Bush Experiences

Please share your experiences too: Letaba Morning Walk - 17th Dec 2009 This morning we departed the camp at 04h00, we drove to an area called Shongile (spruit) which is in the west. It has been pouring buckets of rain for the last few days, and this after the ground is just so saturated already. As my colleague expresses - "If you stand still you can hear the grass grow". Our two guests were as keen as we were, despite threatening dark clouds seen vaguely by the first light of day. I must say, there is nothing more exciting than walking through the bush in the rain. We did not see many of the larger animals, but what won't be forgotten was the mass congregation of Bushveld Rain Frogs and their constant breeding calls. We had to avoid stepping on them. We came across the vacant home of a baboon spider - I assumed all the rain caused his departure. Later on in the walk we found Cheetah spoor of last night and a Civet had used the same path we used this morning. We found scorpion burrows a number of times and had bird song throughout the walk. The bush smelt fresh and you could feel the absorlute rejuvenation of plants everywhere - growing as freely as they wanted to. After arriving back at camp, completing all the ghastly administration I headed home and only then realized how wet I actually was. Nothing matters when you are out there. MORNING WALK - 13 August 2009 Tzendze Confluence At last .... a warm morning. Alfred and I descended onto where the Letaba River and Tzendze Spruit meet, with the intention of doing the Acacia / cathedral Mopani forested area and then heading down into the river bed. The sun was warm as it rose spreading over our backs and the big trees in front of us, bringing with it a sense of excitement of being in the bush and far from anything else. Elephant spoor covered the ground, telling stories of a herd that moved through the night before. Various bulls and a close group of cows with older calves spent the evening feeding on the Mopanis, stripping bark and leaves from branches. We were alert, expecting a trumpet a branch break or a thud - The bush was silent. We wondered where they had moved to, knowing that the Mopani bush would keep them well hidden with all its other secrets. Heading for the riverbed, we spotted saddlebilled storks, yellowbilled egrets, fish eagles and a young crocodile. Further on in the walk we noticed day-old lion tracks and found faeces - It was obvious they had been on a kill that was now finished and left to pick on by vultures and hyenas. We had actually seen a buffalo carcass about 3 days before that not to far from the spoor. MORNING WALK - 23 JUNE 2009 Masaka / Voorsitspruit We drove to Masaka northeast of the Engelardt Dam, near the Lebombo mountain range. We had not been to the area in many months and were looking forward to seeing the colour-change with the dry season moving in boldly. We stumbled over a large rocky ridge, connecting with a welcome hippo path that took us directly into the catchment. En route we found a porcupine quill and fresh elephant activity. A bull had pushed over a Mopani tree and fed on the top points only. A waterbuck was moving through the area as well last night, revealed by lonely tracks and a few droppings. We walked along the catchment and heard zebra vocalizing in the distance, soon afterwards finding the spot they chose to dust-bath. Yes .. only birds and 'zebras' like doing that stuff. We moved on and left the catchment, noticing a large rocky outcrop in the distance. We spent about 20 minutes there, watching for movements in the area. The open grassland below this outcrop told us of a buffalo herd of about 100 that had moved through in the last day or so. Females, young and their massive male companions. They must have gone into the river for water and moved back out into the grassveld. They were on the move and traveled with purpose towards the mountains. Our love of comfort and supposedly civil ways has pushed us into a world that does not permit us to go back to what we were centuries ago ... being able to move easily over large tracts of natural land, and therefore we could only wonder where they were going and never know for sure. Other fresh spoor we found were of kudu and impala. Moving back up the ridge we found an old buffalo carcass. A large bull that had been taken by lions, his heavy skull still perfectly intact. Driving back to camp we found a Puff adder sunning itself in the road, then moving off as fast as its short fat body allowed it to (!). MORNING WALK - 15 JUNE 2009 Bulweni Koppie / Ndziho Spruit We walked in, anticipating elephant maybe but certainly not the amount of white rhino activity found. We walked over rhino tracks constantly, in all my years in Letaba I had not seen this much activity. Each year we find more and more black and white rhino signs in the Mopani bush - They are moving up north at an incredible rate. After our long stretch over the sandy flat ridge, we moved onto the sandstone rocky outcrop which conceals one of my favourite places - an enormous view, from a big bare rock. From the top we saw 2 herds of elephants, 2 white rhino bulls and an elephant bull. At the bottom, just below us in the catchment, a hidden elephant herd was vocalizing. We headed down hoping to catch a glimpse of them - though were doubtful because of the dense bush they were in. Just as we had forgotten about the elephants, 3 large grey shapes appeared on the left. After double-double checking that it was white and not black rhino (a mistake made there before!), we moved in closer under a Russet bushwillow and spent the next 20 minutes in awe of these 3 pre-historic looking gentle giants grazing away. No sound except for Forktailed drongos arguing, oxpeckers and the hollow thudding as mouths opened and closed to break off grass. The cow and her calf moved away and as the large bull neared us, we retreated back towards the spruit. What made the sighting so meaningful is that we left all 3 of them exactly as found, without having any influence on their behaviour or what they were doing.

