Kruger National Park – Day 13

2017-11-24 | puppy1952

22 November 2017 – Birthday Surprises

I am celebrating my birthday in my most favourite place in the world. Who could ask for a better gift than that! And all my birthday wishes came true today. The creatures of the Kruger National Park popped up to say Hi.

I had no plans to celebrate in any way – just being here was enough for me. But my darling husband arranged for us to make a breakfast stop at Mopani Rest Camp because they have such a lovely restaurant overlooking the Luluvu River. Letaba’s restaurant is closed and there is only The Rustic Kitchen to replace it. This meant quite a long drive there but we had some lovely sightings and every time something interesting happened, Pat said, “Happy Birthday, Helen!”

And it did seem as if though some of the animals knew it was my special day. A giraffe crossed the road, stopped and looked right at me ane I believe sent me a birthay greeting.

And so did this buffalo!

Who’s the birthday girl then?

This warthog provided some amusing entertainment

Mud, glorious mud

I need a good scratch

Oh Hi, didn’t see you there – Happy Birthday

Birding is our passion and today we saw some lovely specials

Marsh Sandpiper

White-Crested Helmet-Shrike

Red-billed Ox-peckers on a buffalo’s back

Namaqua Dove

Kori Bustard

My birthday breakfast was fantastic. What a view we had and what lovely birds we saw from the deck.

The deck at the Mopani Restaurant

A really scrumptious breakfast

The temperature got up to 40 degrees C today but we were relatively cool in our airconditioned vehicle. However, opening the windows to take photographs let in the hot air and by the time we got back to Letaba we were all ready for a swim.

In the pool I chatted to an older lady who was such an inspiration. She and her hubby were still travelling and having lovley holidays together. Then she went out and the next thing I knew she’d slipped and fallen. I leapt out of the pool to see how she was. How amazing was her attitude. “I’m fine,” she said, “It’s just my dignity that’s damaged!” There were two young men immediately on the scene and her husband said, “Don’t pull her up by her arms.” He put a towel under her arms and then said, “Pull her up using the towel.” It worked perfectly and she was absolutely fine.

I went in for a little longer and then we all got out and would you believe – Pat slipped and landed flat on her back hitting her hand hard as she fell. Oh horror! We used the towel trick to get her up too. Unfortunately her hand was really hurt. Back at camp we iced it and I put an ice-pack in the freezer that she could use in the night. Earl strapped her up as best he could and she insisted that she would be fine. (I am writing this two days later so I can report that she went to Skukuza the next day to consult a doctor and is now in a brace and on medication for the pain. If the swelling does not go down she will have to have x-rays but right now she is comfortable.)

Without my noticing, The Earl slipped into the park shop at Mopani and bought a bottle of champagne which he chilled in the car fridge. So when we were about to pour our sundowners out came the champers to celebrate my 65th birthday!

Cheers! ( I’m sure my sister approves)

The Earl refused to let anybody help with the preparation of my celebratory meal tonight and presented us with a Master Chef quality chicken dish. It was to die for.

Enjoying my dinner in the bush

Pat with injured wrist on ice managed with one hand

Another African day under the belt!

Kruger National Park Day 1

2017-11-13 | puppy1952

10 November 2017 – Tsendze

We left Haenertzburg, with new caravan in tow at 8:30 this morning. We stopped at Tzaneen Lifestyle Centre for breakfast and to do some last minute shopping and then we were finally off to my most favourite place in the world – The Kruger National Park.

When I saw the familiar road sign indicating the direction of the park I really started to get excited. Two and half hours later we were there – Phalaborwa Gate welcomed us and check in was quick and smooth.

Our Home on Wheels

Once on the road to Mopani 77 km further on I breathed in the sweet air of the bushveld and sat back to enjoy the three hour ride. Yes – that’s how long you take to travel distances in the park as the speed limit is 40km on dirt and 50km on tar – but you hardly ever go that fast as you travel slowly while searching the bush for life.

And what do you think our first mammal was? No not an impala which is the most common creature in the park

It was an elephant!

The impala, of course, did appear as did many zebra and as we travelling near the river there were lots of buffalo too.

Very common, but very pretty

Mommy and Baby

Who do you think you’re looking at!

At the bridge we spotted a pied kingfisher looking for lunch while further up the river a herd of elephants crossed over. Water buck were about too.

Sometimes the ride becomes quiet and for a while you don’t see anything and then just when you’re about to fall asleep with boredom something crops up to excite you. Today a shape appeared at the side of the road and I yelled out to the Earl to slow down.

“What?” he said

“A puppy,” I squealed

and there al by itself lay the tiniest hyena cub you could ever wish to see.

