Week 1: Knysna Forest
Our first week with EDGE of AFRICA started with a day exploring the wilds of the Knysna forests. We were introduced to the local forest and wildlife expert called Hynie Tredoux (a merge of Crocodile Dundee and David Attenborough). We had previously watched a documentary on the Knysna Forest elephants and hoped to be lucky in spotting one of only three officially reported elephants. Hynie identified and introduced an unbelievable amount of flora and fauna to us and after 2 hours on the trail we stopped for a drink and were informed we had only covered around 800m. The rest of the hike was completed at a slightly quicker pace but no less interesting, and by the end of our trail we were more aware of the wildlife in the forest and started to identify tree and plant life ourselves. Our less than silent travel through the forest maybe the reason we weren’t lucky enough to see the elusive forest elephant.

Addo Elephant National Park
An EDGE of AFRICA organized trip to Addo Elephant Park was next for us. The four hour trip flew by with the prospects of seeing the Big Five especially elephants. Setting up the tents took longer than expected due to the strong South African “breezes”! Because of the windy delay we unfortunately didn’t have enough daylight left to go to the for a game drive so instead Jo and Joash organized for us to go to the Reptile and Raptor centre. As we were learning about them, reptiles were continuously placed on us whether we wanted it or not! These included gecko’s, a skink, ever increasing sizes of snakes and toads. With time running out and darkness setting in we were led into an enclosure where we met Jack the friendly owl. He was enticed with treats to land on various body parts ending up sitting on a surprised Eavanna’s head! The tour finished by meeting a brand new 4 week old fluff ball baby owl (very cute!). Thanks to Darren for introducing and educating us to your animals. Our first evening at Addo ended with a delicious braai cooked by our very own Joash, Jo and Eavanna- thanks guys!

Day 2 started early for our first game drive. With our eager faces pushed up against the windows we got the hang of spotting animals, a lot of warthog, kudu and tortoises later we were wondering if any elephant existed here. Luckily Liam needed a loo break so we stopped at a game hide and spotted our first elephant around a watering hole yay! This started off our elephant survey with GPS position, sex and group size being taken down. During the next 6 hours we were lucky enough to spot many more elephants, jackals, birds of prey, red hearty beast, eland, ostriches and enough warthogs to make Lion King 4! We then headed back to stretch our legs, have a drink and for those that needed it a nicotine fix before heading out on an evening game drive. This drive brought us within touching distance of a herd of elephant that had decided to make the road their next chosen feeding ground. It was amazing to see these beautiful animals (and young babies) so close up. The evening consisted of another delicious dinner and after few beers everyone headed for there tents in hurricane Addo.

There was enough time in the morning of day 3 for a quick game drive. We were on the hunt for lions as they had been spotted earlier in the day; unfortunately we got there just too late but did get to drive through a big herd of buffalo. After saying goodbye to Addo we packed up our things and headed home a little less enthusiastically than the journey there.

Week 2: Tuesday
Our first day at the Elephant Sanctuary, we got up at 6am and made our way with Jo and Larissa to The Crags Elephant Park just past Plettenberg Bay.

When we arrived we were armed with waterproof ponchos and Jo organized us to do the Elephant tour with the trunk in hand walk. We got to meet the three ellie’s that are mostly used for the tours; Marula, Jabu and Thandi. After some other members of our tour gave the elephants their morning scrub we were invited to take one each on a trunk in hand walk. The elephant’s handler told us to stand in front of them with our right hand out facing behind us, the elephant then placed the tip of their trunk in our hand. We walked them into the forest where we had a meet and greet. This involved each handler showing us different actions of natural elephant behaviour. Thandi shook, Jabu blew and Marula knelt. We were then introduced to the ellies and were allowed to touch different parts of their body to know how it felt. After leading them back out of the forest we then got to feed them which was their favourite part!

After a quick tea break, we got down to our ellie observation task. Firstly this involved identifying who was who (which is hard to begin with but easier with Jo’s help and knowing what to look for!), choosing two each and watching for certain behaviours. For example if Marula touched Thandi’s bum we would have to note the time of the bum touching, the two ellies involved in the bum touching and who initiated/received the bum touch! Seeing as elephants eat for up to 20 hours a day there often wasn’t many interactions to note down but it was a pleasure to sit and watch these gentle giants.

