SANParks.org Forums

Happy birthday Lourens! Hope you have a good one.

Good Morning Lourens and Happy Birthday to you

Good luck!

Greatings from Germany

Birthday Greetings,

Thank you all for the birthday wishes!!!!!!!! I appreciate it alot!!!

Enjoy the day!!!!!

Happy birthday Laurens. Hoping to do a drive or two with you later in the year.

happy birthday Lourens

There are more good wishes on the June Birthdays thread Lourens!

Cloudy windy Greetings from Phalaborwa Gate,

To get back to my report from the 30th of June here it goes:

We had a Full Day walk on the 30th of June, and started off next to the Tshutshi stream. Very cold in the mornings, driving to the walking spots and then heating up nicely during the day. While doing the briefing before the walk started, and mentioning Lions, they started roaring right at that moment, so don't have to explain which way we started heading into. Unfortunately that was the only time we heard them, and couldn't guess which direction they were in, after a few hundred metres. What a beautiful area it was, coming out next the Olifants River after breakfast with 3 Buffalo Bulls, and walked back to the vehicle along the river and stream. We also saw some Kudus, Hippo's, Impalas, Big Crocodiles, and Waterbuck.

More to come...

Sunday the 1st of this month we started the day early once again with a Morning Safari (6 hours) and after some guests didn't arrive we left and just over a km from Phalaborwa Gate we found a Lionness and her 3 young cubs making their way down the road towards Phalaborwa Gate. We stayed with them until they knew the gate opened at 06:00 and walked into the bush. We then turned around to go and pick up the other guests that arrived later and carried on. We made our way up to Letaba using the gravel road and came back to Phalaborwa on the tar road. We really saw lots of general game, and also a very nice sighting of a Martial Eagle.

I took my off days from the 4th to the 7th and was back at work on the 8th. It started off with a Olifants River Backpack Trail pick up from Olifants and drop off, and found 2 Male Lions, walking into the same direction as the Lionness a few days before.

Monday the 9th of July we found something very very weird on the 6 hour game drive. We were again lucky meeting 2 Lionesses close to the gate as we started the game drive and had breakfast at Masorini and after breakfast made our way up to Shimuwini. Next to the River loop we found the strange sighting!!! Between a herd of Waterbuck we spotted this black thing with a long tail swinging from side to side and couldn't see it's head that was hidden between the reeds. I thought it couldn't be a Sable, because of the long tail, so I told the 2 guests we should walk closer. As the Waterbuck saw us and ran away this MULE ran with them!!!!! Yes a MULE!!!! I never thought I would see a cross bred of a horse and donkey in the Kruger National Park!!! Guess it came in from the Western boundry, and now very happy with its new family members. After the game drive I did come back and reported it to the Rangers, but they couldn't find it again.
On the game drive we also saw some nice sightings of Elephant, Hippo, Zebra, Buffaloes.

Tuesday the 10th of July we did a Full Day walk behind Sable Dam, and unfortunately didn't see much, but still great to find a African Wild Cat (dead and alive), some Giraffes and Impalas and the smaller Antelopes- Steenbok and Duiker.

As I got back from the Full Day walk I saw there was a overbooking for the Night Drive so jumped in to assist with that one too. At Sable Dam we found a Leopard stalking some Helmeted Guineafowls and not long after that some Double banded Sandgrouses, that made their way down to the water. The Elephants were feeding in the background and didn't even know the Leopard was 10 metres from them.
During the game drive we also found Giraffes, Black backed Jackals and Hyeanas.

More to come...

a lot of occupations... superb occupations
with nice sightings

Your day walk sounds wonderful Lourens! Your morning safari even more so! A Mule in Kruger! Now that is a very special sighting!

How close did you come to the Lioness with the cubs? Glad I was not in the group, I would have picked them up!

Please see Malopeni Overnight Eco Trail thread for the Malopeni Reports... Here

Sunday the 15th I did another pick up and drop off for the Olifants River Backpack Trail, and not really looking for animals, but the sunrises are sooo beautiful at the moment!!!

Monday the 16th of July I went up to Shivhulani via the S131 gravel road and back via Masorini on the Night Drive and found Giraffes, Impalas, White Backed Vultures, Elephants, Spotted Eagle Owl, and stopped for star gazing at Masorini after the guests had a toilet break. What a beautiful Milky way!!
We saw some Elephants, Genets, Spring Hare, Spotted Thickknees, Scrub Hares, Steenbok and Chameleon on the way back to the gate.

