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Thanks bush andy, very interesting. Love Nkumbe

Next instalment of hills of the Kruger Park is here .


Shibavantsengele


This hill is accessable to the public and is 18km North-East of Mooiplaas. It is one of the best view points in the park and is named after the 'Blue sour plum' tree, Shibavantsengele being the Tsonga name for the tree. This tree is more common North of the Olifants river but has been recorded as far South as Tshokwane. The plum itself is not Blue but yellow in colour and the common name is derived from the Bluey-grey leaves of this tree. The fruit is edible and decidedly more sour than the normal plum.


Phonda hills


This series of Gabbro hills is not accesible to the public and cannot be seen from very far away which gives rise to its Tsonga name which in English means 'to appear suddenly'. It is about 10km North of Bateleur Bush Camp. Interestingly the name, Phonda, is also thought to have originated because the hills are often used by lionesses to hide there cubs after giving birth, that often appear suddenly to protect their cubs.


Dzundzwini


This is a large conspicuous hill located on the plains to the South-East of Punda Maria. Dzundzwini means 'at the land belonging to the chief and cultivated by his people'. One can drive up to the top of the hill and enjoy a great view. The area used to be home to a large settlement because of permanent water available from the natural spring on the Northern foot of the Hill.


Baobab Hill


The lonely tree on this hill is probably one of the most photographed trees in the park. The hill marks the entrance to the Limpopo and Levuvhu river valleys and is situated some 8km South of Pafuri. There is a small spring on the North of the Hill and the hill was well-known in the past as it marked the final overnight stop before reaching Pafuri. The Tsonga pronuciation of Baobab is 'Babayila'. The tree on this hill is thought to be over 2000 years old




Next... The major dams of the park, popular or mysterious.

Interesting as always!

Howzat everyone... Dams of the Southern region


Mpondo


Mpondo is large earthern dam 23km South-east of Skukuza on the S102. This dam is one of the largest in the Southern region but oddly due to its central location it is not visited heavily by visitors who prefer dams such as Transport, Sunset, Gezantfombi and Shitlhave on the more 'popular' routes. The name is derived from the Afrikaans word 'pond' or pound sterling in English. The exact reason for such a name is unknown. The dam was built in 1972.


Transport


As the name suggests the dam was built with funds donated by the department of transport in 1971. The dam is located on the Napi road or H1-1 and is well-known for its diversity of wildlife encountered at the dam. The dam has been seen worldwide in the small 'homemade' video called 'Battle at Kruger' which depicts a 'battle' between lions, buffalo and a crocodile. Their were so many hits for this video on the internet website YOUTUBE that it was the most popular video in that year (over 20million hits). Furthermore a full length documentary was made of the 9 min video by National geographic .


Mestel


This dam is well known for its many Rhino sightings and is probably the best dam in the KNP to see white and sometimes black rhino drinking. The word Mestel is derived from the english word 'Mister or master' but is a historical meaning which can't be clarified. It is a deep but small earthern dam located 8km North-west of Pretoriuskop.


Gezantfombi


This dam is situated only 3km North-west of Crocodile bridge rest camp and is a favourite sundowner spot for many. The dam was built in 1953 and means 'the place where the young woman bathe' in Siswati. There is interestingly also a creek with the same name but which is situated almost 100km further North-west near Orpen.


Makhohlola


This dam can't be viewed by the public but is tantalisingly close to the tar road between Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie. The dam is named after the small creek in which it is situated and means 'he who coughs a lot'. In many old readings I have come across this dam as it appears to be a favourite spot for game rangers and their special guests. In these old texts some say it's almost impossible to get a nights sleep when camping at the dam with all the nocturnal sounds about... i.e. very close and loud lions and leopards .



Hope you have enjoyed it... I know I have missed plenty out but will return to them when capping off the dams in the next few episodes. If one misses my attention, which you want to know, then just tell me !

Great stuff!

I know why Mpondo is little visited by tourists - its quite a trek! - but why does it always seem devoid of life? On a couple of recent trips we did not even see a hippo.