After a quick lunch, we were asked to do some painting in the new handler and elephant accommodation. The painting got a bit messy and we came out looking like we had serious dandruff problems. (a few paint fights may have been involved too!)

After clearing everything away this completed our first day, so we headed home possibly snoozing along the way!

Wednesday
Up early again, today was harder than yesterday! Jo (who travels every elephant day from Plettenberg to Knysna at 5 in morning) came and picked us up and drove us back past her house to the elephant sanctuary! (good old Jo!)

Today started with us getting stuck in clearing and sweeping out the ellie stables. You become very quickly more accustomed to ellie poo when your knee deep in it! We were then asked to collect together all the sticks and twigs from the elephants night enclosure.

After lunch we continued helping by painting poison (not human or ellie poison) on the connectors of the electric fences around the elephant enclosure. The solution should prevent spider webs being made as they disrupt the electric fence current.

After all of our hard work of the morning we were rewarded with a few more hours of elephant observation study. Today we felt a lot more comfortable identifying each elephant without looking at the helpful guide sheet.

Thursday
Day three and we dragged ourselves out of bed. After sleeping our way to the sanctuary we set about our familiar task of poo clearance and remaking the elephant’s sawdust based beds.

Our next task seemed simple at first and was to rake the stick cleared elephant night enclosure to make it look snazzy for the visiting tourists. After two and a half hours of raking in the hot sun we had successfully cleared half the enclosure and it did indeed look snazzy. Exhausted yet satisfied with our work we collapsed down for lunch and a few more hours of conservation study.

Week 3: Workshops
This week as part of our everything elephant project we visited local schools and youth centres around our area and carried our workshops on elephant anatomy and social behaviour. In the week we visited pre-schools (Judah Square, Siyafunda) with kids aged from 2-5 where we did colouring in, and cutting and sticking exercises all about elephants. We taught at a local orphanage with kids aged from 3-17. A little trickier to include all ages in the lesson but we managed it by each group drawing and labelling their own elephant. Following this was an elephant based word search and a fun interactive test that included everybody. With the skills and workshops we had created we also visited local youth centres, Sinethemba and Mad about Art. Although this all sounds very teacher like, we spent most of our time playing games, messing about with the kids and being human jungle gyms! We will take many fun and happy memories away with us and loved every minute of being a kid again!

Thank you EDGE of AFRICA & Knysna! We will be back! J

Lots of Love Cara and Seb xxx

Madikwe Game Reserve
The Madikwe Game Reserve is one of the largest game reserves in South Africa.  It is situated 3 1/2 hours drive from Johannesburg on the border with Botswana. On this game reserve you will find the famous Madikwe River Lodge, Jaci’s Safari Lodge & Jaci’s Tree Lodge (yes, the lodge is in the tree tops, which makes for great viewing).

Shamwari Game Reserve
Malaria free & situated in the Eastern Cape, you will find the Shamwari Game Reserve. The reserve has received numerous international awards, including the World’s Leading Conservation Company and Game Reserve for five consecutive years. It is situated in verdant bush along the Bushmans River, halfway between Port Elizabeth (45 minutes drive outside the city) and Grahamstown, a pleasant drive from Cape Town, forming a natural extension to the famous Garden Route.

Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve lies in the heart of Zululand, where ancient trails lead through the thornveld and along the mighty rivers of Africa’s oldest established wilderness area. Besides the elephant, leopard, lion, buffalo and rhino, it harbours the elusive cheetah, wild dogs and many other well-known bushveld species inhabit the park, offering visitors a rich game viewing experience.

Aquila Game Reserve
Aquila is not yet another luxury game reserve and lodge, its primary purpose is to offer an educational experience to all who visit in the hope that knowledge will enrich our understanding of the importance of living in harmony with Mother Nature.

Pilanesberg National Park
The Pilanesberg Game Reserve is situated on the eroded remains of an ancient volcanic crater and is the fourth largest national park in South Africa. Not only will you find the Big 5 here, you will also find the cheetah, hippo, giraffe, a large variety of antelope and over 350 species of bird.

