I was up early but we weren't in a hurry to leave. Time for some birding around our Bush Tent at Lower Sabie Camp.
Sat on our balcony with a cup of coffee the ideal way to add a few birds to my list!
The handsome Spectacled Weaver
The highly camouflaged and rather as it's name suggests, Sombre Greenbul
A singing Southern Boubou was a lovely sight
and even if you have seen and photographed them before you might get a better image.
Tawny-flanked Prinia and Rattling Cisticola both flitting around the scrub
No need to become complacent no matter how many you have seen, always room for improvement.
and some birds like to improve their appearance before posing for the camera!
I'd calculated it was about 130kms to Talamati Bushveld camp, possibly the biggest distance between any two camps we were going to move between. We had our food to consider but Claire was freezing bottles of water to put in our cool bags so hopefully all would be well. It better had be , we couldn't re-stock without a certain amount of inconvenience, at least, so we thought anyway. No shop at Talamati if we ran out.
Anyway, despite the risk we decided to take the extra long route to take in Satara area before heading to our next base.We could have stuck to the tar road but no, we went gravel after coming off the H1-3. Our guide book suggested the S37 was a road worth travelling. Not for us it wasn't. Over 30 kms of bone rattling corrugated road surface with next to nothing seen. Mind you it was pretty damn hot out there on the dry dusty plain. Even birds that were close to the car were difficult to photograph because of the heat haze.
It was somewhat of a relief when we came across the Sweni Hide at the top end of this road. We decided to investigate and timed our entry to perfection as herd after herd of Elephants were coming down to the water hole.
It's fascinating watching the interaction between these magnificent creatures.
always amusing to see how excited the youngest ones are as they near water.
Watching the odd one struggling to climb a bank
or simply having a dustbath ( imaging having that up for nostrils!)
kept us amused and at the hide longer than we'd envisaged but why leave if you don't have to!
Anyway, as the elephants finally all left we moved on too.Up the S41 and on to the famous S100.
The S100 gravel road is probably the biggest reason that people like to stop at Satara Rest Camp.
I'd read good reports about the surrounding area, some poor reports about the camp and consequently decided not to stop there. Well, we couldn't fit every camp in anyway, well not unless you are prepared to move on constantly, but I was keen to see what held everyones attention.
Well in our case it was nothing. A few Impala and that was it. We came across a minor road jam, apparently there were some Lions (the road's speciality) asleep under a tree but that was reported from a vehicle much taller than ours and they couldn't see them either so we thought forget that. They might be there for hours without seeing anything. We moved on paying a brief visit to Satara Camp to get some cold drinks.
Then it was onwards again, slightly south on the H1-3 then another highly recommended route, the S126.
Nope, nothing there either!
In the heat of the day your chances of seeing things are much reduced. Our journey had been fairly uneventful except where there was water and that proved to be the same when we hit the S36 and the Mondzweni waterhole. We weren't too far from Talamati now so we had time to sit for a short while before carrying on. There were definite possibilities here, worth a return visit from the camp.
Anyway, with our food in mind we moved on and checked in at Talamati.
What a difference, just a small office and a pleasant greeting by the member of staff on duty. There was a sightings book as well as a board, it listed the various things seen on the guided drives. There were a couple of things I'd like to see and a night drive is the best option. Unfortunately the were full for the three nights we were booked in. Must admit though when I saw the party of noisy families getting on the OSV at departure time I was pleased I wasn't one of them.
No. I wasn't disappointed. There was a hide and I'd spend some time in that instead.
First we moved in to our chalet and I have to say, I was impressed. A bedroom, bathroom
excellent kitchen that even had an gas oven as well as the electrical microwave, kettle, toaster.
There was a good indoor lounge area as well as a covered outdoor one.
The nearest neighbours were some distance away. You couldn't fault anything. Yes, I'd made the right choice here!
I was off to the hide as soon as possiblend that I had e to say was a little disappointing in as much as the water level was vey low, and where there was water it was out of sight. There was a decent procession of visitors though, all the usual suspects but not for me anyway, the local Leopard.
I had to make do with this cute Bushbuck!
Eventually I was driven out by the noise of some of my fellow guests. I must admit, I'm one of those who actually likes a bit of chat in the hide, provided everyone knows when to shut up if something that is likely to be skittish approaches. However, some people talk VERY loud, and if the conversation is inane best leave!
I returned to our chalet. It was beer time, time to light the Braii!
One of the things I'd asked at reception was if there was any wildlife in camp. The answer was "No".
Maybe they think you are asking about dangerous beasts and they want to reassure you all is well.
Anyway, not long after I had put some sausage on the grill we suddenly had a surprise visitor!
y
I'd never seen one before and was absolut delighted.
It was soon apparent that these cats offer no threat whatsoever, their behaviour just like a domestic cat it seemed.
I resisted the use of flash but on occasion did point my torch in the Genet's direction.
You are requested not to feed any of the birds and animals, in fact you can be prosecuted for doing so.
Hard though it was, I resisted the urge to share my dinner but felt quite guilty that the cat sat and watched us eating whilst sat in a nearby tree.
A group of people were heading past the front of our chalet and towards the hide. I went out and approached the straggler at the end and asked "would you like to see something a bit special?". She came with me but was unimpressed even though she asked me what it was. No, she was off to the hide, the Leopard was due at 8.00 o'clock apparently. Suit yourself Madam I thought, I prefer this one!
