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Real Birder |
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Kruger National Park 18th February to 3rd March 2012 |
Birding the Kruger National Park - Skukuza, Satara and Toro Yaka INTRODUCTION You’re never too old to learn, “never say never” - having taken early retirement a couple of years ago we decided to buy a campervan; the reasoning being that we would restrict our birding to the British Isles, visiting all those sites we used to visit before the “birding abroad” bug bit. This would give us the wherewithal to travel when and where the whim took us - no more being herded about like cattle at the airport, we would be in total control of all aspects of our travel - sounded great. With the camper purchased we visited birding spots at all points of the compass in our first year, South Coast, Wales, East Coast and Scotland; we thoroughly enjoyed it, but it did not compensate for birding under a warm sun in shorts, tee-shirt and sandals. It wasn’t long before we were getting our fix at our favourite short haul destinations. We then decided that we would confine ourselves to short haul; no more the ball aches of long flights. Once again our best intentions were shattered with the realisation that we were actually hooked on new birding horizons and the new species that ensued. So, as stated previously, “never say never”. We were sitting at home watching a Golf tournament in South Africa; the course was set above the Crocodile River. The tantalising glimpses of all the various wild beasts coming down to drink, accompanied by continuous bird song and the sight of herons, egrets and storks, not to mention the many unidentifiable birds flying in and out of camera-shot, rekindled our lust for new horizons.
ITINERARY & ACCOMMODATION We had noted from several web sites that Birding Africa had a reputation for efficiently customising bespoke birding holidays: in fact they had been voted 5th best birding Holiday Company in the world, so we were confident that they would provide us with the perfect itinerary within our set budget. Well, we can confirm that Birding Africa fulfilled our expectations. The itinerary they provided consisted of 10 days independent birding in the Kruger, stopping firstly at Skukuza Camp in the southern half of the park for the first 5 nights, before travelling a little further north to Satara Camp where we would spend the next 5 nights. This should give us the opportunity to visit various habitats the Kruger has to offer and enjoy the large range of species such varied habitats produce.
Our final 5 nights were spent at a private game reserve attached to the Kruger. Toro Yaka Bush Lodge forms part of the Balule Nature Reserve. This is a group of large farms that have removed their fences with the Kruger, allowing free range of all the wild animals. Toro Yaka comes highly recommended by Birding Africa both for the outstanding value for money and the abundant bird life in the area. Our stay in the Kruger was room only, whilst Toro Yaka was full board. FLIGHTS Our chosen International carrier was British Airways. The flight was overnight, London Heathrow Terminal 5 to Johannesburg. As we always do on long haul flights we upgraded our flight to give us a little more room. Pensions won’t allow First or Business Class so we settled for “World Traveller Premium”. Our internal flights were organised by Birding Africa and our first was an Airlink commercial flight from Johannesburg to Nelspruit. Our return flight back to Johannesburg was from Hoedspruit with SA Express. CAR HIRE Our car hire was organised by Birding Africa. We picked up our Budget hire car (Toyota Corolla) from Nelspruit airport for our 10 night stay in the Kruger. We then dropped it off at Hoedspruit before being picked up for our final 5 nights at Toro Yaka Bush Lodge on a full board basis with bush walks and game drives being the order of the day. DAY 1
Birds seen Day 1: Arrow-marked Babbler, Crested Barbet, European Bee-eater, Dark Chanting Goshawk, Fork-tailed Drongo, Spotted Flycatcher, Hamerkop, Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill, Hadada Ibis, Woodland Kingfisher, African Golden Oriole, Lilac-breasted Roller, Common Sandpiper, Magpie Shrike, Red-backed Shrike, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Violet-backed Starling, Barn Swallow, Black-crowned Tchagra, Water Thick-knee, Red-collared Widowbird, Green Wood-Hoopoe and Bennett’s Woodpecker. DAY 2 Having had a good nights sleep, despite an electric storm with very heavy rain, we awoke to light, intermittent rain falling and decided to avail ourselves of the Skukuza Bush breakfast. This was something we did a couple of times during our stay at the rest camp. The other days saw us out as soon as the gates were open at 05.30am, with our standard “cold buttered toast” for later. Although the camp breakfast was on the expensive side at approximately £10-00 per head, it was well cooked and presented. There was plenty of choice on offer, eggs, (fried or scrambled), bacon, sausage, tomato, (beans or mushrooms on alternate days), with fruit, cereals, yoghurts, hams, cheeses, toast, etc, etc. We decided to take the H4-1 to Lower Sabie Rest Camp, stopping off at Nkuhlu picnic site for a comfort stop and a coffee. In the event, we never reached the rest camp, so much was the distraction at almost every turn; if it wasn’t birds it was animals. We returned by the same route, stopping off at the Lake Panic Hide before returning back to the camp. Our evening meal consisted of a sandwich of ham & tomato, followed by a home-made ginger biscuit, bought from the picnic site earlier. A couple of glasses of South African Chardonnay sent us to bed satisfied. New Trip Ticks: Chinspot Batis, Carmine Bee-eater, Dark-capped Bulbul, Red-faced Cisticola, Burchell’s Coucal, Black Crake, Diderick Cuckoo, Cape Turtle Dove, Emerald- spotted Wood Dove, Laughing Dove, African Fish Eagle, Crested Francolin, Natal Francolin, Helmeted Guineafowl, White-crested Helmet-Shrike, Black-crowned Night Heron, Goliath Heron, Green-backed Heron, African Jacana, Brown-hooded Kingfisher, Pied Kingfisher, Yellowed-billed Kite, Blacksmith Lapwing, White-crowned Lapwing, Red-billed Oxpecker, African Green Pigeon, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Cape Glossy Starling, Black Stork, Saddle-billed Stork, Wooley-necked Stork, Lesser-striped Swallow, Wire-tailed Swallow, Grey Go-away-bird, Purple-crested Turaco, Hooded Vulture, Thick-billed Weaver and Long-tailed Paradise Whydah. DAY 3