Well where do i start. After quiet a heavy night with my 8 nighters we woke up normal time and went out. I asked them what they really wanted to do. Their reply was (to my surprise) was to track and find a herd of "dagga boys". So we went out and found where they were left the night before.We got on the tracks and began our adventure, as we know buff can move big distances in a night. After about 2 1/2 hours of tracking and seeing some interesting things on the way and just about to give up and go for a well deserved coffee and muffins we found them. This has got to be one of the most rewarding experiences. Enjoy.

Gary, glad your tracking effort paid off. Letaba Afternoon Walk - 23 September 2009 Entering the Mahudzi area, again we were not expecting too much due to the temperamental weather. We walked down into the Mahudzi and saw an elephant bull, on approaching, we noticed another and another - 6 in total. They fed on some young Apple-leaf trees while we watched them from shady big trees. Behind the elephants a group of zebra energetically moved around. We left the scene quietly and moved into a side catchment, we found tracks of an impala group moving together down a path as well as porcupine from the previous night and the inevitable civet tracks. 2 Lilacbreasted rollers flew back and forth displaying to eachother (and us!). We neared the vehicle as the shy sun set and found 6 buffalo bulls waiting for us. We moved closer to them, they stared at us and then in synchrony gave a breathing snort, turned and ran away amidst a cloud of dust.

We arrived at Mahudze before dawn - It was cloudy and cool and good weather to walk in. The area consists of sandstone outcrops with animal paths in between them. It is usually a very nice place on overcast days with elephants using the area because of the variety of plant species found in that sort of habitat. 5 Minutes into the walk we picked up fresh tracks of a buffalo herd. They moved around erratically, grazing signs were obvious. We set off in their direction and noticed they had started moving in formation and picked up speed. The dung getting drier as we followed their signs. They crossed the road and unfortunately where just to quick for us. We left them, anticipating the larger grey shapes of elephants after we changed direction and noticed freshly eaten branches. Through the hazy dark dry bush in front of us we spotted the characteristic white tusk first - 2 Elephant males happily feeding in the thick scrub. We attempted a better view but with no success, it was just too dense. Leaving them alone we connected with a well used animal path. 2 large round ears caught our attention and revealed a bulky hyena female, curiously glaring at us. It was obvious there was a den in a cavity in the rocks behind her. We walked a half moon around to get closer without scaring her, she was completely at ease with us (a usual trait with hyenas and people walking) and eventually lost interest, put her head on the ground and dozed off. We left her be and found 2 buffalo males grazing along the sandstone. We watched them for a little while and moved onto a high rock to get a view of the whole area.

13 November 2009 Morning Walk. We drove to always fruitful Bulweni and walked in east along the Ndziho Spruit. No fresh animal activity except an impala group moving around, we did not expect much. On spotting a genet disappearing into a tree cavity, one of us a large grey animal moving through the bush on the other side on the windward side of us. Planning the approach, we circled the area trying to locate it. We spotted it in dense bush at the back, unfortunately downwind of us, and immediately realized it was a black rhino. He ran around nervously but not coming close and eventually chose a thicket to stand and hide in. We left him alone. (It is very unusual to find black rhino north of the Olifants River - Seeing them on foot is even more unusual) Almost right afterwards, a Greater honeyguide came to us and started chattering away impatiently, each time landing very close to us. We then knew the beehive was close and following it through dense Mopani, difficult terrain, and found ourselves at a larger tree. We knew we were at the correct tree but couldn't see anything. Looking harder, we noticed a cavity high up with bees moving around the entrance. It is believed by some and even published that the honeyguide leading people to hives is just a myth - In my experience, it is definitely not a myth. Though it may be that 'animals' do not follow them as they lack the intelligence that we have. And so the relationship between the us and them developed. It is always heart-warming to have the honeyguide still associate us with living naturally, relying on nature for sustenance. Leaving and feeling guilty about not breaking the hive open for the bird, we walked along the spruit. Half way through the walk we found a group of buffalo males and had a fantastic sighting of them in the open. We stopped for some juice and snacks right there and had them carry on grazing. We noticed a marshall eagle flying with a rock monitor above us and on our way back we found an elephant carcass. What a wonderful morning!

