Regular Updates from
Kruger such as sightings, condition of the bush,
rainfall and current natural phenomena.
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Rainfall
in January was fairly good in the south
of the Park, especially around Pretoriuskop
Camp, however the average is still below
last years rainfall. If the low rainfall
trend continues, this years dry season could
put severe pressure on the plants and animals
and by Sept / Oct the situation could be
quite bad. Temperatures in Satara reached
a high of 38 deg C but the early mornings
were quite mild and pleasant. |
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The
central section around Satara Camp has been
very different, hardly any rain has fallen
and this is sure to put pressure on the
plants and animals by the end of Aug and
through to Oct. |
Sightings
were very good - highlights were a pack
of 8 Wild Dog hunting Impala, 2 leopards
near Lower Sabie Camp and the S100 Lion
Pride near Satara Camp. The regular nursery
herds of baby Impala were also a joy to
see, as they always are at this time of
year. |
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The
rainfall continues to fail in much of the
Kruger, the only area that is really looking
quite lush is the Southern section around
Bergendal, Pretoriuskop and Skukuza. Temperatures
continue to be in the high 30's but due
to the lack of rain this year, sightings
have continued to be rather good over this
month as a result of below average foliage
growth. |
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The
Satara area has still not had much rain
and it still looks much like it did in October
/ November which is traditionally the end
of the dry season. |
The
big herds of Elephant that usually congregate
around the Sabie River are not present in
as many numbers as they are in the dry season,
but we still had a good sighting of a breeding
herd. Other highlights were a pair of young
male Cheetah and a herd of Cape Buffalo
wallowing in a pool of water. |
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Autumn
has started to descend over the Kruger Bushveld
and temperatures are already starting to drop
to a more comfortable 30 deg during the day
while evenings are mild and comfortable. The
chances of rain are now getting slimmer and
slimmer and it is almost certain that the
bush will now suffer in the latter stages
of the dry season if no more rain falls. Predators
will be in for a good dry season this year
as they will be able to crop the weaker animals
from the population - which in turn will help
push through only the strongest. |
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The
Basalt Plains North of Lower Sabie are looking
rather dry, so too, South of Lower Sabie around
Duke waterhole - traditionally a good Cheetah
area. |
Sightings
along the Sabie River have been good this
month with one of the highlights being a large
Elephant Bull with unusual tusks, in the Sabie
River. |
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April
was an unusual month in the Kruger as it was
dominated by above average rainfall. What
does this mean for the bush ? well it was
quite strange to see flushes of new growth
so late in the year, but it did help to make
up for the below average rainfall in Feb and
March.
It also means that we are most probably in
for a cold winter this year so bring your
gloves, jackets and beanies - the early mornings
are going to be COLD !! |
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Sightings
were great with the highlight being a very
rare encounter with the "magnificent
7" .... the big 5 plus wild dog and cheetah
- in one day !! |
Elephant
numbers continue to grow along the mighty
Sabie River which received a much needed injection
of fresh water from all the rain. |
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Weather
wise May was perfect no rain and beautiful
sunny days with clear blue skies and lovely
light for photography. Average day time temps
were around 26 deg c but the nights were a
little chilly !!
The area around Satara proved to be great
for general game - Zebra, Giraffe and of course
Impala !! |
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The
S100 proved to be a good bet again with a
good smattering of game along the entire length
of the river road. |
Photo
highlight was a group of Giraffe in the Nwanetsi
river with fantastic afternoon lightling. |
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June
2007 was a beautiful month in the Kruger Bush.
The late rains from April have caused the
trees to start losing leaves a little later
than usual, resulting in a mix of bush colours.
Greens mixed with lovely oranges, yellows
and the red leaves of the Tambotie tree made
a spectacular sight. |
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Major
waterholes are drying up and game is more
evident around larger sources of water. Huge
herds of elephants were seen along the Biyamiti
River in the South of the park, along with
good Lion and Cheetah sightings. |
Photo
highlight was a young male Leopard who had
killed an Impala and stached it at the bottom
of a tree in the Lubyelubye river near Lower
Sabie. He was camped out among the rocks and
in the river bed for 3 days protecting and
feeding from his kill. |
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Mid
winter in the African bush was rather colder
than expected and one day was spoiled by an
unusual shower of rain !!
