11th October – Stay at Lower Sabie Camp

11^th October – Stay at Lower Sabie Camp

On our morning drive, we drove north along the H4-1 towards Skukuza. Along here we spotted crocodile, impala, elephant and 2 hyenas running along the road.

We then stopped off at a view point to see if there was anything on the river and there were 2 giant kingfishers right next to us.

We then stopped on the bridge on the H12 to have some breakfast, before turning back onto the H1-4 and stopping at Skukuza for a quick toilet break. Along the way we spotted a hooded vulture and a fish eagle as well as 2 bush bucks.

After leaving Skukuza we drove along the H1-1 before turning onto the S114. We had heard that there was a leopard in a tree here, but it had been spotted over an hour previously and unfortunately we couldn’t see it. We did manage to spot some impala, steenbok and 2 klipspringers actually standing on rocks!

We then went on to see a few zebras which we were surprised to see here as the bush is so dense they would have no chance to run from a predator.

We also spotted some giraffes and 3 white rhinos. Unfortunately they were hard to photograph as the bush was so thick.

We turned off onto the S102 and spotted steenbok, a large herd of impala; including an albino impala.

At the Mpondo Dam we saw a large herd of waterbuck all lying down but little else. We then spotted 4 giraffes standing around Buffeldorings waterhole.

Along the S25 we spotted impala, kudu, giraffe and a vervet monkey just 100m before coming across a very large troop of baboons. We also saw warthogs, a herd of giraffes and lots and lots of impala. Nothing more exciting though and we were starting to feel a bit deflated after such a successful day yesterday.

We stopped off at the Hippo Pools where an armed ranger walked us out to have a look at the hippos and birds.

We then headed back up towards Lower Sabie and spotted little except wildebeest, impala and some warthogs. Similarly, the S128 brought us little to see, just some kudu, impala and warthogs – where are all the less common animals?! Clearly, hiding from us!

At this point we decided not to return to camp but go and sit at Duke’s dam and see if anything turned up. We spotted a very large herd of zebras, drinking and chasing each other around as well as some giraffes, cape vultures and a marsh terrapin. 

Once they had all had a drink and left we also left and headed back past Lower Sabie to sit at Sunset Dam to watch the hippos, storks, heron and a herd of elephants come for a drink and dust bath

By the time we went back to camp to have some lunch we were feeling pretty low regarding the poor sighting we were having – except for yesterday – so we tried to cheer each other up and decided to have a positive mental attitude and just have fun even if we don’t spot much.

We drove south down the H4-2 and spotted a saddle bill stork, 3 elephants and 2 fish eagles. Things were hopefully looking up for us! We turned off down the S28 and spotted a common duiker; this was a first for this trip; we didn’t know which antelope it was at first and laughed, suggesting it was a warthog as it ate like one – with its knees on the floor.

We then stopped off at the Nthandanyathi Hide which was pretty quiet except for a lone elephant bull that walked through. We then went to Duke’s Dam and on the way spotted 3 rhinos but there was nothing at the dam. On our way back to the H4-2 we saw another rhino and common duiker as well as some wildebeest. Once we reached the tar road (H4-2) we drove south towards Crocodile Bridge. Along the way we spotted impala, kudu and a rhino that disappeared so quickly Wayne didn’t get a chance to see it.

We then drove back up the S28 and spotted an elephant before seeing 2 leopard kills in 2 different trees. One was just 10 metres from the road, the other a further 50 metres. 

Unfortunately there was no leopard. We had heard from other people that a leopard had been spotted that morning but some hyenas had chased it away. We waited for around 20 minutes hoping he’d return but then decided to move on to ensure we got back to camp in time. Further along the S28 we spotted 5 rhinos together, then another one – clearly this is rhino country!

We also spotted some wildebeest, 2 lionesses and then another rhino. We then turned off towards Dukes Dam and saw elephant and a lone wildebeest. By this point we started to put our foot down now as we realised that we were cutting it quite fine to get back to camp before the gates closed.