Our trip started off in Nosy Be and Nosy Sakatia.  The latter is a smaller island, but with great accommodation and also snorkeling, diving and kayaking opportunities. Since there are no restaurants on Sakatia, the lodges include dinner and breakfast.  And the food is good!  You can definitely spend at least 5 – 10 days there.  You also have the option of renting a yacht or glass bottom boat for a couple of days.

Our first night’s stay was at Sakatia Towers and the next morning, after some snorkeling in the warm ocean, we boarded a yacht and spent a day sailing the ocean, snorkeling and visiting some of the other smaller islands with marine reserves and the famous Flying Foxes (bats).  Picture yourself sailing away into the sunset with dolphins playing around the boat, lovely seafood, warm weather… who can say no to that?

From Sakatia it was back to Nosy Be and on to Amarina Lodge further north on the island; a completely different experience. First by taxi to a small village and then by motorboat to the lodge.  Since there is no jetty you have to wade a few meters to get on board.  The Amarina Lodge is a more modern establishment, yet the setting is classic and simply stunning.  My companion for the night was a gecko who kept on complaining every time I moved.  But then again, there were no mosquitoes in my room that night, thanks to him.

After a breakfast on one of the tiny islands and some snorkeling time, we returned to the Lodge only to find that the tide has gone out and we had to wade for a couple of hundred meters to the boat again.  Not that anyone minded.  We were already in the mora mora mood (don’t do today what can be done tomorrow!) so we just took things as they came.

After a short flight we were back in Antananarivo where we spend two nights.  Tana with no street lights, very few street names, small sidewalk shops, lots of cars and lots of people.  It is built on a couple of hills and a photographer’s paradise.  After our stay, we then took the road east towards Andasibe National Park.  The route was a kaleidoscope of colours – green and yellow rice paddies, brown mud houses, sub tropical fruit stalls and lush green forests.  We paid a short visit to one of the sanctuaries where we had to opportunity to see some of the many varieties of chameleons, butterflies, frogs and also some lemurs.  I never realised that there are such small and also such big chameleons in the world!

Andasibe is home to the famous Indri Indri and we were quite lucky in seeing some of them during our visit.  The park has different distance walking trails and we opted for the middle one that took us along well worn trails but also through the indigenous forest.  All around us there were lots of birds and butterflies with a chameleon here and there, to break the monotony.  A highlight during the night walk was some mouse lemurs – so cute you want to take them home!

The last part of our visit was towards the Wild Wild West.  We flew in to Morondava and from there travelled by 4×4 to Kirindi forest for some more lemurs and also a vossa – a jackal like cat.  Basic accommodation and very tough chicken for dinner!  This is definitely for the more adventurous traveller. Early next morning we departed north along the main road.  This road was worse than the worst I have seen in South Africa but is considered good by the locals.  We ended up at the river around 6am and since the ferry was not there yet, our guide arranged a mokoro like canoe “transfer” of about 1 hour across the river.  He warned us to not put our hands in the water as there were crocodiles!  It was a fantastic experience, gliding along the river, the sun rising and the only sound that of the oars and the birds along the banks.

After some tea with condenced milk and toast we departed for the tsingi.  If I though the earlier road was bad, this one was even worse.  At places the 4×4 nearly disappeared in the potholes.  The scenery however made up for this with grasslands, forests and small villages with banana plantations and zebu grazing.  And everywhere there were butterflies.  Yellow, white, lavender and blue!

At the next river we were lucky to still catch the ferry and continued to the Park to view the tsingi.  This is a rock formation that is unique to Madagascar and quite spectacular.  We scrambled up and down walkways and ladders and had a stunning view from the top lookout platform.  Here we had a well deserved rest as the humidity and temperature had sapped all our energy.  We polished nearly two liters of water each per day!

The next morning it was back to the rivers and ferries.  The guide also told me that you can rent a canoe or dhow higher up along the river and do a 3 day cruise down with sleepovers along the banks of the river.  Maybe on my next visit?

