SANParks.org Forums

Visited Pretoriuskop from 5-7 October.

Day 1
Saw this beautiful leopard lying next to the road at about 3pm, on the road Napi road just before Napi boulder. We were the only vehicle there. Bear in mind that the pics were taken with a cheap point and shoot.




She almost climbed into a tree, almost our first LIT
She walked passed this herd of impala who saw her and were snorting away.


To be continued...

Ok, I found my notebook so now comes the proper report

Day 1 5 October 2007

Left JHB at 4:45 am. Had a good drive, roads very quiet. After a pit stop we arrived at Numbi gate at about 9:30 am.

We drove slowly to Pretoriuskop and had breakfastv at the restaurant. Afterward we strolled around camp checking out the birds and the various accommodation units, taking photos (please refer to the thread on Pretoriuskop in the Camps and Roads section).

We walked over to the pool which is probably one of the best I have seen so far in the park. Once again refer to the pics in the Pretoriuskop thread. In the pool were several what we ID'd from the call as Olive Toads mating. Strings of eggs were stretched out across the water. Every now and then one of the males would call, a soft booming croak.



Checked into our 3 bed hut at 12 pm. At 2 pm we set out on a drive along the H1-1 toward Napi. The area around Pretoriuskop had recently burnt and the trees were fairly damaged although several were resprouting from the base. The grass in some areas was resprouting with fresh green shoots which animals such as impala and kudu were enjoying tremendously. Although the fires had been quite devastating the area is recovering and should look beautiful in a few months. One positive is that the long grass is gone so one can see far into the veld.



Due to the openness we saw easily spotted several common duiker, kudu and steenbok.

We turned in at Shitlave Dam and spent a half an hour or so, seeing terrapins, a grey heron, blacksmith plover, fish eagle, egyptian goose, a slender mongoose coming down to drink. The road to the dam is quite potholed in one short section.

We took the Napi loop, seeing a small herd of impala and a few meters further along saw right next to the road, lying quite peacefully, the young female leopard as shown above. She got up after a minute or two and started walking along the road away from us toward where the impala were. We u-turned and followed her. She walked toward a tree growing from a termite mound and almost climbed in. She then disappeared behid the mound and soon reappeared. In the meantime the impala had spotted her and started snorting and staring in her direction. This all quite amazed my 5 year old daughter. The leopard then turned around and walked off into the bush.

We pressed on and right at Napi boulder found 3 white rhinos. The spots on the side were flies. Note the oxpecker.



We completed the loop and returned along the H1-1 to camp. We spotted a lone elephant far off in the distance near Shitlaev Dam. About 7 km from camp I saw something dark cross the road a distance ahead. Something in my mind said sable. Sure enough when we got to the place there it was a beautiful sable bull a few meters into the veld aleady and too far for photos with a 3 x zoom point and shoot!

We arrived at camp and ended the day off with amarula on the rocks and a braai. Aah what a day!

Birds seen in camp: Green Pigeon, Brown-headed Parrot, Burchell's Glossy Starling, Yellow-eyed Bulbul, Purple Crested Lourie.

Birds seen on the road: African Cuckoo, Rock Kestrel, Grey Heron, Blacksmith Plover, Egyptian Goose, Fish Eagle

Animals seen: slender mongoose, impala, duiker, steenbok, kudu, leopard, white rhino, olive toad, terrapin, sable, vervet monke, baboon, elephant.[/list]

Day 2 6 October

I awoke to the sound of rain falling. I looked out and saw it was a soft drizzle, the sky was grey, this would continue the whole day. We slept in a bit and decided to drive to Skukuza for the day. Just before the Shitlave Dam turnoff we saw two cheetahs walking adjacent to the road in the soft rain, too far for photos. They turned and headed off into the veld, seeming to be on the lookout for prey. Eventually they disappeared into the veld and we drove on.

We came across a small herd of buffalo enjoying the fresh shoots alongside the road, still drizzling. This fellow had deformed horns, two sort stumps on either side. The light was quite poor, apologies for the bad pic.



Somewhere near Transport Dam we watched an ellie drinking out of a hole in a large rock. He looked to be in a "joker" mood and approached the road. You just saw cars disperse!

We also saw a very drenched lappet-faced vulture, a black-bellied korhaan, dark chanting goshawk, wildebeest, impala, steenbok. It was raining softly pretty much all the way and we avoided the gravel roads. We saw very little all the way to Skukuza, where it was also raining. In Skukuza we visited the Stevenson-Hamilton museum and library and then had lunch beneath the fruit bats. After a drive around the camp we headed back to Pretoriuskop still in the rain, not seeing very much on the way. The road was covered with millipedes and a short stout millipede like gogga, also with multiple legs, all moving from north to south.

The rain stopped that afternoon and we headed out toward the Fayi Loop. We saw kudu, zebra, duiker and steenbok. We then headed toward Shitlave Dam for a sundowner.

Animals: Cheetah, elephant, buffalo, wildebeest, impala, zebra, kudu, duiker, steenbok, vervet, baboon.

Birds: Lesser Striped Swallow, Black-Bellied Korhaan, Lappet-faced Vulture, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Egyptian Goose, Pin-tailed Whydah, Blacksmith Plover, Water Dikkop, Common Housemartin, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Puffback Shrike, Black-headed Oriole, Arrow-marked Babbler, Laughing Dove.

Not a very successful day viewing wise but still pleasant. Not very many photos were taken as it rained most of the day and the light was poor.

Day 3 7 October

This morning it is a sunny day. We are up and out on the H1-1 by 6 am. A few kilometers fbeforethe Shitlave Dam turnoff we see a group of cars stopped. We arrive and see a group of animals a few hundred meters into the bush on a slight hillside. The distinctive light rump gives them away- hartebees. I look through the binos and see the distinctive horn of Lichtenstein's hartebees. There are about 3-4 of the animals. Too far for a photo once again (I must get a decent camera soon).

On the rest of the drive we see a small breedig herf od elephant crossing the road in a neat line, kudu, 2 white rhinos, impala, buffalo, steenbok, duiker, wildebeest and zebra.

We return to camp, pack our things and hand in th ekey at reception. We decide to go for a swim at the pool before leaving. The water is coldish but lovely once you're in. Oh the toads and their eggs have all disappeared! The pool guy probably fished them out. I was so looking forward to swimming amongst the frogs! My SO and daughter were planning to stick to the baby pool and had no desire whatsoever of swimming with the frogs .

We did a very slow drive to Mestel Dam and watched a pod of hippo enjoying the sun, before heading to the gate with much sadness.

Until the next report...

A selection of pics in and around Pretoriuskop











That's it. Thanks all for the lovely comments!

The last of the pics: