Arriving in Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve late afternoon we were greeted by small herds of Zebra, Impala and Kudu. In the distance we spotted some Rhino and an Elephant crossing the Black Imfolozi River. 
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In this park we had some amazing game viewing of Spotted Hyena coming up to our braai, White Rhino and a Black Rhino lying in a dry riverbed fifty meters from each other,  Cheetah lying at a vantage point scanning the Acacia Plains and Wild Dogs on an afternoon hunt! We also had a guided walk that took us through some open wilderness and down into the Black Imfolozi where we met a White Rhino that was very curious to find out what we were. 
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St. Lucia gave our guest a chance to rest their eyes from game spotting and to wonder around town, see the estuary with all its fauna and flora by boat and to explore the beach. They also had a guided safari into the iSimangaliso Wetland Park where they saw a couple of Rhino, Wildebeest, Bushbuck, Kudu and Red Duikers. The lunch spot was good and we were soon surrounded by a group of Banded Mongoose and Skye’s Monkeys waiting for a gap to steal something off our table!
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Our guests also visited Bayete Zulu Elephant Interaction and Emdoneni Cheetah Project where they met Rambo, Rachel and Jabulani and interacted with Rehabilitated Cheetahs, Serval and African Wild Cats!
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Our next stop was Tembe Elephant Park! This is where we had the rare opportunity of watching a Lioness stalk and kill a Nyala. It was remarkable to see how patient and focused this large cat was to take down its prey, knowing she had three cubs to feed! Our guest also had great sightings of Elephants dust bathing, drinking, walking in the road and playing close to our vehicle.
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Kosi Bay was as always a treat, allowing our guest to discover the Kosi Lake System’s by boat, travelling through a tight channel from one lake to the other, appreciating the diversity in bird life, sheer beauty of Ancient Sand Dunes covered by thick Dune Forests and Thulani, our local guide giving great information about the traditional Tonga Fish Kraals.
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Although the devastating effects of the current drought that Mkuze Game Reserve is experiencing was evident, this Park once again surprised our guests with exceptional sightings of the Pel’s Fishing Owl at a very good viewing distance, Elephants drinking and bathing at arms length away from us in Kumasinga Hide and a Lion crossing the road to lie down and watch us watching him! Amazing photographic opportunity and great luck with exceptional timing!
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With the tour wrapped up our guests were satisfied with the diversity in animal and plant life, differences in landscapes and the exceptional sightings they experienced! 
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​Ook de overnachtingsplek was boven verwachting, net zoals in Ithala. In Ithala begonnen de gamedrives en….. de zoektocht naar de zwarte neushoorns. Nou, dit was een korte zoektocht want al op de eerste gamedrive zagen we een drietal zwarte neushoorns. Eindelijk na vele jaren !

Na 2 nachten zijn we vertrokken naar Mkuze. Hier hebben we overnacht in tenten in een niet omheind park. Op een avond is er naast de tent een nyala geboren, erg bijzonder.
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De waterhole Kumasinga Hide was zeer bijzonder. We hebben er ontzettend veel zebra’s, gnoes, buffels, impala´s, nyala´s  en verschillende soorten vogels gezien. Verder nog een neushoorn met jong.

Hierna een paar dagen rust in St. Lucia waar we overnacht hebben in een guesthouse. In St.Lucia hebben we vooral gewinkeld en genoten van de terrasjes. Cape Vidal zat natuurlijk ook in het programma, waar we een heerlijke sushi lunch hebben gehad.
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Na deze rustperiode zijn we verder gegaan naar Hluhluwe. Ook hier hebben we weer veel dieren en vogels gezien. De bezoekjes van de hyenas waren erg spannend !

Voor wat luxe zijn we naar Ubizane Lodge gegaan voor een overnachting in een mooie boomhut. Hierna begon de reis naar Kruger via Piet Retief. In Kruger hebben we een aantal verschillende lokaties bezocht, Berg en Dal, Lower Sabie en toen naar Shindzela (Greater Kruger) en tot slot Tamboti tented camp. In Kruger hebben we prachtige sightings gehad; wederom de zwarte neushoorn, leeuwen, cheetahs, luipaarden, honingdas, veel vogels, wilde honden, olifanten, bavianen, verschillende soorten antilopen, nijlpaarden en nog veel meer.

Vooral shindzela was erg bijzonder omdat dit een privepark is waar je off road mag. Hierdoor konden we erg dicht bij de wilde dieren komen.

