Blogs from Mpumalanga , South Africa, Africa - page 37

Geo: -25.4572, 31.4981Our first sighting on the early morning game drive was a lioness that was sleeping in the grass. It looked like she had recently had a good feed – as her belly was full looking. She woke a few minutes later and walked off into the bush and was then out of sight. Soon after, we came across a bull elephant and a monitor basking on a rock by a river. On the way back to camp we stopped and watched a Giant African Land Snail as it slowly walked across the road. We got back to camp at about 9, had breakfast, packed up and left about forty-five minutes later.On the way to our next camp site at Berg en Dahl we stopped to watch a tortoise walk along the road. We also ... read more

Geo: -24.9854, 31.6018Our first destination for the morning game drive was the place where we saw the many hyenas yesterday afternoon. This morning there was only one hyena to see. It was an adult one and it was just lying down and looking very sleepy. We patiently waited around hoping that more would come out of the bush, but no such luck so we continued driving. The next stop was to watch a large Rock Monitor enjoying the warm morning sun as it lay on a rock. We then saw impalas and zebras on our way to the top of a look out. At the lookout we were able to get out and stretch our legs. It was a nice view from here, but a bit too high to actually see any animals. Soon after, we ... read more

Geo: -24.3992, 31.7297Once again we got up early and went for a morning game drive. In return for getting up early we were rewarded with great sightings. About fifteen minutes after leaving camp we spotted a leopard up a tree! I think it had just finished eating, as it had a huge belly and was standing up as it licked it paws. The carcass next to it belonged to an impala. After watching it for about five minutes as he licked his paws, he jumped out of the tree and ran off into the bush. A little while later we drove past a car that had flipped onto its side – don't know how that would be possible with a speed limit of 40 km, maybe an elephant was responsible. Our luck just kept improving, as ... read more

Geo: -24.3892, 31.7572We woke up early when the alarm went off and went for our morning game drive. Our hope was to see the leopard on his warthog kill, so we drove directly to that tree. Just before we arrived at the tree, a clan of three Spotted Hyenas were running along the road towards us. We stopped the car and they continued running and ran past us. It was a bit unusual to see so many hyenas together, I've usually seen just one at a time. A few minutes later we arrived at the tree. A lot of the warthog had been eaten and many of its bones were now visible. Unfortunately there was no sign of the leopard. The only animal at the tree was a Spotted Hyena circling the bottom of the tree ... read more

'Ask in Paris, Berlin, or New York what the number one trail in Kruger is, and they'll all tell you - Sweni. We are the best. We are the A-Team'. Lourens and Nthambelenin ('call me Ndou - it's easier') our rangers, introduced themselves to us thus around the campfire. 'You Europeans are lost. We are going to bring you back to nature'. Explaining the morning routine, Lourens said 'there are no alarm clocks here - don't worry you'll be woken up - early'. Indeed, around 04.30 Ndou wisphered a soft good morning outside our A-frame hut, and I heard the sound of warm water being poured into the enamel basin on the porch. By flashlight I washed my face and tried to wake myself up. After a quick cup of tea (a huge kettle of water ... read more