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Hey guys

Yup I have been absent for awhile from the forums so now you can probably figure out where I have been..

Truly I was again blessed with an AWESOME trip to Kruger..
I am just waiting for my pics to be processed so that I can post them in this trip report (Tinypic isn't working with my pc anymore,is there a other similar website I can use??)...

I have one regret and that is that I couldn't really work on my birding list since I took my grandma to the park and her eye sight not to good...

I will start with a taste of our trip..

We encounterd Hlanini(one of Krugers BIG-TUSKERS) and his askari on the Engelhard dam road..I was so close to him that I could almost touch him..This was a truly AWESOME sight and his tusks are HUGE..This was definitely a highlite of my trip..At one stage we got trap in the middle of this big-tusker and his askari(younger elephant-bull walking with a larger one) and I was pretty tense while my ouma couldn't stop staring at a couple of giraffe and how they were eating and I only focusing on our predicament if one of the elephant decided that he was tired of us,but indeed we survived and had a amazing experience!!!

Watch this space

Sorry my pics aren't ready yet, but soon...

Sable:
For the second time only in my life I have had the privelage to spot this elusive antelope..It was on the gravel road behind tshokwane early in the morning..We were driving along not seeing alot of animals and then when we came around the bend I saw it standing there about ten meters from the road in a clearing-AWESOME-....I just had a chance to peep at t through my Binocs when it disapeared in the bush,we waited there for about another half an hour but it was fruitless.. Afterward it almost felt like we saw a ghost..

Pic's as promised, I know that some of them didn't come out that well so forgive me...


Leopard's:
In our few days in the park we saw a total of 3 leopards which 2 of them were in tree's..Both Leopards in the trees were right next to the road..It was on the Croc-bridge to Lower Sabie road..The above foto was taken just after it jumped out of the tree right in front of our car..I have a picture of it jumping out bu a bit blurry but will post it if ypu want,or for Club lits maybe?? .The other Leopard we found on the Phalaborwa gate road to Letaba..It was lying right next to the road and we were the first at the scene but unfortunatly as soon as we stopped and I got my camera out he went into the bush.. ..The two in the trees were really a blessing because it was my first...Truly a AWESOME experience..

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Here is a foto of Hlanini one of the Big tuskers


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more to ''follow'' soon

Sure,here it is but excuse the blur.....

..I know not best picture but atleast it is proof..

Okay the Lions:

This was truly an awesome sight..but there is a big story..

Me and my gran were driving on the road from Letaba to Mopani next to the Letaba river.Now as most of you know there are alot of inlets,making awesome views of the river and we decided to stop and just enjoi the view while other cars sped past to get to sightings,while we were sitting there I said to my gran I hear lions down the bank(which is to steep to see down)..Now I wonderd how I was going to try and lure these lions up..Now you are gonna laugh because I tried making funny noises maybe to attract their attention,but it didn't do anything except have my gran in tears because of all her laughing..Then I went to my next tactic,I am gonna imitate the sound of a cub(please never ask me to repeat that sound ),but I kid you not,not even ten seconds after I started making the sound this female stormed up right in front of us,while all the other cars are still speeding past not even bothering to ask if we have spotted something..and after the first female apeared a second one with a cub(note the mud from river on his face) apeared and lied down infront of our car for one foto for then a HUGE male appeared and ran over the main road and all hell broke loose under the tourists(brakes,reverse and signals)..but in an instant they disapeared into the bush..Truly it was a blessed sight..

One of the other things we saw which to me was awesome,was a klipspringer on one of those information bords next to the road...

I may be wrong, but my view is that, seeing as the lioness is also "muddy" but only on her front and face- there was a kill down the slope or nearby.

The cubs almost crawl inside the carcass to get some food.



This one is from a big kill though.

Just a thought...

Well I am truly glad to see you guys like it..

When I go to Kruger or any nature reserve I don't just go to see the animals.I look at nature as a whole and how wonderful it works together(more than I can say for us humans)...

Now this next foto isn't a animal of any sort but this scene captured me..We were driving from Lower Sabie to Satara early one-morning(I am out when the gates open)..and on the bridge that crosses from Skukuza, I got captivated by this scene..It was as if time stood still and so many things went through my mind,my heart started to feel depressed and I couldn't explain why and suddenly I realized how small I really am.I stared thinking of how wonderful the world must have been 200 years ago..It was as if some part if longed to wake up in the veld every morning...I have never felt so close to my creator...I don't think anyone would probably just by seeing the picture feel the emotions I went through but I hope it in ecourages you to go and have a similar experience...

and afterwards I felt refreshed as if I could breath again this wonderfull fresh air...

Thanx to all..
Jonty1: Strangely my grandma whom was with me on this trip has the same love for dead trees, she told me that she calls them skeletons,and that each one speaks to her and tells a story..I actualy took a few foto's of them,will post them for you...

..to continue,when I read other reports I see mostv people when it comes to the common animals just say we saw:impala,zebra,warthog......... and I myself am guity..but on this trip I started just stopping at these animals and watching them(I FRUSTRATED ALOT OF PASSERS BY ) and it was then when I discoverd their true beauty,Like take the impala,I used to drive past them just saying some more impala....and then it struck me,how dull would some of the roads have been if their werent any impala??the same with zebra,warthogs and gnu....Theses animals are the ones we can rely on,they never disapoint....