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Published: June 17th 2017
01 Blue Wildebeest
A Blue Wildebeest with zebra and impala in the background.Geo: -25.2174, 27.0071
We entered the park at about 7am this morning and drove along Dithabaneng Drive. This side of the park is usually a quiet area. We soon came across a large herd of grazers. There were zebra, blue wildebeest and impala spread out over a large area and busily eating grass. This was a really nice sighting as they were quite a few young blue wildebeest. I have not seen many young ones before. Their fur is a light brown caramel colour. We watched them as they moved along in the bush.
Paul was also looking out his side of the car. When we looked at the road for animal tracks he noticed a pair of dung beetles. The male was rolling along the ball of dung and the female was hitching a ride. He then fell off and for at least a minute was trying to flip himself back on his feet. In the meantime the female just sat on the dung ball waiting for him to sort himself out. It was a comical sight to see the dung beetle on its back kicking its legs about. Paul got out of the car and helped him back on his
02 Baby
A baby Blue Wildebeest is light brown in colour. feet.
Looking back at the animals we noticed a black rhino had appeared from the bush - a nice surprise. The animals were slowly moving as they ate. Then we noticed a little Black Backed Jackal run through the herd. In front of us the animals crossed the road.
About ten minutes later we arrived at Malatse Dam. Here we got out and walked to the hide. From the hide we had a great view of a Grey Heron and the scenic surrounding area. On the way back to the car we noticed some deep hippo prints in the mud, but could not see any hippos about. We didn't spend more than five minutes in this hide as there wasn't much around, not even birds (except for the heron).
Five minutes after leaving the hide we saw three white rhinos in the distance with their heads down as they were busy eating grass. We then spotted a bull elephant that was walking away from the road – so it wasn't a very good sighting.
Our next stop was the Ratlhogo Hide. Here we saw a hippo floating about in the water. We only briefly saw its head and it stayed in
04 Then a Rhino Appeared
We were surprised when this rhino appeared amongst the general game. the middle of the dam. Back on the road we spotted another rhino, this time a white one. About fifteen minutes later we arrived at the Pilanesberg Centre. There is a little cafe here as well as a curio shop. Here we stopped for twenty minutes as we had a cold drink on the deck.
On the deck there is a great view of the park and a small pan. Unfortunately there were no animals to view. We drove back along the way we came as we could see some wildebeest in that direction. A large herd of wildebeest were right by the road resting in the shade of small trees. It was nice to have a close up of the young wildebeest. On the opposite side of the road there was a white rhino sitting under a tree with a wildebeest standing next to it.
We then turned around and again stopped at the Pilanesberg Centre as I saw some animals near the building. This time from the deck we saw a herd of Red Hartebeest standing around and a family of warthogs drinking water. We left when they walked away.
Our next stop was the Makorwane Dam. Here we
07 Jackal
A Black Backed Jackal amongst the grass. saw a family of warthogs, waterbuck and a couple of elephants in the distance. We continued our morning game drive - even though it was already past midday. The last stop for the morning was the popular Mankwe Hide. Just like yesterday this was a great place for sightings. We saw terrapins and fish rise to the top of the water, mother with her young hippo and various birds. Finally we were on the road back to the camp - after we watched a herd of blue wildebeest walk in a line and after we had another glimpse of a couple of elephants.
When we got back to camp, it was virtually emptied out. Most of the campers must have been here for the weekend and have gone back to Johannesburg/Pretoria. We will enjoy the quieter campsite! The next few hours we spent relaxing, eating lunch and having a swim.
Just after 4pm we set out for our afternoon game drive. Firstly we saw a few elephants that were just by the road. They were not doing much, except for flapping their ears about. We drove along Tilodi Loop and then back on the main road towards Mankwe Dam. In Tilodi
08 Walking
The baby Blue Wildebeest and the zebra are walking. Dam we saw a hippo floating in the water and I'm sure that there were more under the water. We saw plenty of general game – blue wildebeest, impala, zebra and kudu. On the hill we noticed a pair of black rhino, it was a mother and her small calf.
It was now nearly 6pm, the sun was setting and dark clouds appeared. We drove along Mankwe Dam. It started to rain. The blue wildebeest, zebra, waterbuck, springbok and various birds did not seem to mind. The light was amazing. We took many photos and even more when the rainbow appeared. The rain didn't last for very long.
We drove out the park gate just in time before they closed it.
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