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Normana, what an interesting walk.... and heart pounding. I have found that buffs can be very inquisitive creatures.

It seems a Honey Badger is much more dangerous to bicycles than Lions I can just imagine the scene.

After our walk we headed out to Mooiplaas windmill again to see what we could find. After a short wait with only birds near the water trough we saw a lone lioness walking towards the water. We had her all to ourselves and got some great photos.



Torticat said it was obvious that she was lactating, though we never saw any babies. We did watch her abdomen grow as she drank what Torticat had to be at least 10 liters of water. She was beautiful, and after drinking her fill, she stopped to look at something in the water

and then headed into the tall grass, where she vanished. We waited for a long while but she never reappeared.

From the windmill, we continued out and around the Tropic of Capricorn loop. As usual it was full of our four legged friends.




Another Honey Badger dashed past and paused to say Hello.


We enjoy driving this loop, and it has always been productive for us.

Wow!!! that Lioness is a beauty and the pics are gorgeous.

Awesome general game sightings...how extra thrilling to have also seen the honey badger.

What a beaut Lioness, and another Honey Badger!!

Goodness gracious, what stunning photos of the "Lovely Lady" drinking water and all other Animals
Landscape photos

She is a beauty Normana53 and Torticat! Your pictures are superb! I am sure she must have cubs in the vicinity, that's why she was alone and not with her pride! How wonderful it would have been if you could have seen the babies too!

You have had some lovely sightings on the Tropic of Capricorn Loop! Awesome Zebra, Steenbokkie and Tsessebe! Not to forget about the Honey Badger that is always in a hurry!

Stunning golden kitty pic's .

Love the little steenbuck and then the Honey Badger at day time is quite special .

Thanks for sharing .

WoW - You even saw a Liechtenstein hartebeest at Tihongonyeni That would still be one of my wishes

Your lioness is a beauty and maybe she saw herself in the reflection of the water

I thought the photo should be titled "who is that gorgeous girl looking back at me?" or "Mirror, Mirror....."

Hilda & Barryels - we have always been very successful on the Tropic loop, it is always fun, and most of the time we have our sightings all to ourselves.

Val, Philip and Trrp-trrrrrrr - We really hit the jackpot with this Lioness, she was in no hurry to leave and allowed us many great photos. She really was a beauty. Thanks for your comments.

Torticat and I have a very special love for Honey Badger, and we have been fortunate to see at least 2 on every visit we have made to Kruger. In the past 3 visits we have seen 8. The first two we saw in Kruger were so busy digging a huge hole in the ground that they paid us no mind for over 45 minutes. All of the others we have seen have been in a hurry to get somewhere, except one of the two we saw on our Bush Walk, and he was not afraid to walk aggressively towards us.

More to come, still have almost a week left in the park.

Looking forward to read more about your trip Normana53 and Torticat!

Another drive around the tropic loop before clearing out of our room and heading to the hide. Black backed jackal, Lichtenstein Hartebeest, wildebeest, Kori bustard, chestnut back sparrow lark, temminck's Courser, Shaft tailed Whydah, Purple Indigobird, Tsessebe's.
We headed back to Mopani to check out of our room and then do laundry. One of the staff noticed we were using a washing machine that apparently doesn't work well. He took his own clothes out of the other washer and offered us his. I am sorry that I didn't get his name, but he was driving a large Sanparks dump truck. What a kind gesture . The kindness of some of the SanParks staff never ceases to amaze me, his actions were well beyond the call of duty!
Torticat got the scare of her life when she was in the car near the store and someone tapped on the window It was Crested Val Torticat came back to the laundry and picked me up so we could meet Val and Dungy at the restaurant for a bite to eat. What a wonderful visit, with a wonderful couple!
It was soon time to head for Shipandani for our adventure. We picked up our bedding and headed to the hide to survey our home for the night.
When we arrived at the river we spotted many birds, as well as Crocs and Hipsters. Near the road were Hadeda Ibis, Thick-knee, Little Egret, Great Egret, Yellow-billed Egret, African Open bill, Spoonbill, a Goliath Heron sitting in a tree near the water, a lone Ellie who came down to the water down a steep embankment to the north of the hide, a large group of Waterbuck, and in the hide our roommate for the night, a very small frog that we couldn't identify.


It is a serene and soothing view from the hide. Now it's time to unpack and ready our beds, have a bite to eat, check out our new home and spy on the neighbors.

Wow Normana53 and Torticat! So many lovely sightings! Birds galore! Lichtenstein Hartebeest, BBJ, Tsessebes, youname it, you saw it! Fantastic!

How thoughtful of that staff member who knew your machine wasn't working too well to give you his machine! That is courtesy!

On top of it all, a lovely meet with Val and Dungy! Absolutely awesome!

I must say, your view from the hide was indeed serene and soothing! Can't wait for the next episode!

Overnight at shipandani hide.

We settled in to our new accommodation and sat back to enjoy the view, lots of birds, snorting hippos, and the occasional Croc cruising past. Out near the parking area was a group of WaterBuck


We set up our little mosquito tents, and arranged things so that we could enjoy our evening. The wind started picking up, and really began to blow. Our dinner was a quick bite in the small Boma under the tree as we watched dark clouds rolling in on the strong winds. It was a quiet night, except for the very strong winds, the thunder and lighting, and finally torrential rain. Pitch black and cloudy, we couldn't even gaze at the stars.
The great thing about it was we were alone, away from any man-made noises or lights, serenaded by the Hippo chorus, grunting, gurgling and snorting the night away. At one point we could hear something moving just in front of the hide, when we switched on our torch, a hippo was grazing on the grass between the hide and the water. You could really hear him as he grazed.

A while after falling asleep, I woke up and in the darkness I saw a light moving along the opposite side of the water. Half asleep, it appeared to be someone walking along with a lantern. I put on my glasses and watched, realizing it was not a person but only a firefly. Back to sleep within moments, when I woke up in the morning, I had a hard time deciding if that had just been a dream, or if it was real.
The strong winds kept the mosquitoes away, but other night flying creatures were continually flying into the sides of our little tents with loud thumps and lots of buzzing. You would think that with the rain and all of the wind it would be cool, but it was hot and humid enough that you were forced to lay on top of our duvet and blankets. Good thing we had the mosquito tents!
4:30 came early, we packed up and said goodbye to Shipandani.

Norman,

Great shot of the Lioness. Glad you got to meet Val and Dungy. We spent a little bit of time at Shipandani as well. Not near enough time, but enough to know we want to go back.

Thanks for sharing!

Daron