Searching for leopards in KNP and Sabi Sand

[MR1980]

A great read and gorgeous images @@pedro maia!! Glad you saw what you were hoping for at Elephant Plains!!

 

Michel

Edited September 9, 2014 by MR1980

[pedro maia]

@@MR1980, thanks for the comments, our stay at EP was great.

[pedro maia]

On that game drive we had one really unusual sighting, or better saying, one really unusual moment.

 

We stopped to whatch some animal I don't remember when I saw this southern yellow billed hornbill right above us, a strange but curious angle to look at it.

 

 

The second one came right after, I can't know for sure but I would say they were a couple.

 

 

Soon one of them made a strange noise and the show started

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And they stopped, it lasted only a few seconds, it was probably some kind of mating preliminaries assuming they were male and female.

 

 

Anyway it was really great to see that especially from that perspective, and we were glad they didn't start doing what pigeons sometimes do over people heads, if you know what I mean.

[Atravelynn]

I lost count of the # of leopards. You even got one on patrol. A couple of those upside down flutter hornbill shots are a wonderfully unique perspective, really different. Glad you did not pay the price for aiming your camera skyward. Not long ago there was an account of a camera falling prey to bird doodoo. Sweet ele encounter too.

[kittykat23uk]

Glad you saw your leopards and more glad that the bunny got away!

[Marks]

Very cool take on the hornbills, especially once they spread their wings.

[pedro maia]

@@Atravelynn, @@kittykat23uk, @@Marks, thanks for the comments.

[pedro maia]

Time to make a small break in the game drives description a say a few things about Elephant Plains Game Lodge.

 

It was our first experience in a game lodge since our previous safari was self drive in Kruger National Park so the obvious differences are that Elephant Plains is an hotel while in Kruger one stays in rest camps (in chalets in our case) and that you don´t drive your car and go on game drives with ranger, tracker and other guests.

 

I know that for more serious safari-goers a lodge like EP is not the real thing, because of the fences and the hotel like concept but we liked, and we liked it a lot, we stayed in two rooms, both with great views (mine and my wife´s had view to the waterhole), the rooms were of great quality and we also liked the rest of the lodge, the bar is nice, the deck is great for breakfast or lunch and the dinner at the boma was ok, the food was average but also ok and we tasted some very nice wines at reasonable prices.

 

Since we don´t like excursions I had some doubts about the game drives (better saying, about going on 6 game drives) with other people, but I must say that the drives were great, we were 10 guests in most drives and it was ok, didn´t bother us at all, and although I still love self driving the sightings in a game drive can be much better, since you can go off road and get really close to the animals.

 

Definitely an experience I wouldn´t mind repeating although it´s not easy because it´s quite expensive, and EP is cheaper than most game lodges .

 

A few pictures of the view from our room and from the main deck, it´s a delight to watch the elephants on the waterhole or just passing by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Big_Dog]

Tingana is quite a beast! Great hornbill pics too; a refreshing viewpoint (great move, taking pics from straight below!) of Africa's oft-photographed flying banana.

[pedro maia]

@@Big_Dog, thanks for the comments.

[pedro maia]

Some general game pictures from day 2 at Elephant Plains

 

[pedro maia]

And, by the end of the afternoon game drive, we saw Salayexe, another female leopard, don´t have pictures, only this video shot by my daughter, not the best images but she quickly vanished in the bush.

 

[pault]

So many leopards. You really made up for last time's disappointment. The perspective on the hornbills is interesting and a bit comical.

[pedro maia]

@@pault, we couldn't ask for more leopards, it was better than we expected, but you know one is never satisfied, we didn't see any lions, which we saw quite a few on our previous visit to Kruger, and we didn't see wild dogs, they had a den in the concession a couple of weeks prior to our visit but they moved somewhere else.

[pedro maia]

The last leopard we saw was a female, Kurula, she showed us the obvious thing, that leopards are cats and do what cats do

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pedro maia]

 

 

 

 

[pedro maia]

That was a young ellie trying to show us who's the boss.

[Tdgraves]

The drive from the Phabeni Gate to Elephant Plains in Sabi Sand should take around 4 hours, our idea was to arrive in time to have lunch before the afternoon game drive, our only problem were two police controls, on the first one the policeman who stopped us said I was caught by a robot passer over a zebra, an infraction that had a fine of 750 rands and that I would have to go back 50km to Hazyview to pay it.