“Where is your mommy?” I asked him and he just stared sleepily at me.

“Hey! Here she is on my side!” noticed the earl after 3 whole minutes of looking through my window.

And sure enough there was mom with another little pup – just off the road.

Hyenas tend to make their dens in culverts under the road so they surely must have had one just there.

Korhaans often appear and sometimes very photogenic.

But today the fronds of grass kept preventing me from getting good shots.

A tortoise crossed our path

After checking in at Mopani Camp – there’s no check in office at Tsenze Rustic Camp 6km from there – we went to the restaurant for a bite to eat. The restaurant overlooks the river and there were many interesting things to watch.

We then made our way Tsendze Rustic Camp where there is no electricity and just two camp attendants ensuring that the campers are happy. The facilities are in pristine condition, it is quiet and the camp is full of birdlife – it’s really back to nature. When you enter and leave you have to open and close the gate, looking around for dangerous wildlife as you do so! As we drove around looking for campsite number 22 we spotted the barred owlet – this is really a special find.

Then began the set up process. Now remember this was the first time with the new caravan. And The Earl suffers from anxiety and I am not the most patient psychiatric nurse. I steeled myself for half an hour of stress and panic. We unpacked to perfectly colour labelled tent poles and studied the perfectly clear diagram. It was all very straightforward but The Earl wanted to beat the clock – and every time he encountered a problem like forgetting where he put the mallet his stress levels rose. At least 10 times I had to remind him to breath and take it slowly. “It will all come together in the fullness of time.” And of course it did and it was so much easier than our previous caravan’s set-up process!

We spent the rest of the afternoon sorting out where we would put things while in camp so that we didn’t have to do too much digging into bags and boxes.

Then we poured ourselves a drink and went over to chat to the neighbours who coincidently we’d met during check in at Mopani. They are from Louis Trichardt and have a really smart fold out caravan. Once it’s set up it is bigger and more luxurious than our one. The bedroom has an island bed. There are three times as many cupboards and they have a lovely seating area inside as well as out. Their bathroom is also twice the size as ours. But I love our compact little set up and would not swap it now!

The weather has been stunning – overcast but no rain, no wind and it is warm. We had a wonderful braai this evening and were in our brand new king size bed by 9 pm! It was too warm for under the duvet so we slept with just a sheet.

Kruger National Park Day 13

2014-07-26 | puppy1952

Friday 11 July 2014 Mopani Morning Drive
We were up around 7 a.m. and the temperature was 0 degrees C. It warmed up to 24 later in the day. Dressing in jeans, long sleeved t-shirt jersey, fleece and jacket kept the cold out before the layers needed to be removed.
After a wonderful Early breakfast we set off at 8 and drove around the roads near the camp as there was really not much to see. Lion have been spotted in the area but we didn’t find them.
First up was a beautiful martial eagle atop a nearby tree. Unfortunately we had to look right into the sun and when we moved there were branches preventing good photography so we just enjoyed him for a few minutes before moving on.
We found a small herd of wildebeest next and then turned onto the Mooiplaas loop. This is what we found.
A dainty female steenbok who posed beautifully her portrait.

A large herd of buffalo at Waterhole number 2

On the Confluence Lookout we saw a Gabar Goshawk flying past.
On the H1-6 we saw lots of waterpuck and then stopped at Mooiplaas Picnic site for a walk and a loo break.
On the return road we found a beautiful groundscraper thrush – first one this trip.

We spent some time in Shipandane Hide and observed Great White Egret, Woolly necked storks, hippos, and waterbuck.

Back at camp, we had lunch on the stoop and then rested for a while before venturing out on a short afternoon drive.
This proved to be more productive than our morning excursion. There was a long period of nothing and then a few views of zebra on the S114. Being birders we stopped to see a tchagra and coucal and got some good shots.

Coucal

We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn then we took Capricorn loop. We saw elephant, zebra and wildebeest. It became interesting after the waterhole called Nwambu. Elephants, and buffalo. After the second waterhole we found kori bustards, Namaqua doves, a bateleur and a black shouldered kite.

Kori Bustards

Bateleur

More elephant appeared to give us an adrenalin rush. The big tuskers are always interesting.

We had set out at 3:30 and gate closing is at 5:30 so we could not stop for anything but the most exciting sightings. I yelled you have to stop – It’s tsessebe. Tsessebe were reintroduced to The Park 20 years ago and now if you see them you must report it to the rangers. We saw three.

On our last stretch we were racing for the gate when Heather called – stop Jackal. It was difficult to stop as a car was on our tail but we did and watched a side-striped jackal running into the deep bush. That was a really special sighting as they are not as common as black backed jackal. Unfortunately he was gone before we could get a photograph.

