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About ten years ago was on the metsi-metsi trail.
The accommodation was a wooden tent like structure on stilts.
I woke up in the middle of the night to a low rumbling sound.
As I opened my eyes to look outside, all I could see was an eyeball looking back at me.
There was an elephant eating on a tree right next to me, the rumbling was it's stomach.
I couldn't move. Only when it eventually moved away did I have the courage to call my husband.
The elephant had just walked over the fence, the electric fence was not switched on.
Apparently it regularly came into the camp at night, anyone else seen it on the trail?

A few years ago we were staying in Biyamiti for a week and every night this civet would come and curl up next to one of our chairs when we were braaing - it was obviously used to people feeding it (and no, we didn't feed it)!

It was so relaxed!

Bushfairy, it reminds me.

A few years ago we also stayed in Biyamiti, father (me), son & grandfather (Jerry Hattrick).
Father & son went on a night ride and Jerry styed to do the braai. When we returned he complained about a cat that was moseying around, looking for food. He had shoo'ed it off.
I told him you don't get cats in Kruger(domestic), and asked for a description.

It was a civet, maybe the same one as yours BF!

BB wouldn't surprise me if it was! It was a very relaxed civet obviously really used to people!! We go to Biyamiti every year and we only saw the civet one of the years (after that it was gone), but we still see large spotted genets in camp every year!

We had 2 honey badgers raid our garbage at Satara on the night of 25th of May, 2010. Anyone else in Satara see them that night? There was a guy following them with a flashlight....was it one of you?

Also, a word of warning....we found leopard prints on the morning of the 20th of May in Tamboti. They were fresh, as they were over our tracks from the night before!

yeah, I can't believe how foolish we were.....

In Tamboti, we had signed up for a night drive, and misunderstood when they said we were to meet them at ablution 1. We thought they said camp number one. So, we drove (as we were at the time feeling a little about walking around Tamboti in the dark.)
After waiting awhile, we could hear the driver driving around.
My dad suggested we walk from camp 1 to the gate, and wait for the driver there.
My SO agreed, and I called them hyena food and told them under no terms was I walking to the gate in the dark... But after they left, it only took about a minute of me standing in the dark alone to realize better to be in a group!
The driver scolded us, and told us what we did was VERY UNSAFE.
I told him I tried to stop them....
The next day, walking around camp, we decided to head back to the gate, and there were the tracks, right on top of ours.

Will never be that foolish again...

Went to Kruger with my parents in the 80's - mom and I both needed the loo in the middle of the night, so off we went with our one shared torch.
In the bathroom (for some reason the lights were not on) - my mom kept the torch - I felt something "land" on my flannel pj's.
In light of the fact that I have an unnatural fear of spiders, it may have as well have been a lion, because I screamed the place down.... Turns out, when mom ran out of the next door stall with her pj's around her ankles, that it was just a poor little bat!!!!!! Fright of my life!!!!!!
Other subsequent "real" animals in camps include the regular honey badger at Satara, the bushbabys and a Genet at Skukuza.
Loved the badger (who by the way thought that my daughters diaper that he dug out of the bin tasted wonderful) and the Genet. The genet returned both nights we were there - very very cute!

When we were in Punda last October , we were told about an incident concerning a buffalo the day before our arrival . Apparently the buffalo , having been " wounded " by lions , came running up the road through the gate and into camp . It ran through the campground , half demolishing someones tent , before stopping . Its innards were spilling out , and it was then shot by rangers .
Does anyone know any more of this ?

Just imagine what could have happened if the lions had followed the buff into camp

Hi Everyone,

I'm kinda new to the forums although I've been reading it on a daily basis.
December 2008 we were sleeping in Lower Sabie when I heard something scrathing against my trailer's tent 00:30 at night. {Now I don't know about you, but that's not the kind of sound that one would like to hear whilst camping in the bush?}.
So I decided to slowly open the tent so that I can at least pop my eye out to see what's happening. So I had a look, and there they were, two massive hyenas trying to get something from under my trailer {probably meat or something that was left there by the previous campers}.

And as fate may have it, I had to go to the bathroom
So I waited a few minutes for them to leave, then I finally got the courage to walk to the bathroom. The next moment Four hyenas came running past about 10 metres away from me, and I felt the shivers running down my spine!!! But it's funny how quick one can react in such a situation, because I saw a lady and her child walking away from the bathroom and the first thing that crossed my mind is the child! According to me Hyenas won't hesitate to attack the mother for her child? So I shouted to the lady to run back into the bathroom. Luckily the Hyenas weren't intrerrested in them. I counted about 8 Hyenas in camp that night.

The next morning I reported it to the camp and they said that those Hyenas keeps on coming back every now and then, somehow they keep on coming through the fences.

Leopard74! Welcome with your first post on the forums! We joined the mites nearly the same time!
But the hyenas! Wow! I think the adrenaline rush is also part of the raw bush experience. Scary story...
Good and fast thinking there with the ma and kid! That fast thinking is the stuff heroes are made of!

Yes it was me (not kidding!)

I had good fun with these honey badgers and had been looking for them the two previous nights. These two showed up while I was braaiing which was a bit inconsiderate but otherwise they were very well behaved Here are some images I took of them that evening:

In 2003 a genet had the "concession" for raiding Satara's dustbins , but now it's honey badgers

I will be in Lower Sabie on Saturday and I was wondering what people have seen within the borders of the camp?
I have just bought myself a Canon 7d with a 70-200 F4 IS lens so I will be doing alot of walking during the afternoons and at night.
I'm keen on birds.
Since I bought a DSLR they really fascinate me and I love to take photos of them.
I'm also keen on owls ?
does anyone know if there are owls in lower Sabie?

Who knows i might bet the odd leopard or lion that will visit the camp

Thanks Guys

Hey Massimo was just in LS last week.

Fig trees are attracting lots of birds at the moment. Many species allowing for good pics for a 200mm. ALso go to the pool and setup your cam next to the weavers nests there. Great interaction with cuckoos etc
Enjoy!

Well i know all about bees and Lower Sabie.
Went of a family trip and we went to the picnic site and well me, my brother and my moms boyfriend all got stung by the bee's.
We had set up at a table and then a kid come running past and must have disturbed them and well bee's galore!!

Lucky non of us were allergic to them as Lower Sabie had nothing to regards to a bee sting. E.g Anti-anti-histamine or something ...