Tuesday afternoon we did the walk from the gate and walked down along the Tshutshi and unfortunately didn't see much animals, only all the fresh tracks and dung of their existence in the area, but the great sighting was the 2 Giant Eagle Owls that flew from a Leadwood tree, and a African Hawk Eagle came flying in, mobbing the poor Owls. We also went past one of the Archaeological sites, which I discovered many moons ago...

Wednesday morning another pick up and drop off for the Olifants backpack trail, but this time found a big male Lion close to Letaba right next to the road. That evening I did the Security for the 30 pax Bush Braai and luckily didn't have any visitors, except the Elephants that came to drink water at Sable Dam.

Thursday the 19th we had such amazing sightings on the Sunset walk from Erfplaas waterhole. We found a herd of Elephants, and herd of Buffaloes and to make a long story short, we ended up on rocky outcrop watching the Elephant herd coming walking pass about 10 metres from us!!! Luckily the wind didn't change like 2 days ago's walk. After the Elephants moved off, we found another herd and then viewed the Buffalo herd from a Termite mount, they became relaxed with us in the area, and came closer and closer and closer, what an amazing sighting we had on this afternoon!!!

Friday the 20th Neville found 2 Wild Dog Pups close to Masorini, and on my game drive found White Backed Vultures, Impalas, Steenbok, lots of Elephant Bulls, Kudu Bulls at Erfplaas, and the nice sighting to me, was the Yellow Billed, Red Billed Hornbills, with Longtailed Shrikes, Redbilled Weavers and Greenwoodhoepoes, feeding on Termites right next to the road.

The Sunset was just incredibly beautiful, and after sundowners and snacks, we found Burchell Zebras, Genets, Scrub Hares, Spotted Eagle Owl, and another Chameleon, and another 2 Genets, which one was running from side to side over the road, and a very relaxed African Wild Cat, lying in the grass.

David said he found the Big 5 on his game drive that evening.

On Saturdays Night Drive we didn't see much, but at least had a beautiful sunset, found Elephant Bulls, Genets, and a little Elephant Herd next to the road.

This past Sunday we had Mountain Bikes and a Morning Walk, and apparently they had a very very close encounter on the bikes with a herd of Elephants, and got kept up for over an hour, with 15 minutes of a full charge and stopped about 7 metres from them. But on our side on the walk we had such an amazing day in our life!!!! It was a very freezing cold morning and found a Serval running over the road just over a km from Phalaborwa Gate, further up the road we found 3 Buffaloes right next to the road, and not long after some Elephant Bulls and just after the Elephants I spotted a Leopard running over the road, and quickly switched the spotlight on and viewed him for a while and saw how he was stalking some Impalas. Neville and I said, now Rhino's will make it very special and really we found them!!!!! And Ai, I completely forgot to tell you about the unbelievable, magnificent, indescribable sunrise, and unfortunately I didn't have my tripod with to get a not blurry photo...

So eventually we got to the walking area after all these great sightings, and on the walk we found some Elephants, and then got fresh White Rhino tracks, and started following them. Eventually after loosing the tracks and finding again, we found the 4 Rhino's, and then the damn wind turned, they smelled us, and ran away... After this, we found fresh Leopard tracks and didn't see it, but definitely s/he saw us, turned around, and ran away, and could see all these things clearly in the tracks, and Crowned Lapwings flying in the sky.
What an unforgetable morning!!!!

more to come...

The last thing for today before I go on a Bush Braai tonight and a full day walk tomorrow, this morning we walked from Ngwenyeni waterhole and we heard Hyeanas calling for a long time just as we started walking. Unfortunately by the time we got to the Elephant footprints, the herd already crossed over the tar road, so decided not to follow them. We were also lucky hearing a Leopard calling throughout the sound of Hyeana and Ground Hornbills answering in the distance. We got very fresh Buffalo tracks and footprints, but also no luck with them. The Giant Eagle Owl, Steenbok, Impalas and young Spotted Hyeana at least played along and showed themselves to us.

Will post some pics soon...

Wonderful Lourens! I envy you your job! Looking forward to the pictures!

Lesser Bush Baby


Sunrise

White Faced Owl


African Civet Cat