From desert to penguins - South Africa 2016

[xelas]

@@Guidoriccio11

 

The only park to be visited on this occasion is the Iveco Industrial Park

[Robjwilli]

Great report so far, looking forward to hearing the next part. Very cute cubs!

[Atravelynn]

Your girlfriend has a good eye for lions. Adorable cubs. The vulture with the snake is a really cool shot.

 

A fine end to another day on safari (#19)

[Guidoriccio11]

@@xelas ahahah. Not much wildlife there! Hope you can at least visit the city!

 

@@Robjwilli thank you! I really envy your profile pic!!

 

@@Atravelynn yes, actually was always my gf to spot lions. It's her speciality eheheh

[lmSA84]

@@Guidoriccio11 - congrats on a great start and I'm looking forward to the rest.

 

Do you see the front of the Eagle labelled brown snake eagle in post 19? I ask because judging by the profile and tuft of white feathers - I think it's a Martial Eagle.

[Guidoriccio11]

- DAY 5 and 6 -

 

Sorry for the delay!!!

I write here for 2 days since it was a transfer period towards the Kgalagadi.

 

Last day in Kruger!!!! Actually only the morning, since we are moving in the Blyde River Canyon soon.

Anyway we woke up in Skakuza and after packing we left the campsite. Our first stop is the Lake Panic hide in order to spot some birds. Well, as always happens in our early morning... no important sightseens :-( , but at least we spotted an hippo really close to us!

 

 

Leaving the hide we went toward the Paul Kruger Gate. On the road some zebras, few birds and elephants...

 

 

 

Sadly around 12.00 we checked out the park! Even if my girlfriend refused to come in the front car pretending to continue the safari ahhahaah...

We arrived at Graskop where we'll sleep, but we continued in order to visit the Blyde River Canyon. It was a really sunny day, so it was worthy to drive all the day since I read in the canyon there is often the fog. The landscapes changed so much! Suddently we were in a mpuntain area, with forests of pines... We stopped more or less to all the viewpoints going north. The best one is for sure Three Rondavels where we had a 270 degree view...

 

 

 

Then our next goal was to visit the Hippo Jessica: we discover the existence of this farm where a hippo was saved and now tourists can visit and pat her! I'm not a real fan of these stuff, but experience an hippo so close could be interesting! The place is in Hoedspruit, so we had to drive quite a lot. Sadly we crossed some roads in the middle of fire... It seems that wildfires in this area are a real issue!

Well, we arrived to the Jessica's farm BUT... it was closed! A girl told us that the hippo was really sick, so obviously tourists could not meet her... I still don't know if nowadays she lives or not... Anyway we come back and arrived at evening in Graskop: a really awful town... Even the running water stopped during the night... :-/ At least the dinner was decent...

 

The day after we left quite early towards Johannesburg... We just stopped at 7.30 at the Mac Mac falls, comletely alone!

The freeway was quite boring and with no highlights at all... At 13.00 we arrived at the airport (thank you Tom Tom!) and no police stopped us this time!!! Yeeeehhh! The dropping off of the car was quick and then we checked in for the internal flight towards Upington!

The airplane was really small and surprisingly full. The flight was stable and really sort. After 1 hour we spotted the red soil of Kalahari!!!!! EXCITING!!!!!

At the tiny airport the baggages arrived immediatly. And also the car was easy to find: an Hilux 4x4. Firs time driving such a big car! In Upington we find our hotel when the evening was already coming. Fast dinner at the hotel's restaurant and sleep early!

 

 

Tomorrow Kgalagadi!!!

 

P.S. @@Tdgraves can you help me with birds IDs ?

[Tdgraves]

Good timing @@Guidoriccio11 as I have just returned from the Kgalagadi...

 

Female southern masked weaver

Black crake

Lilac breasted roller

Lesser Striped swallow

African darter

Malachite Kingfisher

[Guidoriccio11]

@@Tdgraves Awesome! I was particuarly in doubt on the first one. The others confirmed my ideas :-D

That's great! How was Kgalagadi? I envy you! Any highlight of the trip? Where did u sleep?

I'm actually writing down the first day of Kgalagadi. Soon I'll post the text and the picture... Probably I still need your help with voltures :-P

[Tdgraves]

It was all a highlight. TR, MM, urikaruus, nossob and KTC. Trip report will follow in a few weeks....

