Sunway Safaris – Adventures in Africa blog

“New Years Eve at Nsumo Pan”

January 26, 2010 · Leave a Comment

… To me (Christina) the South African Bush offers much more than just safari and the Big 5. Nature and its diversity, the open space, the light and smells and especially the very special sunsets fascinate me each and every time.

Nsumo Pan

At New Year’s Eve we – Shandle, me and our group – experienced a very special sunset in Mkuze GR in Northern KZN popular for its rhinos, but also home to many different species of antilopes, giraffes, hippos, many birds etc.
We had just watched a massive rhino next to the road and learned that really all waterholes had dried up. So we decided to enjoy this late afternoon and last day of 2009 at Nsumo Pan. No other people apart from us at the lookout platform, just peaceful water, birds singing, a hippo in the distance and the sun colouring the sky!

We still had some Black Label in the cooler box in the truck and decided to spoil our people. And yes, smiling faces!

The Perfect Sundowner!

A real South African sundowner and perfect idyll. So everyone cheered happily, enjoyed the sunset and the beautiful changing of colours at the sky, watched some busy weaver birds and listened to nature’s voices…and while we still watched the sunset and everyone said their own little good-bye to the year, a huge and dark yellow full moon rose at the Eastern sky!
After a yummy dinner and a glass of sparkling we all disappeared into our beds and welcomed the New Year together with a Nyala in camp early the next morning… New Year’s in the bush!

###In German###
Ich bin Christina und habe einige Touren als deutsche Übersetzerin & Assistant Guide begleitet. Der südafrikanische Busch bietet viel mehr als nur Safari und die “Big Five”. Mich faszinieren immer wieder die unglaubliche Vielfalt der Natur, die Weite, das Licht, die Gerüche und insbesondere die traumhaften Sonnenuntergänge.

Rhino at Mkuze

Einen einmaligen Sonnenuntergang erlebten wir – Shandle & ich – dann auch mit unserer Gruppe an Silvester! Es war ein heißer Tag im Mkuze Game Reserve im Norden Kwazulu-Natals, der insbesondere bekannt ist für seine Nashörner, u.a. aber auch jede Menge verschiedene Antilopen, Giraffen, Flusspferde und viele Vogelarten beherbergt.

Gerade hatten wir ein massiges Nashorn gesehen und erfahren, dass derzeit wirklich alle Wasserlöcher ausgetrocknet sind. So entschieden wir uns den Tag und somit auch das Jahr an der Nsumo Pan ausklingen zu lassen. Kein Mensch außer unserer kleinen Gruppe, das ruhige Gewässer vor uns, Vogelgezwitscher, ein Flusspferd in der Ferne und die Sonne, die den Himmel bereits kunterbunt einfärbte. Wir hatten noch einige Black Label – südafrikanisches Bier – im Kühlfach des Trucks und konnten so unseren Leuten eine große Freude bereiten! Ein wahrer südafrikanischer Sundowner und Idylle pur! Und so hatten alle ein Lächeln auf den Lippen als sie sich zuprosteten, den farbenprächtigen Sonnenuntergang und das wechselnde Farbenspiel am Himmel bestaunten, dazu das seichte Plätschern des Sees, noch einige geschäftige Webervögel und weitere Tierstimmen dazu… und während wir noch unser Bier und den Sonnenuntergang genossen, sich jeder leise von 2009 verabschiedete, ging im Osten der Mond auf. Vollmond noch dazu!

Mkuze Njala


Nach einem guten Dinner und kleinem Sekt huschten wir alle noch vor Mitternacht ins Bett und begrüßten das Neue Jahr zusammen mit einem Nyala im Camp am nächsten frühen Morgen! Ein etwas anderes Silvester und Neujahr im Busch…

Cheers CHRISTINA

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Game viewing · Kruger National Park · Mkuze Game Reserve · South Africa · Uncategorized

“All for the Birds”

January 19, 2010 · Leave a Comment

On 20 December 2009 myself (Adriaan) and fellow guide Jerry departed Johannesburg with a family of 4 on a “Rainbow Route” tour through South Africa.

Pilgrims Rest General Dealer

The whole family was keen birders. Oliver the 10 year old boy had immense knowledge of our bird species especially birds of pray. This gave us (the guides) the opportunity to not only concentrate on the ‘Big 5’ but also the smaller creatures and in particular the birds.