Our second last stop for the day was at the boabab alley where we waited for sunset. What a spectacular view! These massif trees spread out over the countryside, villages dotted in-between and cattle grazing next to giants, some of which are hundreds of years old.  Well worth a visit.

Out last stop for the day was Morondava, a small fishing village, where we spent the night. Imagine you wake up and when you look out your window all you see is white sand, palm trees, a blue ocean and a dhow gliding by. This is life!

From Morondava it was back to Tana and then home. Tourism in Madagascar is still not fully developed yet even though there are luxury lodges on the islands.  The public transport systems is basically non-existent, the airlines not always on time, the roads terrible but it has a fascination that will be hard to find elsewhere.  The food is good and not expensive, the city, despite its poverty, is clean and the people all very friendly.  Most of them can speak some English but if you know a smattering of French, it will help a lot.

I cannot wait to get back there as there are so many areas I still want to visit and I will definitely go back to some that I have already visited!

Safaris to Madagascar
1. 11 Day 1000 Views of Madagascar
2. 5 Days Nosy Be Beach

Its summer time in Kruger and it can become very hot on some days, with a bit of thunder and lightning on and off!  I just love all the bird sounds that comes with it…and the best for me must be the cuckoos and the Woodlands Kingfisher!

As said sightings were absolutely awesome this week…when we took a drive to Lower Sabie we got, my 2nd, and the first for the girls another Black Rhino.  Far off into the bush..but still a great sighting!  Lions were all over this week again with our first a lone female lying close to the road.

Then getting up and walking off into the bush.  On the S36 towards Nhlaguleni picnic spot we again had the pleasure of seeing a herd of 19 Sable Antelope.  This one darted across the road for me to get a clear picture.

We also went to spent a night at Tsendze rustic camp with friends (a long drive of about 210km) and on the way got these lions walking next to our car in the road.

More lions on the way, but think you have seen enough….as the Mopani bush is now full of leaves, with that comes the Mopani worms.  Really cant believe that ppl actually harvest and eat these creatures!

and a different looking one..

The highlight of the week came on Christmas Day!  Wow, what a sighting…not great pics..but the 4th for me and the 1st for the girls..A Kill!  We sat and watched a leopard lying in the grass nearby some Impalas for about 3 hrs when she grabbed the one male!

She suffocated it for about 15 minutes, then lay down in the grass for about another 20…then started dragging the kill into the bush!

Kruger really delivered this week while the girls were here!  Awesome sightings, nice family time together and offcourse being in Kruger made it a very special Christmas!

Until next week, when I hope to bring you more awesome sightings!

Martie

What a week we had…as you know I took my Mother in law back to the airport last week Saturday and then on Wednesday I fetched my daughters from the airport for their visit over Christmas!  The week was a bit slow for sightings before they arrived…but I did manage to get this funny looking Giraffe!

I think I said before that Im new to birding, but really enjoy it so much..this little Sparrowhawk posed nicely!

As Crocodile Bridge gate is still closed due to the low water bridge flooded..I had to once again drive a long way to Kruger Mapumalanga International Airport..again a round trip of about 300km from Lower Sabie camp.  Fetched the girls and just so great to see them after almost a year!

I think that they brough us some great luck…we had the most awesome sighting of these 5 Cheetah very close to the road…I must say, even I love the pics!!!

The mother sitting up and the teenagers all over the place giving us such a show!

and this little one trying to frighten us with a growl!

and some more…

unfortunately it was almost gate closing time and we could only get this last one before we had to leave!

After this great sighting it was back to LSabie to pack up as we moved to Skukuza on Thursday…not the end of great sightings…

We set up camp at Skukuza with help from some of the workers and went for a quick drive…wow…..we found this Leopard stalking a small buffalo calf!

Unfortunately I did not have time to change cameras, so you can only see the mother looking up at the leopard…she protected that baby all the time…then the leopard climbed down from the rock and the Buffalo took the calf into the reeds.  The Leopard continued following them and that was the last we saw of them!  Really wondered what happened.

Awesome sightings and really difficult to top this!  The rest of the week gave us 3 more Leopard sightings, but really to quick for good pics…also 2 male lions, but again lying in the bush.  A great week with my daughters and I really enjoyed showing Kruger to them this week….only 1 week left and they will be back in Cape Town!