[Guidoriccio11]

@@Tdgraves WOW great! I left a piece of heart in KTC. Waiting for the report then! :-D

[Guidoriccio11]

- DAY 7 -

Opened the eyes in the morning spotting the first rays of the sun over the Orange river... Already excited! We pack our stuff and have the usual heavy breakfast in the hotel restaurant. Then, on our diesel beast and GPS toward north! THE KALAHARI!

We easly leave the city (it is not that cold as we expected, also) and we found the straight paved (perfectly) main road.

What a difference with the freeway around Johannesburg! Here we met around 10 cars in 2 hours...

After 20 minutes we already spot the red dunes and the landscape start to be familiar... But the proof that we ahe in Kalahari is the nests of the social birds that destroy every tree, electric pale or everything taller than 3 meter. These birds are a real natural calamity! I can only imagine the technicians who have to repair the electric net at least every 6 months. These birds are unstoppable!!!!

Sadly the birds are not the only wild animals we spot on the road... Bat-eared foxes! but... NOT ALIVE... The bodies of at least a dozen (!) of them lied on the sides of the road. Watching at them I realized why you should not drive during the night!

Anyway we crossed during our way also a salt pan where there are the test drive of the superfast cars. Quite strange to find something like that in the very middle of nowhere.

For the rest... not a soul in this place: WONDERFUL!!!

After 2 hours we arrive at the junction for the Kgalagadi TP and... incredible... there was an accident there! A group of people was sourronding a car and a motorbike crashed... But HOWWWW?!?! Anyway they didn't need our help, so we approached the park. First sightseen: a meerkat crossed the road!!!

The central building is right in front of us. Easly we checked in and in the main parking we deflated the tyres and filled the tank, also because the pump station of Mata Mata had no gasoline. So this big tank has the monopoly in the park (and the price looked like). Then we just stopped in Twee Rivieren to buy some water and food for the following days.

Here we go, with the great guide "The Photographer's guide to the KTP" opened on the first pages and my girlfiend in the back of the car!

Gravel sandish road and first dunes. And the first Orix! (I was expecting a sprinbok, but they'll showed up later...). We went north following the Aoub river, since we must be at the Kamaqua pic nic area at 14.00 in order to meet the crew of the !Xaus Lodge.

We didn't see much in the waterholes, but some good sighteens during the trip. First of all the first secretary bird (exciting!) .........

Southern Fiscal

Flying Secretary

Pygmy Falcon

Black-winged kite

We arrived at Kamaqua around 13.30, so perfect timing!

We met there some people including a nice Afrikaaner guy who was studying around Africa the San people. Chatting with him and taking picture to the nice birds (including several wonderful bee-eaters) we waited half an hour, when we spotted the lodge vehicle arriving. We 3 checked in and after waited some minutes, we started: we followed the vehicle toward a private parking spot where we left our car (I never drove in such a sandish road, so I preferred to jump on the vehicle) under a useful shadow area.

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Then... 94 red dunes to go! The road is quite long in term of time, but absolutely awesome for the landscape, probably the best in the whole park... Not much wildlife there, just some secretary bird, Kori bustard and ostrich...

We finally arrived at the lodge welcomed by the director. He is an Afrikaaner even if the owners of the land are the San and Mier people. We chatted a bit drinking a welcome wine and he described our stay: visit of a San village, night drive and morning walk in the bush.

Chatting showed up also the mascotte of the lodge: the Guineafowl Clodine!!!

From the central area and from each chalet you can have a superb view on a salt pan.

Anyway we rested a bit and then we come back to the common area where with a Mier guide walked with us to a San village closeby.

Well... the visit was not really exciting, also because they declared openly it was just a reconstruction and a "fake" show... But it was anyway interesting also because our friend asked dozens of questions to them and we had a more clear idea of their way of life...

Cape Sparrow

Yellow Mangoose

We spotted this great volture. It was relly big, but I didn't identify it!!! HELP!

Back to the lodge at the sunset we had a shower, with a real salty water, coming from the pan in itself! With the dusk, going toward the common area, we sow something at the waterhole in the pan: 3 hyenas!!!!! Even if quite far... First idea: well, if they are there, they can easly can come up here, since the area is not fanced! Let see...