As I said taht I didn´t pass over any zebra (I don't know if I did, it was almost imposible to see the paintings on the road) and that if I went back 50km I wouldn't arrive in time to my destination he said I could pay him the fine, but that he didn´t have any receipts

His intentions were clear and although I tried not to pay anything, in the end paid him 300 rands (and he wanted me to pay in euro).

Pure extorsion...

The second policeman who stopped us asked if I could show him euro banknotes, when I said I didn´t have any with me he let us go.

 

Ah, the Kruger tax.......

[Marks]

Leopards notwithstanding, Elephant Plains also lived up to its name. Beautiful little one there, too.

[pedro maia]

 

The drive from the Phabeni Gate to Elephant Plains in Sabi Sand should take around 4 hours, our idea was to arrive in time to have lunch before the afternoon game drive, our only problem were two police controls, on the first one the policeman who stopped us said I was caught by a robot passer over a zebra, an infraction that had a fine of 750 rands and that I would have to go back 50km to Hazyview to pay it.

As I said taht I didn´t pass over any zebra (I don't know if I did, it was almost imposible to see the paintings on the road) and that if I went back 50km I wouldn't arrive in time to my destination he said I could pay him the fine, but that he didn´t have any receipts

His intentions were clear and although I tried not to pay anything, in the end paid him 300 rands (and he wanted me to pay in euro).

Pure extorsion...

The second policeman who stopped us asked if I could show him euro banknotes, when I said I didn´t have any with me he let us go.

Ah, the Kruger tax.......

 

 

Didn´t know it was called like that .

[pedro maia]

Leopards notwithstanding, Elephant Plains also lived up to its name. Beautiful little one there, too.

 

Indeed, we had lots and gret elephants sightings, some of my favourite moments.

[Tdgraves]

 

 

The drive from the Phabeni Gate to Elephant Plains in Sabi Sand should take around 4 hours, our idea was to arrive in time to have lunch before the afternoon game drive, our only problem were two police controls, on the first one the policeman who stopped us said I was caught by a robot passer over a zebra, an infraction that had a fine of 750 rands and that I would have to go back 50km to Hazyview to pay it.

As I said taht I didn´t pass over any zebra (I don't know if I did, it was almost imposible to see the paintings on the road) and that if I went back 50km I wouldn't arrive in time to my destination he said I could pay him the fine, but that he didn´t have any receipts

His intentions were clear and although I tried not to pay anything, in the end paid him 300 rands (and he wanted me to pay in euro).

Pure extorsion...

The second policeman who stopped us asked if I could show him euro banknotes, when I said I didn´t have any with me he let us go.

Ah, the Kruger tax.......

 

 

Didn´t know it was called like that .

 

 

that's what we call it.

 

We are very careful to drive within the speed limits near the park, as there are often speed traps. We were pulled over when going to Blyde River Canyon and were sure that we were not speeding. Dull persitence and not getting agitated seems to be effective at not paying bribes or fines.

 

In Namibia we had the "let's see your British banknotes" line - luckily we had none as they had been spent in the airport, so again, no bribes/fines paid

[pedro maia]

More general game

 

Girafes

One dwarf mongoose



Another ellies family







And some buffalo pictures, I had great fun trying to catch the oxpeckers

[Marks]

@@pedro maia I get the Elephant Plains newsletters in my email, and it looks like that little elephant makes an appearance:

 

http://3.iscan.co.za/doc/2014-09/09-65529cd777697256495c.htm

[pedro maia]

@@pedro maia I get the Elephant Plains newsletters in my email, and it looks like that little elephant makes an appearance:

 

http://3.iscan.co.za/doc/2014-09/09-65529cd777697256495c.htm

 

I saw that picture at the weekly sightings blog of EP website http://www.elephantplains.co.za/big-5-blog/2014/08/big-5-sightings-18-to-24-august-2014/, Louis was our ranger and the baby elephant was one of the highlights of our game drives.

 

You can see him in this video (and Louis is taking that and other pictures), sorry for the beginning, may not be appropriate to see after eating .