Morning Bush Walk - 8 January 2010 Riana and I walked in west of Mantambeni bird hide, having not walked along the river in that area for a while we had no idea what to expect. The Engelardt Dam and upstream have the unwaning ability to surprise you with unusual bird sightings. We approached the river and watched a group of 10 sleepy hippos. I scanned the other side for waders in the shallow swamp like area and much to my surprise saw 8 Glossy ibis' and a Greater flamingo youngster. Among the Egyptian geese, Black winged stilts, sandpipers, African jacanas and others, there were a few Black herons as well. Parting with the hippo and feeling very inspired by the bird sightings we moved inland. Joining hippo paths meandering through Mopani woodland we found impala and then later a warthog. We came within less than 10 meters of the warthog, he stared at us and then ran to a safer distance, turned around and continued staring. This is the closest I have ever been to warthog on foot. If you have seen warthog on foot you will know that they are very shy and run from you long before you get near them. That is certainly something that will remain in my memory. Moving back towards the river and finding a lot of porcupine activity from the previous night, we approached a den we know of. Under a large canopy of trees along a slope we neared it. Expecting nothing but flies and an odour (while the porcupines sleep inside out of sight), we were pleasantly surprised with 2 adults and 1 young outside the den. They moved around clumsily between the lush green grass and saw us then stood still. We walked towards them and they scurried off away from the burrow. We watched them as close as 10 meters for a long time. What an amazing sighting - Another to be remembered. Morning Bush Walk - 12 January 2010 Walking in along the Ndziho spruit / Bulweni pans, we got ourselves onto a rhino path with the intention of doing a good distance in. The walk was very quiet, after 2 hours we found very fresh elephant bull spoor and feeding signs. But he was on the move so we did not get our hope high. We came to a large vlei-like area, dotted with lala palms and surrounded by big water-thirsty trees, we stopped for a break. I walked off away from the group and noticed some white rhino not too far off. We approached downwind, found a safe comfortable spot and allowed them to approach to about 10 meters. The cow and her calf saw us, ran off a bit and then settled soon after. The calf lay down for a snooze and in the meantime a bull and 2 other rhino groups approached. The bull was agitated, marking regularly and harassing the female. More rhino came into the area and in total we counted 11. We did another close approach and then saw a civet female with 4 babies in the distance, bouncing through the thick grass. What a successful morning. The experience of sitting there for a long time with all those rhino around us, various birds calling and the civet family passing by is invaluable. There are no words for it.

Morning Bush Walk – 12 Jan. Driving to Jim windmill on the way to Olifants camp, I was feeling sceptical about seeing anything. This area has the reputation of being extremely quiet. But nevertheless, I really like it there and took the once-a-month Jim windmill chance. No fresh animal signs driving in, it did not look good. My hopes were quickly disappearing. Half way through we noticed elephant feeding signs from a few hours back but did not think much of it as we were not hearing anything and what we found was quite limited. We stopped for a long break in the catchment, at some remains of an extremely old hippo, told by the worn/missing teeth and huge canines. We spent some time there and then packed up and starting walking back. By chance I glanced to the side and saw the elephant bull we were searching for, feeding on lush green grass next to the spruit. We approached him and watched for a while as he moved around feeding on different things. Leaving him alone, we walked to higher ground, taking a short route back and not anticipating much more for the morning. It was getting hot and uncomfortable and everyone was focused on getting back, the ground was soft, the Mopanis dense and walking was difficult. Suddenly there was a huge scurry of a big animal just in front of us, not much more than 6 meters from my backup and I. My initial thought was a hyena, but on looking up to see what it was, 2 fully grown lionesses were noisily and clumsily trying to get away (sometimes what they do is not cat-like). They ran into some thicker bush to our side and watched us quietly while we left. Well that was a surprise. A good day at Jim windmill. Afternoon Bush Walk – 1 Feb. We parked along the Letaba River just west of the large bridge, it is such a beautiful place. There are some alluvial soils around Letaba, giving life to acacias, crotons, appleleaf and leadwood trees. We walked inland towards a large pan quietly hidden from sight, known only by a path that runs directly to it. Large trees towered over our heads as we flushed grasshoppers from the grass with each step we took. It is truly an amazing place. Impala, waterbuck and warthog tracks were evident and a bateleur was flying above us. We went right up to the pan and spent some time there. Lots of bird activity, we looked down and noticed tracks and faeces of an exceptionally large crocodile. He must have just moved in as those signs were not there before. We headed towards the river and found some rocks to sit on, in the distance there were some elephants feeding in the reeds and close by was a lost Egyptian gosling. The gosling walked around looking very unsure of itself or what to do, somehow separated from its parents.

Hi Saskia, I hear people can stay at sable dam, Phala' sommer in a hide..sounds good.. Cheers J

Hi John, there is a sleep over hide at Sable Dam and Mantambeni Bird Hide south of Mopani. Never stayed at Sable Dam near Phalaborwa, but Mantambeni is incredible. Those are the only 2 hides in the park where that can be done.