On our way to the little historical town of Pilgrim’s Rest we decided to stop of at the bird of pray centre in Dullstroom and witnessed the marvel of falconry.

Peregrine Falcon

We spent 2 hours watching them fly four magnificent birds. Of special interest was the Peregrine Falcon, the fastest bird in the world. We were told that the fastest speed the falcon reached that day was a 162 km/h.

Kruger National Park also gave us fantastic sightings. The game drives were vary productive in that all the creatures made an appearance, big and small. – Dung beetles, scorpions, snakes, antelope, giraffe, zebra, rhino, elephant, serval cat and even cheetahs!

Peregrine Falcon in flight

On one specific morning game drive we stopped off at a bird hide and spent about an hour there just enjoying the peace and tranquillity that Kruger has to offer. We were joined by a lone elephant bull, pod of hippos and an array of birds. The elephant bull drinking while the hippos kept an eye on the old fellow, grunting and wallowing! Plenty of Kingfishers showed themselves, and we where also lucky to see the rare Malachite kingfisher. Herons were fishing, open-billed storks wading in the water, foam nest frogs nesting and a crocodile waiting patiently! What a place to loose yourself completely!!!

Bird hide in Kruger National Park

By Adriaan

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Cape Town · Game viewing · Kruger National Park · South Africa · Uncategorized

WILD DOGS OF BOTSWANA

January 5, 2010 · Leave a Comment

Everyone comes to Africa to see the big 5. But, in most cases, people are more impressed with other things, especially when something amazing happens…

Conservation status: Endangered

Wild dogs are endangered and probably the most difficult predator in Africa to spot due to their huge territories and extremely low numbers.
The African Wild Dog is endangered by human overpopulation, habitat loss and hunting. It uses very large territories (and so can persist only in large wildlife protected areas), and it is strongly affected by competition with larger carnivores that rely on the same prey base, particularly the lion and the Spotted Hyena. Lions often will kill as many wild dogs as they can but do not eat them. Hyenas usually follow them to steal their kills. One on one the hyena is much more powerful than the Wild Dog but a large group of Wild Dogs can successfully chase off a small number of hyenas because of their teamwork. It is also killed by livestock herders and game hunters, though it is typically no more (perhaps less) persecuted than other carnivores that pose more threat to livestock. Most of Africa’s national parks are too small for a pack of wild dogs, so the packs expand to the unprotected areas, which tend to be ranch or farm land. Ranchers and farmers protect their domestic animals by killing the wild dogs. Like other carnivores, the African Wild Dog is sometimes affected by outbreaks of viral diseases such as rabies, distemper, and parvovirus. Although these diseases are not more pathogenic or virulent for wild dogs, the small size of most wild dog populations makes them vulnerable to local extinction due to diseases or other problems.

Jamie's African Wild Dog

On one of our excursions through Botswana’s “wild parks” (Moremi Game Reserve and Chobe National Park) we were lucky enough to see a separate pack of wild dogs in different areas everyday… for 5 days consecutively! On one particular day we got so close to one pack that the dogs surrounded our game viewer. They started to inspect it and one even jumped up on its’ hind legs to get a better view of what was happening inside!

Wild Dogs of Botswana

We sat and studied the dogs for hours, knowing that we were very privileged to have such a good sighting of this endangered species.

By Jamie

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Botswana · Chobe National Park · Moremi Game Reserve · Okavango Delta

‘Impala to the left, Impala to the right’

December 8, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Johannesburg to Cape Town 5 Nov 2009

I travelled to South Africa in November 2009 to join the South Africa Scenic Route. This was my first taste of Africa and did not fail to disappoint!

The Group

For me this trip was full of memories. Starting from the moment I joined the Big Red Truck in Jo’burg and met my travelling friends, to the time we said a sad goodbye in Cape Town.

We were a mixture of Brits, Dutch and Germans and along with our excellent guides, Jerry and Shandle, enjoyed many great experiences together.

Jerry and Shandle were both great guides. Full of information on places, wildlife and culture and both very relaxed which kept the trip: ‘nice and easy’. This helped set a good mood amongst the group and everyone to bond well.

The highlights for me included the night game drive at Kruger National Park were we witnessed a male and female Leopard crossing the road, very close to our vehicle and then in what seemed like seconds, a pack of African Wild Dog lounging on the side of the road . Being night time the experience was even more extraordinary and we all were amazed by the evening’s activity.

