Jump to content

Buffaloes at sunrise, Elephants at sunset – Madikwe Safari Diary – Day 1


Soukous

Recommended Posts

A trip report from my recent visit to Madikwe Game Reserve in South Africa.

 

Once again I am going to post this as a link. I hop this doesn't cause too many problems but the alternative is to cut and paste my text and then add in the photos one by one.

If this is an issue just let me know Matt and I'll do it differently in future. :unsure:

 

 

Buffaloes at sunrise, Elephants at sunset – Madikwe Safari Diary – Day 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Soukous lovely to see the park when it is dry. When we went it was very green. It is a very beautiful park. Where did you stay?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You saw a brown hyaena, how wonderful. I love the buffaloes in that beautiful light, they look very attractive.

 

Do you continue the report on the same page or do we need to click on different links?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Soukous

Lovely photos - good to see the brown hyena

Sad to hear of the rhino - so close to park headquarters

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Soukous did the guides say if their was any progress tracking down the poachers or any explanation as to how a rhino was killed so close to the park headquarters? Also, nice shots of the brown hyena!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

During the time we were at Madikwe (3 days) we got no info from any of the guides that the authorities were making progress in tracking down the poachers.

When we left the park we were simply waved through - no-one even asked us to open the boot of the car nor did they look inside. We could have been the poachers for all they knew.

The whole attitude towards the prevention of poaching and providing security at game reserves, both national and private is alarmingly lacking in motivation.

 

@@Tdgraves - I stayed at Madikwe Safari Lodge. First time there and I was quite impressed.

 

@@twaffle - I'll be posting my diaries for the next 2 days at Madikwe in the next week or so. They are written but I'm just sorting out the photos. There will be a separate link for each day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I tuned in for word on the brown hyena. There it is! How exciting for you. I'll be interested in any other sightings of this species or info on their #s lately. A rhino poached "less than 300 metres from the NW parks" is outrageous. Beautiful elephant shots.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@@Atravelynn thanks for the kind words.

Not sure how much I can add about the brown hyena.

I spotted it (not sure if a him or a her) sneaking through the bushes near the water hole. It circled all the way around so that it could approach the waterhole in the open. The herbies were initially spooked by the presence of a predator but soon relaxed when they saw which predator it was. In fact the hyena seemed much more timid than all the other animals.

It came to the water, had a pretty quick drink and then loped off again.

 

Surprisingly, a few days later I was on the Swartberg Private Reserve in Western Cape when we saw a brown hyena appear from behind a dam and trot across the grass into the bushes.

According to most books, brown hyena are not found in this area at all. ( I wasn't the only one who saw it and we hadn't had too much to drink) :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Most interesting about the brown hyena. Along with this creature, you had lots of good sightings. How long was your whole trip?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was short, but intense. Just 2 weeks in total.

2 days in Sabi Sand

3 days at Madikwe

and a week in Klein Karoo.

 

Game viewing in private reserves like Sabi Sand is very intense, partly because the geographical area is small, compared to big parks like Maasai Mara or Serengeti, but more because of the radio contact between guides/rangers that keeps everyone up to date with any sightings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Safaritalk uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using Safaritalk you agree to our use of cookies. If you wish to refuse the setting of cookies you can change settings on your browser to clear and block cookies. However, by doing so, Safaritalk may not work properly and you may not be able to access all areas. If you are happy to accept cookies and haven't adjusted browser settings to refuse cookies, Safaritalk will issue cookies when you log on to our site. Please also take a moment to read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy: Terms of Use l Privacy Policy