Dinner was average, but not an highlight... Then, we got prepared for the night drive. We started to walk toward our chalet to get warmer clothes and the torch. Right on the side of the chalet I heard something moving in a bush... mmmmm... Strange, maybe an owl (we spotted one right before). Then a hyena come out! Something like 3 meters from me!!! It was scarying, but awesome. I turned on my torch, and it was probably more scared than me, so walked fast away!

I met the others and, jumped on the vehicle, for the first thing we stalked the hyena, since she disapperad on a dune. Then we spotted several things, like jackals, spring-hares, bat-eared foxes, cape foxes. No big cats, but this area is not famous for this...

Bat-eared fox

Completely satisfied, we got back to the lodge and, after a fast watch to the waterhole, we went to bed, with a hot water bottle into them!!!!

[xelas]

@@Guidoriccio11

 

The Swallow-tailed Bee-eater is fantastic! You must have been so close to them, lucky you. The funny looking big bird is a juvenile Bateleur Eagle.

 

Indeed the "show" is an re-enactment, but we also liked it, for what it was. I am glad that some of the re-enactment persons are still there.

[PeterHG]

Great report @@Guidoriccio11. Glad you got to see the Bat-eared Fox alive as well and what an exciting meeting with the Hyena! Looking forward to more.

Peter

[Guidoriccio11]

- DAY 8 -

 

DARKNESS! Even if you live in the countryside, at least in Europe, it is difficult to experience the complete darkness any more. There is always some light somewhere, like the stand-by of the TV or simply the traffic lights on the road... Here in Africa, during safari, after 10 p.m. when electricity goes away, you can finally really sleep. And even if you open your eyes, it is like you didn't. In the morning I feel really really regenerated, like always never happens at home...

Anyway: the night was perfect and the hyenas probably went away since we didn't hear them.

We met with the other people early at the common area: this morning we have a morning walk. With the vehicle we didn't went too far from the lodge but we entered in the deep Kalahari. The walk was nice (and freezing). It was interesting get a bit more knowledge of all the herbs and plants of this area. No much animals, but some meerkat a bit far.

The point of the walk (IMO) is the landscape: that was also the target of the trip!

 

 

Back to the lodge we had a good breakfast and a good sightseen of the pan, where a group of Red hartebeest come to drink and the long shadows of the morning made a nice picture on the ground

 

During breakfast we were surrended by nice birds

 

Red-headed Finch

Then the guide pick us up with the vehicle and we made back all the 90 red dunes until the main road (and our car) until 12 o'clock.

Immediatly we had a good sightseen at the Kamaqua waterhole: a hyena and a Wildebeest fighting (and the hyena running away under a tree meeting with other 2 friends)

 

Then we had a bed decision: to follow the connection road from Aoub to Nassob river. I thought it was a good idea, but the whole road was boring and we had really few and poor sightseens. More, we got also stucked into the sand, and we needed 10 minutes to get out.

 

Namaqua Dove

Greater Kestrel

?????

Arrived on the Nossob river it was already late (we needed more time than I expected) so, we just turned back the car and we reached again the Aoub. Then, towards north since we have to arrive at the "end" of the river: Mata Mata. Getting closer to the camp, we finally had the spot of the day! LIONS!

Well, it was still afternoon, so they weren't really active, but we spent 1 hour with them.... Completely alone!

 

Sunset was arriving, so we left our friends and we reached the camp. In between not much: just a giraffe (that in Kgalagadi is still a good spot) and "general game"

 

Mata Mata is really an "end of the world" place. It is a small camp with the border with Namibia but with the main facilities (like the shop). Our chalet was not charming but really big.

There is no restaurant so we cooked the most italian dinner: PASTA!!!! eheheheh...

We chatted a bit with our neighboors and then we waited for the complete darkness in order to see the stars. Probably here we had the best Milky Way of the whole trip.

We went also at the waterhole of the camp, and we were able to see a jackal.

 

Then to bed!

Mata Mata is really an "end of the world" place. It is a small camp with the border with Namibia but with the main facilities (like the shop). Our chalet

[xelas]

The ??? is a Black-chested Snake Eagle, and I think it has a snake in its talons!