With that I wish you all a Merry Christmas and will be back next week Sunday to bring you the highlights of this week.

Until then

Martie

I know that last week I showed you, what I thought was a close up of a Leopard, but this week was just so much more special…so close to us that I could actually hear it breath!

So as a storm is brewing again over Kruger I have to make this very quick..and give you the highlights of the week…

This leopard walking in the road…giving us such a show..the 3rd Leopard MIL has seen with me…just so thankful that she could see it a well…first she stopped to “mark her territory”

Then she started moving closer to us….and I got this pic of leopard on the move…

and with all the excitement and the Leopard so close to me, I forgot to change the settings on the lens and only got this very not so good pic…it could have been so awesome…

We also drove the very busy road from LSabie to Skukuza and found some lions on the side of the road but int he bush…I already had it in my mind to come back to see them……

Dropped MIl off at her bungalow and I went back to the lions…a real hot day….sitting in the car for 3 hrs just waiting…but, I got rewarded with this male coming walking out of the bush…right towards me…

and then walking right passed me….

As Ive said before Kruger is not just about lions and leopards there is just so much to see>>>and this was no exception>>>we also found this Eagle that caught a mongoose sitting in a tree…really the best pic I could get of it…

and off course the Impala babies are just so cute…this one gave me such a classic portrait pic…really all ears and not much else…

I also just loved this pic of the Elephants crossing the veld close to the mountain…..the contrast I think was just so great…

and with summer here all the birds are coming back…and I was just so lucky to get this pic of an Amur Falcon…

and the Bateleurs who are such beautiful birds, but not when they are young..cant believe that this ugly duckling will turn into such a beautiful bird…..but he first had to show me that he owns the road…..

and no Kruger experience is ever complete like the sunsets with a sunrise…and today I have one for you, thanks to my mother in law for waking me up at 4 am!!!

With that the end of my week in Kruger…

Speak again next week

Martie

I also found this Leopard with a cub closer to LSabie camp… first time I have seen a leopard cub so close up and the next day I only got a glimpse of the cub, but the mother gave me such a great pic…

Sightings with MIL was very slow for the first 2 days and then our fortunes changed during the week and I really wanted to show my Mother in Law the awesome Leopard sightings and close up lions Ive had… and then this Leopard (the mother of the cub) in a tree not too far off the road… I took many pics, but for the first time since I have been coming to Kruger…I saw a leopard jump through the air to another tree… really amazing… and glad I can show you…

She climbed down the tree and disappeared from view… then we had these close up sighting of the lions… (I still think ppl coming to Kruger only want to see lions… but there is just so much more to see)

and just next to her another 2 females…

Just so nice to see these healthy lions in the South of Kruger!

We also had more leopard sightings and I think, this one of the best I’ve had in Kruger… a young female walking right next to us…

This young leopard was walking in the road and marked her territory right next to us….

and so amazing to have a Leopard so close to you… this pic of it right next to the car…

Staying at LSabie you have the privilege of being so close to sunset dam… not even a km from camp and it can give you the most amazing sightings of birds and sunsets…

First up this Yellow Billed Stork right next to the road…

and off course the most amazing sunsets in Kruger…

With that another amazing week in Kruger…and once again..I look forward to bringing you this week in Kruger next week.

Regards
Martie

I thank you all for reading about Living My Dream…and must show you these pics now… as a massive storm is brewing over Lower Sabie, where I am now and will be until the 17th December…

I arrived here on Sunday and the first day was used to set up camp… the camping sites are not the best Ive seen, like little squares… but I got a nice shady spot… and thanks to friends for helping me unhooking the caravan and pushing it into place…

Monday I was on the road… and as said the most amazing sightings… so good and a thrill to see a Leopard, but one with a cub… I have never seen in all the years Ive been coming to Kruger!

And as I think that pictures speak louder than words… I will show you all the pics of my week… hope I don’t bore you to death!

The mother moving the cub to a more shady spot… as from this day on.. I only saw the cub higher up in the trees.. and

then the next day, close to where the cub is now… the mother showed herself to me..so in the open… I could not believe it..