Richard

I've been to Makhohlola! There are (or at least were) lots of hippo's there... We spent a day there - there's a clearing where you can safely park a caravan. Saw lion spoor in the clearing, and the next day when we went to fetch the caravan, we saw a pride of lions on the dam wall.

There is a long-drop there which is legendary! It's quite a walk into the bush, and faces out onto a glorious panorama of the bush. The seat has been chewed up by hyena's. Quite an experience!

Thanks bush andy!!!
Very interesting

wow really really interesting Bush andy!

Great topic Bush Andy, very informative Thanks

Howzat.

Interesting post Lyndal ... definately the place as some of my old texts mention the amount of hippo's and the long drop

The next few days is going to be an extended bumper edition as I'm heading away for 3 weeks!

Here are some personal pics of some of the places mentioned in this thread...

Gezantfombi dam near Croc Bridge




Nkumbe (winter)





Sabie river (with complimentary elephants)




Nwanetsi lookout at Nwanetsi picnic site




Buffalo in the N'waswitsontso river

My last posting of words was associated with the dams of the Southern region.

Here are some of the dams of the central region


Lugmag


This dam and the surrounding area is well known for its large lion prides and many kills have been witnessed at this dam. The dam is situated on the relatively quiet S36 which is East of the main tar road leading to Satara and running parallel to it. It's name is Afrikaans for "air force dam" after the fact that the air force donated money for the dam when the Skukuza runway was built by them (c1957).

There are two Lugmag dams in Kruger, the well known one mentioned and a second much smaller dam near Punda Maria.


Nsemani


Being a very popular dam in the central region, Nsemani is often buzzing with people and has good reason to be so. It is probably one of the best dams in the park to see animals, especially mid morning when large amounts of game come down to drink. The name Nsemani appears to have no real historical meaning and was probably the name of someone who lived in the area a long time ago.


Ngotso


This large earthen dam's name is Tsonga in origin and means "small calabashes for storing fat or fetching water". It is situated on the main tar road leading towards Olifants from Satara and as a result is usually quite busy. Elephants can often be seen swimming in the dam during the summer months to cool down, as the dam is relatively deep near the dam wall.


Piet Grobler


The large concrete dam is situated in the Timbavati river on the S39 gravel road. The Mbangari waterhole is covered by the dams water. Piet Grobler was the Minister of land and agriculture about a century ago and was instrumental in the formation and founding of the national parks board and in turn the KNP.

The original name for the dam, "Groblershoop", was changed to its present day form on request of the Grobler family. The dam was built in 1988 by Dawie Coetzee.

Hey long lost friends.

I know the "word of the week" has recently become the word of the month... I apologise for this and here are some new ones to start off again.

I have decided to find words that correspond to mgoddard's year long travels in the park which you can read about in the blogging thread. The words will therefore be associated with the areas and places around the camps that mgoddard is staying at that time. This way we should be done with most of the KNP words by the time the Year comes to an end If I am late in delivering some words when Martie moves I'll try and make up for it.

Martie is currently at Letaba so I'll kick off with this camp in mind.


Letaba

Letaba is a Sotho word that means "river of sand". The river forms the boundary of and flows through the Phalaborwa, Mahlangeni, Letaba and Olifants ranger's stations. The river is often associated with a vast expanse of open sandy river bed in which many a lion kill has been seen from the restaurant at Letaba restcamp.

The water level in the river is under increasing threat from Communities and factories outside the park over-utilise the water with the result that the "river of sand" may only hold water during the wet season.

Nhlanganini

"At the reeds" is an apt description of this little creek. The name is Tsonga in origin and the creek itself is a tributary of the Letaba river. A concrete dam of the same name is situated in the creek and was built in 1968. The dam is also known as the Winkelhaak dam or "square", a tool used by carpenters, and was named as such by the roads section when the road was tarred.

Nhlanganini



Malopenyana

Malopenyana is a borehole situated between Letaba and Mopani Restcamps. Malopenyana means "small or baby honey badger" in Tsonga. This borehole is one of the older boreholes in the park having been sunk in 1949. Tsessebe frequent the area around the borehole and large buffalo herds are often seen eating the vlei grass.

Good to see you revived this thread , Bush Andy !

wow... This is interesting!!!