After waking up with an outside shower - we had breakfast outside watching the warthogs. It was definitely windier today. We left at 10 for the 45 minute trip to the more rustic Africa on Foot in the Klasserie Reserve. As we approached we passed a large herd of elephant and saw a white headed shrike. We had to wait a short while for our rooms but were soon able to settle in to our brick built chalets - ours was round with an outside shower. Ionna was happy as th...

We were all up by 4.00am and ready to leave by 0500am, excited by what the day might bring in Kruger National Park. On the hours journey to Orpen Gate Ionna snoozed while the rest of us rested! We arrived at the gate at about 0550am and waited with about six to eight other vehicles to get into the park - the queue behind us grew. Becky who has done this before suggested that while she parked the van I ran out and got in the queue with the money and filled in form...

We left earlier this morning so we could get to our, as promised to Ionna, flatter walking spot. We walked for a couple of hours and saw and heard some really interesting things -garden,and the much hairier, baboon spiders, a 4-5 inch long wasps nest with small wasps, a giant african land snail - in full motion - listened to a cacophony of hornbills, watched several dung beetles frantically taking pieces of Impala dung into their holes -a little mean to the impal...

Our Good Friday started at 0545 with an undulating 2 and a half hour walk learning about more of the little stuff - we got great sightings of a young malachite kingfisher,(today's photo) bush buck, a rock fig ( a fig tree rooting itself and growing successfully in and around a rock) elephant tracks. Ionna found the walk a little strenuous so tomorrow's will be slightly flatter for her! She was compensated with a morning ride to breakfast in the trackers seat. Wh...

With knowledge of the little things expanded we leave today for the greater Kruger big 5 game areas. Our first stop is the Balule Reserve. We had a later start to our day which was welcome and after our 0830 breakfast loaded up the jeep and headed up hill and down dale to the exit gate where we swopped back into the minivan. Enroute of course we set the camera traps - John and I chose the stretch of road where we saw the tracks with Dillon the other morning whil...