Saturday 16 November 2019

South Africa Kruger NP Sept/Oct 2019 An epic finish!

So, this was it. The last full day, a last big effort to see and take in as much as possible. Claire was fully supportive of getting out of the Skukuza gate as soon as possible and we must have been amongst the first to leave. We headed off down the tar H-11 before taking a left down the gravel S65.
The early morning light was lovely.
Elephant
both Elephant, which are not that plentiful in the south, and Giraffe were seen along here.
Giraffe
but there was no sign of any of the cats...or dogs we were after. Arriving at the H1-1 tar road we were greeted to the scene of total destruction by fire. This went on for some distance, we went down to Transport Dam and it was the same there. There would be no herbivores around here, there was nothing to eat. We decided we'd not go any further towards Pretoriuskop but instead head towards the S114 , the road to Biyamiti Weir. We hadn't gone far when we spotted a pair of Spotted Hyena to the side of the road.
Spotted Hyena
It looked as if there might be a den here but there was no sign of youngsters.
Spotted Hyena
We flagged down a car coming in the opposite direction to tell them of our find and that they would need to move over to the wrong side of the road to see them. They in turn told us of another den at the junction of the two tar roads.H1-1 and H3.
Sure enough, one adult and one cub were out in view.
Spotted Hyena
The youngster appeared to have a lot more energy than the adult who was ignoring the request to play.The your one decided to amuse itself chewing on a stick!
Spotted Hyena
Suddenly there was an odd call and the young one bounded off and disappeared in to the den , a drain under the road.
We decided to take a slight diversion to the Matekenyane view point, a large rocky out crop that gives views of the surrounding plains.
A few snaps taken we headed back down towards the road but found a pack of Dwarf Mongoose out hunting so stopped for a few photos.
Dwarf Mongoose
Next up was the S112 gravel road , then the S114. Both would give us very little rewards but at least I added a new bird to my trip list. The rather attractive Violet-cheeked Waxbill.
Violet-cheeked Waxbil. lUraeginthus granatinus
Instead of continuing to Biyamiti we decided to make a breakfast stop at Afsaal. It was still early but the place was still busy, although nowhere near as busy as our visit almost a month ago. That of course was a national holiday. I wanted to try their roosterkoek again, see if it was good as first impressions had made.
Roosterkoek!
The sweet chilli sauce is my addition and I have to admit, not the best on a breakfast roll, however, when it came down to the final judgement it wasn't as good as the Tshokwane offering!
Yum!
If you happen to be passing they are both worth a visit though!
Off we went again, this time heading to Biyamiti via the H2-2. Although an H road it's actually a gravel one. 
I suddenly spotted some Lions just off the road.
Lion cub
They were fairly well hidden so getting a photo wasn't easy.
Lion cub
There were three cubs but no sign of any adults.
Another car arrived on the scene and stopped to see what we were photographing, however, they left the engine running and this obviously seemed to disturb the cubs who decided to move away
Lion cub
Annoying to have my sighting ruined but there you go. Not a lot you can do about it. I do wonder why some people leave their engines running continually, yes the aircon might be nice but they have the windows open too.
Anyway, that sighting was over. It was only when I looked at the photos when I got home I realised one of the cubs has had its tail bitten off by the looks of things. I wonder who was responsible and how that happened.
Lion cub
Arriving at the weir we crossed over then returned to put me on the right side for photography.
We were greeted by the sight of a Monitor Lizard coming over the wall.
Monitor Lizard
There wasn't much happening around the weir but it was noticeable the water had been running over the top and what had been a bone dry road on our last visit was now wet and muddy.
White-faced Whistling Duck
The resident Hippo was there along with a couple of White-faced Whistling Ducks.
White-faced Whistling Duck
Once again, the point of view opportunities was excellent and I was closer to this species than I have ever managed in the past. There was nothing else about so I suggested to Claire a major change of plan. My intention to stay at least an hour now forgotten we'd head for the S25 and go the whole length to H4-2 then north to Lower Sabie.
I was desperate to see some Wild Dogs if truth be known! I could return to the weir the following day on our way out of the park when heading back to Johannesberg.
Onwards we went. The south west of the park is the best place to see Rhino, it's not a secret but nevertheless sightings are meant to be kept vague. 
