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Hey guys

I'll be up Letaba and Satara way from the 17th to the 22nd May. Pictures and reports to follow. I am hoping for a sighting of lesser spotted forumite. (and some leopards and wild dog to)

Yellow ribbon bait will be attached to my car.

Well I can tell you I am looking forward to it very much. I havn't been that far north for a while. As I live in Nelspruit I always seem to be stuck in the South.

Lots of day trips and things near Skukuza / Lower Sabie so its gonna be good to go up to the north a bit.

It is a good time of year indeed. It has been raining a lot the last few weeks here in Nelspruit so I hope it isnt to green and lush.
It's a bit of a catch 22. The rain is so needed but it does make for less sightings.

I guess the rain has to take priority

At last! Sorry for the delay guys but finally here are the pictures for my 5 day trip up to Letaba and Satara in May.

We started of on the Friday Morning and did not see anything spectacular. Of course the plan was to enter at Numbi or at least Pabemi but due to the fact that I have the classical inlaws who take 3 hours of makeup to go to the Park I had to cut it a bit and enter through Kruger Gate.

We did not see anything on the 10 km or so to Skukuza and of course we had to then visit the "Coffee Shop" at Skukuza. The coffee was good as it always is and as the rest went on sipping in what can only be described as "chilly" weather I went looking for "stuff" I didn't find anything accept this poor bat. I can't say what happened to it but it was laying on the table under the tree by the river.


We crossed the low water bridge at Sand River and found this little fellow on the bridge. The picture is a bit deceiving as he is only about 30 cm in length.

As is usual with Kruger there is always something to see. We spotted lion on the way to Tshokwane as well as leopard. The lion were so far I couldn't get any sort of decent shot and the leopard was gone before any camera's could be used.

Of course at Thsokwane the inlaws had to have the obligatory toilet break. We soon traveled onward and found this giraffe at Mzhiti waterhole.

The park was ver dry so lots fo activity at the waterhole. We spotted this Saddle Billed Stork at the water as well.

On our way to Thsokwane I was lucky to spot three of these on a dirt road. One of those that turn of to a windmill.

I cannot remember which one but the mom simply left them behind and ran into the bush. The just sat there and "squeecked" like mice. Must have had the fright of their lives when my trusty double cabby with 19" wheels came rolling down on them.

I still don't know how I spotted them but this little bird must be about the size of a 5 rand coin. When they sit still they are almost impossible to spot from a car. We moved away about 20 meters and mom came back to fetch them... So all ended well. Just to give an idea... The "rocks" that the bird is standing on is actually sand from the gravel road.

Some more pics to follow in the next installment.[/img]

We finally arrived at Letaba (after numerous bathroom stops). The camp is as lovely as ever. First time I stayed in a Family cottage and it was very good. Large place with 6 beds.

In Letaba I spotted this Crested Barbet.

We went for a late afternoon drive to the nearby hide and found this Cori Bustard. The light was bad so the pic isn't that great.

During our drive we also found this elephant have a dustbath of sorts. watch the cloud of dust round his head.

Lots of smaller game and hoards of elephant. Normal for Letaba.

The Next day we decided to go up to Makhadzi Picnic spot for a brunch / laaaate breakfast. On the way there we found this guy at the small bridge about 500 meters from Makhadzi. Interesting to note the perfectly round hole in his ear. It would appear that this guy might have had a lucky escape from a rifle. Perhaps he went eating where he shouldn't have.


We were the only ones at Makhadzi accept for the caretaker dude. I wrote down his name but forgot.


Really if you are ever in the area make a turn at Makhadzi. - So peaceful and quiet. While we were having our breakfast (Bacon , Eggs , mushrooms etc) the same elephant with the hole in the ear came into the picnic spot!!! What an amazing experience.

The caretaker man told us that he visits almost every day and is very calm and has never bothered anyone. With us he simply stood at a distance and then turned and started eating again as if the humans were not there.

It was great!!!

So we went spent 2 nights at Satara. We saw a LOT of animals. Some of the better sightings were these.
This little guy seemed very sorry for himself. I guess he might have had a headache cause he certainly looked like someone who either had a massive hangover or a boy who just had a very unfair hiding.


Of course the usual Marabu Storks were present:


We also found these two vultures on the start of the nightdrive from Letaba.


My wife got this great shot of a Waterbuck. Also on the nightdrive just at the back of Letaba.