Day 10: Out in the Timbavati

Yesterday afternoon we had a number of visitors to the watering hole that we can see from our decks, tents, & the lodge.

The weather turned really hot for our afternoon game drive. It was close to 100 degrees, but a very dry heat. Here's a Wahlberg's Eagle.

This guy surprised us walking in front of the vehicle when we were looking elsewhere.

We've seen lots of these Blacksmith Lapwings.

We spent the evening watching lots and lots of hippos.

Cold winds came in overnight, so we were bundled up for our morning game drive. It's amazing how the weather can drop 40 degrees in a flash. We started out watching a herd of elephants. This is the first time I've seen an entire herd feeding on one tree at the same time.

Charlie got a call that two male lions from a coalition had come to our lodge's watering hole. He turned around the Land Cruiser and we found they had made their way out into the bush. These were new lions for us and really cute!

We came across a 2-month old baby Rhino running with its mom. I couldn't get a photo, but later we came upon two young males. In the Timbavati they don't cut the horns off Rhinos. They have a very strong anti-poaching program. Once a year, everyone who works in the preserve has to take a polygraph test to find any potential connections to poaching.

We ended our morning drive with a group of Kudu. Love this guy.

 

Day 9: Thabamati Tent Camp in the Timbavati Preserve

It is a pleasure to return to Thabamati Tent Camp. This place is so tasteful and well-run we were excited to  come back. The one issue they have is a draught. It's been very, very dry here.

The food is as good as ever. Here is our welcome high tea with salad, mini-pot pies, and breaded cauliflower. Very yummy!

We set out on our afternoon game drive with our ranger Charlie and tracker Caswell. We spent lots of time with these two sleepy giants. They are 4-year old brothers who traverse between Kruger and here.

On our way back in the dark, we saw a number of creatures including this Hyena.

We also had a great sighting of a Honey Badger.  I got this photo off the internet, but it looks just like the badger we saw. They are strong and fierce. It was pretty exciting. 

We started our morning game drive at 6 AM. The first thing we saw was this Double-Banded Sandgrouse. it's the 1st time I've seen this bird.

Same with this Giant Eagle Owl. It's a bit hidden, but only the second owl I've ever seen in South Africa.

Then we tracked a pack of African Wild Dogs while on a hunting expedition toward Kruger. It was a rollicking safari drive trying to keep up with guys.

And as we were driving away from the dogs, Charlie spotted this lone Lion walking down the road.

We stopped at a dam and found these Elephants and Water Monitor.

A very nice first day at Thabamati.

 

Day 8: Last 2 Game Drives at Inyati

Our stay at Inyati has been wonderful. It hasn't been the best food, but the variety of animals we've seen has been terrific. Here's a close-up of a White-Backed Vulture.

We went back to visit the pack of African Wild Dogs we had seen a few days ago. This time they were out on an open road. One male adult was watching all 10 pups. The other 6 adults were out hunting. These pups were running around and playing--so much energy!!

This one stopped and looked right up at the Land Cruiser.

Play, play, play.

They play so hard and then they plop down for a rest.

We then went to find the Mhangeni Pride to see how they were doing on the Cape Buffalo dinner. Most were so full they had to take a rest. These photos were taken in the dark. I moved my ISO to 3200 and was able to take them. So happy they came out.

The next morning we had an amazing sunrise.

We came across a troop of Baboons. This one was enjoying a snack.

This is something I've never seen before. When two male Nyala meet each other they raise their manes to show dominance. It was very cool to see.

Here's a Rock Monitor that was sunning itself.

To end our stay at Inyati we had an amazing sighting. A few days ago we saw this female Leopard with her cub.

On our last drive, we found her mate. He had sustained a pretty big wound on his forepaw and was doing a  lot of licking. We saw 9 different Leopards in Sabi Sands.

Here is our group with Omega, Joel, and a couple from Boston.

 I'd definitely come back to Inyati. If Giraffe was our totem animal in Thornybush, it was the Leopard in Sabi Sands.

Day 7: Leopards & Lions Galore

Similar to yesterday, we started the afternoon drive along the Sand River. We saw four Crocodiles. I have never seen that many before on one game drive. Really amazing.

We then came across a breeding herd of Elephant. I have way more photos than anyone should ever take of elephants 😀. I am captivated by the babies. This youngster got so tired and hot, it kneeled down and then plopped on the ground for a rest.

So on my three prior trips to South Africa, I don't believe I ever got a good photo of a Mongoose. This is my third species on this trip--a Slender Mongoose. Yay!!

Next Omega heard that there was a Leopard family (Mom, Dad, 2 Cubs) in the south part of Sabi Sands. We drove a long way and when we finally got to the male eating a Nyala in a tree, the mom and two cubs had left. Lucky we have such a good tracker. Joel had us go through some really heavy bush and spotted the mom and two-month old cubs. They were so camouflaged the cubs were hard to see.

Another beautiful sunset.

As usual, we started out bright and early this morning. We barely made it out of the lodge, when we came across this White Rhino. His horns are cut to keep poachers away. It's kind of sad to see the Rhino's with no horns, but it keeps them alive--that's the important thing.

Its back was full of these Red-Billed Oxpecker birds. I finally got a close-up of them.

We then came across a flock of Helmeted Guineafowl. Some of these roam the grounds of Inyati Lodge.

This Crowned Lapwing was in a field by the side of the road.

We saw lots of antelope and warthogs. Here's a female Kudu with a camel-type hump on her back.

The Mhangeni Pride (2 males, 3 females, 10 cubs) took down a Cape Buffalo early in the morning. This video shows the skin of the buffalo moving. That's because one of the cubs was inside eating who knows what (apparently the good stuff).

This is what the cubs looked like when they came out. Dripping wet.

Dad is taking a rest from chowing down.

Fairly close by was a Side-Striped Jackel. I'm sure it will be quite some time before the Lions leave and he can come in.

On the way back to the lodge we saw this wounded hippo walking cross the bush to get to this watering hole.

As we were watching the hippo, a herd of elephants came in for a drink.

You can hear the matriarch of this herd trumpeting in the first video.

As we were driving back to lodge, Omega explained how Rhino's mark their territory.

And we came upon one of my very favorite birds in Africa--the Lilac-Breasted Roller.

I love the Inyati Lodge!!