Kruger National Park, South Africa - July 2023 - Day 4 - The Grasslands to Letaba

We had a long day today, a drive of about 170km up to Letaba Rest Camp. This had not been the initial plan, which had seen us staying overnight at Skukuza. However after I had booked the trip and all the accomodation my youngest daughter had decided that she would like to come too. I was able to add her to the existing flight booking, and increase the number of people from two to three in all of the Rest Camps except Szukuza which was by that time full. I extended the search to nearby Rest Camps of which there are quite a few, but I had to go as far north as Letaba until I found somewhere that had availability for three. Perhaps I could have chanced it, and just turned up, I'm not sure, but they do check paperwork at the Park entrance as well as the individual camps so perhaps not. From 6000 miles away it had seemed sensible to have everything planned and in order, and anyway it would allow us to see some different habitat - scrub gives way to vast grasslands as you head towards the Oliphants River. Plus you cross from Mpumalanga into the province of Limpopo - another area of the eBird map shaded in. 

We left the camp early, crossing the Sabie River just south of the camp and heading up the slope on the H10 road towards Tshokwane. The weather was a little mixed, with light rain for most of the morning and really quite cold. It took us 2.5 hours to cover the 30km to Orpen Dam because it was so good. We saw our first Ostrich, another White-browed Coucal, and some Golden-breasted Bunting. The mammal highlight was a family of Hyena lounging around outside their den not too far from the Nkumbe View Site which is about two thirds of the way to Tshokwane. The view point is magnificent by the way, you are on an escarpment looking west over a vast plain - it felt more like East Africa.

The view at Orpen Dam is also fantastic. The viewing area is almost like an amphitheatre. In the poor weather there was not a huge amount going on, a few of the now normal animals like Hippo, Elephant and Crocodile. Bird-wise there were a few Egyptian Geese, and on the slope down towards the rive (viewed from the path!) I found a White-throated Robin-Chat that the kids were not interested in!

Leopard Tortoise

Orpen Dam

We grabbed a bit of breakfast at Tshokwane before carrying on north - we needed to be at Letaba for a sunset drive and so were aiming for 4pm. The stretch of road between here and Satara camp has a few pools on the east side, and our first Jacana were here, along with African Woolly-necked Stork, Grey Heron and some hawking Little Swift. There was also another Leopard causing the usual traffic jam! 

After lunch on the go at Satara, we carried on towards Olifants. This road was excellent, with lots of game - Kudu, Impala, Zebra and Wildebeest, and at one point, three female Lions thinking about having a try but ultimately deciding to lie down and do nothing! There was some momentary excitement when a herd scattered but it turned out to be a large Baboon. There were large passerine flocks in this area, too many to count really, White-winged Widowbird and Red-billed Quelea mostly, but also lots of Golden-breasted Bunting which are really smart. Another big target fell here, Kori Bustard - Africa's largest flying bird. At the bridge over the Olifants River there were triple figures of Little Swift and lots of Plain Martin. We were now in Limpopo.

White-breasted sunbird, lower bill stained with pollen

Rufous-crowned Roller

Tawny Eagle

Kori Bustard

The savannah and grassland habitat gave way to monotonous Mopane scrub, miles of it, and very difficult to see into. This persisted all the way to Letaba, and we checked into the camp slightly ahead of schedule as we simply drove through this area without stopping. In the camp itself a short walk to the shop and back, as well as around part of the perimeter, picked up Amethyst Sunbird, lots of Arrow-marked Babbler, loads of Helmeted Guineafowl beyond the fence and a few Natal Spurfowl.

Our sunset drive was memorable, leaving the camp and following the Letaba River before heading into the bush. We encountered 2 Lions on the road after dark, as well as a Leopard that we were able to drive alongside and get amazing views as it padded along without seemingly any concern at all. I guess they are used to these trucks. This was something like our fourth Leopard in three days and this was the best views we had had, and the first one we had actually seen doing anything! We also saw Steenbok, Reedbuck, Waterbuck and Side-striped Jackal. Our day ended around a brai as was now entirely normal. If I am honest I would have loved a salad, but the fresh vegetable selection in the camp shops was beyond pitiful. Red meat all the way, which did not displease my 19 year old son in the slightest. I remember being his age....

Kruger National Park, South Africa - July 2023 - Day 3 - The Southern Park

Our hut was at the very back of the Lower Sabie next to the river, ideally situated. I left the kids sleeping in the hut and went birding along the fence for an hour before breakdast. A decent tactic and I found all sorts of things that I wouldn't see from the car - a pair of Brown-hooded Kingfisher in the trees just within the camp, an African Black-headed Oriole singing, two Southern Black-Tit, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Great Tit-Flycatcher, Ashy Flycatcher, Collared Sunbird and some Southern Grey-headed Sparrow. An African Fish-Eagle flew down the river to start its day, and a Hadada Ibis made its presence known.