TBC
Sat on our balcony with a cup of coffee the ideal way to add a few birds to my list!
The handsome Spectacled Weaver
The highly camouflaged and rather as it's name suggests, Sombre Greenbul
A singing Southern Boubou was a lovely sight
and even if you have seen and photographed them before you might get a better image.
Tawny-flanked Prinia and Rattling Cisticola both flitting around the scrub
No need to become complacent no matter how many you have seen, always room for improvement.
and some birds like to improve their appearance before posing for the camera!
I'd calculated it was about 130kms to Talamati Bushveld camp, possibly the biggest distance between any two camps we were going to move between. We had our food to consider but Claire was freezing bottles of water to put in our cool bags so hopefully all would be well. It better had be , we couldn't re-stock without a certain amount of inconvenience, at least, so we thought anyway. No shop at Talamati if we ran out.
Anyway, despite the risk we decided to take the extra long route to take in Satara area before heading to our next base.We could have stuck to the tar road but no, we went gravel after coming off the H1-3. Our guide book suggested the S37 was a road worth travelling. Not for us it wasn't. Over 30 kms of bone rattling corrugated road surface with next to nothing seen. Mind you it was pretty damn hot out there on the dry dusty plain. Even birds that were close to the car were difficult to photograph because of the heat haze.
It was somewhat of a relief when we came across the Sweni Hide at the top end of this road. We decided to investigate and timed our entry to perfection as herd after herd of Elephants were coming down to the water hole.
It's fascinating watching the interaction between these magnificent creatures.
always amusing to see how excited the youngest ones are as they near water.
Watching the odd one struggling to climb a bank
or simply having a dustbath ( imaging having that up for nostrils!)
kept us amused and at the hide longer than we'd envisaged but why leave if you don't have to!
Anyway, as the elephants finally all left we moved on too.Up the S41 and on to the famous S100.
The S100 gravel road is probably the biggest reason that people like to stop at Satara Rest Camp.
I'd read good reports about the surrounding area, some poor reports about the camp and consequently decided not to stop there. Well, we couldn't fit every camp in anyway, well not unless you are prepared to move on constantly, but I was keen to see what held everyones attention.
Well in our case it was nothing. A few Impala and that was it. We came across a minor road jam, apparently there were some Lions (the road's speciality) asleep under a tree but that was reported from a vehicle much taller than ours and they couldn't see them either so we thought forget that. They might be there for hours without seeing anything. We moved on paying a brief visit to Satara Camp to get some cold drinks.
Then it was onwards again, slightly south on the H1-3 then another highly recommended route, the S126.
Nope, nothing there either!
In the heat of the day your chances of seeing things are much reduced. Our journey had been fairly uneventful except where there was water and that proved to be the same when we hit the S36 and the Mondzweni waterhole. We weren't too far from Talamati now so we had time to sit for a short while before carrying on. There were definite possibilities here, worth a return visit from the camp.
Anyway, with our food in mind we moved on and checked in at Talamati.
What a difference, just a small office and a pleasant greeting by the member of staff on duty. There was a sightings book as well as a board, it listed the various things seen on the guided drives. There were a couple of things I'd like to see and a night drive is the best option. Unfortunately the were full for the three nights we were booked in. Must admit though when I saw the party of noisy families getting on the OSV at departure time I was pleased I wasn't one of them.
No. I wasn't disappointed. There was a hide and I'd spend some time in that instead.
First we moved in to our chalet and I have to say, I was impressed. A bedroom, bathroom
excellent kitchen that even had an gas oven as well as the electrical microwave, kettle, toaster.
There was a good indoor lounge area as well as a covered outdoor one.
The nearest neighbours were some distance away. You couldn't fault anything. Yes, I'd made the right choice here!
I was off to the hide as soon as possiblend that I had e to say was a little disappointing in as much as the water level was vey low, and where there was water it was out of sight. There was a decent procession of visitors though, all the usual suspects but not for me anyway, the local Leopard.
I had to make do with this cute Bushbuck!
Eventually I was driven out by the noise of some of my fellow guests. I must admit, I'm one of those who actually likes a bit of chat in the hide, provided everyone knows when to shut up if something that is likely to be skittish approaches. However, some people talk VERY loud, and if the conversation is inane best leave!
I returned to our chalet. It was beer time, time to light the Braii!
One of the things I'd asked at reception was if there was any wildlife in camp. The answer was "No".
Maybe they think you are asking about dangerous beasts and they want to reassure you all is well.
Anyway, not long after I had put some sausage on the grill we suddenly had a surprise visitor!
yI'd never seen one before and was absolut delighted.
It was soon apparent that these cats offer no threat whatsoever, their behaviour just like a domestic cat it seemed.
I resisted the use of flash but on occasion did point my torch in the Genet's direction.
You are requested not to feed any of the birds and animals, in fact you can be prosecuted for doing so.
Hard though it was, I resisted the urge to share my dinner but felt quite guilty that the cat sat and watched us eating whilst sat in a nearby tree.
A group of people were heading past the front of our chalet and towards the hide. I went out and approached the straggler at the end and asked "would you like to see something a bit special?". She came with me but was unimpressed even though she asked me what it was. No, she was off to the hide, the Leopard was due at 8.00 o'clock apparently. Suit yourself Madam I thought, I prefer this one!
TBC
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