Andrew and Lettie Rogers 2010 Escape to the Kruger: 02 May

Day 27 Skukuza (10 of 15) 7 May

Spent the day in camp. Lettie did 2 bundles of washing.
Late afternoon drive to Renosterkoppies to see if the mating pair of Lion were still there.
Still there, the old man is looking no worse for wear.
Went to the restaurant for dinner to use up some of our Wildcard rewards.

Day 26 Skukuza (9 of 15) 6 May

Up at 05h15, we were the second car waiting at gate for opening at 06h00. Headed straight for Renosterkoppies to see if we could see the mating pair of Lion we saw last night. The Lion were still there but had moved away from the water further away. See the sunrise photos of the Lion. Spent an hour with them, had coffee and rusks before moving off to take the S21. We are going to rename this road “Lion loop”. Looking through our records we have seen Lion on this road every time we have taken it. We mark as a waypoint on our GPS with the date every time we see Lion, Leopard or Cheetah. This road is full of red dots on the GPS. Also saw the Python on this road.
Had Breakfast at Nkuhlu
Afternoon drive along the Sabie River, small herd of Elephants.
Braai (again) for dinner, tried to make a bread in the Stainless steel braai, see result.
Watched the Twenty 20 against New Zealand good result.

Sunrise at Renosterkoppies

Python this road is 6 m wide which makes the snake +- 3 m

Burnt offering

The culprit I will use less charcoal next time

Day 25 Skukuza (8 of 15) May 5

Short morning drive, Maroela loop (S83) yielded very little, had breakfast at Skukuza day visitors site. Temperature peaked at 36 C today.

Afternoon drive to Nwaswitshaka water hole ( S65) where we added a Klipspringer to our mammal list, went on to Renosterkoppies dam (25.12330 S, 31.60591 E) where we found a mating pair of lion. Only our second sighting of lion this trip. Photo opportunity not good, light fading and far off but enough to get a photo to show that lions are not extinct in the park. Normally at this stage of a trip we would have seen a pride of lion a day, Leopard and Cheetah, just shows how difficult conditions are with the grass so long. Zebra and Wildebeest are normally abundant, we have gone days without seeing any. They might have migrated north, we will see we we head for Letaba next week.

Day 24 Skukuza (7 of 15) 4 May

Decided to go to the golf club to see if I could get a game only to find that there is a week long competition called the “Lowveld Joke classic” which has been going for 30 years plus.
It is by invitation only. Asked if there were any gaps in the field and managed to secure a place in the shotgun start. Individual stableford, managed to shoot 80 (38 points) I have been invited to play again on Thursday and have secured an invitation for the first week in May 2011.
44 points won the competition, and I came in 6th with my 38. What a wonderful day, braai afterwards and was given a late permit to enter Skukuza gate at 8:30pm.
The course is in the Kruger Park, unfenced and exposed to all the risks of wild animals. It plays around a dam called Lake Panic with the last hole being a par3 over the dam to the green and there is a bell called the “Klokadil” which is rung when you land in the water.
PS. Ask Tom McCrorie if he has a score card from Skukuza Golf Club.

Day 23 Skukuza (6 of 15) 3 May

The only part of a Rhino you want to see at such close quarters

Black Stork (84)

Decided to go out early. Took the road S114 passed Renosterkoppies, onto the H5 and S102 to Mpondo dam. Had our coffee and rusks at the dam. Onto S26 to the Biyamiti loop (S23) over the weir where we saw Rhino, Black stork, Pied and Giant Kingfisher, Hammerkop.
Had breakfast at Afsaal where there was a Puff adder slithering around the picnic site.
Still no predators!
Spent afternoon in camp watching over Landers arriving and setting up camp. A bit noisy tonight.
Andrew is going to try for a game of golf tomorrow.

Day 22 Skukuza (5 of 15) May 2

Decided to stay in camp today, most of the week-enders left early, leaving camp peacefully quiet.
Spent the day doing maintenance, Lettie did some painting in the add-a-room.
Afternoon drive to Lake Panic, where we spent the last hour before gates close at 17h30. Spotted a magnificent Nyala bull, which has been added to the mammal list. Supper was a Goulash with dumplings ala Lettie. Tomorrow we start the serious search for LIT (leopard in tree) and other predators.

This lizard lives in the tree next to our van
maybe someone can ID it for me (Bloukop Koggelmander)