Wild Dogs in Kruger

We has some further excellent game drives in Kruger and came across the same pack of wild dogs in day light along with lions, cape buffalo, elephants, crocodiles, zebras, giraffes, hyenas, jackal, warthog, kudos, monitor lizard bush babies, porcupine and the ubiquitous Impala. The cries of ‘Impala to the left, Impala to the right’ became synonymous with our group.
Thankfully Jerry and Shandle gave excellent explanations of the wildlife we saw, and the bush breakfasts were devoured by the hungry group after morning game drives.

Leopard in Kruger

This trip has more to offer than just wildlife. Visiting Swaziland and Lesotho provided real insights and we were all touched by the friendly welcomes we received in both countries.

We visited a primary school in Malelaa, Lesotho and received a warm welcome from the teachers and children. The school is part of a community project and funded by donations, the teachers are volunteers and the school has no government funding which amazed us all coming from developed countries.

Hiking in Drakesnburg was a real highlight. The scenery, flora & fauna are stunning and after a challenging hike you are greeted to outstanding views of the varying rock formations. The guides continued to deliver with cooking and the beer can chicken cooked over a braai tasted so good after the hike.

We experience further game drives at Addo and Mkuze and again spoilt with wildlife, including the endangered black rhino. The campsite and walks in Tsitsikamma were also excellent and we all enjoyed the sundowners by the Indian Ocean.

Be prepared for a few long days on the road, but this is offset by the banter on board and arriving at well chosen campsites. Putting the tent up and down becomes easier and easier as the trip continues and getting involved with duties is part of the group ethos – you all do your fair share!

Tsitsikamma NP

Tsitsikamma NP

Cape Town has much to offer a weary traveller. Good food, good wine and lots to see and do. I will remember the walk up and down Table Mountain, for the stunning views and physical challenge!

Thanks to everyone for a great trip. To Jerry and Shandle for showing Southern Africa to us and the rest of my group for being great travelling companions –I think you may see a few of us next year for Cape to Vic Falls!

Jon Barber

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Cape Town · Game viewing · Kruger National Park · South Africa

Tourists left stunned as lioness attacks buffalo

November 30, 2009 · 1 Comment

Roadkill: Tourists left stunned as lioness attacks buffalo – right in the middle of a traffic jam

This stunning series of pictures shows the moment a water buffalo becomes a road-hog.
But the tourists driving through Kruger National Park in South Africa could hardly blame the poor creature, who was more concerned with the tail-gating lioness than other traffic on the road.
The convoy of cars came to a halt to watch – but the passengers then found themselves part of the action as the two beasts lumbered on to the road, oblivious to their gaze.

Battle lines: The lioness and the buffalo size each other up at the start of the attack in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Dinner time: The buffalo screams out in pain as the lioness attacks by sinking her teeth into the giant beast
The incredible fight took place near the national park’s Phelwana Bridge in mid-August, as tourists noticed a buffalo standing alone by a tree just 10m from the road.
At first the rest of the countryside seemed desolate, and then passengers began to see lion heads popping up out of the foliage a further 20m away.
It seemed the convoy had missed act one of the battle, as the buffalo seemed injured and was staggering on the spot.

Struggle: The buffalo desperately tries to shake the lioness loose, but the claws are out and dinner is served

Buckin’ bronco: The lioness keeps a firm grip on its prey
Eyewitness ‘Mgdonny’, who posted this incredible series of photos on picture-sharing site Flickr, said: ‘We sat there for about an hour and nothing happened.The buffalo then tried to lift itself up, with great difficulty, and after some time managed to get on its feet.
‘As it stood up this female lioness came walking towards it and jumped on to the buffalo’s back trying to pull it down.
‘The female lioness was injured in the back leg and looked as if it had tried to attack the buffalo previously and was injured in the process.

Break for freedom: Chaos hits the road as the buffalo stumbles on to the tarmac

Peckish for a calf: The buffalo has his leg pulled by the lioness as traffic comes to a stop
‘The buffalo started snorting and walking with the lioness on its back trying to escape.’
It came towards the roads and hit a car in the rear bumper and the lioness couldn’t hold on and jumped off.’
At this point, the tourists became uneasy as two male lions began to pad their way over.
Luckily, they were content to stay on the side of the road and watch their lady friend bring home the dinner.

