SANParks.org Forums

nice to have a comparison between a track and something else, thank you
and again... superb Cheetah, if not the picture, the Cheetah YES

Greetings All

It has been a cold wet week, had 28mm of rain this week.
Activities have been few, but the ones that i have done have been good, weather permitting. When the days are warm guests and staff have been seeing Aardwolf all over the park making the most of the sun and termite activity.

These are a set of jackal tracks.


This is a aloe flowering in my garden. I now have a fence around my garden so this is first time I've had flowers in the garden. Before the fence the kudu, eland and porcupine would have other ideas.

Aloe arborescens Kransaalwyn

White-eyes the old man (cheetah) of the park caught a vervet monkey, which is a first documented case in MZNP.
On the cheetah tracking activities, Juba one of the orginal females that was introduced into the park has been spending a lot of time on top of Salpeterskop (1500 odd meters above see level). What a climb to see her up there, plus you also get a spectacular view.
Here is Nixi on a kudu calf she caught early on Saturday morning.


Cheers

Howzit Michael!

Your aloe is gorgeous and it's nice to know that all three cheetah that we were lucky enough to find when I did the cheetah tracking with you are doing well and being seen regularly.

I guess I need to visit MZNP in winter for the best chance to see aardwolf? But I'm writing this between flights at LHR en route home after a stay that included visiting two new-to-me parks. But I must make a plan to return to Mountain Zebra! I really enoyed my visit last spring (4 days wasn't nearly long enough!) and meeting you. And the cheetah tracking was one of the best SANParks activities ever!

Hope all is well with you and your family. All the best and thanks for your always interesting posts!

We were there last week and had an Aardwolf sighting at 15H00..............awesome ...............it was a bit far from the road, but I still got some nice photos and it gave me enough time too.............

Arrived in MZNP for our very first visit today. What a pleasant surprise! Eland, gemsbok, zebra, ostrich,springbok and jackal came too say welcome! And that was just from the gate to the restcamp! So looking forward to our 5 nights here!

Hi dellac.
Internet coverage in the park is not so great, so I will try my hand at a TR once back in Cape Town.
But in short, MZNP has been a pleasant surprise to us.
We, as a family, loved the stay here. We went on a nightdrive with Michael (MPaxton) which I will say is a must for anyone visiting MZNP.

My eldest son, Liam, is dictating to me as I write...
he says that i must tell you that we will come here again... For sure!

Hi LarissaVW & Liam
Your report has really got me excited ...
Hope you can download more pics .
Also do you know if we can book a night drive when we arrive, or do we
have to do it before

Good to see the sightings in this special Park. I try to return every year or 2 as it's a real treat for photography.

For those interested - here's my latest TR which includes Golden Gate and MZNP!
viewtopic.php?style=2&f=27&t=63355

Greetings All

Summer is here, but not much rain yet.

Sightings have been good on warm windless nights.

Here are some pics from some of the drives and walks and cheetah tracking activities.

Aarvark, more of a evidence shot but still a Aardvark


On one of the cheetah tracking activities we came across Juba looking into the distant plains, checking what is on the menu.


A malachite sunbird that flew into my house and would not leave.


Thorny Poppy (Papaever aculeatum) one of the flowers after the rain.


Brown Hyena spoor compared to a .375 round


Will post some more later. Will aslo start a topic on some of the photos we have got from our camera traps so be on the look out for that soon.

Cheers for now.

thank you M.Paxton
an Aarvark
Cheetah looking far away
superb Malachite Sunbird


why you compare Hyena spoor... with a round I don't know anything about the size... and don't like those "bidules"

I've strolled through your last 2 years here; wow! So envious! We'll be visiting in Dec...can't wait! Fingers crossed for cheetah...but just being there is going to be magical!

Thanks M Paxton for your pic's, looking forward to your next installment.

We are spending 5 days at the MZNP arriving 11 December , do we need to book ahead for the cheetah tracking?

Hoping to see an Aardwolf! If you have any tips on where to look i.e. a den ec it would be great!

Thanks
Iain

I must thank Micheal Paxton for the most amazing Cheetah experience. It was certainly one of my most memorable Sanparks experiences... and I have had a few of those.

Will post pictures once my bags are unpacked and the dust has settled.

Greetings All

The rains have arrived and so have two hail storms. In on place on the Ubejane loop it looked as if it had snowed the hail was lying so thick. Here is a pic of the second hail storm that fell over the camp.


The activities have been bust as one can expect this time of year. I have gone out a many cheetah tracking activities. On one we saw Nixi almost catch a Steenbok, the Steenbok was way to agile for her. Yesterday whilst looking for Angela I almost stood on this very large yellowish Puff adder.


Have also been doing a couple of morning walks. Came across a small group of buffalo on the morning walk.


On a morning drive/birding drive we came across a Yellow-bellied Eremomela pair making there nest. it was low to the ground, made of spider webs. Not sure if the pic is of good enough quality to see the bird on the nest. It is in the center of the pic.


Last night i saw a small spotter cat on the night drive. That was my first sighting of a small spotted cat ever, so in 11 years of working there are still things to see and learn.

Have a look out for the camera trap report. Secret Cameras of MZNP

cheers

I am so exited - we will be spending a few nights at MZNP from 28 Dec, and I cannot wait! It will be my first visit, and I am hoping to see all the animals mentioned in the previous post. But I know that no matter what we see or don't see, it will be amazing.