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Further ahead we were stopped by another herd of elephants that were crossing the road in search for food. Time do practice more driving in reverse. Another car stopped behind us … and there they were again, the Cape Town birders! They went ahead to check out the situation, but reversed themselves also. While we were discussing how to proceed, a very unsual sightning happened, one I have had no idea we could experience. A small pack of Wild Dogs have crossed the road! Watch the tire tracks; there is where we have pulled back! If not, those dogs would pass right in front of us!!

 

 

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As the elephants had no intention to clear the road, we drove back to the H1-6 and tried the other entry towards the Bateleur Camp. A couple of short sops before we have reached Red Rock viewpoint. Red Rocks because of the colour of the rocks exposed by the below flowing river (when it flows), and the viewpoint because it is situated above the river itself, on the ledge of a small canyon. We have seen a herd of buffalos come to drink the day before, but here their approach was much more spectacular. The numbers were higher, and since the slope down to the river is steeper, there was a lot of dust in the air. Not as many as on Mara crossings but memorable anyway. Now buffalos have going in and out and the road that would lead us to Bateleur was blocked. We went the opposite way, and thankfully the elephants that have blocked our way beforehand have moved on, or better to say moved down into the shades along the riverbed. There was where we found an elephant kindergarten.

 

 

Not all the riverbed was dry

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Little Bee-eater

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African Eagle-Hawk

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Brown Snake-Eagle in flight

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At Red Rocks Viewpoint

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Any car can do Kruger

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Buffalos in large numbers

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The water in the next pond looks fresher

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Do you dare to drive through?!

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Sleeping like a baby

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An elephant's kindergarten

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Some more great stories and photos, @@xelas! We also have great memories of both the Bateleur Bushveld camp and Shingwedzi with vast Buffalo herds and Elephants blocking the road. No Wild Dogs, however, that was a truly lucky find! Was was the adorable Elephant nursery.

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wildlifepainter

Alex, you were holding out on us! You didn’t tell us about the muddy lion cubs. Those are adorable photos and the domestic dispute is stunning also. I have just been catching up on your trip report and in so doing lost a couple of hours of work. Good thing the boss is out of town.

 

Just want everyone to know that we (Debbie and Jim here) loved our time spent with Alex and Zevada. It was a really joy to share time and stories around the campfire over drinks of course. We had other adventures too but I will let Alex tell you those tales. It was a most memorable trip with great sightings and new best safari friends!

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Amazing buffalo herd pics!

Not to mention the birds...maybe next time we'll do a self drive in Kruger. Thinking about it....

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@xelas Wonderful photos. I particularly love elephants so the one of the elephant kindergarten is just charming.....but.....I have to say.....I would buy that photo of the elephant on the bridge...the one where it says "it's mine". I don't know...there is something about that photo that is just so striking. Anyway- completely looking forward to the further adventures :)

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Stunning photos! I especially liked the domestic dispute.

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Some more great stories and photos, @@xelas! We also have great memories of both the Bateleur Bushveld camp and Shingwedzi with vast Buffalo herds and Elephants blocking the road. No Wild Dogs, however, that was a truly lucky find! Was was the adorable Elephant nursery.

 

Peter, if Bateleur is similar to Shimuwini it has to be a great destination. Wild Dogs were absolute surprise for us!

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Alex, you were holding out on us! You didn’t tell us about the muddy lion cubs. Those are adorable photos and the domestic dispute is stunning also. I have just been catching up on your trip report and in so doing lost a couple of hours of work. Good thing the boss is out of town.

 

Just want everyone to know that we (Debbie and Jim here) loved our time spent with Alex and Zevada. It was a really joy to share time and stories around the campfire over drinks of course. We had other adventures too but I will let Alex tell you those tales. It was a most memorable trip with great sightings and new best safari friends!

 

Hi Debbie (and Jim)! Glad you have found time to read our TR (knowing how busy you are lately). Please do add any info you might think is interesting or usable to our readers!

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Amazing buffalo herd pics!

Not to mention the birds...maybe next time we'll do a self drive in Kruger. Thinking about it....

 

Self driving in Kruger ... is there any other way ?! Seriously, it is really really easy. And if flying to Kruger (Skukuza) you will not need to brave the outside of the park driving.

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@xelas Wonderful photos. I particularly love elephants so the one of the elephant kindergarten is just charming.....but.....I have to say.....I would buy that photo of the elephant on the bridge...the one where it says "it's mine". I don't know...there is something about that photo that is just so striking. Anyway- completely looking forward to the further adventures :)

 

Welcome to the TR, @Imonmm ! "The bridge is mine" photo ... just make me an offer :D ! On more serious note, one day I will have to print some of Zvezda's photos; only problem is we have no free space on our walls :huh: .

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Stunning photos! I especially liked the domestic dispute.

 

Thanks, Peter! You know me by now, I am such a sucker for good story <_< !

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Shingwedzi Rest Camp / 27. – 29. 10. 2016 (continued on the same day)

 

 

We did have busy days behind us, and temperatures were higher in this part of the park, so midday we returned back to the mansion, to refresh and to skip the hottest part of the day.

 

I think that every wildlife photographer has his preferred animal, the one that she/he just cannot take enough pictures of. For Zvezda, that animal must be monkey. And if there are babies involved, even better. So when a troop of Vervet monkeys arrived, the SD card has started to fill-up.
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While Zvezda did the "monkey business" I went out to brave the hot sun in order to find the pool. Pool is located diagonally from the house, so I have been able to see how other cabins looks like. Some are older type, very similar to rooms in Punda Maria Rest Camp. Others are newer, more comfortable ones. The pool itself was a pleasant surprise; relatively large, with clean, and what is most important refreshingly tempered water. And with birds that have used a small cascade to bath. No photos as I had left my camera back in the room.
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The afternoon drive was again towards Kannieedood Dam. I was set on seeing the hippos, and it was obvious that the day before we have not drove far enough. A couple of already seen animals, and a new bird has been spotted along the way.