​Na 3 weken kwam er helaas weer een einde aan een geweldige reis! Het was allemaal weer goed georganiseerd, vervoer, de lodges, de catering, de gidsen, alles!
 
Safari´s Op Maat, Paul en Geert, bedankt voor weer een geweldige ervaring en tot een volgende keer!

Drakensberg-Thendele Camp

Arriving later in the afternoon at Thendele Camp, our guests were able to sit in front of the lodge and enjoyed cold beers and wine as we spotted Eland feeding on the mountain slopes and birds calling as the sun started setting.

The next day we embarked on a walk along a trail to Gudu Falls and the Cascades. The walk was relaxing and we focused on smaller things like insects and birds as we entered patches of forest.  Peter and Annemarie were amazed at the beauty of Gudu falls and took many photographs to remember this magnificent water fall.

Ithala Game Reserve-Ntshondwe Camp

Next stop was Ithala Game Reserve! Renowned for its landscape, mountains and grasslands our guests were eager to see what we could find here. Ithala Game Reserve didn’t disappoint! 
As we drove in we spotted Black-backed Jackals running from a kill, Secretarybirds chasing each other, White-bellied Korhaan, herds of Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Zebra, Eland, Giraffe, three Black Rhinos and a flock of Southern Bald Ibises. To celebrate our entrance we yet again had a “proost” on the deck of the lodge overlooking the incredible landscape!

The next two day we did the loop roads finding Elephants, another Black Rhino, more Secretarybirds, had an Elephant bull join us at our coffee stop and stood at viewpoints that overlook the extraordinary Pongola River.

Mkuze Game Reserve-Mantuma Camp

En route to Mkuze Game Reserve in a blistering heat wave, we stopped off at the luxurious Ghost Mountain Inn to enjoy a cold beverage. We stayed in the tented camp for three days, where they enjoyed a braai every evening and listened to the bush after the wind died down. We were visited by Bushbabies in the trees, heard lions close by, saw that Elephants had walked past our camp and even saw a newly born Nyala calf!

The bird hides also gave our guest great opportunity for photographs as waves of Blue Wildebeest, Zebra, Nyala, Greater Kudu and Buffalo came to drink.

St. Lucia

St. Lucia once again served its role in providing our guests with comfortable accommodation (with WIFI to catch up with family and friends), restaurants to choose from, a night drive and day trip through the Isimagaliso Wetland Park and a boat cruise on the estuary. The beach was lovely but our guests loved their sushi for lunch whilst Banded Mongoose and Syke’s and Vervet Monkeys surrounded us!

Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve-Mpila Camp

We headed into KwaZulu-Natal’s biggest national park with our guests hoping that this is where we would find our first large cats!  Entering the gate we headed to where other vehicles were looking at something. In a horizontal branch of a Marula tree, 250 meters from the road was a Lion sleeping and every now and then looking at all the vehicles stopping to look at him!

We stopped at a picnic site, I walked around to check the areas where cats could be sleeping, wandered down a trail to inspect the dry riverbed, and this is where I discovered a pride of thirteen Lions sleeping in the cool river sand. Guest hurried to my calling and we quietly watched the Lions from our safe distance. Great find and a stroke of luck for other guests that were not even part of our group!

Other highlights included braaing outside and having Spotted Hyenas visit our camp site in search of food. Peter and William entertained us with their use of two way radios to find one another and added to the airiness of wild animals being very close!

Ubizane-Tree Lodge and Piet Retief

We had another wonderful stay over at the Ubizane Tree Lodge before making our way up to the Kruger National Park.  The rooms are elevated on stilts that look into a Fever Tree Forest, food, drinks amazing and our guests rated this highly!

We also stopped over in Piet Retief to rest before entering the Kruger National Park. William and Annemarie enjoyed some local flavour in the Sundowners Bar as we supported the Springboks who sadly lost their opening match to Japan!

Kruger National Park-Berg en Dal Camp

Finally we were in the Kruger National Park and the level of excitement was high, especially for me being a first timer to this unbelievably large and diverse wilderness area!

Making our way to Berg en Dal Camp from the Malelane Gate we encountered White Rhinos, Elephants, Dwarf Mongoose, Hawk Eagles and Magpie Shrikes very close to the road. We quickly off loaded our bags and jumped back into the bus to see what we could find before driving times ended.

