Category Archives: African diary
Day 26, our final day! 22nd June 2009
This Yellow billed hornbill was so interested in our food at a picnic spot in the Kruger, I managed to get an interesting macro shot of his eye!
As you can see, it was quite a trip and not one either of us are likely to forget in a hurry!
I hope you enjoyed the blog diary
Jamie.
Day 25 – 21st June 2009
Our “digs” in the forest at serenity eco lodge.Day 25 – 21st June 2009
Another starry night. We stayed in the forest at serenity lodge. They drove us up the hill to watch the sun going down and the stars coming out – lovely!Again, this one may be better when clicked.
Day 24 – 20th June 2009
We left Hluhluwe early this morning and spent most of the day travelling to Piet retief, a stop-over on the way back to Kruger.
We passed lots of these shacks en route. I don’t think there was anybody living in this one, but some habited ones weren’t much more luxurious.
Day 23 – 19th June 2009
We were very lucky to come across a pack of African Wild Dog. These guys are quite elusive as they are always on the move. They also have serious hygene issues – they stink like none of the other animals we came across.
Day 22 – 18th June 2009
This guy walked right in front of our truck in Hluhluwe. When they look at you, it sends shivers up your spine!
Day 21 -17th June 2009
It was nice to see the Broadbill, but we were both far more impressed by this guy – a Pied Kingfisher. He is the only Kingfisher who can hover; a handy skill when your hobbies include looking for fish to catch for your dinner!Day 20 – 16th June 2009
While in Mkhuze, we were lucky enough to see this African Broadbill. We were told there are not many of these guys in existence, and they are rarely seen in winter!
Day 19 – 15th June 2009
Our first day in Mkhuze (pronounced oom-coo-say) game reserve. A terrific place, more interested in the birds and smaller creatures than the “big 5″. I always loved seeing the big 5, but it is just as exciting (sometimes more so) to see the smaller things. The birds were spectacular, this is a Spotted Eagle Owl.
Day 18 -14th June 2009
This Landy took us to the foot of this hill for a walk. It was great to climb up and get a look around.
Day 17 -13th June 2009
Swaziland – Here is Louise sitting on some of the oldest rock in the world – around 3.5 billion years old! Back then the only signs of life around were some bacteria in the oceans. No plants, trees or animals.
Day 16 -12th June 2009
We drove to Swaziland today and got a bit more than we bargained for – we had quite a mountain range to climb over!
On the way we spotted this Longcrested Eagle – I love his eye in this picture – he is on a mission!
Day 15 -11th June 2009
Well here she is, our only Cheetah of the trip. I’m afraid its not much of a picture, but she was very far away!
She stayed up on this mound for a while making a very strange purring sound. She seemed to be looking for somebody and we were pretty worried she had lost a cub or a partner. I can only hope they were reunited.
This was taken on a fantastic day to the Kruger. We decided to move in the the premier league of nerds and fill in our check sheet. It was incredible how full it was at the end of the day. I won’t bore you with the details but suffice to say it was one of our biggest list days!
Day 14 – 10th June 2009
This Hyena already looked incredibly full but didn’t seem to be able to stop herself.
Note to self: Never take a Hyena to an all you can eat buffet!
Day 13 – 9th June 2009
Our stay at Elephant Plains lodge in Sabi Sands was probably our biggest disapp- ointment of the trip. This was due to our guide not being capable of holding a candle to all who had gone before and the weather being overcast and windy.
However, as disappointments go, we really shouldn’t grumble! This was our only Leopard sighting of the trip, although the magic was slightly drained from it as she was surrounded by 3 Land Rovers with drivers radioing others to tell them where to come!
Day 12 – 8th June 2009
Our last morning at Moholoholo and Eric, our guide, announced that we were going for a walk. We spotted a White Rhino with her kid (pictured).
We crept right past them which was a bit scary, until Eric announced that he didn’t like the wind direction, but at least the sun wasn’t out so they wouldn’t see us. Just then, the sun came out! I took this shot from the shade of an Acacia tree.
Day 11 – 7th June 2009
The Giraffes on this trip were wonderful. Such an unlikely creature with a whole host of facial expressions!Day 10 – 6th June 2009
Another fantastic thing about Moholoholo was the amount of butterfies. I caught this guy with his proboscis out – check out the close up!
Day 9 – 5th June 2009
A day of 2 halfs today. We started with our final game drive of the course, where James pulled this Baboon spider out of a hole to our great surprise! Louise is terrified of spiders, but managed to let her walk across her hand (very brave)!
We then moved on to Moholoholo, where our lodge had a night hide. They put some pellets out which attracted this nocturnal Bush pig and Porcupine
Day 8 – 4th June 2009
We were lucky to have a fantastic group for the course. We took this shot after one of James’s delicious dinners, washed down by a few bottles of South African plonk!