Then we finally reached the dam; not much water but enough for a group of hippos to frolic. They were keeping themselves at a distance so no chances of taking those classic shots of open jaws with plenty of details; a huge crops at least portrayed them in a more personal way, I hope.


To end also this day with a bird photo; a vulture has been warming himself (or is it herself??) before another cold night in the wild.



Male Waterbuck

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Pumba running

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African Hoopoe in the shade

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The Hitchiker

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Kannieedood Dam panorama

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White-backed Vulture

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Amazing buffalo herd pics!

Not to mention the birds...maybe next time we'll do a self drive in Kruger. Thinking about it....

 

Self driving in Kruger ... is there any other way ?! Seriously, it is really really easy. And if flying to Kruger (Skukuza) you will not need to brave the outside of the park driving.

 

 

Well, for our first SA trip we did the safari lodges, where they take you out on game drives and driving off road was allowed. I have to admit, we loved it :)

But we're ready for self driving now.

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Fabulous photos by Zvezda, @@xelas! Birds are awesome, but since I am not a birder (not that I don't like or take photos of birds), I really enjoyed her Buffalo, Hippo and Elephant shots from the last several posts. Buffalo and Hippos must have been quite a big thing for you, as far as I remember you always go to Etosha NP or Kgalagadi TP where these animals are absent. I don't remember if you did the Caprivi strip and a boat safari on the Chobe river. One of the nicest presentations of Kruger NP, that I have ever seen!

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Fabulous photos by Zvezda, @@xelas! Birds are awesome, but since I am not a birder (not that I don't like or take photos of birds), I really enjoyed her Buffalo, Hippo and Elephant shots from the last several posts. Buffalo and Hippos must have been quite a big thing for you, as far as I remember you always go to Etosha NP or Kgalagadi TP where these animals are absent. I don't remember if you did the Caprivi strip and a boat safari on the Chobe river. One of the nicest presentations of Kruger NP, that I have ever seen!

 

 

Indeed buffalos and hippos were never seen before (in the wild). Caprivi is on my list, Chobe not so much (have heard is quite expensive place to visit). but hey, I do buy regularly lottery so who knows ... :P .

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Indeed buffalos and hippos were never seen before (in the wild). Caprivi is on my list, Chobe not so much (have heard is quite expensive place to visit). but hey, I do buy regularly lottery so who knows ... :P .

 

 

I just loved Zvezda's Buffalo and Hippo photos from the few previous posts.

 

The part of Chobe NP, which is along the Chobe River is perhaps one of the least expensive places for African safari. You can stay at a budget (and very nice) accommodation for about 50-60 USD per night (for the room) and do boat safaris on Chobe River for about 50 USD per person. Shared vehicle game drives are about the same price. Despite the high number of visitors, I loved the boat safaris over there, less so the game drives along the river.

Edited by FlyTraveler
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@@xelas

I am really enjoying this report. In particular, I love the muddy lion cubs, the sleeping baby elephants, and of course the baby Vervets.

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@@xelas

I am really enjoying this report. In particular, I love the muddy lion cubs, the sleeping baby elephants, and of course the baby Vervets.

 

I am glad that my words and Zvezda's photos has brought some colours into otherwise grey and cold winter days ... or maybe weather in UK is better than what we had?!

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cold and grey today, although pretty mild winter so far....

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Shingwedzi Rest Camp / 27. – 29. 10. 2016 (continued)

 

 

On our second full day at Shingwedzi we took the other direction; there were reports about lions being seen along the route towards Punda Maria. We were not lucky at all, and thus birds were what we mostly enjoyed.

 

African Ground Squirrel having an early morning breakfast

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Wahlberg's Eagle

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African Grey Hornbill

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We have returned back to the camp earlier then usual, and so were also Debbie and Jim. Not out of the car yet when Jim spotted a car down in the riverbed husstling around for a position. It was Jeep Wrangler and Jim saw them beforehand, a young couple with a huge Canon pro lens. So there must be something of interest there! We jumped back in cars hoping maybe a leopard was spotted, or lions.

No luck again, but nevertheless we did have an exceptional sighting of an Martial Eagle that came to drink from a small water pool.

 

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i have spent a couple of words with the guy; he is a local wildlife photographer named Leon Fouche, and he gave me his web site address. Only today, preparing for this post, I have opened it. Wow! Not so much the photography (excellent) but drawings!! I still am not completely convinced that those pictures were hand-made, and not product of some special software. Here is a link to this website, to judge for yourself: www.fouchestudios.com .

 

 

Midday I went back to the pool, in swimsuit this time! No camera but floating in cool clean water was heavenly, in the heat of the day! Afternoon game drive was again slow for cats, and mammals we have seen and photographed and posted before. The one that stands out was a bull with huge tusks; probably the biggest tusks we have seen in Kruger.

 

Meeting in the riverbed

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Tallest trio

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Huge tusks

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Lonely on the road

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Wow! That is really a big tusker. It's a long time since I've been to Kruger but if I remember quite well, it was reputed for it.

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Wow! That is really a big tusker. It's a long time since I've been to Kruger but if I remember quite well, it was reputed for it.

 

 

I really hope he will be on many many photos in the long long future!

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 I do think that there are not enough landscape shots, but honestly, it was a challenge, obviously too tough for us.

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