With that I left… and found some lions on the road…I think that ppl get “silly” around lions, but I had a good spot… and then my cam went on the blink…think my setting were way wrong for this kind of light… but I could get this pic for you..

and off course the birds were around… I got this nice one of the Diedericks Cuckoo… in the sun setting…

And the Black Winged Stilt at Sunset Dam…

and then can you believe, another Leopard.. with yet another cub…

And another scary speciality in Kruger…well that is on the road, they are sometimes seen in camps… glad it was not my campsite… this Mocambique Spitting Cobra..

and the last but not least, no stay at Lower Sabie is complete without a sunset pic from sunset dam!

With that another week came to an end…and tomorrow (Monday) I will fetch my mother in law from the airport as she is coming to visit for the next 12 days.

Until next Sunday..

Martie

We stayed at a private lodge, Shishangeni, Camp Shonga for the first 3 days of his visit…then had the priviledge of staying at the Bushmans Trail camp for a weekend and then it was back to the caravan at Crocodile Bridge camp for the remainder of the time.  CBridge is a small camp with only 15 camping site, 10 bungalows and I think 8 safari tents at the bottom part of Kruger.  A real magic camp that I must say is one of the cleanest and most looked after camps so far!  People there really take so much pride in what they do and how ppl experience Kruger!

I willdo a quick blog and show you the magic that Kruger had on the menu for both of us!  Although I still love the experience of being in Kruger everyday, it was such a thrilling experience to share it with my husband.  I must thank the animals and Kruger for making it just so special.

I will post the pics what I think were special and next week I will be back with a full report of my stay at LSabie!

These lions had caught a buffalo and were just so full…and the cubs were adorable to watch!

We also had the priviledge of seeing lions on the hunt…you must have patience and just wait and look for the signs…unfortunately they were not succesfull, but still such a thrilling experience..

The birds did take a bit of a backseat during this time, not because I did not want to see them, but they stayed away!  This secretary birds was a nice sighting..and always so nice to see them in the open!

My husbands absolute fav animals are the Rhino’s…unfortunately we did not see a Black one…but this little baby was just so cute…he chased the cars and then decided it was better to run along our car…maybe we looked a bit scary!

And the usual Hyena…they are just so comical…Im not sure how or what they think, but everytime I see one it looks a bit lost!

Obviously I wanted to show him the Leopards…and we got these 2…really nice to show him and you!!

and this one who came to finish the last of her/his meal in a tree next to the road!

And this time of the year, with the rains arriving..its also time for the Impala lambs to arrive.  We were just so lucky to see a few of them…this pic of one that I think was about a week or so old!

and last but certainly not least…the very elusive Cheetahs..only about 150 odd of them in Kruger..and it was very special to see them 2 times…first pic of this one that almost made us late for the gate closing time!!!

And I have now tried for the last 10hrs to post this blog and its way after midnight..if it does not work now you will have to wait for the pic…and the awesome sighting on Leopards and cubs next Sunday…

So this one worked…lets see the last of this time I had with my husband….and the rest wont..so I will have to bring you those and the wilddogs on Sunday…really too late for me to try again now!

Until the next time

Martie

On Monday I only did the loops around camp, Matjulu, Steilberg and back on the tar road to camp.  At Matjulu WH, which is only a few km from camp I found this White Fronted Bee Eater posing nice for a picture!

On Wednesday was the birthday of my husband and I really wanted to find something special for him… and did I find something special!  I only left camp late that morning, but so glad I did… First up the first ever sighting for me of a Black Rhino!

and then another one that has eluded me, well I have only seen 2 in all my life in Kruger, but this one stopped for a pic… A Side Striped Jackal!

And then my sighting of the week!  A Leopard in a tree close to the road!

And then the Impalas came around and in a flash she was up!

And with a last look at me, she jumped down and was not seen again!  A great sighting and it must be the highlight of my week!

And so great sightings at BnDal came to an end.  I have moved to a new camp, Malelane, which is a very small camp with only 5 bungalows and 15 campsites..and a great camp it is, but I will tell you about it next week.  Now its time to go to sleep and I hope you enjoyed the pics tonight!

Until next week,

Martie