Otherwise the weather was wonderful and the
bush is now rather dry forcing the herbivores
to quench their thirst more often than they
do in the rainy months when they obtain moisture
from the green grass and foliage. |
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The
pink white flowers of the Impala lilies and
the bright red flowers of the Coral trees
are some of the few colours left in the dry
yellow bushveld at this time of year. It is
also aloe season, the flowers of which attract
a myriad of bird life. |
Sighting
highlight was 2 young male cheetah walking
alongside the vehicle on the Doispan road
near Skukuza. |
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August
continued to provide chilly mornings on the
open vehicle and the beanies, gloves, thick
jackets and even hot water bottles were put
to good use !! |
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The
amount of wildlife congregating around waterholes
as they begin to rapidly dry up was amazing
to see, especially the mid morning period
of 9 - 11am. Over 100 Impala, 47 Zebra, 24
Kudu and 5 Giraffe were seen together at Sunset
dam near Lower Sabie in one morning. |
Photo
Highlight was a group of Impala leaving the
waterhole and crossing the road in front of
us. As they approached the otherside many
of them gave us a wonderful display of how
good they are at leaping into the air. |
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Weather
wise the first part of September proved to
be extremely hot where the temp got up to
37 deg c on some days.
This was to be short lived though as the first
rains fell at the end of the month - much
earlier than expected and almost 2 months
earlier than last year !! |
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Animal
movements were rather erratic, I think in
expectation of the change in weather conditions
and the approach of spring in the Lowveld.
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The
arrival of some of the migrant birds such
as the Yellow BIlled Kite and Red Breasted
Swallows are a clear indicator that change
is on its way. The weavers have started to
build their nests and good places to see Red
Headed Weavers were at Letaba and Mopani Camps.
Lesser Masked and Spotted backed weavers Have
started to build their homes in the palm trees
around the pond at Satara Camp.
Photo Highlight was a group of White Fronted
Bee Eaters near Letaba Camp |
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Barely
2 weeks after the first rains, the incredible
changes in the veld can now clearly be seen.
The fresh green grass is already 15 cm tall
or so and the bright green leaves are appearing
on the trees.
The stunning yellow flowers of the Zebra Wood
are a beautiful sight at the moment and yet
more migrant birds are finding their way back
to the South African bush. |
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With
the availability of more surface water the
big herds of Elephants, no longer drawn to
the rivers, seem to have dispersed and all
the small tributaries of the big rivers are
now alive with birdlife. |
Photo
Highlight for October must have been the beautiful
Malachite Kingfisher photographed at the Lake
Panic Bird hide near Skukuza.
So often the Malachite proves to be a distant
flash of colour, never venturing too close
for a photo. This time however he came within
15m of the hide and perched on a tiny reed
for about 15 seconds, just long enough to
capture him in all his colourful glory !!
A pack of 15 Wild Dogs in the Sabie River
near High Level Bridge was fantastic to see,
especially as it is only the third sighting
of dogs this year. |
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Summer
is now in full swing and the days are getting
progressively warmer with most animals resting
up during the middle of the day in the shade
of the African Bush. |
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Nesting
activity was superb with most species either,
building or preparing their nests. In some
species, feeding of chicks was evident, whilst
some of the breeding migrants having recently
arrived were busy with courtship displays
and breeding. |
Highlight
must have been this Paradise Flycatcher (Male)
helping to build their tiny cup shaped nest
near the reception area in Letaba Camp.
Both male and female help to build the nest
and feed the chicks once they are born. The
nest is made from grass, lichen and spider
web.
The weather in November was a lot more settled
than in October, and the first of the newly
born Impala lambs were reported in the southern
area of the Kruger Park near Pretoriuskop
Camp - at the beginning of the month. By the
end of the month the lambing season, one of
the highlights in the Kruger calendar was
in full swing and the baby Impalas were seen
everywhere.
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December
provided good rains and the bush has really
started to thicken up in response to it. |
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The
temperature has also increased and just like
most of the wildlife, we made sure we were
resting during the heat of the day. |
The
Impala lambs are now out in force as is the
custom at this time of year and the nursery
herds are building up and will continue to
do so into the new year.
Photo highlight was a pride of Lions at Mphondo
Dam. The pride was resting up in the shade
of some Bushwillow trees when we arrived,
but soon they sat up and watched a huge herd
of Buffalo, followed by a Rhino and then 2
Elephant, come down to the dam to drink.
The heat was too much for them though and
they soon fell back into siesta mode. |
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