Day 55 Satara (12 of 25) June 4

Fridays in Kruger is "Support Bafana Bafana day"
All staff wear the official shirts, from the camp manager, reception staff
to the cleaners and dustbin men, great to see.
We also came out this Friday morning wearing our Bafana Bafana shirts as a sign of support for our team and country, the flag hangs proudly on our tent pole.

The atmosphere in the park is great, at the filling stations, restaurant and in the ablution blocks the talk is World cup 2010.
We saw the new stadium in Nelspruit yesterday, the streets are lined with flags, the shops all sell t shirts, caps, vuvuzelas, side mirror covers for your car etc. a great vibe.

Undecided as to what road to take this afternoon, normally we would go to Girvana, but decided to take the tar road to Nwanedzi as Cheetah had been seen there in the morning, bad mistake, when we got back to camp we heard that a cheetah had made a kill at Girvana and was seen feeding and came to drink water. We will go out early to see if the Cheetah is still there.

Day 53 & 54 Satara (10&11 of 25) June 2/3

"Klippies"

Day 54

We left at 06h00 and traveled to East View BMW arriving at 07h15 for a priority service.
While the car was being serviced we went to the Riverside Mall, had breakfast at M & B, bought all the latest magazines that we had missed out on, lots of reading to catch up on.
We bought all the groceries and meat at Pick ‘n Pay which should last for the month.
We bought some Bafana Bafana shirts to get behind our team and country.
I got the car back at 11h30 as requested, excellent service again from this dealership.
I went to Nelspruit caravans to pick up the draft skirt, which Loftus caravans had delivered there on my behalf, no charge. If ever you want good service on caravans and outdoor equipment Gwen and Loftus Caravans is the place.
Filled the gas bottles and headed back to The Game Reserve at 13h30
We headed for Orpen gate along the R40 to Hazyview, Bushbuck Ridge and turned towards Orpen at Klaserie. This road is terrible, full of potholes, lots of taxis, goats and cattle along the road. It took us two and quarter hours to negotiate 130 Km. we arrived at Orpen gate at 16h00 and back at Satara at 17h00 with a half an hour to spare.
I got stuck into my new supply of Bells to work off the traffic stress that I am not used to any more. Great evening braai with lots to read in bed until late.

Mother and Child (note collar)

Day 53

We went out for an early morning drive to Bobbejaankrans along the tar road to Orpen H7. We heard that a Leopard, with a cub, has been spotted there a couple of times. No luck.
Returned to camp, showered and shaved, packed a tooth brush and left to travel down to Pretoriuskop to spend the night so that we could be out early to get to Nelspruit for a car service.
We drove around the loops at Pretoriuskop hoping to find a new mammal to add to our list.
Sundowners with Patrick and Gale who we met at Letaba.We used the Wild Card rewards to have dinner at the restaurant, this is the best value for money meal we have had in all the Kruger restaurant

Day 51 and 52 Satara May 31 and June 1

Girvana Water hole (3 photos spliced together) note Hippo in middle and Croc on RHS.


Day 51

Mid morning drive along the S100, we just missed a pride of lion cross the road, apparently on the hunt, the cars were still there, but the lions had moved into the Nwanetzi river bed, had Coffee and rusks at Gudzani dam. Returned to camp for breakfast along the S90. Afternoon drive to Girvana water hole.
It was quite a windy day, obviously the tail of the front which crossed the country.

Day 52

We stayed in camp until 08h00 so that we could phone and make our reservations for next year 2011. Bookings for May 2011 opened at 07h30, we made a confirmed reservation at Lower Sabie arriving 1 May 2011 departing 1 June 2011. When the booking opens for June 2011 on 1 July 2010, we will book Satara for the month of June 2011.

Went to Girvana water hole, a hippo and a large croc has taken up residence there.
Kim, I have taken a composite photo for you of Girvana, as I know you enjoy this special water hole as much as we do. It is only a matter of time before we see something special there.
Continued onto the S36 to see if we could spot the Sable Antelope, which we desperately need to add to our master list of mammals, we have not added to our list for some time now. Will try again as they were grading the road today which will make it much better for traveling.
Returned along the Sweni, saw a beautiful breeding herd of Elephant,
Tomorrow, 2 June, we have booked into a bungalow at Pretoriuskop for the night, so that we can get an very early start to be in Nelspruit at 07h30 on Thursday for a car service. While the car is being serviced, we will do some essential shopping, fill up the gas cylinders and so on. Must leave Nelspruit by 14h00 to be back at Satara before gate close at 17h30.

Croc at Girvana

A bachelor herd of Impala was near this group and the ram in the photo spent his day chasing intruders away and preventing his ewes from straying to close to the bachelors.

Breeding herd of Elephant on the Sweni

Day 50 Satara (7 of 25) May 30

Cold and rainy all day, Maximum temperature around 18 C.
Read our books and watched the Tennis and Cricket.
Afternoon drive to Timbavati yielded nothing, all the animals seem to be sheltering from the cold wind.
Forecast for tomorrow is more rain 30% clearing in the afternoon for the rest of the week.
Lettie made pancakes with Pea and Ham soup for dinner, great.