We found some in a pool near the side of the road.
 Rhinocerous
They were so close I had to change lenses and for the first time in a month attach the 24-105mm on the camera!
Rhinocerous
It was a stunning experience to be within a few feet of these two magnificent animals chilling in a small pool!
A vehicle coming the opposite way stopped to tell me about a wild dog sighting they'd had. The pack was asleep under some bush around 15 kilometres away. There was every chance they would be there for some time. We followed the distance to the metre but no sign of the dogs. 
We drove on.
Another kilometre.
And another.
I was beginning to think our luck was out when we came across two parked cars.
They were there!!!
Wild Dog
The views were again obscured by twigs, branches bits of grass but now and again one would sit up.
Wild Dog
or even move position altogether.
Wild Dog
There were at least a dozen dogs scattered over the various shaded areas but pretty close to the road.
Wild Dog
I could have stayed there until they were ready to move but Claire was suffering from the heat, it was intense sat in a tin can with no aircon. The dogs would be there for a long time yet and we had to get back to Skukuza too.
Wild Dog
We left them to it, we were the only car there when we left but I flagged down a car coming the other way and gave them exact details of where to find them.
My wish had been granted though, I'd had a great Wild Dog sighting so even if I'd seen nothing else all day that would have been enough to make it an excellent day's work.
However, it wasn't all over yet. Some distance further on we came across a Martial Eagle at a waterhole.
Martial Eagle
It too was trying to cool down in the heat which was now in the forty something centigrade.
[Martial Eagle
We watched for a while, this magnificent bird wasn't the first of it's species we'd seen but it was by far the best views.
Just look to those talons!
Martial Eagle
The south had delivered yet again. I have only described our favourite sightings of the day but there were others too.
Red-billed Oxpecker
Oxpeckers are everywhere in the park but they make great subjects.
I started off our trip with my photo objectives being about the smaller animals not all about the cat family. Until the last day there was one species that had eluded me. Often seen briefly as they don't hang around, I had some "record shots" and this one isn't much better but at least I now had a Slender Mongoose in my portfolio!
Slender Mongoose
I still had one last objective though, and yes, it was one of the big cats!
We drove from the S25 north past Lower Sabie taking the H4-2 and H4-1 before getting to the H12 turn off. We'd been on the road well over 11 hours and driven 240 kilometres in the process but I asked Claire if she'd mind if we took a slight diversion.If you have followed my story you will know I had a close encounter with a Leopard on the S83 what seemed like weeks previously. I had made an attempt to see it again the previous day and failed so this was the last throw of the dice.
As always, Claire was happy to accommodate my request.
I was convinced it would be my lucky day but alas it turned out not to be.
I had to settle for a Steinbok!
Steinbok
Never mind, it had been a brilliant day. We headed back to camp. I dropped Claire off at our chalet then took the car to the fuel station to see if I could get the car washed. 
They closed in 15 minutes but as a favour agreed they would give the car the full works. I have to say they were brilliant. They transformed the interior of the car back to virtually showroom condition from it's previously filthy dusty state. Every nook and cranny of the exterior was gleaming again by the time they finished 35 minutes later. All for just 100 rand... just around £5.
I was so grateful I gave them 200 rand.
In return they thanked me profusely and told me I had made their day.
Left me feeling good too.
Anyway, once again we dined in the Cattle Baron restaurant, once again had a good meal with excellent service.
Over dinner I told Claire that I had decided now the car was clean I'd keep it that way. No gravel roads on the way out of the park.
"No Biyamiti Weir?" she asked.
"No" I replied.
"We'll do that again next time we visit!" I replied.

So that was the end of the journey really. The next day we drove out of the park without stopping arriving back in Johannesburg by mid afternoon for an overnight stop before flying home the next day.
It had been an epic journey by our standards.
We'd hit a low point a few days previously but I was extremely sad to be leaving the park when the time came to go home.
However, as has previously been said to us, you have to leave to be able to come back again!
And we will.

The End

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