Sunset was stunning this evening

Nobody felt like cooking this evening so we decided to go to the restaurant. We were relieved that it was not The Mugg & Bean. We had a very pleasant evening and the food was delicious.

Kruger National Park Day 12 Scary Encounter with an Elephant

2014-07-26 | puppy1952

10 July 2014 Olifants to Mapane Camp. Temperature at departure 4 Degrees C
It was a chilly start to the day. We woke at five, packed up and departed for Mopani just after 6 It was still dark but the light arrived suddenly and we had a few good sightings.
First up was a grey duiker disappearing into the bush. Next a pair of Sandgrouse but we missed the photo opportunity.
Then we almost knocked into a hippo who was making his way back to the river after a long night of grazing on land. He had a way to go still.
We met up with elephants at regular intervals – all lone bulls. On the S 94 We found a lone buffalo, warthogs, giraffe and tree squirrels within minutes of each other.

Lone Bull Elephant

Warthogs

Lone buffalo

Giraffe

Tree Squirrels

We arrived at Letaba at 8:30 and it was now 10 degrees C. We went to Mug and Bean for breakfast. This time was not as good as the last. Typical of M and B we have found, they did not have all the ingredients advertised on the menu. We complained and the waiter was great. He told us that the management had not got the ordering right yet. We told him we would be complaining to both Sanparks and M&B head office. If they are going to put these big franchises into the park they have to be at least as good as the last one,Tree, with whom we were always superbly impressed. M&B service is slow (it was not busy), they get the orders wrong and they don’t have what’s advertised on the menu. We overheard another patron saying to the waitress “Do I need to order the night before to get breakfast in the morning?” We sympathized!
The food is actually fine when it arrives so there is nothing wrong with the ability of the chefs – it’s the organisation that is faulty. When Mugg & Bean first hit Cape Town, I found their coffee absolutely aweful but that at least has improved. My coffee was hot, strong and black the way I like it and they gave it to me in the requested cup. When I was done I was immediately offered a refill. Mugg & Bean if you can just get your service and organisation right you might just make the grade in Kruger.
Bushbuck frequently come into Letaba Camp and we found another one just outside the restaurant.
Back on the H1-6 we had sightings of giraffe and baboon and other animals. The baboons amused us with their antics.

We stopped at the Montambeni Hide at about 11 and found fish eagle, hippos and crocs. Buck were also on the banks but little else.

As we left we found a small herd of zebra. As we pulled away they started running. “Something’s spooked them,” said Peter. Maybe a lion. Go back Earl.” Earl obliged, reversing slowly and checking the bush carefully. Then – omigosh a huge bull elephant emerged from the bush and came straight for the car. “Go Earl, Go!” I yelled to Earl. He pulled away slowly and the elephant was almost touching the car. Even though I was in a state of terror I took a photograph for those who found our crushed bodies to observe what had happened!

Being chased by an elephant is not funny! This was taken from the front passenger seat through the back window of the Caravelle

Earl took out his cell phone and took photos through the side mirror. We all went into panic mode and begged him to go faster. “No, he said, “he’s far away!” The thing was that through the side mirror things look further away than they are so we yelled louder. Earl just laughed and continued snapping photos.

The elephant increased his pace, flapped his ears and waved his trunk. We were in fits of nervous giggles and screaming hysterically. Earl is normally very wary of ellies but being in front gave him a feeling of power. I kept yelling – He’s flapping his ears. He’s going to charge. Finally Earl decided that caution was the better part of valour and went a little faster and thankfully the elephant let us go.

After that adrenalin rush we all reprimanded the errant driver for his casual attitude to a dangerous, wild creature. Only after examining his own photos days later, did he admit that he had taken a bit of a chance! Never ever fool around when elephants are about – they can be unpredictable and are quite capable of overturning and crushing a vehicle even if it is as big as a Caravelle.

We cruised slowly along until the S62 where I saw the birds we missed this morning – double banded sandgrouse – this time there were 2 adults with a single tiny chick. We managed to get photos but the chick was hidden by the parents.

By 11 the temperature has risen to 22 degrees C. On the H1-6 we found zebra then a lilac breasted roller with a large insect. We watched it devour its prey before carrying on.

We stopped at Mooiplaas picnic site for a loo break and to enjoy the shady trees and river outlook. In this section of the park the picnic sites are unspoiled and lovely. Long may this last!

We found a brown hooded kingfisher in a tree and took some photographs.

We did the river loop and stopped to observe for a while. A pied kingfisher entertained us by catching and devouring a fish.
We arrived at Mopani at 2 o’clock, checked in a spent the rest of the day in camp.