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Hi all

Our trip did not get off to a good start after realising that the YR was left behind, but after entering the park all was forgotten.

We arrived at the Malalane gate at around midday on 13 Nov. The sky was overcast but being midday we did not expect to see much and decided to head straight to our camp, Biyamiti. It was good to see the green shoots emerging from the brown ground and trees. The south of the park had obviously had good recent rains because there was a lot of pooled water around.

We took the H3 and then the S114 and finally the S139 private road to Biyamiti. The sightings were good but scattered as can be expected at that time of day. By the time we reached camp we had already crossed off 3 of the big five and many other animals and birds.

We were fortunate enough to see a male and female lions resting at James waterhole (unfortunately they were fast a sleep and did not make an exciting photo subject) so we didn’t stay long. On the S139 private road we came across elephant and later a lone buffalo on the road.

Arriving at the camp we paid for the day walk and night drive reserved in advance. We spent 3 nights at Biyamiti and travelled mainly along roads closest to the camp. A few highlights of our Biyamiti stay were:
- The camp itself (it’s a peaceful, quiet camp with friendly staff)
- The bush walk (although we did not see much from a sighting point of view the walk was very informative and it was just great to be at ground zero in the wild)
- At approx 2am one morning I was awoken by a sound, which to me sounded like leopard. I woke up my SO and advised her I thought there was a leopard outside our bungalow. I was told to go and see but decided against in and went back to sleep. Later, on the evening drive Van Rooi told us that the leopard had also woken him up but it was in the riverbed and not in the camp. As previously discussed on the forum Biyamiti holds the records for seeing 7 different leopard in one evening/night drive.
- On our final evening at Biyamiti we decided to do the Biyamiti loop before heading back to start our braai. Half an hour from camp our plans changed. We came across VW kombi doing a quick U turn and pointing into the bush next to the road. We stopped but could not see anything and asked what they were looking at
LEOPARD lying in the bush 3 metres from the road. We still could not see it. Eventually between the bush and long grass we saw its head. To our surprise the VW stayed for about a minute then drove off. We manoeuvred our car to where we thought the beautiful female leopard would walk out of the bush and switched off the engine … and waited and waited. But she had other things on her mind and after an hour and a half it was time to head back before the gate locked us out. Unfortunately we faced directly into the sun (so it was not a great photo opportunity but a great sighting never the less).

To be continued……

Thanks Nico & Bert



During the hour and half we stayed next to the leopard we had to share with the odd car that came past, but they did not stay long. The road is very quite because entry is only permitted to people staying at Biyamiti. There was one vehicle that stayed most of the time but further away where he had a better view. As we left the leopard I had a quick chat to him and found out it was the Hospitality Manager from Biyamiti, Stephen Nel.

Regards

A & C

Part 2

…Our next and final stay was at Tamboti Tented Camp for 3 nights . On the 16/11 we left Biyamiti and headed towards Lower Sabie for a toilet break and to buy some bread for our bruch at Tshokwane. En route to Lower Sabie we came across a large male rhino next to the road, which completed our big five list.

At Lower Sabie my SO had a look at the sighting board while I stayed at the car. There was a friendly man telling all at the board that he had just seen a cheetah with 4 cubs along the H10 road. I was wondering why the parking lot suddenly emptied. Before the friendly man had finished almost all had left. He then went on to say the cheetahs were walking towards the river and we might have a better chance on the S128. We thought our chances were slim but decided to take it anyway.

Lo and behold we intersected the cheetah and 4 cubs along the S128. They had just crossed the road but were now walking parallel to the road. We drove with them for about 10 minutes before they disappeared. Fantastic

After bruch we headed for Tamboti, checked in and tried to relax in the blistering heat. That afternoon we did not see much (it was just too hot) …. Until 10 minutes from gate closing time. There were 4 male cheetah lying 20 metres from the road at the intersetion of the H7 and the private road to Tamboti. If only we arrived a few minutes earlier. There was just not enough light for decent photography.

Over the next 3 days we travelled most of the roads around Orpen and Satara. Highlights of our Tamboti stay (besides from the 4 cheetah) were:
- the huge herds of buffalo along the H1-4 (not far from Satara)
- Our first baby impala of the trip on the S100.
- I was so busy looking for leopards (and anything else) along the S100 that I didn’t even notice the huge YR of a friendly gentleman (asking if we had seen anything on the otherwise dead road). My SO informed me afterwards that there was a YR on the car.
- Day 3 was a day I will never forget….. It was raining lightly and we decided to take the Sweni Road. Just before the H7 and S36 intersection I saw a “leopardâ€Â

Hi all

Here are a few of the photos we took in the park.

These are 2 of the 3 lions resting in the rain close to Skukuza:


We came across huge herds of Buffalo's north of Satara. This bull looked very grumpy:


This rhino and her calf were standing in the middle of the Sweni river road for a few minutes:


We sat next to this leopard for over an hour but she would not stand up or move out of the bush:


The next 3 are all of the same cheetah which seemed to be looking for a lost brother or mother. You can imagine the traffic jam it caused on the busy H7 between Orpen and Satara.






Hoping to add a few more photos soon.

Regards
A & C