And the rain continues..

13 February 2021 - Kruger Park Lodge and Kruger Park; Day 3

It rained all through the night and most of the morning, so we slept in. When the rain abated, I had a short walk around the chalet and a few holes on the golf course. A single Egyptian Goose was paddling around the dam closest to our chalet, giving me a low-key image

Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptiaca)

A flash of blue across the dam alerted me to a diminutive Malachite Kingfisher on the far side of the dam - so a habitat image

Malachite Kingfisher (Corythornis cristata)

There were numbers of Dragonfly, but I only managed to capture a cool Red-veined Dropwing

Red-veined Dropwing (Trithemis arteriosa)

After lunch, the weather improved, so we had a short drive into the park, entering again at Phabeni Gate, which is about a 20-minute drive from the Lodge. At the first river crossing, one of many Hamerkop's was seen

Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta)

And then we met up with this magnificent and relaxed bull Elephant that we spent some time with, as the sun briefly appeared.

African Elephant (Loxodonta africana)

We then stopped for a drinks break at one of the picnic sites with a river view on the way to Skukuza. It was still gloomy with intermittent drizzle, but I did pick up a migratory Spotted Flycatcher deep in the canopy

Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata)

As well as a pair of White-crowned Lapwings that did a fly-by over the river - a lucky encounter. Check out those spurs!

White-crowned Lapwing (Vanellus albiceps)

The weather wasn't going to improve, so we headed back to Phabeni Gate picking up Emerald Spotted Dove showing its diagnostic wing spots

Emerald-spotted Wood Dove (Turtur chalcospilos)

Southern Carmine Bee-eater against a grey sky

Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides)

and one of many Woodland Kingfisher's before we departed the Park

Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis)

Once back at the Lodge, the rain continued again after sunset.

A long soggy day in the KNP

12 February 2021 - Kruger Park Lodge to Biyamiti; Day 2

We awoke early to overcast weather and drizzle and after a quick breakfast headed to Phabeni Gate to enter the Kruger National Park. Today would be a long day, as my son and his mate were heading to Biyamiti Camp in southern Kruger, where they would be meeting up with his parents. The Kruger and lowveld in general has had unprecedented rain over the past 2-weeks in the wake of the tropical cyclone and as a result many roads in the Park were closed, so this made for a much longer trip to the south.

Just inside the Park, we came across this Black-back Jackal curled up in a pile of dung on the side of the road, probably to keep warm

Black-backed Jackal (Lupulella mesomelas)

Not much further, a mixed herd of Zebra and Wildebeest

Burchell's Zebra (Equus quagga burchelli)

Blue Wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and Burchell's Zebra (Equus quagga burchelli)

There wasn't much time to stop on this long round trip and the weather was also not playing game, with most mammals seeking shelter from the rain. A Brown Snake Eagle with those distinctive yellow eyes looked pretty peeved from the top of this dead tree.

Brown Snake Eagle (Circaetus cinereus)

We managed to find a route on one of the sand roads and came across two Lionesses in the road. They seemed reluctant to walk in the wet grass, but when something grabbed their attention, they did

Lion (Panthera leo)

Black and White works well for this image

A brief stop at the Stevenson-Hamilton Hill and Memorial gave us the expected Klipspringer which have the most amazing coats. The male was quite attentive, licking the wet fur on the females face.

Klipspringer (Oreotragus oreotragu)

And a Natal Spurfowl as we drove back out

Natal Spurfowl (Pternistis natalensis)

We finally arrived a the private Biyamiti Camp in southern Kruger where another Natal Spurfowl welcomed us

Natal Spurfowl (Pternistis natalensis)

Once inside the gate, we got the boys sorted into their accommodation and had a brief walk around. I found a pair of Bennet's Woodpeckers, but before long we had to say our goodbyes as we needed to drive all the way back to Phabeni before the gates closed.

Bennett's Woodpecker (Campethera bennettii)

Again, some roads were closed due to rain damage, so it was the longer way back in intermittent rain. We had some game sightings, but couldn't wind down the windows due to the rain. However, I did make an exception for one of the bigger Kudu bull's I have ever seen

Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros)

Closer to Phabeni we also stopped for this gorgeous Carmine Bee-eater as the rain abated

Southern Carmine Bee-eater (Merops nubicoides)

and a small flock of the cool and not so common Senegal Lapwing

Senegal Lapwing (Vanellus lugubris)

We made it through Phabeni Gate with 30-minutes to spare after almost 12-hours in the park. Dinner at the Kruger Park Lodge restaurant was welcome.

 

Back to the Lowveld

11 February 2021 - Kruger Park Lodge; Day 1

Last year we banked our timeshare due to Covid restrictions. Early thus year we were able to redeem our banked week, for a week at Kruger Park Lodge in Hazyview. The Lodge has a 9-hole Gary Player designed golf course and the Sabie River running through the property along with all the other amenities you would expect for this type of property.

We had arrived in the afternoon the day before, driving in convoy with my son and his mate. It took the whole afternoon to finally settle in, as we had to change our accommodation, as it was not up to the standard we expected for a property of this stature.

Our first day was spent in and around the Lodge, exploring what was on offer. But I started with an early morning walk to get acquainted with the habitat and what might be seen. Kruger Park Lodge is a lot more manicured than Ngwenya Lodge and in turn I didn't see as many species as I expected. Nevertheless, it was still good to be back in the bush for a welcome break.

Outside our chalet, I found a few species in the canopy, enjoying the early morning sun. There were Collared Sunbirds

Male Collared Sunbird (Hedydipna collaris)

Yellow-breasted Apalis

Yellow-breasted Apalis (Apalis flavida)

And a relatively obliging Purple-crested Turaco

Purple-crested Turaco (Tauraco porphyreolophus)

We had some riverine habitat next to our chalet and although there were few birds, I did get some invertebrates; Many Common Bush Brown's

Common Bush Brown (Bicyclus s. safitza)

A Common Zebra Blue

Common Zebra Blue (Leptotes p. pirithous)

An exquisite male Glistening Demoiselle in the gloom of the forest

Male Glistening Demoiselle (Phaon iridipennis)

and Spider webs galore

Watch where you walk!

along with some delicate forest flowers

Forest flower

Walking along the fairways of the golf course, the resident herd of Impala put on a show - galloping and jumping/pronking from one end to the other

Impala (Aepyceros melampus)

The Impala flushed an African Pied Wagtail which conveniently landed on one of the tee-boxes

African Pied Wagtail (Motacilla aguimp)

On the edges of the fairways, I found a couple of White-fronted Bee-eaters soaking up the morning sun with their gorgeous blue vents

White-fronted Bee-eater (Merops bullockoides)

And a skulking White-browed Robin-Chat near one of the swimming pools and the only one I was able to see well and photograph in the whole week

White-browed Robin-Chat (Cossypha heuglini)

Overhead there were a couple of Hirundine species with White-rumped Swift in the mix

White-rumped Swift (Apus caffer)

Of course, I checked the Butterflies which were starting to appear as it warmed up; finding a female Brown Pansy

Female Brown Pansy (Junonia n. natalica)

and a Soldier Pansy

Soldier Pansy (Junonia terea elgiva)

There were quite a few dams on the property and these were a haven for quite a few species of Dragonfly - the majority were Julia Skimmers

Male Julia Skimmer (Orthetrum julia falsum)

Female Julia Skimmer (Orthetrum julia falsum)

Male and Female Julia Skimmer (Orthetrum julia falsum)

But I also found the distinctive Phantom Flutterer

Phantom Flutterer (Rhyothemis semihyalina)

So, an enjoyable and chilled first day to kick-off our week in the Lowveld