4 - 8 August 2024 | South Africa, Greater Kruger NP, Timbavati - BATELEUR SAFARI CAMP
4 August 24
My flight arrives in Nespruit, from where I take a hire car to Timbavati, which is on the private border of the vast Kruger National Park. It covers 53,000 hectares.
The drive takes about three hours and in the afternoon I arrive at the Ennkhulu Gate, the entrance to the Timbavati area and my first stop in South Africa, Bateleur Safari Camp. The first elephant greets me after only a few minutes in the park. Impalas and giraffes are watching me. Two jackals peek out from behind an old tree before taking flight. More elephants, a small steenbok and finally I reach the camp. My guide and camp leader is Bill, the tracker is Lucky. Dinner on the open fire. Two honey badgers pass by and a lone hyena in the vicinity calls out the famous whoop.
5 August 24 - 6 a.m.
Getting up early. The weather is overcast and windy. Not a good day to see any wild animals. Nevertheless we find a young male lion. He is part of the Mayambula pride which has its territory here. The total number is 14. He is lying alone under a tree. He looks up from time to time to make sure he is not surprised by the wrong visitor. A little further along the path is a mighty old bull elephant. He is known as Apollo. He is a magnificent animal, around 50 years old. Elephants can live up to 60 years. He tears trees out of the ground with ease. I marvel and watch.
Besides the usual gazelles, giraffes and birds we meet three white rhinos on the way back. We watch them for a while and then return to camp for breakfast.
Afternoon - cloudy with strong winds.
Despite the bad conditions and a long afternoon without seeing any. We find the lions of the Sark Breakaway Pride in the early evening. A powerful group of 12 lions. They are out on the hunt and have ambushed a giraffe. It is too dark to see what is happening. But we hear the attack and how the giraffe finally goes down. The big dinner starts.
6 August 24 Morning - Cloudy no wind, 6.15am game drive, lions everywhere!
The morning starts chilly and cloudy. There are 3 rhinos on the way out into the bush. Stop for a quick one and off to see the Lions. The Sark pride was hungry and did not leave anything behind. The bones and the remains have been the prey of the hyenas. The lions are at rest with their bellies full of food.
The big male lion is present. He occasionally glances off into the distance, half asleep.
A second giraffe has been the victim of a night kill. A giraffe and a baby have been killed by the River Pride, another group of lions. The pride is led by one of Sark's brothers. The River Pride is a much smaller pride, but it also has two small cubs. Both are around 6 months old. Once again the lions are lying down in the grass with their bellies wide open. As we make our way back to camp, we can hear the contact calls of the wild dogs. Behind us there is a small herd of elephants, grouped together in a circle. With loud snorting and angry trumpeting they chase away the lone wild dog.
By chance we have a glimpse of a young female leopard asleep in a tree. She sleeps well hidden on a branch next to her prey. Her name is Dzindza and she is a female leopard about two years old. We pass a waterhole with hippos and kudus on our way to breakfast.
What a start to the morning!
The afternoon - sunny, clear sky, no clouds.
We make our way to the lions of the River Pride. All of them are lying lazily next to the remains of the giraffes. One lion from Sars has joined them. His strength is the reason for his acceptance.
We get out of the Land Cruiser and start to walk in the bush. Lucky, our tracker, has spotted rhinos and we stalk the small group carefully.
It's time for dinner and a chat about the day's game viewing.
7th August 24th, 6.15am, the sky is clear.
We are on the move to Dzindza, the female leopard. We then move on to River Pride, where we can watch the two cubs. They are very active and are having a great time playing in the trees.
Returning we see a white rhino sleeping at the waterhole. It is asleep and the oxpecker birds are doing their bit to keep it awake.
In the afternoon
A herd of buffalo is close by. We soon found it.
About 100 of them. In the light of the setting sun we can see a typical scene of a safari. Apollo, the mighty bull elephant, is very close to us. He feels comfortable in the trees.
On the way back we catch a glimpse of four rhinos walking leisurely towards the sunset.
Excitement follows. We hear on the radio that a female leopard has been spotted. It is Dzindza's mother - she is out hunting. But we only have a short time with her. It was already dark and she quickly disappeared into the thick bush.
The Big Five in one day.
8th August 24th August
Last day at Bateleur Camp. Bill has tried and failed to find any cheetahs - failed. We follow the tracks of an old female leopard, but once again we are unsuccessful. All we are left with are the elephants, who wave goodbye to me with their trunks.
I say goodbye and drive to Shonga Camp in the South of the Kruger Park. The drive through the public part of the park takes about 6 hours. It's a long drive and I take my time to look around - maybe I'll spot an animal or two along the way. In fact, besides antelopes and giraffes, I see a mighty bird of prey (Martial Eagle) and a huge crocodile near Crocodile River (where else?). Just before entering the Shishangeni Reserve I come across a strange sight. Three cheetahs are lying lazily on the ground next to one of the boundary stones of the reserve. A number of cars were standing around and watching the three big cats with great interest. One of the three of them jumps up on the stone, does his business, jumps down again with elegance and the three of them go on their way. It was late in the evening when I arrived at the camp. I had a quick bite to eat and then went straight to my tent for the night. Tomorrow morning we're on our way!
