Our 2024 Kruger trip: A tale of mishaps and magical sightings

[colbol]

A golden male lion what a beauty
Thank goodness you spotted it

Hyena and pups

Cheetah in the open savanna
Love the photos- thanks C+ T

That sunset

[FinMari]

Well spotted back seat Princess

Hyena den

Jackpots keep coming
I love Cheetah walking photos, but super special is the one it is checking the cars

Beautiful sunset at the end of one magical day

Thank you for sharing Carla + Tony

[Meandering Mouse]

My goodness, cats galore. I am very

Fabulous images. The cheetah sighting is excellent. In one moment it can disappear like a pancake.

Hyenas are a favorite of mine, particularly mums feeding pups.

As for the sunset....................

sigh.

[Karin Mitton]

That male lion was a handsome fella! "places to go and animals to eat"
The afternoon light on that cheetah was amazing. What a wonderful sighting!!

[umtali1]

An extremely handsome lion . Wow!

Such beautiful light on the cheetah

You were very lucky to find the hyena mom feeding her pups

There is something very special and magical about the African evening light. It has to be seen to be believed.

[Tessa G]

I think I know where those waterlilies are on the S100. Always makes for a lovely photo. So beautiful.

@ your 'sitting on your knees' comment. I'm with you there. Love your portrait shot.

Well done on your LBR in flight. Any bird in flight is not my forte. We will be in KTP for 15 nights in Dec/Jan so I think I need to give it my best shot.

Flat white bellies

Very nice herd of buffs.

"Backseat Princess" .............fortunately, because I am playing catchup, I don't need to wait for all to be revealed!!
What a beautiful boy. Great photos Carla. Right place, right time!!

.....and then a cheetah in the most beautiful late afternoon light. Yes, you said it....All the best sightings are at gate closing time.

[kids@camping]

Well done to the backseat passenger

Wow, beautiful male lion... glad you had the opportunity to get a head on

Hyena mom with pup

The a Cheetah... beautiful colours

Sunset

[Pumbaa]

Thanks so much, Carla + Tony,

WoW what a fantastic lion sighting and the only car there

Great hyena sighting too and finally even a cheetah in the best light - WoW and yes those sightings always occur close to gate closing time

Magnificent Satara sunset on top

[Cape of Storms]

What a feast this latest chapter was! From that perfectly timed lion stroll (with a head-on photo no less! ) to the cautious road-crossing—he truly knew how to work the camera!

The hyena mum with her little ones hidden in the grass… such a special sighting. And then a cheetah on the move? As if your wild parade wasn’t dazzling enough already!

You’ve captured the energy of those near-gate-close sightings so well—equal parts adrenaline and awe, with just a sprinkle of panic. That sunset shot at the end was the perfect curtain call.

I’m thoroughly enjoying the journey—thanks for letting us all ride along. Looking forward to the next reveal!

(currently wondering if the lion was actually heading to his own sunset photo shoot...)

[Carla + Tony]

Thank you for your kind comments Colbol. FinMari, MM, Karin, Umtali, Tessa G, kids@camping, Pumbaa and Cape of Storms and everybody thank you very much for your patience

Please let me explain the constant delays.
Just before Christmas, I was told my presence at work was no longer required as from january 1st (as the crowd gives a sympethetic ahhhhh ) Having worked there for a long time (17 years), my notice was 4 months. I was allowed to stay at home those 4 months, giving me extra time to look for a new job. So I thought I would have plenty of time for this Trip Report and all its preparations.
As it happened, I found a new job earlier than expected It is something completely different. I have to learn absolutely everything new and that eats into my energy. When I come home from work, I feel quite exhausted and ready for an early night Result: a huge backlog in the photoprocessing. This in turn causes the delays in my postings. Sorry!!

Anyway, let's continue again.

Wednesday October 2

Roads travelled: H1-3 – H6 - S41 - S100 – H7 – S12 – S40 – S127 – H1-4 – S147 – S89 - ?

Weather: ?

I did not keep up with all my notes on this day. The reason? Two ellie encounters of which the second one scared the living daylights out of me and I semi stopped writing things down. All will be revealed. But let’s start the beginning.

Up early and again in the queue to get out of the gate (well we are at Satara )
The day started off with a sleepy giraffe watching the colour of the sky change as the sun rises





Waterbuck in the morning light



Followed by a brown snake eagle



The herd of buffs was still on the H6



Some of them were under close inspection

[Carla + Tony]

Birdies were out and about in full force.
Maribou stork



I believe a male mocking cliff chat?



And a female one? (Please correct if I am wrong)



Early morning Goliath heron



A jacana looking for breakfast



Black crake playing hide and seek in the reeds

[Carla + Tony]

We drove as far as Gudzani dam where we saw this open billed stork surveying the manor. Other than that, all was quiet.



We turned round and took the S100. No cats. Just general game. This impressive looking giant we felt was more than worthy of a photo



And more birds. This kingfisher was happy to pose



A rather snooty looking LBR



We were driving along quite happily. # 1 son was behind the steering wheel at this point. We drove through a small dry river bed and at the top of the riverbed, the road immediately turned to the left. As we turned the corner we met with an ellie, who was munching away on the bushes by the side of the road
I don’t know who got more of a fright, the elephant or us. The ellies ears went out immediately and it trumpeted loud. # 1 son in a reflex, hit the breaks. 'Noooo', we shouted at him, 'don't stop, move on!!'
He got a move on real quick, leaving the ellie in peace and our pulses racing, specially mine!

t.b.c.

[umtali1]

There’s something very special about the early morning light in the Kruger . Your photos capture it perfectly

A great variety of birds with correct ids . Your list is growing

at the ellie experience.
Now you’re leaving us all in suspense………..

[colbol]

Early morning colours as the sun starts its day and the giraffe was enjoying it also

Plains animals

Lots of bird sightings- do like your snooty LBR pic

Thanks

[Karin Mitton]

I am glad you found a new job so quickly and am sure the days will get easier soon!
Absolutely stunning sunrise.. WOW!
Fantastic bird photos. I really like that Marabou pic.