Not even 15 minutes into our drive we found a Black Rhino bull slowly making his way towards our vehicle. The inquisitive behaviour of this very rare Black Rhino that we found in the Kruger National Park, suddenly came charging out of the bush, stopped, turned around and walked back into the bushveld! Wow, amazing, a brief sighting but a very special sighting regarding the current rate at which these incredible beasts are being poached!

We also then found a large herd of Elephants feeding and youngsters playing, Wild dogs on the road on the hunt! To top off this drive we then found a Leopard in a tree, relaxed as ever, looking around scoping what its next meal might be. The Leopard then came down from the tree, crossed the road and went into the thicket, where we later found out that it was looking at a small herd of Impala.

Kruger National Park- Lower Sabie Camp

The road to Lower Sabie Camp was very quiet in the morning but sightings of Saddle-billed Storks, Waterbuck, Elephant’s, Cheetahs and Black Rhino with a calf made the drive interesting! We stopped at Crocodile Bridge where our guest enjoyed a cup of coffee and stretched their legs before we carried on with our journey.

Arriving at Lower Sabie, our guest opted to hop on the sun downer game drive which would allow them to get a chance to see animals like Leopard, African Civet and Lions. William, Gitte, Annemarie and Peter did then get the chance to watch a Leopard up in a tree with a kill!

Timbavati-Shindzela Tented Camp

Travelling through the Kruger to make our way into the Timbavati, we stopped for a coffee break. This is where I made the vital error of leaving a bag with rusks on the table where I was preparing the coffee. This presented a chance for a cunning Baboon to sneak down from a roof, he jumped on the table and grabbed the bag! I was alright to let him take it when he showed me the size of his canines and let his friends rather harass him for what he had stolen!

We arrived at Shindzela tented camp and soon enjoyed lunch on an open deck from where we could see a waterhole, dry riverbed and the sheer openness of the camp. Our first game drive allowed us to get very close to a pride of lions which had been chased off their zebra kill by an older male.

We were yet again fortunate to also see Secretarybird, Pearl spotted Owlet, Purple Roller, Elephants drinking at the waterhole in front of the camp, an African Wild Cat and the mating display of the Red-crested Korhaan as they fly up into the air and then plummet to the ground.

Kruger National Park- Tamboti Camp

Last stop, Tamboti Camp! We arrived in the blistering heat of the day to sit and relax on the decks of the tented camp and watched baboons as they jumped the fence and crossed the dry riverbed of the Timbavati. Our guest enjoyed another braai before we went on a night drive. On the drive we saw a Spotted Hyena, Black-backed Jackal and Lesser Bushbabies.

Our tent rubbish bins were visited by resident Honey Badgers foraging for left overs. They were noisy and fast but we were able to get some photographs of them!

We drove up to Satara Camp, en-route we had a birthday coffee stop for Gitte, where we enjoyed chocolate cake and watched Elephants feeding on the other side of the river. We spotted a Cheetah getting mobbed by an African Fish Eagle and saw three Ground Hornbills feeding next to the road.

Great trip and definitely created memories our guest and I will never forget!

Kosi Bay Lodge

We then set off to our next stop, Kosi Bay Lodge. On arrival we quickly settled into a very tropical environment and got ready to go on a boat cruise on the lake system. Going through shallow channels from one lake to the next allowed us to see what lives and depends on this ancient lake system for survival. Hippos, fish, water birds, mangroves, dense dune forests and local fishing traditions were the highlights of this extraordinary ecosystem!

The following day we drove over rolling hills en-route to Kosi Bay mouth for a day at the beach. We stopped at a view point to look at the intriguing traditional Tonga fish kraals and Kosi Bay mouth. Thulani our guide demonstrated how the locals use wild banana leaves to build and fix their fish kraals. Julia learned quickly and showed her brothers how it’s done! Having never snorkelled before the Veroude’s were very keen to get in the water, put on their snorkelling gear and followed myself and Nick into the water. Amazed by the diversity of life under the water we went through books to see which species of colourful reef fish we had seen.

Tembe Elephant Park

Tembe Elephant Park never seems to disappoint our guest’s expectations! We were warmly welcomed on arrival, with the Tembe ladies singing and making our guests feel at home. First game drive got the Veroude’s very excited to find some tuskers and to see what Tembe had to offer! We found three elephants close to the marsh and watched them play fighting right in front and next to our vehicle. Stijn never thought he would be siting eye to eye with Africa’s largest mammal!

