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Just caught up again on your fantastic report, love all the detail you report on and your pics are really great.

I would say your Butterfly on page 3 is an African Monarch.
Unfortunately I can't find the frog or a look alike in my books.

Thanks again!

We returned to the waterhole to find the hippos lying out of the water and one tiny little hippo calf sleeping next to its mother. It was disturbed from its slumber by a passing grey heron. Five turtles could also be seen resting on the bank, but overall the waterhole was much quieter than before. Whilst at the waterhole, someone told us about a lion that was just off the side of the road near to camp. We arrived to find the lion, which seemed to be an immature male, well camouflaged in the long grass and scrub. A couple of vultures were perched on a tree nearby, indicating that the lion was probably guarding a kill. We could just make out the pointy ears of a Black-backed Jackal who seemed to be trying his luck, but he was quickly dismissed by the lion who leapt up and chased him half-heartedly for all of 5 yards, before settling back down into the long grass.

Considering that the lion was unlikely to be doing much in the heat of the day, we headed back to Satara for lunch. On our way, we came across a small family of Zebra.


satara 16 - 18 145 Turtles by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 146 Hippo and calf by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 151Hooded Vulture by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 157 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 165 Burchell's Zebra Foal by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

While Helen had a rest, I spent a bit of time photographing the wildlife around camp. I came across a small party of Dwarf Mongooses, who were very entertaining, and I also stopped to shoot the resident Scops Owl and a Red-billed Hornbill.




satara 16 - 18 173 African Scops Owl by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 183 Red-billed Buffalo Weaver by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 184 dragonfly by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 204 Dwarf Mongoose by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 209 Dwarf Mongoose by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 210 Dwarf Mongoose by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 216 Dwarf Mongoose by kittykat23uk, on Flickr
satara 16 - 18 220 Dwarf Mongoose by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


satara 16 - 18 225 Red-billed Hornbill by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

That afternoon we first checked back to see if the lion was still there, he was. He got up briefly to reposition himself, but not for long and when he settled down he was pretty much obscured by the long grass. We stopped to photograph a Magpie Shrike and a Grey Hornbill and then came across a displaying Ostrich. At a dry waterhole were a family of Elephants along with other game. There was one baby elephant who initially seemed to be scared of a Kudu. However, the baby then plucked up the courage to run playfully at the kudu, it looked like he was trying to make friends with it, which surprised the Kudu who then cantered off.


Satara Jo 18 to 19 005 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 009 Magpie Shrike by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 014 African Grey Hornbill by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 024 African Elephants by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 029 Waterbuck by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

We drove on to the ford in the river, where we stopped for a while. There were a couple of nice big waterbuck, along with a Green Heron, Purple Heron and lots of baby crocodiles. A few Vervet Monkeys also came down for a drink.

Finally on the S100 (known as Cat Road), we came across a couple of vehicles watching another Lion. This one was more distant and seemed to be quite a scrawny-looking male. He was also still asleep. He did raise his head for a look around at one point, but that was the extent of the sighting. On arriving back in camp at dusk, there were huge twittering flocks of swifts. Wendy came round and we cooked steaks on the braii and had a lovely evening chatting away with a few Savannahs. We could hear the call of the Pearl Spotted Owlet (either that or Steve was hiding in the bushes somewhere). I stayed up as long as I could in the hope of seeing the honey badgers but by eleven I was too tired. It didn’t matter; having done our circle the previous night, the badgers didn’t come again.


Satara Jo 18 to 19 031 Green-backed Heron by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 035 Black-headed Heron by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 039 Black-headed Heron by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 044 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 046 Little Swifts by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 053 Little Swifts by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

19th October Satara to Elephant Plains - What’s that Lion about?We left camp at about 6.30 and Wilma suggested that we spend about 3 to 4 hours in the park before leaving through Orpen Gate and heading on to Elephant Plains to be there in time for lunch. The suggested route was to go south on the tar H1-3, then S126 dirt road to Muzandzeni picnic spot for a simple picnic breakfast. Then either (a) north on S36 + S7 to Orpen Gate; or ( south on S36 + S145 past Talamati bush camp + S140 then H7 to Orpen Gate.
However, Helen wasn’t convinced about the timings, and given that Wendy had luck with dogs there, we opted to take the more direct route to the Orpen Gate along the H-7 tar road. Just outside of Satara we came across a Marabou Stork perched in a tree and then found a spectacular Kori Bustard.