After a quick breakfast we headed south towards Crocodile Bridge as we needed fuel after yesterday and the Lower Sabie petrol station was closed. So much for planning - top up when you can is the advice. Not far down this road you can take a left turn and head to the Ntandanyathi Game Viewing Hide which overlooks a small creek. Grateful for any opportunity to actually get out of the car we went to have a look. The hide is huge, loads of room, and with patience you could pick out birds - no animals other than Elephants distantly in the bush!

There were Black Crakes running along the edge and walking on floating vegetation, a huge White-browed Coucal in a bush along with a Brown-crowned Tchagra, a small group of Arrow -marked Babbler, and who can forget the mega Egyptian Geese! Lesser Striped Swallow and Wire-tailed Swallow circled the hide. This area was very productive for animals as well, with the largest herd of Buffalo that we saw in this sector of the Park. We had to wait for several minutes as some of them ambled across the road to continue grazing. Some of them were gigantic, but they seemed very calm unlike yesterday's Bull Elephant. We saw our first Yellow-billed Oxpecker associating with these animals.

The drive down to Crocodile Bridge was noteworthy for the birds of prey. More Bataleur and Fish Eagle, a Lappet-faced and White-headed Vulture in the same dead tree, and big lines of White-backed Vulture. At Crocodile Bridge there were some more new birds, a White-breasted Sunbird fed on some nearby flowering Aloes and there were Common Bulbul in the bushes. 

We got some lunch and filled up with fuel before taking the Gomondwane road back north. There were a lot of Zebra on this stretch, and I think it was also here that we saw our first Warthog. This road took us over various small rivers and birds here included Little Swift, Emerald-spotted Wood Dove, African Pied Wagtail, Little Swift and a group of African Openbill just south of Lower Sabie camp. One of the Lilac-breasted Rollers we saw didn't look quite right so I took a speculative photo of it which later turned out to be our first Rufous-crowned Roller though we were to get better views on subsequent days. As we came up on Lower Sabie again we encountered a large traffic jam. Lions, or so we thought, but in fact it turned out to be one of the big bird targets for the trip, the inimitable Southern Ground Hornbill. Massive birds with huge comedy appeal. These birds are so rare that Park Authorities like to hear of sightings, however these birds were wandering around more or less outside the camp gates!

All of this took us to around 2.30pm, so we birded sorry I mean we went looking for animals close to Lower Sabie so we could be close for our first sunset game drive. Sunset Dam is a great spot to see wildlife, with some of the biggest Crocodiles we had seen yet with a big group of Hippos. Occasionally the Crocs would disagree about something and one would have a bit of a go at another, but when two heavily armoured behemoths of approximately the same szie clash basically nothing happens, they are completely indestructible. This was definitely a spot to stay firmly in the car! 

Our sunset drive left at around 5pm and headed off into the bush after first stopping at the Dam we had just left. They tend to take roads that are closed, so you do get to go to areas you can't normally reach. The first hour or so is as the sun goes down, during which we saw quite a few birds including Double-banded Sandgrouse on the track ahead of us, and a Tawny Eagle in a tree. I think we saw Black-backed Jackal on this drive, as well as Steenbok. The final two hours of the drive were in darkness, and in truth a little long and it was pretty cold. Animals are actually few and far between, but there is always a chance of something really good as big cats do tend to use the road network! 

Back at the camp our South African neighbours took pity on our pathetic Brai-building skills, a very funny conversation ensued, and they gave us a crash course on how to do it properly. Interestingly they didn't like the game at all and insisted only on beef, whereas we had so far preferred all of the leaner wild animals. You can buy almost anything in the camp shops - we had Impala, Wildebeest, Buffalo and a few other things besides, all of which we thought much tastier! Despite this disagreement we ended up having a couple of beers with them, sampling their favourite local brews of which they had brought a fair bit with them.

Fiery-necked Nightjar

Kruger National Park, South Africa - July 2023 - Day 2 - Berg-en-Dal to Lower Sabie

Keen as mustard we were up before dawn and in the queue to leave the camp as soon as the gates opened! Woohoo! This is where the safari really starts! We turned right out of the gate, this would first take us to a water hole for dawn, and the we could drive the S110 road as part of the Matiulu Loop, transferring to the S120 which then joined the main Malalane-Skukuza paved road 

Impala

The water hole was only a few minutes away and within seconds we were watching an adult Hyena lumbering across it. Such strange looking animals with rear legs so much shorter than the front ones, a really forbidding and powerful appearance. It had a quick drink and disappeared as quickly as it had arrived - things to see, things to eat probably. We reversed our tracks a little to pick up the road, and as the day got brighter began to see birds. This is more like it! None of these big five animals please, birds is what it is all about. I basically kept eBird lists on the go at all times, and so recorded lists for stretches of road, so it's mostly impossible to say where something was. For instance the first list uses the hotspot "Matiulu loop/S110", and tells me I drove 24km in 40 minutes, during which we saw 15 species - Natal Spurfowl and Swainson's Spurfowl were pretty easy by the side of the road, and both species of Southern Hornbill (Yellow-billed and Red-billed) were very common. We were pleased with a Crested Barbet - all this is out of the window mind, you can't get out of the car, though we did have the windows open. Various Starlings were pretty abundant - Greater Blue-eared Starling, Burchell's Starling and Cape Starling - initially quite hard to get to grips with as the differences are not striking, but gradually we pieced them together. 

