one hour!

Once you are through the Stop/Go don’t become complacent – something else might stop you in your tracks before your journey’s done.

Best you give this guy a wide berth

As usual we had a midday break and planned to go out at 3:30.  But The Earl woke early from his nap and insisted we get going earlier.  He got no argument from the rest of us.

Just 3km from the camp is a loop that takes you to a waterhole that you can see from the main track.  Something attracted The Earl’s attention and we turned down to investigate.  We found some interesting waterbirds including a hamerkop.

It was great to find a hamerkop in this small waterhole

A buffalo emerged from the bush but seemed reluctant to come down to drink.  He just stood and stared at the pond.

And then Patricia Mary called out excitedly – A leopard – I see a leopard slinking through the bush. He was gone and then we all spotted him briefly before he disappeared again. Is that why the buffalo was nervous?  Maybe – but a leopard is unlikely to tackle such a big animal.

We were the only car there and we held our breath hoping the leopard would appear again and he did!

He flopped down and stared at us

We were enthralled watching the leopard lick his paws and wash his face. He had not a care in the world and was content to give us a lovely show.

Then he got up and climbed to the top of an anthill where he continued to stare at us for quite some time.

We were alone with him for 20 minutes before another car appeared.  They were birders and stopped their car a short way from us in a position from which they could not see the leopard.  The Earl and I waved our arms and tried to attract their attention to no avail – then The Earl flashed his lights and indicated that they should come closer.   They did and were thrilled that we shared our find.

We were euphoric for the rest of the afternoon.  Nothing could beat our leopard sighting but we did enjoy our other creatures too.

The cutest pair of tree squirrels tail to tail on an anthill

Beautiful male kudu

Pushme Pullyou!

A pair of common duiker

Very pretty

Mom and baby zebra

It was another perfect evening.  We had a braai and then went to the waterhole where we had fun watching elephants swimming and drinking – too dark for piccies but it was awesome.

14 November 2017 – A Wild Day In More Ways Than One

Today we were up at  3:00 am!   Yes – at the last minute yesterday we booked to go on a birding safari and the starting time was 4 in the morning!  Crazy – as it only starts getting light at 4:30 and travelling in an open vehicle can be chilly in the early morning.  But we’d heard that these bird safaris are good so we bit the bullet, went to bed early last night and were up and raring to go before the first peep from any self-respecting sparrow!

We met a French couple at reception and thought we might be on the same trip.  But our guide appeared, took our indemnity forms and explained that The Earl and I would be coming with him while the others would join another couple on a game safari.  The difference, he said, was the birding trip would concentrate on looking, obviously, for birds.  So we would go slowly and stop and look into trees etc whereas the game drivers would go faster and search for game!   However, if we happened to see animals he would certainly stop to look at them.

How lucky were Earl and I to have this guide to ourselves.   My only regret was that I didn’t wear a beany or wrap a scarf around my head – My body was warm but my head was freezing for the first hour of the trip!   We did not see much before the sun rose but the spot light did pick up fiery-necked and square tailed nightjars.   Willie, our guide, also pointed out some other birds but I couldn’t make them out at all!.  But then Dawn spread her golden light across the sky, the spotlights were switched off and we started to see some things.    Just after dawn  we spotted a hyena and Willie alerted the game tour guide. Funny how birders tend to see more than just birds!  Suddenly things started to hot up. Willy was determined to show us the most exciting birds and as he is a Sanparks  jeep jockey he is allowed off the beaten paths  which are  closed to the common man! He raced at speed over uneven terrain and came to screeching halts at the very edge of sheer cliffs!  This is not how it’s supposed to be – didn’t he say we’d be going slowly? But see things we did!  While stopped (quietly) looking at a variety of water birds in the river  we suddenly saw a lion dart into sight.  Next thing there were 11 of them!   Once again Willie alerted his friend but I don’t think they managed to see the lions as they disappeared into the bush very quickly.  We got excellent views but the light was bad and this photo taken by The Earl is the best we managed.

Soon after the lions we saw the wild dog researchers with an aerial and Willy stopped to ask if they’d found the dogs.  They were expecting them to appear in the river bed a little later.  We continued our birding and when we returned that way we were alerted by another car that the dogs had arrived and were on a kill.  The monitors were on the scene when it happened.   What a thrill to see a pack of 19 enjoying their feast.

This one was on guard

We were thrilled with the birds and animals we saw this morning even though we feared for the lives of the birds on the roadside as Willy sped along the road to find the Verreaux’s Eagle Owl – we dipped on it but found other exciting stuff like the Dickinson’s  Kestrel which was really special.  It was high in the top of a tree some distance away but I still managed to get an identifiable shot of it.

Another highlight was seeing Ground Hornbills.  Usually we spot them walking purposefully through the bush but today they were in a tree. We saw first one and then his mate came along, he flew away and she settled in his spot.  Then Willy said – they’re building a nest.  A third hornbill was in a tree opposite with a mouth full of leaves.  They are hold nesters and the first bird had flown to the hole and we watched him enter it.  The bird with a bill full of leaves just sat above perfectly still hardly moving.  We have no idea what that was all about but couldn’t  linger to find out.

Willy, our wonderful wild guide 🙂

We got back to camp at around 8 and The Earl once again whipped up a stunning breakfast of bacon and eggs.

Just after nine we set off on another game drive taking the River Drive S 135.  What a pretty route and what lovely sightings we had.

Female Nyala and fawn

Male Nyala

Goliath Heron

Hippos parked off

The highlight though was seeing elephants swimming in the river.   They were having so much fun.   They also blocked the road as they came out and we  were warned by one not to come too close!    Funny how my anxious husband thinks that amusing!

We got back to camp feeling rather peckish so popped into the restaurant for a chicken wrap each.   It was NOT The Bug and Mean – you know what I mean – The Mug and Bean.  It was the same company that are running The Rustic Kitchen at Letaba and wow did we enjoy our lunch.   So much so we did not even hungry at supper time so didn’t bother to braai.