Blogs from Kruger National Park, Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa - page 5

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Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park October 10th 2016

We had a warm welcome at Lower Sabie Camp by a herd of elephants. We checked into our rondola at about 4pm and debated whether to have a shower (it had been several days!) or just go for food at the restaurant. We decided the latter, and I'm glad we did. We had a show of elephants walking by during the whole meal. This is real Africa! The next day, our first real day at this camp, we set off driving with high hopes of finding big cats as this is what the Lower Sabie area is known for. We had a few lion sightings but what was really noticeable was the sheer number of elephants along the river. It was as if someone had come along and just released a freight train full of elephants! ... read more
Just another evening at the Lower Sabie restaurant
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No-one can say we do things by halves. Whereas most people stay in the Kruger national park for about five days, maybe up to two weeks, we have so far been here about four weeks but are planning to spend a whopping 66 days in total! Having said that, while most people spend a good eight hours or so game driving, we would spend only about two to four hours a day. That was about the limit for the kids. On top of that, we alternated taking Jake for his nap drive while the other one stayed at camp for some quality time with Kyla. Scott described Kruger to the kids as "the biggest zoo in the world" where the people were in cages and the animals could roam freely. Kyla would sometimes go into our ... read more
Safari kids
Elephant skull (I think)
African drumming - those music classes paid off after All!

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park September 9th 2016

Oh to have friends who love nature! Rock Fig safari lodge is based in the Timbavati and at the moment sleeps 8 people in 4 rondavels. The main entertaining area over looks a small dam and a water hole. There is a pool from which you can also see any visitors who would like a drink. We had driven from Joburg into the Timbavati and met the rest of our group, who had flown into Hoedspruit, our drive was approx 5 hours. As soon as we arrived I knew this was going to be an awesome experience. For me it was the first time at Rock Fig. For the rest of the group, including the owners, this was a yearly trip. Our luggage was taken to our accommodation and we met everyone at the sofa area ... read more
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Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park September 5th 2016

Geo: -23.926, 31.4209Seems like our plans are always changing. Planned on seeing zebra and hippo. Radio traffic between guides who have seen a pack of wild dogs. About as rare of sighting as the cheetah. Off we go. Found them. I was shooting pictures of them as they crossed the road because the might keep going. Nope. They stopped on the road! After that we did see hippo plus other animals. Afternoon drive, our last one. We left early because the cheetah has made a kill and will be in the area and every other group will be heading there. Find the kill but no cheetah. To prevent being ambushed by another predator like the lion or leopard, they move away. In this case about 150m. He didn't pick a great spot to be viewed from ... read more
Morning drive
Morning drive
Morning drive

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park September 4th 2016

Geo: -23.926, 31.4209What a beautiful Sunday morning. Saw 6 rhino today. While a foot we had a close encounter with a bull elephant. Rule number one, don't run! He made a couple of charges and vocalized he didn't want us any closer. He finally backed away and we did too. We later tried to find the lion pack that had killed a buffalo but they had left for water. Maybe this afternoon. We have having extraordinary luck. Some of the encounters we have had our guide hasn't experienced in months. It's not always the photos but the behaviours too. We watches two rhino heading for a watering hole. It was just mud. The guide said you could see the disappointment almost. They had another walk ahead of them to another watering hole. They did like the ... read more
Morning Drive
Morning Drive
Morning Drive

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park September 3rd 2016

Geo: -23.926, 31.4209The lions we saw last night were on the move. They came almost to the lodge site definitely looking for some. It turned out that another group had killed a water buffalo the day before. The male in that group made a bad decision to let others know. The two male were going to find this male and if possible kill it. That's the law of the wild. We tracked them to the site. When they got close, the two split up to try to ambush the male. The male spotted them and took off running with the other two closing in. It was amazing to watch this all happen at a distance. Other animals were running from this situation. We couldn't see the attack but we heard a small scream. The guide figures ... read more
Up to no good
Running from the commotion
Kruger

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park September 2nd 2016

Geo: -23.926, 31.4209Early morning. Depart lodge at 5:30am. Arrive airport by 7:00. We have a couple of hours to waste in OR Tambo airport in Johannesburg before heading to Skukuza our gateway to Kruger. Uneventful trip to Lions Sands Reserve in Kruger.We arrived in time for the afternoon game drive. Again we found lions. It was a hard time getting to them this time. Over VERY rocky and rough terrain. There were two males and a female. Dinner was served in the wild under the stars. A very nice start.... read more
Welcome on the bed
Nyala
Kruger

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park September 1st 2016

Geo: -24.0264, 31.4648Happy September everyone. Our morning drive was pleasant temperature wise. Day one was very cold but got hot in the afternoon. The temps moderated for the entire day but was windy. We tried to find the hippos. No luck. Of course we found the female lion. We had great luck with that cats. We were on our way back to the lodge and there she was. If we were heading the other way, we would not have spotted her. We pulled in to view her and she decided she needed a better view of the impala. She walked straight towards us. I don't think she realizes we are there. She was fixed on the impala. Too far to see a kill. After our morning game drive, our group & guide did a boat tour ... read more
The Morning Drive
The Morning Drive
The Morning Drive


Reaching Johannesburg on 9th morning at 11:00, we headed straight to get the rental car. The person that helped us at budget/avis counter was not very nice. He would not explain anything about insurance or other stuff even after asking, when saying anything kind of mumbled it. Could not hear us at all, kept saying "sorry sorry" to make us repeat what we are saying - while the lady at other counter was actually able to hear us. Finally we did manage to get a car we wanted and drive off with it. The start was a bit confusing and we started off in the wrong direction first. Thanks to GPS though, it did not take too long to realise that, and then return and off to right freeway. The drive towards Kruger is nice, the ... read more
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Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park October 13th 2015

It’s been about 3 years since I posted on this blog, but that doesn’t mean I have stopped travelling! Since then I have been on safari in Tanzania, completed my master in Amsterdam and travelled to many new places around Europe. Not to mention a couple of Aussie East Coast trips; the first with my Aussie friend Katerina who I met in Sweden and the second with my friend Tiffa who is Venezuelan, but living in the Netherlands. Now a new journey has begun in South Africa! I can’t decide what flight I enjoy more: Brisbane to Europe or Brisbane to South Africa. On the way to Europe I usually experience two stopovers. The first is usually in Singapore and the second somewhere in the Middle East. The whole trip is about 24 hours with the ... read more




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