Bombarded by beetles, mobbed by monkeys and the case of the secret squirrels- just another jolly time in the kruger November 2022

[Towlersonsafari]

Oh the shame!-that will teach me to rely on the animal tracking auto-foccus!  We did mangee to watch it for a few minutes before it went to admire some more grass

[Atravelynn]

Good thing you procured a weapon in time against the monkey mob!

[Hads]

Thanks @Towlersonsafarifor a wonderful report so far, It is great to hear that your "hearing" became accustomed to the call of the Woodland Kingfisher, such a majestic little bird with an amazing call.

I will be heading back to the Kruger for the first time since early 2018, I cant wait. This time I will be going with my wife and kids along with the In-laws.

My previous trips I have never taken the kids so I will be keen to show them as much as I can.

Interesting to hear Satara was quieter than normal - Did you get to the Sweni hide? 

[Towlersonsafari]

Lucky indeed @Atravelynn- it was all rather embarrassing and yet annoying-"How dare these monkeys disrespect me!" i do not know if the covid lockdown has made them more aggressive-although it was only in Satara we had that problem- we did see them try to do it with a couple whose only sin was to try to photograph them- no food about at all!  

i was wondering when we would hear the Woodland Kingfishers @Hadsand so it was a delight when we heard the first one- witnessing migration in action. We also saw on several occasions Woodland kinfishers splash- it was never a real dive- into water I think to take insects from the surface, which we found very interesting. i am so glad you are off to the Kruger-I remember reading your report the last time- where are you staying? We did find Satara quiet in terms of wildlife but perhaps our expectations were too high! Having said that we did see the same pride of lions twice, the leopard that i messed up the photos of, a very distant view of cheetahs and the honey badgers, so not very quiet perhaps

[TonyQ]

@TowlersonsafariI think we have all taken nicely focussed photos of grass at some time

 

[TravelMore]

On 11/30/2022 at 1:01 PM, Towlersonsafari said:

the day was finsihed off with Zebra a too close Kudu and a fine herd of Gnu. what a wonderful first full day!

 

 

I think this is just about the best pic of a wildebeest I've ever seen!  WOWSA! 

[TravelMore]

23 hours ago, Towlersonsafari said:

We did come across a rather nice Kudu, and a very young vervet monkey

You are capturing a lot of beautiful detail on their fur!  Refresh my memory as to what camera / lens you are using??

[TravelMore]

21 hours ago, Towlersonsafari said:

 

Don't you love when you get those shimmering reflections on the water? Love, Love, Love.

[Sangeeta]

So nice to see/hear/read TRs again! Great job, @Towlersonsafarilooking forward to the rest!

[Hads]

Hi @Towlersonsafari, we are staying at Shimuwini for 2 nights, Satara 4 Nights and Lower Sabie 2 nights.

It will be the first time I take my 3 kids so am very excited.

Loving your report thankyou.

[Towlersonsafari]

you are too kind @TravelMore. i use-because it is so light- the olympus Om1 and mostl used the 30-150 with a 1.4 converter.I think the Dxo anti-noise software helps a lot. and thank you @Sangeetait is reat to have trip reports to read once more!

have a splendid time @Hads-i bet the kids are excited!

[Towlersonsafari]

the next day was the move to Letaba, a camp we had not stayed at before.We went via the H7,S36 Timvati picnic site ansd stopped for an early lunch at Oliphants where we managed to watch, via text update the last agonising overs of the T20 final-phew!.From there we took the H8 7 H1-5 arriving at about 2.30

some of the highlights were  a martial eagle

[Towlersonsafari]

And our second baby impala- we had seen one the night before-we had been hoping to see them on this trip

[Towlersonsafari]

we also came across 2 hyena's on a mission, retracng their steps several times before  vanishing into the bush

[Towlersonsafari]

we saw a 50= hed of buffalo, and Jane was very pleased to see a resting Waterbuck

[Towlersonsafari]

at lataba we were greated not by monkeys but by a very annoyed tree squirrel  .We settled in a liked the camp a great deal- except that the evening meal proved something of a battle. as Jane began cooking by the light of the outdoor, well light, we egan to attarct some frineds- beetles- all sizes and shapes of beetle.They seemed very anxious to make our aquaintance- they also seemed to go beyond what one might expect on first introduction. not content with trying to drown themselvs in the sink, see what jane was cooking, and indeed  wanting to taste that cooking first hand, but with increasin velocity they seemed very keen to see what sound could be made by hitting us on the head-as claudius nearly said in Hamlet- they came not in single beetles, but in battalions1

A medium sized beetle, flying at full speed, can cause quite an impression.Jane was not sure weter to use the fryin pan as a tennis raket or to continue cooking! why they chose that night i have no idea-we were chased inside to eat. by ar the most impressive was mike ( not his real name) also he ahd te good manners not to reamin aloof from the mayhem-this was taken on my phone

[Towlersonsafari]

We think he is a cicada-there was a sign saying that the camp was lucky enoug to have an emerence of them- about once every 7 years

[Towlersonsafari]

there was a fine storm that night.the enx day we went along the H1-5 and ad breakast on the letaba bride- where we  saw  yet another Saddle Billed stork- we were beginnin to suspec we were actually being stalked-(storked).

[Towlersonsafari]

And then were treated to a fly past by a bateleur- one of the advantaes of having a fast frame rate ( another advantage is that if you accidentally shoot, say your own elbow, you can manage about 50 shots before you remember you are an idiot- and then you can have fun delting them on your computer)

[Atravelynn]

A very personal visit by the bataleur.  Are there no pictures of Mike?

[Towlersonsafari]

yes @Atravelynn Mike is under the squirrel. A phrase  I do not often use

Edited December 7, 2022 by Towlersonsafari

[Atravelynn]

5 minutes ago, Towlersonsafari said:

yes @Atravelynn Mike is under the squirrel. A phrase  I do not often use

ha ha ha

 

Not to get too entomologically technical but I considered that a cicada and not a beetle.  Thank you for clarifying.

[Towlersonsafari]

whilst you are technically  correct @Atravelynn in our hearts he will always be Mike the Giant Frog beetle!

[AfricIan]

Thanks for this @Towlersonsafari, Kruger was our first trip to Africa back in 1992 so It's great to see how it's changed and , more importantly, how it still delivers the sightings - shame about that leopard photobombing the grass 

[Towlersonsafari]

As we went further North, it became hotter, and more arid.The Mopane shrubland became more dominant, interspersed with riverine forest.Temeratures started off at about 19C andended up in the early 30's. Our plan today was to do a circuit with brunch at Oliphants. But first another stop at Leteba Bridge for tea and rusks and crocodiles