Running to safety: The buffalo lurches across the road, having successfully knocked the lioness off her back

Lion’s eye view: Motorists dare to stick their head out the window for a picture – but this is one hitchhiker who won’t be getting a lift
Mgdonny continued: ‘The buffalo – still on the road – hit another car in the front bumper with its horn.
‘The two huge male lions came walking towards the road and just sat down in the distance.
‘After a some time again the female tried two more times to bring down the buffalo but with no success.’
Luckily for the buffalo – and the passengers – the buffalo proved too much for the lioness, and she padded off, leaving the buffalo free to roam another day.

Mr Mgdonny

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WILD DOGS OF BOTSWANA

November 23, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Wild dogs in Moremi Game Reserve

Wild dogs in Moremi Game Reserve

Jaime Harrington

Everyone comes to Africa to see the big 5. But, in most cases, people are more impressed with other things, especially when something amazing happens…

Wild dogs are endangered and probably the most difficult predator in Africa to spot due to their huge territories and extremely low numbers.

On one of our excursions through Botswana wild parks we were lucky enough to see a different pack of wild dogs everyday… for 5 days consecutively! We got so close to one pack that the dogs surrounded our game viewer. They started to inspect it and one even jumped up on its’ hind legs to get a better view of what was inside!

We sat and watched the dogs for half an hour, knowing that we were very privileged to have such a good sighting of this endangered species.

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Botswana · Game viewing · Moremi Game Reserve · Okavango Delta

OCEAN SAFARI (Tofo, Mozambique)

November 17, 2009 · Leave a Comment


Michieu Lourens

After following the Sunway Trade Route through Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique we arrived in Tofo – a vibey coastal town with white beaches, warm waters, a small local market and, above all, ocean safari’s – the opportunity to go snorkelling with whale sharks!

We headed out to sea in search of one of these beautiful giants of the ocean. We were soon in luck and the captain gives his call for us to put on our snorkels and fins and dive overboard…

Snorkelling with whale shark in Mozambique

This beauty is a massive 8m long! She was just beneath the surface and we were able to swim along side her as she glided almost effortlessly along.

Some of the more experienced divers swam beneath her while others preferred to keep their distance from this rather large animal!
After some time she took a plunge deep into the clear waters below us. The boat came round to fetch us and we climbed on board again. We were in awe after being in the water with this giant, graceful creature.

As we bobbed along the sea we spotted manta rays, various fish and even a nurse shark overboard. There were 4 more whale sharks each varying in size (they can get up to a whopping 20m long!) We dived with them all several times – the most fascinating being with a curious baby shark who circled the group a few times before heading on.

After 2 hours of interacting with the amazing sea life in the bay we headed back to shore and said good bye to our fantastic captain and skipper. It had been an amazing trip and, although some of us were relieved to be back on shore (it was a bumpy ride at times!), we knew none of us would forget this amazing experience.

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Mozambique · diving · snorkelling
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Cape – Vic Falls with “Old Man Piet”

November 11, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Greetings from sunny South Africa!

My name is Pieter, and I am one of the guides at Sunway Safaris (thats me on the back right hand side:) ).

Pieter Cape - Vic

At the Tropic of Capricorn

I recently came back from a Cape Town to Victoria Falls trip. The diversity of landscape and people we experienced each day was amazing – from watching the sun set over the dunes in the Namibian desert, to living in a San (Bushman) hut, and travelling in a moroko in the Delta in Botswana.

One of my highlights was camping in the Delta. What a pleasure! Early mornings and late evenings sitting around the camp fire, while the days were spent exploring the island. We came across fields of zebra, impala, wildebeest and giraffe. The feeling of approaching these animals on foot gives you a sense of awe, and I felt it especially when we cam across a herd of elephants just beyond the lake 40m away from where we were standing!Mokoro in the Delta

Another memorable moment was in Zambia on the lion walk. We started the day early, around about 6 o’clock. After a short safety briefing we headed to the spot where we would be meeting our new hiking partners. As we walked around the corner, there they were. The lion is personally my favourite animal, so I was overjoyed to see them so close. There were two males and one female that were about 14 months old, and we were told that they are heading to the wild within the next 10 months. Within about ten minutes they weren’t in much of a mood for walking, but no one seemed to mind. The three lions had a wonderful time rough-housing with each other, and when they tired out, I had the opportunity to touch one of the males. Group with Lions

Hope to see you soon on our next trip!