09.08.24 - Shishangeni - Shonga Camp, Southern Kruger NP, sunny and clear skies
The first morning in the Southern Kruger Park is very cool - unfortunately we leave at about 6.30.
We have heard the lions during the night and we want to go out in search of them. The area is privately owned and covers an area of about 15,000 hectares. Our guide is very young and seems inexperienced. We only have glimpses of the lions from a distance. Apart from that there is not much else to see: It's a trip to forget.
We finally see a crocodile and lots of hippos at Crocodile Dam. In the afternoon a new guide arrives at the camp. I have been talking to the camp manager for a long time and have pointed this out to him: We are in need of an experienced guide.
The afternoon
It's very hot and dry. Our new guide is called Bongs. We are driving a long way and Bongs is putting in a lot of effort. There are no exciting sightings though. Shortly before sunset we find a lion. It was injured and looked like a heap of misery - starved and weak.
It is the fires in the Kruger Park that we are more concerned about. A spectacular orange-red glow of fire in the sky. There is a smell of smoke in the air. But these are controlled fires. How this will affect our observations remains to be seen.
The camp has no electricity and dinner is served in the dark under an orange sky, smelling of burnt wood and grass.
10.08.24, 6 o'clock in the morning.
The air is thick with smoke, caused by the fires. The visibility is poor and there is a strong smell of fire in the air. We are on the move to a water hole near a lodge. This is where we meet the lion pride of Shawu. It's not a big group. But they have a small cub. The injured lion has also returned to the group and is looking a little better than before.
The afternoon
We are close to the Mozambique border. There have been no animal sightings during the trip. A couple of elephants with a very cute calf and some giraffes at sunset put us in a more conciliatory mood.
The fires burn again. On the way back to the camp, we are suddenly engulfed by the flames. It is only with great difficulty and with the help of the rangers that we make it back to camp in one piece. A special thank you to Bongs!
Even though the fire was a controlled one, the flames did not stop at the camp, where the rangers secured the camp and prevented the spread of the fire to the tents. It was close and dangerous for everyone.
11.08.24
Last day in southern Kruger Park. We have heard that there are a couple of lions in the area and so we are on the move. A warthog has been snatched by one of the lions. He growls at us. The rest of the lions are waiting for their chance. The mother lion and her young cub are also close by.
On the way back we spot a cheetah with a small cub. It is only a moment - but the call of the second cub is audible.
So we don't stay for very long.
A huge herd of buffalo blocks the road shortly after we set off in the direction of our last stop. After about 45 minutes we continue our journey into the private Nkomazi Game Reserve.
Afternoon - Nkomazi Camp
After driving for about 4 hours I arrive at Nkomazi Gate. This is a camp with a stunning and beautiful landscape. The open grasslands, surrounded by mountains, are vaguely reminiscent of either Kenya or Tanzania.
My local guide is called Respect. This is the English translation of his real name. On the way out, we spot a pair of lions. They are lying lazily in the sun in the late afternoon. The four cheetah brothers are the highlight of the day for us. Lying flat on the grass, they enjoy the sunset.
We return to the Burma Site to eat and have a big meal.
12.08.24
We start the day at 6am. It's very cold and we head straight for a female cheetah with her 5 cubs. We stay with them for as long as we can and are really enjoying the time we have with them. The cubs are very playful and chase each other around. The mother keeps a watchful eye on the surroundings.
Nkomazi is famous for its cheetahs.
The afternoon
We decide to pay a visit to the four cheetah brothers and find them lazing and sleeping in the flat grass.
On the way to a killed zebra we are informed that a lion is on the way. He calls out with a loud roar and is on his way to his brother. We followed the lion and came across the two brothers, who were keeping very quiet.
We had dinner on the banks of the river.
The search for the leopards has not been successful. A drive into the mountains and a visit to a bushman's rock painting.
The afternoon
Spend the afternoon with two young lions. Both are lying on the rock like stones. They are enjoying the evening heat radiating from the rock.
Unfortunately, the two don't want to move, so we set off as the sun goes down to return to camp and eat. Out of nowhere appears a brown hyena. It has caught a whiff of the strong smell of the zebra carcass. One of the two lions is still near the carcass and chases the hyena away with a menacing growl.
We drive back to camp for dinner.
14.08.24, Last trip into the bush
Before I have to leave Nkomazi, we go on one last game drive to see the mother cheetah with her 5 cubs and take our time. The cubs are very playful, but the mother is still out looking for some food to eat. In the end they are all lying down together and the cubs are being suckled by their mother.
Saying goodbye!