Although a cold front was passing by we were lucky to see some amazing birds like the: Martial Eagle, Ret’z Helmetshrikes and African Harrier-Hawk. We also followed eight lions walking through the bush and watched them drinking at a waterhole whist having a coffee! If that wasn’t enough we found tracks of a female leopard with two cubs, stopped to see where they were going, heard nyala alarm calling, turned around and went to investigate. Turning onto the road where the nyala alarm call came from we spotted a leopard in the road! Great timing as we stopped to give her time to relax and to try get another look at her as she had started heading for the thicket.

St. Lucia and Surroundings

Arriving in St. Lucia and the next few days being busy with activities, the Veroude family were looking forward to their stay at Avalone guest house. The next few days they were guided through the town, looking for birds, hippos and crocodiles. They also enjoyed the boat based whale watching and a sunset boat cruise on the estuary. We had superb sightings of purple swamphens fighting, goliath herons soaking up the last bit of heat from the sun and pods of hippo’s meters from the boat! A day interacting with elephants, cheetahs and serval allowed our guests to get even closer to the animals they've always wanted to see.

Ithala Game Reserve

The all amazing Ithala Game Reserve had our guests in awe at its sheer beauty! Very different to any of the other game reserves our guests visited, Ithala has an amazing open landscape, mountains with deep valleys and different bird and mammal species that live there!  We did early morning and afternoon game drives and found secretary birds, ostriches, bald ibis’s, jackal buzzards, eland, tsessebe, a black rhino bull with a massive horn, three more black rhinos running up a hill and moved trees off the road that elephants had pushed over! We also did a walk up the mountain to find where the Vereaux’s Eagles were nesting and encountered a couple of big elephant bulls close to the path!

Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park

Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park was the last game reserve the Veroude’s visited. Morning drives in the south allowed us to find two lion cubs walking in the road by themselves and plenty of white rhinos which our guest were really happy to see. We found ourselves far in the south of the reserve having a lunch stop next to Black Imfolozi River with three elephants crossing. The north of the reserve brought us great luck as we spent time with lions feeding on a buffalo kill and watched a pair of African Crowned Eagles soaring and calling above us whilst having lunch at Hilltop Camp! 

Part of being a trainee ranger was to walk to the bird hide in the mornings, to fill up the bird bath, sit and observe what came in to drink. On many occasions the bird hide was very quiet, not a single bird would come in to drink! On returning back to the ranger’s room and walking past all the guest rooms you would find Suni (the smallest antelope species in Northern Zululand), red duiker and nyala feeding very close to you. It is only then that you start hearing the calls of Square-tailed Drongos, Trumpeter Hornbills, Crowned Hornbills, Bearded Scrub-Robins, Eastern Nicators, Dark-backed Weavers, Black-backed Puffbacks and Golden-tailed Woodpeckers to name a few.

On one specific morning I sat at the bird hide whilst waiting for the bird bath to fill up and only a Red Duiker coming in close, but too scared to drink because of my presence. I started slowly making my way back to the lodge, scanning the canopy with the hope of finding something special perching looking at me! Half way back I realised that I had left the tap on and had to go back to turn it off. Approaching the bird hide I found out that suddenly there was a bird party!

As I continued, a bird unexpectedly came flying passed my head and landed on a branch about 4 meters away from me. To my disbelief it was an African Broadbill, one of the many extraordinary bird species found in the Sand Forest! Quickly I whipped out my camera and started snapping away. The little fella looked at me for a bit and then took off. It was at this moment that another bird caught my attention! It was a Woodward’s Batis, my first sighting of this species and it had to be caught by my lens! Not too far up the canopy I was lucky to get two photographs. Content with what I had spotted I turned off the tap and made my way back to the ranger’s room.

As I continued walking and observing every so often I stopped dead in my tracks! On the right side of the road, approximately 30 meters ahead of me was an animal feeding.  At first I thought it was a buffalo but to my surprise it was a rhino, not a White Rhino but a Bhejane (Zulu for Black Rhino)!
 

The iSimangaliso Wetland Park covers over 328 000 hectares comprising of many different habitats. Within this area Lake St . Lucia covers about 30000 hectares and is home to many different bird species. These habitats include; mangrove swamps, grasslands, natural wetlands, coastal dune forests and the beach. It is through these prestine habitats that bird lovers and naturalist can enjoy spending time watching, identifying and snapping away at the sheer beauty of what St. Lucia has to offer!