Someone stopped to inform us about a pride of lions by the side of the tar road, and we soon found them lazing about. The pride consisted of at least ten individuals, many of them were males. One female wore a radio collar so was obviously part of some research project. We watched them for a while, but they were just being typical lions, lazing about so as more cars started to pile in, we decided to take our leave.



Satara Jo 18 to 19 059 Marabou Stork by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 063 Kori Bustard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr
Satara Jo 18 to 19 068Young Male Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 072 Lioness by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 074 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 078 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 081Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr
Satara Jo 18 to 19 087 Lioness by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Several eagles were seen perched in the trees, most of which were probably Tawny. A few warthogs were seen by the side of the road, as well as a couple of magnificent Kudu bulls with huge double-spiralled horns.

Birds Satara:
Ostrich
Little Green Heron
Grey Heron
Purple Heron
Marabou Stork
White-backed Vulture
Cape Vulture
Hooded Vulture
Lappet-faced Vulture
White-headed Vulture
Brown Hawk Eagle
Tawny Eagle
Black Crake
Kori Bustard
Red-crested Korhaan
African Scops Owl
Yellow-billed Hornbill
Red-billed Hornbill
Grey Hornbill
African Hoopoe
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
Burchell’s Starling
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Grey Go-away Bird
Crested Barbet
Brown-headed Parrot
Lilac-breasted Roller
Magpie Shrike
African Hoopoe
Red-billed Buffalo Weaver
Burchell’s Starling
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Grey Go-away Bird
Magpie Shrike
Little Swift


Mammals Satara as per previous list plus:
Lion
Warthog
White Rhino


Satara Jo 18 to 19 089 Tawny Eagle by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 092 Tawny Eagle by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 093 Warthog by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 102 Greater Kudu by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Elephant Plains

In hindsight, we probably could have done most of the route that Wilma had suggested and still got to Elephant Plains in plenty of time. As it happened, we arrived really early and since our room wasn’t ready we just spent the time relaxing in the lodge. Elephant Plains is a luxury lodge with two small bathing pools and verandas overlooking a beautiful view over open woodland to a waterhole. Within the campgrounds could be seen Nyala, the first of the trip. One was foraging under a blossoming tree. As we passed the time waiting to get into our room, I saw a few new birds. A small flock of Red-faced Mouse-birds flew into the top of a tree where they sat twittering and preening.


Satara Jo 18 to 19 104 Red-faced Mousebirds by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 110 Nyala by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 111Nyala by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 112 Nyala by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


Satara Jo 18 to 19 116 Gecko by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Jameson’s fire-finches could be seen drinking from a small bird bath, along with Blue Waxbills, and a Southern Boubou skulked in the hedgerow. A Bearded Scrub-robin could also be seen foraging on the well-kept lawn. There were a fair few raptors soaring over the open woodland including Whalberg’s Eagle.

Our room was beautifully appointed with twin beds, dressed in mosquito nets, four-poster style. The bathroom was really something special, decked out in riven slate tiles and the twin custom built sinks were decorated with portraits of zebra and leopard.

After Helen went for a lie down, I saw why this place got its name as a lone elephant came down to the waterhole to drink. After drinking its fill, it showered itself with a few trunkfulls of water, before heading off into a thicket to grab some lunch. After which we decided to make use of the pool, before joining the other guests for a scrumptious lunch. Bathing was cut short when one of the cleaners discovered that baboons had broken into our room! Thankfully they were shown the door before they could make a mess.


Satara Jo 18 to 19 117 Jameson's Firefinch by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194843 Bearded Scrub-Robin by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194848 Southern Boubou by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194865 African Elephant by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

The afternoon game drive started at about 4pm.Our game ranger was Wayne and we also had a local Shangaan tracker. In Sabi Sands, they use open safari vehicles, which can accommodate about 10 people. The 4-wheel drive vehicles enable the rangers to drive off-road and provide guests with up-close game viewing that is not available to self drivers in Kruger, they also keep in contact with the other vehicles in the traversing zone in order to try and maximise the sightings.

A Hammerkop was making a meal out of a frog in a muddy pool, whilst a large monitor lizard sunbathed on the bank. We then came upon a large buffalo sitting by a waterhole. A Water Thicknee was stood in front of him and right at the back was a Wood Sandpiper.


PA194882 Red-Billed Oxpecker by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194883 Southern Giraffe by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194891Hammerkop eating a Frog by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194893 Water Monitor by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194897 Cape Buffalo by kittykat23uk, on Flickr
PA194899 Water Thick-Knee (Dikkop) by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194901 Wood Sandpiper by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

The drive after that was quite frustrating for a while, because we spent a lot of time driving around in front of a lodge looking for a leopard that apparently had been seen by a couple of the lodge staff. Our tracker got off the vehicle and tried to locate the leopard on foot, with a colleague from another vehicle, but all to no avail.