Pieter

Vic Falls

→ Leave a CommentCategories: Cape Town · Namib Desert · Namibia · Victoria Falls

Jerry on Safari

November 3, 2009 · 1 Comment

Warm greetings to all! Jerry here.

I am excited to share some amazing moments with you that we had on my last Botswana Wild Parks tour, it was a journey of a lifetime.

207 - Copy

Khama Rhino Sanctuary

On day 1 of the tour we stayed at Khama Rhino Sanctuary and had our first game drive of the tour. On the drive we came close to a pair of white rhinos and they were not camera shy, we viewed them for a long time before they started to move off into the bushes. As we continued with our drive we saw a big herd of ± 50 springbok and plenty of other antelope. On our way back to camp we came across a rhino wallowing in a mud pool. We were also lucky to spot some Crimson breasted shrikes which are seldom seen.

Spingbok

Springbok at Khama

As we proceeded to the Okavango Delta the following day we had some excitement as we had an ostrich running alongside our red truck. The giant bird raced alongside our Safari Ferrari for almost 200 meters before turning away and ran off into the bush. Seeing this massive bird running at full speed was quite something!

Our stay in the Delta presented us with some more awesome game viewing, but this time we were on foot tracking the animals. On one of our walks we got as close to about fifty meters from a big bull elephant and later on we also saw a spotted Hyaena running away from a couple of wildebeests.

Day 7 and 8 in Moremi Game reserve proved to be the most exciting part of the trip as we had the opportunity to view a leopard close to the road in an Umbrella thorn tree. Other big cats we saw were a pride of Santawani lions and civit cat. I have been guiding for a couple of years and this was the first time for me to see a civit cat.

Chobe National Park also gave us wonderful sightings. We did an afternoon boat cruise on the Chobe River and we were stunned by the amount of elephants coming down to quench their thirst after the day’s heat. The wind down of the cruise was when the other Sunway Safari group in another boat signalled us to come over to them, we thought it was for “ellies” but it was not!

Botswana Silvia Schindler (80)

Leopard in Chobe!

There was a leopard with 3 cubs hidden in a Wolly Caper-bush and they where surrounded by a herd of elephant. The leopard mother showed her bravery when she finally decided to start moving the cubs one by one to another bush which gave them more protection from the intruders.

I can truly say that I will remember this trip as one of the best!

Jerry

→ 1 CommentCategories: Botswana · Chobe National Park · Game viewing · Moremi Game Reserve · Okavango Delta · Uncategorized

Elephant Sands’ “Gentle Giants”

October 27, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Hi All

Elephant Sands Lodge

Elephant Sands Lodge

I have to tell you about the great time we (myself Pieter and 12 guests) had on my last trip in Botswana. It is October and spring has only started but we had some extremely hot days with the only relief being a couple of rain drops now and then, as if it was in the middle of summer!  “This is Africa” (TIA) and noting is ever easy.

We had some good game viewing days with lions and other cats in Moremi NP, good game walks in the Okavango where we got close to some general game, but the highlight of the trip must have been the night we stayed at Elephant Sands.

Elephant Sands1

Pieter at the watering hole

Elephant Sands Lodge is based on 23’000ha private conservancy area in between Chobe National Park and Makgadikgadi Pans NP, Botswana.

On our arrival we where met by a breading herd of elephants gently feeding just as we drove through the front gates. After checking in we went down to the watering hole and what an amazing site! We spent most of the afternoon and evening watching endlessly as herd after herd came to quench there thirst after a very hot day out in the African sun. This area is very dry and this watering hole attracts literally hundreds of elephants and other animals to this oasis.

Elephant Sands3

Getting a bit to close!

Most of the herds were with new born babies and this created a lot of excitement with the guests and some tension with the older matriarchs (the herd leaders).

They get so close to the barrier that it feels like you can almost touch them.  Later on we decided that it’s time to hit the sack after a full day of endless excitement only to discover that we had a big bull elephant blocking our path to the chalets.

Elephant Sands

Sun downers

It took another 20 min for the big guy to move before we where able to call it a night.

Sunway Safaris Guide

Pieter Bezuidenhout

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