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Finaly,time has gone by!
SO and I start our adventure SA this sunday!
First we have a 2.5 h drive to Munich.After a ca.10 h flight,we
are in Johannesburg.Get the car in Pretoria and off we go!!!

We visit Marakele for the first time!Looking forward,very much!!
Then we go to our favourite place,KTP!!



But for now,there still few things to do!

Hello dear forumities,
I would like to give you a short report from our 1.visit to Marakele N.P.We started from Pretoria over Bela-Bela and Thabazimbi to the Park.A relaxed driving(less traffic.good roads)took us in 3.5 h,incl.a pit stop and shopping to Marakele.(there is no petrol and food inside).
We were greeted friendly by a young lady.We had booked Tlopi tent Camp
for 4 nights.I knew from another Marakele report,that the tents Lourie,
Barbet or Cormorant,would be a good choise.They are nearer the place,where animals come for a drink!I asked and how lucky we got
Nr.3 Cormorant!!!Forum The lady gave us the map and wished
a pleasent stay in the Park.Off we went!
(Btw,this map was not that helpful ,as we are used to from other SaNParks.It did not say any km's , some roads had no names or signs where to lead.We also did not find the info Center Matimu.Maybe we can't read a map It's better you ask for more information at the reception!)
Nevertheless ,we were excited to be there!
On the tarred road to Tlopi we had unfortunately no sightings.It seemed,there was no rain for a long time.It looked very dry.Next to the road we saw lots of "elli signs"!! But no elli!!
We liked Cormorant at once!It was nice and clean,enough space for the 2
of us and a wide veranda(desk?) We loved the view from there!
This is the right place to sit and relax,that's what we were looking for!!





This is tent Lourie,the best


By for now!Hope you will see some more!

Thank you so much for welcomeing this report!

We both needed some rest,therefore we didn't do much drives.One per
day.The desk was such a wonderful place to sit and to listen to the sound
of nature!!And of course to watch the dam!Here are some impressions:
Black crake
fem.bushbucks,zebras and
waterbuck
his pregnant lady!
Also a lonely elli


This lovely bulbul came every morning to say hello!


The fisheagle greeted us with his typical call
[img]http://i38.tinypic.com/2nbayax.jpg[/img

The weather was just perfect!Cool at night for a good sleep,cool in the morning,warm during the day and it had the right temperature for a candle dinner in the evening!! Not much insects were around!
When you are there,you have to drive to the tower.We did the drive in the early morning,because there was few traffic..I think it's safer !!The road is really very narrow and you have to be concentratedTherefore we didn't get any pics.Only,when we reached the top of the road.A breathtaking
view!!More the next time!

Thank you all for your nice comments!!
The surroundings looked really beautiful!!




We have seen the vultures far in a distance,but could not get any pixs.
The dam and Tlopi camp from the viewpoint.



We got safely down and decided to do the Ndlopfu Drive.We saw Kudu,
Zebras and Impalas.






The animals are a bit shy there!We also spotted this juv.Snake Eagle!


This tunnel seperates the park into predator free zone!


There we had some real good sightings

Again, thank you for your encouraging words
Zypresse,I am glad,I can bring some happy memories back to you!
Icurrie,it is peaceful!!!
After we had passed the gate and looked back,if it's really closed,we met
this group of Impalas and further on a few Tssessebes!





No other car was around,we were all alone!Beautiful blue sky,nice and
warm.The road smooth for a relaxed driving.We really felt very well!
What was this?Something brownish was flying out of the grass!As we came closer,helmetGuineafowls were digging in the dung!It seemed,they
liked it a lot!





These beautiful looking giraffes were looking for food!



On top of a tree we saw this colourful Lilac B.Roller



We heared different voices of birds,but pity we didn't see them!
We made a turn to go back to Tlopi and were wondering about the holes
besides the road!Nothing was to be seen!Yes,there was something!
Now,have a look yourself!



Is it usual,a monitor like this,hiding in a hole?I have never seen it!
We watched it for a while,but as we got closer it disappeared in the hole
again!Funny sighting!!
SO's tummy was speaking a bit loud,(you sure know,what helps in this case!)So back,we drove!We wanted!! Stopp,I had a huge grey thing in
my binos!!
A Rhino!A Rhino mum!!

We didn't see the baby,it came out of a hollow!What a wonderful sighting!Both weren't shy at all!
We watched them for a while!Baby Rhino got tired and put itself on the ground!



Baby Rhino fell asleep,mum Rhino were still grazing!
SO more hungry!!!Now,we headed back to camp,happy with what
we have seen!!
The next post will be our best sighting in Marakele!!!

Hi,I can see,you are looking forward to the next installment!Here it comes!
It is a hard decision,which pics to post.I hope I get it right!

We had the last full day in Marakele. We wanted to make it a relaxed
one,because the next day ,we would leave to KTP!
We slept looooonger than usual,had a looooong shower and also a loooo
oong breakfast!A wonderful sunny day,to sit at the desk,to enjoy the
beautiful surroundings!!!
Suddenly we heard the sound of breaking brunches, a really loud cracking!
Well,we thought this was probably the lonely Ellie ,we saw 2 days ago.
We could hardly believe it!Ellies, a lot of Ellies came out of the bush.All sorts of sizes.We stopped counting by 32!The small place was crowded
with Ellies!!!Also tiny ones!!Soooo cute!!We were so excited!We could
watch them from our desk, very comfortable!!
The Ellies also showed a relaxed behaving.Have a look yourself and you will
see,what I mean!















This was the smallest!












We felt sad,as the all disappeared again!
Unforgettable sighting!!!The rest of the day,we stayed in camp,talking
about,what we have seen.After a peaceful night,we left Marakele,early
morning.I think,we will come back again!It is worthwhile!