Edited October 4, 2016 by xelas

[Guidoriccio11]

@@xelas Yes, it had! Thank you for the ID ;-)

Edited October 4, 2016 by Guidoriccio11

[Guidoriccio11]

- DAY 9 -

 

This morning we decided to wake up really early, in order to get advantage of the "best time". At the sunrise we are at the gate, ready to go south!

Few kilometers and the firsg good sightseen (and almost alone!): a spotted hyena at the waterhole got annoyed by 2 jackals. The first rays of the sun make an oniric landscape. Then the hyena leave the water and arrive on the road. We thought it would cross (as always) to reach the uphill, but suddently stops and stare at us. Not in a bad way, but more in a courious way. So it walked straight in front of us keeping the eye contact with me and my girlfriend. Strange feeling by the way... But not fear. It was like a not-speaking dialogue with it. A real human-animal interaction. It stopped just in front of us waited a bit looking around, then ran away, as it sow something... We were silent for the whole period, feeling the electricity in our shoulders: these are exacly the feelings we expect from a safari!!!

 

 

 

Then we kept driving south. Another good sightseen was a secretary bird at a waterhole. Soooo close, but we got the perfect picture of it!

 

Then just general game with no real highlights. Our idea is anyway to cross the central dune and visit at least an area of the Nossob. So we arrived at Auchterlonie where there is the "short connection". Just stopped for a while at the museum on the dune. It was really interesting to discover how the old pioneers really could survive in this area and I cannot imagine the fear they had sleeping into the wild sourrended by lions and hyenas.

 

Crossing the dune (like always without good sightseens), we stopped some cars to ask about animal activity in the Nossob river. Almost everyone spoke about lions in Kij Kij area, that is just at the end of the crossing road.

SURREAL DISCUSSION: We stopped this car, which was a really small one and we found out it was filled by 5 persons really sqeezed. So, asking if they sow something interesting they answered "No, absolutely nothing: well, to be honest there are some lions in Kij Kij, but nothing else..." My face: O_O . I don't know what people expect from safari, but if you are not excited for big cats...

Anyway at Kij Kij we met some cars parked, but the lions moved and were really far away sleeping in the shadow... After a quick binocular view, we decided to go a bit more north, even if not far since we had to come back to KTC for the night and we had to follow the whole Aoub again. BUT IT WAS A GREAT DECISION. After few kilometers we met some other cars parked. At the beginning we didn't see anything but then, in the shadow, really well mimetized A CHEETAH!!!!! More: with 4 CUBS!!!!! We just got overexcited. This was the only big cat we never sow in safari before!!!

 

What's happened later is a matter of memory cards and battery ahahahha.

 

 

The family moved from a shadow to another, always following the flat area of the Nossob. And we stalked them for around 1 hour, until they crossed the dune and after a last watch, disappeard. WOW!!!!

 

 

After this we decided an unprecedented thing: TO HAVE LUNCH! In fact always during safari we never leave the car just eating some bread or biscuit driving. We arrived at Twee Rivieren where beyond lunch, we also refilled the tank.

Then we had the long drive back along the Aoub river without important sightseens. Only a really good encounter with a Cape Fox. And beeing during the day I consider it a good sightseen!!!!!

 

Crowned Lapwing

Pale-Chanting Goshawk

Duiker

Purple roller

Whitebacked Vultures

 

Completely satisfied by the day we arrived quite early at the Kalahari Tented Camp. It was really awesome! We had a huge tent with a perfect view on the surroundings. From the braai area we could see the waterhole and a lot of sprinbok all around (also really close to our tent). With the dusk also 2 jackals arrived at the waterhole.

 

Crimson-breasted Shrike

 

As dinner we had a "past al pesto" and some tuna in the can. But for the place we were, it was one of the best dinner ever!

The night was dark and full of terrors (cit.) since more than one hyena decided to scream in the middle of the night!

[michael-ibk]

That is an awesome Cape Fox sighting! And how wonderful you got Cheetah, and to top it even with cubs. I think this might be the same family we saw in May, glad to see that all four cubs are still doing well.

[Atravelynn]

Cheetah and cubs, that gorgeous cape fox, and best dinner ever--what a day!

[FlyTraveler]

Enjoying very much your trip report, @@Guidoriccio11! Both KNP and KTP. Thanks for sharing. I was in KTP for one week in May as part of longer Namibian trip and enjoyed the park very much. Based on your experiences, which of the two parks (KNP and KTP) do you like better. I know this is like comparing apples and oranges, but still, what is your opinion on that?