Walking the streets of St. Lucia on any given morning you are bound to find something interesting on your explorations. Listen and look out for the the Livingstone's and Purple-crested Turacos, White-eared Barbets, Green Malkhoha's , Trumpeter and Crowned Hornbills as thes birds are bold, have distinctive calls that are striking to the ear! The wetland and estuarine ecosystems make suitable areas for large flocks of birds like Lesser/Greater Flamingo's and other small waders to feed, whilst Pink-backed/Great White Pelican's catch fish.  

The iGwalagwala trail is a short walk that takes you through some coastal dune forest. Here you are able to find the Red-capped Robin-Chat, Green-backed Camoroptera, Yellow-rumped Tinkerbird, African Crowned Eagle, Narina Trogon, African Goshawk and the Rudd's Apalis. Most of these species are secretive making photography slightly difficult at times. Also look out for leopard tracks and scat as these large cats are interested in preyin on Bushbuck, Red Duiker or even a tiny Suni! You will also find that there are paths that have been made by hippos that are making their way from the estuary and back. Be careful as these large animals may be on the path and have not returned to the water yet!

The boardwalk that takes you to the beach offers another great birding opportunity especially early in the morning and late afternoon. Bird parties can include, Black-bellied Starlings, Dark-backed Weavers, Olive, Grey, Collared and Scarlet-chested Sunbirds to name a few. Keep an eye out for any African Fish Eagles, Caspian Terns and sometimes even Western Ospreys that hang around the mouth of the Estaury in search of food. Large crocodiles and hippos are often seen on the sand banks basking or lazying about in the water.

Canoeing is another opportunity to get closer to the hippos and crocodiles and to paddle across the estaury to get to the mangrove swamps. There is always a chance of finding a leopard in the mangrove forest and maybe, just maybe you look up and there sits the striking Mangrove Kingfisher! If this doesn't tickle your fancy then enjoy a walk on the beach, watch ghost crabs as they hurry into their holes, whales breaching, White-fronted Plovers scuttling across the beach and Common Wimbrels and Black Oystercatches feeding on what the tides bring in.  

Cameras charged, we going on safari! Next stop was Mpila camp in Hluhluwe Imfolozi Game Reserve. We were welcomed by a journey of giraffe, a herd of elephants, black and white rhino, impala, zebra and waterbuck; it was bound to be three days of brilliant game viewing! Just before getting to the camp a massive bull elephant stepped into the road in front of our vehicle, the Rodrigo’s were absolutely quiet and only started nervously giggling once the elephant had passed.  Spotted hyena and bushpig visited us in camp just after braaing! We enjoyed a guided walk through the park looking at tracks and signs left behind by animals and watched rhino’s lying in the dry iMfolozi riverbed. Sightings just got better, we spotted and heard two lions disappearing into a drainage line and watched hyena feeding on a giraffe carcass that they had stolen from a pride of lions watching from close by.

St. Lucia was time for the Rodrigo’s to relax and to explore the small town.  Our guests saw many hippos and crocodiles on the sunset cruise on the estuary. On the day of the Elephant interaction the guest were able to feed, touch and photograph Rambo, Jabulani and Rachel. We were fortunate to see two cheetahs on the Thanda Private Game Reserve fence line, feeding on a nyala. Guest couldn’t believe it and we sat there watching them for more than half an hour.  Cheetah interaction was also a highlight, being able to watch a caracal leap 3 meters into the air to crab a piece of meat and Jacques leg being attacked by a cheetah cub.

Next stop was Tembe just after team Rodrigo had completed a 5km fun run through St. Lucia town! Tembe offered us with sightings of elephants with massive tusks, the sand forest habitat, the extensive marshland, porcupine feeding in the road at night, Narina Trogon flying through the sand forest and the calls of bushbabies and African Wood Owls throughout the night. The Rodrigo’s were reluctant to leave Tembe as they admired the hospitality of the staff and the comfortablity of their luxury tents.

We continued on to our last and final stop before the tour ended, Rhino River Lodge. The first game drive was unbelievable; we saw kudu, ostriches, wildebeest, black and white rhino, lions and had a white rhino bull join us at our drinks stop! Our guests had the opportunity to see interaction between a crash of six White rhinos, lions finishing off a zebra kill and cheetahs lazing about under the acacias. Amazing three weeks with the Rodrigo’s and a trip that they will never forget! Massive thanks to Team Rodrigo for making this an epic first tour for me!