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Published: June 17th 2017
01 Camouflaged
A waterbuck is camouflaged with the surrounding dry bush.Geo: -23.926, 31.4209
This morning we got up early and prepared ourselves for a day out. We were going to spend the day in Kruger National Park. It would take us about an hour to get there. We left Maninghi Lodge just after 6am. On the drive out we saw a few animals – waterbuck, kudus and impalas. It was an easy drive to Kruger on the main roads.
Once in the park using the Phalaborwa Gate, we drove slowly and enjoyed all the animal sightings. I was happy to be back in Kruger, as it had been four years since we were here! To begin with, we saw giraffe on the way to Sable Hide. Here we parked and got out to spend some time in the hide. From the hide we could see many impalas grazing. Two of the male impalas were play fighting with their horns. We could hear a sound as the horns hit each other.
On the other side of the dam there was a small herd of buffaloes. We watched them as they drank and had a little walk in the water. There was also an African Fish Eagle sitting on the top branch of a dead
02 Kudu
A male kudu with its long twisted horns. tree watching the dam. It was quite a scenic view of the dam from the hide, especially on this sunny day.
Back on the road we stopped to watch giraffe and a tortoise that had just crossed the road ahead of us and was trying to hide in its shell. Further on we could see the top of some hippos as they floated in the water. There was also a crocodile resting on the bank, grazing zebra and impalas.
We had a break from driving to stretch our legs at Letaba rest camp. I was quite excited to be here, as recently my favourite coffee chain had opened cafes in Kruger and there was one here! Paul and I choose a table outside so that we would have a good view of the river. I really enjoyed my coffee and muffin. It was just a quick break here.
From the rest camp we could see various birds, a herd of grazing impalas and unfortunately not much else. I would have expected to see animals come to drink, but as I have learnt about the bush, it's all about timing and patience. After a little walk along the lookout, we got back in
03 Impala
A male impala eating the remaining green leaves. the car and drove in a southerly direction as we were exiting the park via a different gate than we had entered.
We were now back on the road and it was my turn to drive. We saw kudus and baobab trees. The main road that we were on was parallel to a river. The river was quite dry and there were many exposed rocks. By the river we saw impalas, waterbuck and many hippos – both in the water and sleeping in the sun.
When we arrived at a bridge, I parked the car and we got out. This was one of the few bridges in the park where tourists are able to alight from their vehicle and walk along the bridge. We scanned the area with the binoculars. On one of the sandy islands there was a waterbuck and I watched it as it walked about. At the other side of the bridge there was a herd of waterbuck grazing.
Looking down into the water we spotted a terrapin floating along with the current, a hippo standing in the water hiding next to rocks, a large crocodile sitting partly submerged in the water and another smaller crocodile that
04 Giraffe
A giraffe eating as it watches us take photos. was moving along with the current.
It was now time to get back in the car, Paul's turn to drive and continue our travels through Kruger. Our next sighting was a herd of impalas, a dazzle of zebras and more hippos clumped together as they basked in the sun.
Paul then spotted a couple of elephants on top of a hill, unfortunately it wasn't a very clear sighting. Luckily we saw more elephants soon after and the sighting was much better. Firstly it was an old male elephant outside my side of the car that was happily eating dry twigs. A few minutes later we came across a young elephant that was rolling around in some mud and using its trunk to splash mud over its body.
In the distance we then spotted some buffaloes. We then noticed that it was a huge herd, about two hundred of them. They were walking in a long line with their heads down and partly hidden due to the long grass. The herd seemed to stretch out as far as my eye could see. They were about one hundred metres from the road.
A little while later we came across four old dagga
05 Play Fighting
Two male impalas play fighting. boys sitting resting under a tree, then a unique sighting – four Ground Hornbill adults and their young chick. The young chick was large in size, but had not yet developed the black feathers or the red patch of bare skin.
We had a quick stop for a cold drink, ice-cream and leg stretch at Satara rest camp. Paul took a little detour which was parallel to a small river. Then saw a troop of baboons and I enjoyed watching the mothers with their young ones. There were also wildebeest resting in the shade of a tree, more baboons foraging for food, waterbuck, a small herd of breeding elephants, a trio of giraffe and more waterbucks. We were lucky to have seen these animals, as it was now the heat of the day.
Turning back onto the main road we drove towards the gate. On this part of the drive we saw hippos floating close to each other, more Ground Hornbills and more elephants. On the road ahead there was quite a bit of traffic – this meant that there must be a pretty good sighting ahead. We found out that there were lions about. At first it was hard to
07 By the Dam
A herd of impalas by the dam, grazing and play fighting. see them, as they camouflaged quite well with the sand they were lying on. There were three lionesses and they were all sleeping, so we didn't stay long as they were boring to watch. We then heard from other people that there was a leopard spotted walking along the dry river bed. At this stage I was driving and thanks to my slow reaction, we only got a glimpse of its tail. By the time Paul took over, it had walked out of view.
Soon after we left the park through Orpen Gate and said goodbye to Kruger until next time we visit. It took us about two hours to get back to the lodge because we stopped in Hoedspruit for a few groceries.
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