[Guidoriccio11]

@@michael-ibk wow, so you sow them really small. Cute!

 

@@Atravelynn Cape fox was great one! We really passed with the car superclose to it. And the fox didn't even move! Surprising!

 

@@FlyTraveler Great choice to include the KTP into the Namibian trip! I would do the same if going back in the past... Well, your is a really complex question: the 2 parks are really different (desert area vs forest/savanna area).

I would say this: for sure if someone has to do the first safari experience, the KNP is really the best. You have really high chances of great sightseens, a lot of variety in wildlife, a great organization into the park with a wide choice of accomodation and experiences (guided safaris, walking safari, boat safari), it is supereasy to explore with a basic car and it is very close to an airport. I don't exclude for example to come back in SA maybe for only 1 week just to safari in KNP.

The KTP is more complex in someway: it is not close to any intl airport, it is better to have a SUV or a 4x4 to drive on sandish road. Moreover, if you exclude the Botswanan area, you have only 2 main roads and for a newbie it could be a bit boring. And you have almost only restcamps, while some tourists could prefer luxury lodges. And to book into KTP you need 1 year of advantage.

 

BUT...

 

the KNP is also more busy, and specially in the south you can easly meet "catjams" of dozens of car. Also the visitors sometimes are not really "safari oriented". I mean, sometimes you meet honeymoon tourists who almost don't know where they are and create a kind of "luna park experience". In KTP people usually is more conscious and expert and you can share with them a more authentic safari experience. More, in KTP you'll never find the crow, and you can stay hours alone with the lions! In KTP I love also the landscapes. The red dunes are awesome!

 

As final... You have pros and cons in both the parks. Personally I loved the KTP and the trip in itself was organized based on the free places found in that park, but KNP is something you just must see in your life and a place where you can easly come back for a "fast safari" if you have free time (and money)

[FlyTraveler]

@@michael-ibk wow, so you sow them really small. Cute!

 

@@Atravelynn Cape fox was great one! We really passed with the car superclose to it. And the fox didn't even move! Surprising!

 

@@FlyTraveler Great choice to include the KTP into the Namibian trip! I would do the same if going back in the past... Well, your is a really complex question: the 2 parks are really different (desert area vs forest/savanna area).

I would say this: for sure if someone has to do the first safari experience, the KNP is really the best. You have really high chances of great sightseens, a lot of variety in wildlife, a great organization into the park with a wide choice of accomodation and experiences (guided safaris, walking safari, boat safari), it is supereasy to explore with a basic car and it is very close to an airport. I don't exclude for example to come back in SA maybe for only 1 week just to safari in KNP.

The KTP is more complex in someway: it is not close to any intl airport, it is better to have a SUV or a 4x4 to drive on sandish road. Moreover, if you exclude the Botswanan area, you have only 2 main roads and for a newbie it could be a bit boring. And you have almost only restcamps, while some tourists could prefer luxury lodges. And to book into KTP you need 1 year of advantage.

 

BUT...

 

the KNP is also more busy, and specially in the south you can easly meet "catjams" of dozens of car. Also the visitors sometimes are not really "safari oriented". I mean, sometimes you meet honeymoon tourists who almost don't know where they are and create a kind of "luna park experience". In KTP people usually is more conscious and expert and you can share with them a more authentic safari experience. More, in KTP you'll never find the crow, and you can stay hours alone with the lions! In KTP I love also the landscapes. The red dunes are awesome!

 

As final... You have pros and cons in both the parks. Personally I loved the KTP and the trip in itself was organized based on the free places found in that park, but KNP is something you just must see in your life and a place where you can easly come back for a "fast safari" if you have free time (and money)

 

Thanks very much for your informative reply. I've been to two of the private reserves in the Greater Kruger Area (Timbavati and Sabi Sands), but I am thinking of going to Kruger proper some day, using a guide with safari vehicle. I know that it is easy to do self-drive, but if sharing with someone, hiring a guide with a proper open-sided safari vehicle is not much more expensive. So, I was wondering if it is worthwhile doing Kruger for perhaps a week or ten days - the entire park. This is why I am "collecting" opinions from people that can compare Kruger proper to something that I have already seen.

