Great Egret
White-backed Vulture
Marabou Stork and White-backed Vulture
Buffalo
Burchell's Zebra
Centipede
Swainson's Spurfowl
Redbilled Hornbill
African Grey Hornbill
Chinspot Batis
Squirrel
Redbilled Hornbill
African Openbill
Nile Crocodile
Grey Heron
Crested Francolin
Grey Go-away-bird
Elephant skull
Termite Hill
At the Tropic of Capricorn
Kudu
The only Ostrich we have seen in all of Krüger!
Elephants
Warthog
Roan Antelope
Now, that horn went all wild!
Saddle-Billed Stork
Impala
Lilac-breaster Roller
Striped Skink
At Punda Maria Camp, we had a campsite very close to the perimeter fence. At the fence, they built a nice elevated hide, and beyond it there was a muddy waterhole. The first late afternoon, there was a herd of Buffaloes right at the fence, enjoying the mud...
Looks like a hot hairstyle...;-)
Guttural Toad (?)
Baobab
Elephant tracks
The border to Mozambique at Pafuri (in the very north of Krüger)
Fever Tree
Southern Ground Hornbill
We then went to Crooks Corner, a place at the border to Mozambique. The sign below explains the history of this place, and why it is called Crooks Corner. I loved this spot. It was very tranquil, and we could see quite few different animals there...
Pied Kingfisher
Nile Crocodile
White-fronted Bee-eater
Pied Kingfisher
Nile Crocodile
Elephant skin...
...and bones
Baobab
Chacma Baboon
There were quite a few different antelopes to see from the bridge. In the distant, they gathered to drink at both sides of the river...
Impala & Kudu
Neil reading in the back of the motorhome
Waterbuck, Nyala & Impala
Helmeted Terrapin (?)
Water Monitor
Waterbuck
Tsessebe
Lilac-breasted Roller
Elephant (really - click on it and you'll see!)
Steenbok
Look at those ears! Don't you just want to cuddle it?
This elephant was with its behind on the road. We stopped, turned the motor off, and watched it for quite some time. A couple of cars arrived and stopped as well. Eventually, we wanted to go on, and I tried to very slowly drive past it (as we have done with many other elephants before). Well, this one wanted to show is the boss is: It turned towards us in a very aggressive pose, putting forward the huge ears, and did a brief mock charge. What could I do? Quickly into reverse and slowly backing off. Engine off again, and waiting until it decided to move away from the road... Not a fun feeling being charged by a beast of that size!!!
Yellow-bellied Greenbul
The second afternoon, we had an elephant in the mud across the fence...
5am start to one of our last game drives...
look for the Steenbok!
Termite Hill
Kudu & Oxpecker
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Southern Ground Hornbill
Burchell's Zebra
Buffalo
At Letaba Camp - our last stay in Krüger
Bushbuck
Glossy Starling
Elephant
Redbilled Hornbill
This Bushbuck came right to our door, and was so curious that it was about to climb in...
Rock Monitor
The Squirrel was nosy and got very close to the Rock Monitor, but once the monitor hissed at it, the squirrel jumped, and the monitor left the tree...
Another (much bigger) Rock Monitor - look at the tongue!
Natal Spurfowl
Dark-capped Bulbul
Crested Barbet
I couldn't figure out what this is - a lark?
African Mourning Dove
Egyptian Goose and Marabou Stork
Black-headed Oriole
Cardinal Woodpecker
Bushbuck
African Mourning Dove
Arrow-marked Babbler
Chinspot Batis
Vervet Monkey
Red-winged Starling
Dark-capped Bulbul
Red-headed Weaver
Elephants
Elephants & Buffaloes
Bushbuck
Squirrel
Glossy Starling
Vervet Monkey
The last morning, we once again left early, because we had the drive to Pretoria ahead of us. And amazingly, about half way between Letaba and Phalborwa we saw a pack of Wild Dogs! What a treat on our last day!
Some researchers of the Carnivore Conservation Group track the dogs via photo ID, and they ask tourists to send them photos of sightings, with details of day, time, and location. I sent them our photos and details, and this is what Marion wrote back:
Hi Micha
This is great, I needed right hand shots for these dogs. Look at the map, they travelled all over the place. They where 5 adults & 7 puppies in May – hope the pups did not get killed.
Thanks
Marion
And this is the map with the dog sightings of this particular pack (thanks for this, Marion!):
But we had more luck that morning! Not long after we saw these beautiful wild dogs, we saw a carcass and a Black-backed Jackal and vultures at it...
Black-backed Jackal
White-headed Vulture
White-headed and White-backed Vulture
Masorini Archaeological Site
And this is where the trip ends - pretty much. We ended up on a city campground in Pretoria. The weather was bad, and the campgound basic. But close by we got a beer for $2, so that was good ;-) Early next morning we drove to Joburg, dropped off the motorhome in pouring rain, and were driven to the airport. We checked in, went duty-free shopping and to the SAA lounge, before we flew out to Singapore. The flight was comfortable and we had 2-seater at the rear of the aircraft - very comfortable!
In Singapore we arrived at 5am, took a cab to the Holiday Inn Atrium and checked in early (and paid extra for that luxury). We were totally knackered and stayed most of the day in bed. Just as well, since it was rainy with thunderstorms, and hot, i.e. very muggy. We had dinner at a close-by mall and went back to the hotel room right away. Next day, we were still lethargic, and half-heartedly went to the Vivo Shopping Center, which is amazing, but we were still very tired. The afternoon we had a nap and then walked over to Orchard Rd, where we were supposed to meet Kevin. But our text messages got delayed by about two hours, so that we missed each other - bugger!
Another night at the hotel, and early check-out and taxi to Changi, where we checked in for another very nice and comfortable flight, since we had the only empty Y-seat between us, i.e. we had the 3-seater to ourselves....
Back in Auckland, Rob picked us up at midnight, and we went back home - finally! Both of us were jet-lagged like never before. We woke up at 4am the latest for more than a week. It was so bad, that the first 4 days I was at work at 5am, and left at about noon.
Overall, another wonderful trip, which fascinated me. I will forever remember the amazing wildlife, and the hospitality and friendliness of the people in South Africa!
