2 nights Timbavati and 2 nights Klaserie - Sept 2019

[jartelt]

Just was hoping to share a report I wrote that describes a 4 night safari trip my wife and I took in early September 2019. We spent 2 nights at Shindzela Tented Camp in the Timbavati Game Reserve and then 2 nights at nThambo Tree Camp in the KlaserieNature Preserve. Overall we enjoyed our stays are both camps. The report with all my pictures is here: https://backpackers-review.com/trip-reports/south-africa-safari-greater-kruger/

 

We had a few very nice sightings including a lion pride with a wildebeest kill, a group of five rhino, a mating lion pair, and a large pack of wild dog with an impala kill. Unfortunately we didn't come across any leopards or cheetahs, but we were still happy with the results!

 

The food at both lodges/camps was very good and the staff/guides were helpful and friendly. The tents were also nicely set up and the lodges were nice for relaxing. Our main gripe was that the guides were not great at customizing the game drives. The goal for each drive seemed to be finding lions every time. This is great at first, but eventually we were interesting to slow down and observe other animals... I imagine this is just a consequence of staying at lower priced camps! In the end it worked out because we had some great sightings, but we also spent a lot of time zooming around quickly to get to those sightings.

 

If anyone has questions about this sort of itinerary, I am happy to try to answer them. Here are some of our photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Alexander33]

I have to say that for just 4 nights (split at that), you had some pretty incredible sightings. The wild dogs. The honey badgers. The mating lions. The Verreaux’s Eagle Owl and Pearl-spotted Owlet. The rhinos. Did they ID the snake (boomslang, maybe?). None of those can be taken for granted, and you won’t see any of those just any day. All things considered, that’s quite an impressive safari you had!

[jartelt]

Yep, we really enjoyed the sightings! Our guide said the snake was a black mamba. It was amazing that he was able to spot the snake in the tree in the dark!

[xelas]

Amazing sightings for only 4 nights! Thanks for sharing your blog link, where many useful informations can be found.

 

On a separate note, I have enjoyed very much reading your reports from Croatia (Plitvice are almost our backyard) and Aeolian islands. Excellent level of detailed info, and equally great photography. 

If I may give you a suggestion for a beautiful hiking destination, relativelly close to your home country: Azores! Should be beautiful in September.

 

I wish you many great hikes in the future, @jartelt, and I wish us you will continue to post them on Safaritalk.

[gatoratlarge]

Honey badgers are special.  I've only seen two trotting off together but no photo.  Same with wild dogs.  Love the rhino pics (and lion pics) too!  Thanks for sharing.  I hope to go to Timbavati in May of 2021.

[KiwiGran]

Enjoyed your report - great sightings for the number of drives especially the honey badgers and the black mamba. We love Shindzela, going back there for our 5th time in May.

[Peter Connan]

Some really lovely sightings, but the one that stands out for me is the wasp with the spider. Seeing that is amazingly rare!

[elefromoz]

@jartelt, we stayed at both these Camps a few years back and yes having a full jeep load does present challenges. Everyone has different expectations, some take it all very seriously, others never stop chatting, others are after the perfect shot and some are waving the iPad around, some sit quietly whilst others can't sit still at all. Nevertheless you had a very lucky safari. I've had a quick look at your blog, you've got some serious hikes under your belts, lucky you.

[Hads]

@jartelt thanks for a wonderful report, some fantastic photo's as well.