[xelas]

@@Guidoriccio11 , please allow me to add a couple of words to what you have replied to @FlyTraveller

 

So, we have done KTP and KNP "back-to-back" this year and memories and comparisons are still very much alive. Although we have had some spectacular sightings in KNP, I will vote for KTP anytime. The vibe is just different, and even with only two main roads, and a couple of side roads, driving in KTP gave me much more pleasure than doing the same in KNP.

 

Using an open side safari vehicle in KNP does not have any benefits, IMO. There were two situations: or the wildlife was close to our car (and the road), close enough for me to be a little bit nervous, or they were away, and when away, they were mostly obstructed by the vegetation (note that those remarks are related to the northern part of KNP, between Punda Maria and Olifants). And indeed you only need a normal type of car. We have had a Honda Mobilio which was great for extra luggage space (self-catering) and also for higher seating position. Even better/higher is Toyota Avanza. Speaking of car, one thing I have missed very much was ... cruise control! Keeping a steady speed of 50 km/h on those long and straight tarred roads was when I have missed the cruise control (tempomat) so very much.

 

We must have been very lucky as we have not experienced any catjams or traffic on any of our drives, and also camps we have stayed at were calm and looked almost empty (not so much the two bigger ones but we have only drove through them). We have had our best sightings or completely to ourselves, or max in a company of 2 other cars.

 

One big difference I have noticed was that while in KTP each car that will pass you, or you will pass by, will stop, open the window and will share a few words and give you directions what and where to go, only a few of fellow drivers have done so in KNP. That part I have missed very much as spotting the smaller wildlife (cats, birds) was more difficult in KNP than in KTP.

 

Yet both parks have its benefits, for sure. We will be back for more of KNP, specially the mid section (Skukuza to Satara) where the landscapes are better and wildlife (cats) density also.

[Atravelynn]

The ??? is a Black-chested Snake Eagle, and I think it has a snake in its talons!

It looked like a stick to me. A snake would be so much more exciting.

 

KNP -KTP comparisons are helpful.

Edited November 15, 2016 by Atravelynn

[Guidoriccio11]

- DAY 10 -

 

Sadness! Last hours in Kalahari!

We woke up regenerated but with a frozen nose ahahah. We had a tent-made coffee (with salty water) and then we sitted outside watching the rising sun over the waterhole....

 

 

Today we have to exit the Kgalagadi, come back to Upington and then turning west toward the Augrabies Falls. The point is that we are at the end of Aoub, so we have to drive back the long way until the entrance of the park (2h). The agreement is: we stop only for really important sightseens! Luckly (!?) we had none. Just some giraffes and jackals. So we arrived at the end of the trip :-(

 

 

Filled the tank we took the long, straight and lonely paved road to Upington. Turning west the landscape started to be more and more Namibian. I mean really wise and reddish!

 

 

We arrived at the Augrabies Fall Park in the middle of the afternoon. I can surely say that this park, even if not very famous for non-african tourism, has the best organization we met! At the reception the girls were very professional and quick in all the steps of the check in. They were also super-friendly, looking for us the weather for the next days...

More, the camp seems very new and fresh. And the cottages are big.

We left our stuff in the chalet and we took advantage of the last sun rays to visit the falls. There is a long path on the rocks made of wood very well mantained. All around us was plenty of the friendly dassie! We sow also this multicolor lizard, which is endemic of here.

The Falls are really nice, even if not legendary, but all the area deserves for sure more consideration. Sadly we had very few time to explore. But, if you have time, I suggest to spend here maybe 2 days...

 

 

Tanganyika Masked-Weaver

 

We went back to our chalet looking at our neighbors turning on the braai.

 

I took a shower when I heard my girlfriend scream loudly. I jumped in the bedroom wet and naked watching her shaking in fear and a HUGE baboon running away (probably even more in fear). My girlfriend had the idea to keep the door open to "change air" and this guy showed himself suddenly trying to enter.

So, be aware of them. Luckly the group disappeard after half an hour.

 

We had dinner at the camp restaurant. It was awesome. Probably the best camp-restaurant we met. Another point for this awesome organization.

 

After dinner we had a night walk to the Falls. In fact until 22.00 they are completely illuminated. Very nice view.