June 11th & 12th, 2016 - Last Days in Kruger NP

For our last full day we left a little later after not having much success with the early morning game drives and had high hopes for a route that would take us by several watering holes and out to a dam. Things started out well enough spotting several Hippos in a pool and one that was out at the salad bar, the first we’d seen out of the water .....

We then saw the Blue Wildebeest for the first time, though got a much better view of one the next day as we drove out of the park .....

At one of the watering holes we came upon a group of Impala and a pair of Waterbucks that were nuzzling .....

We also saw an eagle of some sort (probably a Martial Eagle) chowing some carrion in a tree. This was probably about where the dam was, but with no water in it we did not notice it and kept driving. By the time we realized we had missed the dam turning back would have lead to a really long out and back drive through terrain that we already knew had no water so we continued on to make a large loop, in hind site this was probably a mistake because of what we would find out happened just outside our guest house later. We did however get to see some interesting things. Zebra for just the second time, they are flighty creatures and difficult to shoot as they run from the slightest sound. We also saw  Lilac Breasted Roller which is a beautiful little bird .....

and a horn that had been lost by an Impala probably ..... 

Once we were off the dirt we stopped to get a bite at snack stop and shortly after came across a pair of Warthogs making sure the grass on the roads shoulders was kept nice and short .....

On the drive back to Skukuza we passed through another herd of Buffalo including this pair with the one ominously licking his lips at the sight of our Rav4 .....

We then had to pass through the same point where we’d seen the Hippos in the morning, they were still there, but so was this Kudu, right off the road (I probably could have touched him with my hand still on the car if I’d opened the door and cared to get out, big no, no) .....

On our way into Skukuza we also saw these Marabou Storks up in a tree, goofy looking birds and not what you’d expect to see in the tree tops ..... 

Greg and Magdel had taken the kids out for an early drive along the Sabie River then returned to the guest house about 1-2pm to find a herd of buffalo right outside the fence that were then chased off by a herd of elephants. That evening another group of buffalo rolled up to spend the night not 10 meters from our yard fence, cool.

The next morning, after the buffalo had left in the early hours we took the requisite groups shoot of the two families ..... 

On the drive out of the park we finally made our way to Transport (a watering hole that I’d wanted to get to since the first day after hearing about a lion kill in the open there). On the drive in, off the main paved road we saw the above Blue Wildebeest as well as Giraffe and Impala. Once at the watering hole we finally got an opportunity to see Zebra standing still drinking alongside a Rhino and a lone Impala .....

We also got to finally see, after watching them hunt but not being able to see the water, an African Fish Eagle make a catch ..... 

There was certainly something else in the area based on the behavior of the animals, the Zebra kept a couple of lookouts and there were a pair of Impala that approached to within 10 meters of the water and spent about 10 minutes fidgeting and eventually left without taking a drink. However, with our flight that afternoon and a 4+ hour drive to Johannesburg to get there we had to leave without finding out what was making the prey so nervous. So we leave Kruger NP having seen 4 of the big 5 (Rhino, Elephant, Buffalo, Leopard) and an ear (of a Lion) flipping as it slept behind a low bush.