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Post by bjd on Mar 29, 2014 6:57:01 GMT
More wonderful birds! I remember seeing baobabs along the coast road in Kenya too, but none of them had leaves and I had wondered whether they were dead. Apparently not.
A friend of mine brought a tiny baobab cutting home from West Africa and it is slowly growing in a pot in her apartment.
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Post by tod2 on Mar 30, 2014 14:57:14 GMT
I few random photos to end my essay on Kruger. The grunting and bellowing from these two hippos made us sit up and take note. We often see hippos opening their mouths wide when half sub-merged in a dam but it's a rare sight on dry land. The bright colourful Impala Lily in bloom.  And their pods with hairy little seeds that float in the air.  The direct gaze of a magnificent Kudu male.  The peaceful surroundings of our last camp at Orpen Gate and it's young sapling baobab trees.    The recklessness of people who endanger wildlife by throwing their litter into the environment,    Coming across a rock and wondering how or what caused it to split almost in half.  Stopping for some refreshment at the Engelhard Dam. Named after former US air-force bomber and later chairman of the Rand Mines Group, Charles Engelhard, the dam is a long stretch of water on the Letaba River that has some of the best birding in Kruger. It is surrounded by three different habitats – the rocky Lebombo range to the east, the surrounding mopaneveld and the riverine bush on the river banks.  Watching a gruesome sight of a large male baboon having some protein off a recent kill.  Other birds of prey move in...  The Rhythm of Life and Death in Kruger Kruger is a landscape in which life and death are woven into the fabric of everyday experience. It is an environment beyond sentiment. To experience the thrill of a kill is to access the core emotions of our African origins, to feel the horror and the power of circumstances beyond us. To come across death in the veld is a visceral reminder of our own mortality and a chance to marvel at the elegance with which death ensures that life is dispensed back into the environment. Traces of what must have been an epic battle to stay alive....and one to quell hunger, are in plain view throughout Kruger National Park.      That's all folks!  |
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Post by bjd on Mar 30, 2014 15:49:48 GMT
Thank you, Tod. Great as usual.
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Post by htmb on Mar 30, 2014 18:33:13 GMT
Wonderful, Tod! Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos and interesting video. I always learn so much from your reports and appreciate having such fabulous threads to read. What a wonderful time you and your husband must have when you escape to Kruger! It must be nice to put normal life on hold for awhile and just commune with nature and animals in their habitat.
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Post by mossie on Mar 30, 2014 19:00:23 GMT
Super pictures as always.
Regarding the split rock, do you get sharp frosts there in winter?
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Post by tod2 on Mar 31, 2014 5:29:35 GMT
Thank you htmb!! Yes we always have a wonderful laid-back holiday in Kruger. Nothing rushed or hurried (except mornings to get out of the camp as the gates open!) but you learn to take things as they come. Even pre-planned lunch breaks have to be forgone if there has been a far more interesting animal find that happens at the same time.
Mossie - that area of the Lowveld never really gets very cold on the whole - Mozambique coastline is over the Lebombo mountains and very near as the crown flies. This must have a warming influence on the temps. there. That is not to say a very cold snap may happen and I'm sure they do get frost. I thought it may have been caused by the 40C plus heat, and then one of their numerous thunder storms sending down cold rain on the very hot rock???
I suppose the rock shatters where is is weakest. That particular rock really puzzled me.
Nobody would lift the top half askew so I'm sure must have happened at the moment of splitting. What a cracking sound that would have been!
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Post by mossie on Mar 31, 2014 15:11:19 GMT
Yes cold rain on very hot rock could do the trick.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 31, 2014 17:26:25 GMT
The impala lilies are spectacular as is the portrait of the friendly kudu. I guess they are used to it, but I would get really tired of having all that stuff on my head.
The split rock could also be caused by a lightning strike.
This report was as wonderful as ever, tod2. You prove every time (as did nycgirl) that there is no way to exhaust the subject of Kruger Park. I hope you keep returning there!
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Post by nycboy on Mar 31, 2014 19:10:28 GMT
We've both been living vicariously through you, thank you so much for posting
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Post by nycgirl on Apr 4, 2014 15:13:13 GMT
Excellent bird sightings. The pipet does indeed have a lovely voice. The go-away bird is such a quirky-looking thing. I didn't get a good picture of the one I spotted, but I could tell what it was from its unmistakable little mohawk. I'm curious, why is it that the birding is so good right there in the camp? And why is it that Mopani is not so popular?
Well done on capturing those ornery hippos! They're quite scary, aren't they?
Sad to see all that litter. I noticed the first pack of wild dogs I saw had food wrappers in their mouths. What I really don't understand is why people would deliberately toss out glass bottles. It's not a small piece of trash that can accidentally blow out of a car.
I'm curious what killed the impala and what could have made the predator abandon its meal. I take it the baboon didn't kill it?
I like the last shot of the waterbuck. They sure have a comical-looking rump.
Once again, you delivered a captivating report. Thank you!
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DianeMP
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I will take photos of just about anything, anywhere!
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Post by DianeMP on Aug 29, 2014 9:41:11 GMT
Tod, your photos are glorious! What a journey - thanks for sharing. One of my favorite shots, because it makes me grin, is the muddy elephant footprints on the road.
Cheers from the USA!
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DianeMP
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I will take photos of just about anything, anywhere!
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Post by DianeMP on Aug 29, 2014 9:44:04 GMT
Giraffes have such gentle faces. Adelaide Zoo couldn't understand why the phone lines kept dropping out. Turned out that the big male giraffe was leaning out of his exhibit near the office and licking the cables. He would get a small electric shock, but it seemed that was sort of hooked on the "pleasure tingle" Haha - that's a great story, questa! |
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Post by lugg on Aug 17, 2018 12:57:24 GMT
Just going through this and other reports as Im lucky enough to be going to SA in a few weeks , not to Kruger though, 5 hours east to the Waterburg. So this and other posts of yours and others are me cramming so that I might be able to recognise the odd animal , bird and flora when I'm there. I have been looking for a book to buy that will help but not really found the right one yet .
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Post by Kimby on Aug 18, 2018 15:10:16 GMT
We found wonderful do it yourself safari picture guides in the camp stores in Kruger. Perhaps something similar exists where you will be?
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