We departed from Johannesburg at 09:30 and drove the 2 and a half hours to the Bird of Prey Centre where we enjoyed a lovely home cooked lunch.
After lunch we watched the scheduled flying display - the star of which was the Peregrine Falcon, stooping in at high speed over our heads !!

After the show we enjoyed an exclusive photo session with a variety of birds, which offered great photo opportunities for portraits and flying shots.

Highlights were:
Jackal Buzzard
Long Crested Eagle
Tawny Eagle
Peregrine Falcon
Cape Eagle owl
Barn Owl
African Fish Eagle
Greater Kestrel

After a good nights rest we drove the short distance to the Kruger National Park where we entered the 20 000 sq km park at Phabeni Gate.

KNP DAY 1 : SKUKUZA CAMP
Within 5 mins of entering we came across 2 white rhino crossing the road and further up we watched a herd of elephant cross the road in front of us. We then came across and watched a pair of mating lions whilst enjoying our packed breakfast onboard the vehicle.
The afternoon was spent at a bird hide with Hippos, Crocodiles and a variety of bird life.

KNP DAY 2 : SKUKUZA CAMP
After a stop at the bird hide we carried on South to the Biyamiti River where we were treated to a rarely seen sight of over 300 elephant feeding on both sides of the river. Elephants are fairly common in Kruger but not in such huge numbers. Everywhere we went we bumped into elephants !!
White Rhino, a young male lion at transport dam and a leopard stalking some impala made up our compliment of "big 5'ers" for the day.. along with a variety of general game (giraffe, zebra, impala etc) and birds.

KNP DAY 3 : LOWER SABIE CAMP
We headed south to the "watergat" road where we caught a fleeting glimpse of the ever elusive leopard disappearing into the undergrowth. Further up the road we came across a pride of Lions lying in the shade of a Tambotie tree. A report of Lions on a Zebra carcass took us back to the Biyamiti River where we found 2 male lions sleeping off their meal in the shade of some Guarri Bushes. We headed east to our next camp and arrived in time for the late afternoon light over sunset dam with its resident pod of hippo, numerous crocodiles and a herd of Impala.

KNP DAY 4 : LOWER SABIE CAMP
The morning was spent at sunset dam with the hippo and crocs and water birds such as Yellow billed Storks, Grey Herons, Egyptian Geese and Pied Kingfishers. A White Rhino - possible injured in a territorial fight painfully ventured down for a drink whilst we enjoyed our packed lunch. The highlight of the day was a beautiful sighting of a young male Leopard on the rocks at Lubyelubye bridge. We spent the rest of the afternoon with the Leopard who moved between its impala kill at the base of a nearby tree and the rocks in a series of feeding sessions. On the way back to camp in the last light we came across 3 male lions patrolling their territory.

KNP DAY 5 : SATARA CAMP
A visit from a Hyaena at 3am in the morning awoke our guests as it tried to inspect the contents of their dustbin on the verandah of their chalet !!
We popped back to see if the young Leopard was still at the bridge and it was - despite the close wanderings of the 3 male Lions it still had its kill and looked like it would be there all day again.
We made our way towards the central section of the park to overnight at Satara Camp. On our way we spotted 7 White Rhino, Elephant, the rare Reed buck, Giraffe and Zebra. We also passed a sleepy pride of Lions lying up near a waterhole. The highlight of the afternoon drive was watching a 400 strong herd of buffalo come down to a pan to drink and a Leopard cub climbing down a Lead wood tree to disappear into the grass, presumably to meet up with its mum.

KNP DAY 6 : SATARA CAMP
We headed North towards the Timbavati River and came across another large herd of Buffalo, 2 big bull elephant walking down the road towards us and a large herd of Zebra and Impala that we spent at least 2 hours observing and photographing. Kori Bustard, Ostrich, Secretary Bird and a number of Bateleur Eagles were also seen on our way to the Nwanetsi Bird hide.
Whilst enjoying lunch at the bird hide we were treated to a feast of water bird photography. Egyptian Geese, Pied King Fishers, White Faced Ducks, African Jacana, Moorhen and Hammerkop were all there along with a pod of hippo sunbathing on a sand bank. Nearby a slimy green crocodile emerged from the water.