However, after abandoning this fruitless search in favour of some other quarry we then came across a young hyena having a mudbath in a shallow pool. The Hyena, having enough of our attentions, yawned languidly, stood up, and slowly made his way to the bank. After pulling himself out of the mud, he crossed the track and melted away into the scrub.


PA194908 Spotted Hyena by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194911 Spotted Hyena by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194914 Spotted Hyena by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194915 Spotted Hyena by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194922 Nyala Bull by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

The drive picked up nicely when Wayne told us we would be calling in on a pride of four male Lions who had recently taken up residence in the reserve. They moved in after the resident pride of six males had apparently decided that holding the territory was getting to be too much effort for them. Wayne went on to tell us that the new males had already killed some of the cubs and that the lionesses were running scared, trying to protect their remaining offspring.

We had a hairy moment when Wayne, in the process of trying to back up to reposition the vehicle, lost the footing on one of the back wheels and lurched backwards into one of the sleeping lions! The king of cats leapt to his feet and glared straight at me, and I thought for one moment that I was a gonna! Wayne tried to reassure us that the lion’s posture was not at all threatening, but we didn’t know that and there would have been no warning if the cat had taken offence because he would have been on the vehicle in a split second. I have to say my heart was in my mouth for those few seconds that he was glaring at us. He soon settled down again though.


PA194928 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194932 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194939 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194949 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr
PA194956 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA194965 Lion by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

After watching the lions until it got towards dusk, we drove on to a spot where we had a couple of sundowners. And then, more frustration, as we arrived just in time to see a leopard’s back end disappear into a neighbouring property where we couldn’t follow it. Another group had had the privilege of watching the cat saunter down the track before we arrived on the scene, gutted! A nice sighting in the spotlight was a Flap-necked Chameleon.

Dinner was served in the boma afterwards. This was a wonderful experience as we sat at individual tables around a big fire pit. The food was a hot buffet with two delicious meat courses to choose from, along with a selection of vegetables. Afterwards we retired to the bar for a couple of drinks before heading back to our plush rooms.


PA194979 Flap-Necked Chameleon by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Thank you!

20th October Elephant Plains to Lower Sabie- The Big Five in one day?!

Today was awesome and probably one of the best days of the trip. The game drive started off slowly, with sightings of a large male bushbuck. We stopped at a waterhole to watch a restless flock of White-faced Whistling Ducks. An African Fish Eagle was seen perched on a dead tree, Wayne encouraged it to call by imitating the sound of a rival bird. Then another bird, probably its mate, joined in the chorus. We came across a Leopard Tortoise as we carried on round the reserve. Then Wayne heard over the radio that a White Rhino had been seen back by the waterhole we’d just come from so we retraced our route and sure enough, there was the large male rhino. Wayne told us that, after having a drink the next thing the rhino would do would be to mark his territory by going to his midden. So he repositioned the vehicle for a better view. Sure enough, the rino lumbered towards his midden, stopping occasionally to scent mark nearby bushes with a little “pfft” of urine from his back end. Then he approached his midden and defecated, kicking and scratching at the droppings to spread the rather pungent scent around.

Finally, the news we’d been waiting for, a leopard had been spotted resting on a termite mound. Wayne reckoned this gorgeous young cat was about 12 months old. The leopard clearly hoped to get a bit of rest and at times was about to doze off, but every time a new vehicle arrived, or one of the current vehicles was repositioned, the leopard sat up and warily watched the activities, much like the female jaguar I’d seen in Brazil the year before. The leopard yawned and his eyelids became heavy as he slumped to the ground. At one point the leopard rolled over covering it’s face with its paws, like a playful kitten might do.




PA205000 White Rhino by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205009 White Rhino by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205017 Young Leopard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205026 Young Leopard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205032 Young Leopard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205045 Young Leopard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205046 Young Leopard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205064 Young Leopard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr


PA205071Young Leopard by kittykat23uk, on Flickr

Hey Jo, just caught up with the last 5 pages and WOW - what can I say but awesome - your photos are stunning - I LOVE the yawning hyeana and the leopard is just and I've so enjoyed reading through all the pages ( I really like having big chunks at a time - nothing worse than following a TR that has one teeny little post spread over 4 pages of comments so don't slow down please !!)

And I've learnt a heck of a lot about different birds so thanks for broadening my knowledge there too