Just back from a 10 day family trip to Kruger National Park in South Africa. On this trip I wanted to stay within the park at camps that I have never been to or stayed at before, to get a feel for all the different hidden ares of Kruger. So we decided to do 2 nights at Tamboti tented camp on the far West, 2 nights at Sirheni bush camp in the North, 2 nights at Letaba in the middle and a final 3 nights at Lower Sabie in the South. We entered the park via Skukuza airport and picked up a 4x4 from our usual supplier Bushlore, who supply excellent quality Toyota Landcruisers perfectly adapted for life in Kruger, with fridges and every off road tool you could require.
Our beast for Kruger
We set off from the airport and our first bird of the trip was a lovely Lizard buzzard waiting in a tree outside the airport, but I didn’t manage to get a useable image. We then crossed the sand river and got our first elephants and crocodiles, and I also managed to get this shot of a Hamerkop fishing in the fast flowing part of the river.
Kruger seemed extremely dry this year, drier than normal, so the steep banks along the Sand River were teaming with wildlife coming to get a drink from the only source of water in the area. We were very lucky along the H1-2 and had all sorts of sightings and a nice pride of lions within 20 minutes of leaving the airport. It became even more apparent how lucky we were with sightings on that stretch as when we took the S36 dirt road, sightings were few and far between and the dry season was in full swing, with all the natural waterholes dried up and dust billowing behind the vehicle. We did manage this wide-eyed Brown Snake-eagle doing what it says on the tin, eating snakes.
We also got to see this big male tusker alongside the road. Most of these big old elephants have been named in Kruger, so if anyone knows his name I would love to know.
Tusker
We reached Tamboti just in time before the gates shut and checked into our lovely tented camp overlooking the Timbavati river. After a traditional Braai dinner, we did a perimeter night walk to see what we could see. Right as we got to the entry gates we heard the chilling roar of a lion very close by, along with the haunting call of hyena which was also too close for comfort. We quickly scurried back to the safety of our safari tents.
Our lodgings at Tamboti
The next day we headed to Satara via the dirt roads, with the plan to stop off at the most southerly Baobab in Kruger, a famous tree and landmark, that to my surprise is now off limits to visit, apparently due to it falling down. So after a quiet morning on the sightings front, we went to Satara camp for breakfast and to see if the notorious African Scops owls were still around. I have seen the owls here since my first visit in 2010. They obliged but were in a really awkward position for photography.
African Scops Owl
We then headed back to our camp as were were booked on to a sunset drive organised by Sanparks with one of their guides. It was a really productive drive and we got nice and close to this young mother elephant drinking from a spring.
The sun set and things started to heat up as the nocturnal animals came out to play. We had great views of hyena with cubs, a Saddle-billed stork in its roost, an African wildcat, and Small-spotted genet.
Hyena pup
Small-spotted Genet
African Wildcat
The next day we had to pack up and hit the open road as we needed to head to the far North to get to Sirheni, which was a full days drive away. I last went to the northern section of Kruger in 2011, so I have forgotten what it looks like and what to expect. Most people who go to Kruger visit the south as that is the best place for the big game, and it's said that the north is generally better for birding. Anyway, just before we passed Satara, we had a great sighting of a clan of Hyenas playing in a waterhole, splashing and attacking each other. Weirdly enough a herd of zebra and wildebeest were walking directly towards the waterhole and didn’t seem too bothered by 6 hyena. I think lucky for them, the hyena were well fed, and were probably thinking of going to bed for the day.
Spotted Hyena
We had plenty sightings along the infamous H1-4 tar road, mainly just plains game and then eventually reached the Olifants bridge, a place where you are allowed to alight from your vehicle (at your own risk) to admire the epic views the impressive Olifants river. We did just that and an obliging Giant Kingfisher landed next to me on the bridge and allowed me to get these frame filling shots in perfect light.
Giant Kingfisher headshot
Olifants River
Giant Kingfisher
Then the people in the car in front of us, who were parked quite far away were waving at us saying ‘get in your car, get in your car’. I turned around and this beast was walking right towards me. Just wow!
Spotted hyena sneaking up on me as I was out my vehicle
Pressing on north we had a little break at Malopenyana pan, which is always productive for large herds of elephant drinking and splashing in the waterhole there. It didn’t dissapoint and we managed some great close ups of elephant and zebra.
After a long days drive we finally arrived in the Sirheni region, greeted by this huge Secretary bird. We checked into the remote Sirheni bush camp and a wondered around the grounds to see what we could pick up. It was teaming with bird life considering we were in the dry / winter season and we saw Chinspot Batis, Meve’s starling, Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver, Sharpe’s Grysbok and a stunning Little Sparrowhawk hunting and catching bats that were coming out of roost. We even saw a white, presumably albino bat, which surely has its cards marked due to how easy it was to spot.
Secretary Bird
The next day we wanted to get as far north as possible, to get to the Pafuri region as it is known to be the best birding route in Kruger. We set off on the long journey North, roughly 76 km, which at the start was dominated by Mopani woodland, which I am really not a fan of. I find it unproductive with sightings which can be quite boring on long drives, and vast swathes of the north are dominated by Mopani trees. There were also a lot of wild fires that were completely out of control, and not the usual controlled burns you often see in Kruger. It was nice to see Drongo’s, Rollers and even a Kori Bustard using the fires to their advantage, picking off insects trying to escape the fires.
Purple Roller hawking insects from the wildfires
We got to the destination and took the S64 dirt road towards Thulemela archeological site, and the landscape and vegetation dramatically changed. It felt a bit like jungle book or something, and was dramatically different to anywhere else I have seen in Kruger, with steep cliffs, massive ancient Baobab trees and red sandy soils. It was jaw dropping and instantly alive with birds and wildlife sightings, a noticeable difference from the ever present Mopani on the way up.
We meandered our way over to the S63 dirt road following the Levuvhu river towards Crooks Corner, stopping off at Pafuri picnic site where we had Buffalo come to drink on the opposite side of the river bank. I photographed Little and White-throated bee-eater, Blue waxbill, Little Swift, African Fish Eagle, Bearded Scrub Robin, Hoopoe, Wood Sandpiper, Brown-hooded Kingfisher and many more all in the space of 20 minutes. A very productive area. We then reached Crooks corner, which is an infamous no-mans land between South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique where criminals used to escape to, based on the fact that they couldn’t be arrested by any one nation. There was a kettle of vultures flying above, as well as landed in all the surrounding trees, so we presumed we were tantalisingly close to a kill, but it was out of sight and annoyingly close.
Crooks Corner Showing the meeting between Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa
White-fronted Bee-eater
We then headed to Punda Maria rest camp for lunch. After, we did the S99 loop which circles all the way around Punda Maria. We had some great sightings, including a large group of white-backed vultures huddled together under a tree getting some shade. They looked like they were attending a lecture by 2 massive Lappet-faced vultures.
Vultures covered in blood, somewhere near a hidden kill
A classic scene in Kruger
It was time to head back to camp, with a stop at Babalala picnic spot on the way home, which turned out to be a truly amazing manouvre. There was game everywhere and I quickly realised it was large herds of 2 of the rare antelopes of Kruger, Tsessebe and Roan. The Roan was great to see as it was a breeding herd of 15 with lots of young, and they came right next to our vehicle and the sun was setting, so it was particularly special.
The extremely rare Roan Antelope
Juvenile Roan
Roan
There is only said to be 70 of these primitive looking antelopes left in Kruger, so we probably just saw a quarter of the entire population. Some of the adults had modern looking GPS tracker tags in their ears, so they were clearly under surveilance from conservationists. A great end to the day..
Keep tuned for the next section where we travel from Letaba restcamp down to Lower Sabie. Here are some pics of other things we saw along that section.