Crested Barbet

We stopped for breakast at the Asfaal Picnic Site where you are allowed to get our of your vehicle. There were Vervet Monkeys here, skilled pilferers of food, keen to get in on the early morning brai-ing - lots of familes were setting up stoves and cooking breakfast. At the back of the site there is a creek, and whilst our breakfast order was being prepared I did a spot of unrestricted birding. A Pied Kingfisher flew past, and 2 Chinspot Batis and 2 Black-backed Puffbacks zoomed around trees on the other side along with a Sulphur-breasted Bushshrike which was an amazing looking bird. Of course I knew none of these species, and so I was in my element, trying to get on a remember different features that would allow me to pin the species down in the field guide, especially thrilling when you already knew you were looking at a brand new bird you had never seen before anywhere. Birding is truly brilliant when you know nothing.

Black-backed Puffback

Vervet Monkey

It took nearly three hours to drive the next 22km. Why? Because as we were driving up the road after breakfast a guy coming the other way flagged us down to tell us about a Leopard! This was probably the number one animal we had wanted to see, and we were very grateful to get this gen. In fact it was pretty common, people would often stop to tell you about good animals. There was no trouble working out where it was, and we joined a long queue of cars who were slowly (and in some cases taking their sweet time!) driving past it. Eventually we made it to a spot where we could see it, and although partially obscured it was a moment I will remember for a long time. Bloody brilliant! The birds along here were pretty decent as well, with African Wooly-necked Stork and Saddle-billed Stork near some water, a huge Martial Eagle that flew over the road, and our first Red-billed Oxpecker - a bird that screams Africa for me. And loads more Bataleur...boo-oooring!

There has been loads of Impala, some Zebra, but as we approached Mathekenyane Hill we a Giraffe for the first time. Several Giraffe. Another wow I can't believe it moment. So graceful yet so lumbering, I think it was a family group with a few adults and a couple of much smaller ones (that were still pretty big!). We only saw one in the thick vegetation at first, but once we were on top of the hill with the scope we found another six slowly moving west. Too far for photos, but the scope views were sensational. 

Red-billed Oxpecker. Not sure what it is on.

We carried on further east to the Sabie River, a slow meandering drive stopping frequently to marvel at the abundant wildlife. Giraffe and Elephant were common, the density of Impala almost overwhelming, Zebra and more, especially when we got nearer the river. Near Skukuza there are crossing points, and from the car here we saw Goliath Heron, Water Thick-knee, Yellow-billed Stork, a Lizard Buzzard, several Pied Kingfisher, White-fronted Bee-eater, Bearded Woodpecker and a pair of White-backed Vulture. Our second Leopard of the trip was around here somewhere, on the main road between Szukuza and Lower Sabie, resting on a spit of sand below the road. Given that this was probably my most-wanted animal, to see two on day one had been remarkable. Before we knew it the day was nearly out - we had only driven 120km or so but it had taken all day. There had just been so much to see.

As the end of the day approached we were on our way to Sunset Dam when we heard about some Lions down the road. Before we could reach it our path was blocked by a very large Elephant. We stopped and put the car to the side of the road to let it pass, whereupon it changed direction, crossing the road diagonally straight towards us. I backed the car up a little further this time on the other side of the road. No good, the Elephant zig-zagged back our way again. I am no expert in Elephant behaviour but I did not take this to be a good sign. By now it was getting difficult to reverse as there was a queue of cars behind us. This was actually quite a scary moment. I managed to get alongside the next car back and asked what we should do. The Afrikaans voice that came back was quite clear - "We get out ov 'ere!". As this massive animal got ever closer we all just about managed to do three point turns and do exactly that. Half a mile or so down the road we stopped and I confess I was shaking. That had been a huge animal and we had been unlucky to be the first car in its way. And with what might have been our first Lions just the other side it, also what rotten luck! 

We then noticed that cars were coming the other way, cars that had been queued up behind the Elephant. It must have left the road! We quickly turned around and returned the way we had came and sure enough it was gone. And even better news, the three Lions were up ahead, chilling on the side of the road! Immense, what a day this had been. Elephant, Giraffe, 2 Leopards,3 Lions, and loads more besides.

We ended the day at Sunset Dam watching huge Crocodiles, various Waders, Helmeted Guineafowl, lots of water birds and our first Hamerkop. Checking in to Lower Sabie we went shopping for brai supplies before heading out on our first night drive. There were Hippos lumbering about in the dark, surprisingly nimble out of water, as well as Civet, Large Spotted Genet, Hyena, and on the bird front Fiery-necked Nightjar. Once back we enjoyed another terrific brai and fell asleep pretty much instantly.

Aloe - likely to be Marlothii, but many are very similar indeed.

Encephalartos - natalensis is usually the default, but perhaps this is longifolius?

Hamerkop