We availed ourselves of a drink and a shared plate of fries in the company of a couple of squirrels picnicking on the next table. We returned to Skukuza via the H3 & H1-1. A late afternoon walk around the camp, imitating the call of a Pearl-spotted Owlet produced the mobbing of several new trip ticks and some strange glances from fellow campers. Feeling pretty smug we visited the restaurant for a more than acceptable evening meal. New Trip Ticks: Black-collared Barbet, African Mourning Dove, African Hawk Eagle, Bateleur, Egyptian Goose, African Hoopoe, African Grey Hornbill, Red-billed Hornbill, House Martin, Malachite Kingfisher, Speckled Mousebird, African Scops Owl, African Paradise Flycatcher, Three-banded Plover, European Roller, House Sparrow, Common Waxbill and Cape White-eye. DAY 4 Again we awoke to cloudless skies and we decided to head north along the H4-1 then onto the H1-2 heading for Tshokwane picnic site. Approaching the bridge over the Sabie River we encountered a Baboon troop of at least 60 individuals. Completely oblivious of the traffic, the Baboons were engaged in usual Baboon activity. The mature males were posturing and bullying any subordinate Baboon that came their way. The younger members of the troop chased around, play-fighting with any Baboon of a similar size who was up for it. We carefully picked our way past the troop to the disapproval of other drivers who were content in spending hours watching these activities. It appears that if you are South African and visiting the Kruger it’s your duty to stop and look at any animal that presents itself, even if you have already seen dozens previously that morning. It’s also incumbent on you to park in such a fashion that you cause the most inconvenience to others. Our first stop was Leeupan; this is a large shallow lake a couple of hundred metres off the H1-2. This was probably the most productive waterhole we visited, with great views of Allen’s Gallinule, Pigmy Goose and Saddle-billed Stork amongst others. All waterholes visited contained Hippo; the smaller ones probably just one and the larger ones, several. Due to the recent floods both Siloweni Dam and the picnic site were closed. We continued on to Orpen Dam which was a little disappointing. We re-traced our steps back to Skukuza. Building on the success of the previous night we took the iPod and played Pearl-spotted Owlet, with great expectation at the same location where I had previously mimicked the call myself; “absolutely nothing”. Crestfallen we return to our accommodation to find both Buffalo and Elephant on the river directly in front of our bungalow, it doesn’t get much better. A more than acceptable evening meal completed our 4th day. New Trip Ticks: Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Comb Duck, White-faced Duck, Martial Eagle, Allen’s Gallinule, Giant Kingfisher, African Pygmy Goose, Red-billed Quelea, Burchell’s Starling Marabou Stork and Red-billed Buffalo Weaver. DAY 5
New Trip Ticks: White-fronted Bee-eater, Little Bittern, Mocking Cliff-Chat, Jacobin Cuckoo, Levaillant’s Cuckoo, Amur Falcon, Black-headed Heron, Black Kite, Marsh Sandpiper, Osprey, Wood Sandpiper, Black-backed Puffback, Brown Snake Eagle, African Palm Swift, Little Swift, African Pied Wagtail, Willow Warbler, Golden Weaver, Village Weaver and Yellow-billed Stork. DAY 6
On arrival at Satara we were alerted to loud chattering from the trees in the car park in front of reception. A small group of Brown-headed Parrot were squabbling with a pair of Crested Barbet in the canopy; the only parrots seen during the trip. Our bungalow was 43B which was set in a large circle of other bungalows and not anywhere near the river-side setting we had at Skukuza, hey-ho! New Trip Ticks: Southern Red Bishop, Reed Cormorant, African Cuckoo, Black Cuckooshrike, Steppe Eagle, Cattle Egret, Little Grebe, Southern Ground-Hornbill, Common Greenshank, Lesser Moorhen, Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl, Brown-headed Parrot, Lesser Grey Shrike, Secretarybird and Black-winged Stilt. DAY 7
New Trip Ticks: Kori Bustard, Namaqua Dove, Peregrine Falcon, Village Indigobird, Black-shouldered Kite, Black-bellied Bustard, Crowned Lapwing, Red-capped Lark, Harlequin Quail, Chestnut-backed Sparrowlark, Swainson’s Spurfowl, Wattled Starling, Red-winged Starling, Lappet-faced Vulture, Southern Masked Weaver, Spectacled Weaver and White-winged Widowbird. DAY 8
With campers rising, a little care had to be taken with the direction you pointed your long lens. Today we decided to drive to Timbavati Picnic Site, calling in at the Nsemani Dam and finishing off at Ratelpan hide. A male Waterbuck with a broken leg was seen wallowing in the shallow water during each of our visits except for our last, when there was no sign. On our return to Satara we found our one and only African Harrier Hawk; another very good day for raptors. New Trip Ticks: Burchell’s Coucal, Coqui Francolin, African Harrier Hawk, Red-faced Mousebird, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, African Spoonbill and White-backed Vulture. DAY 9
With this drive being described as the most popular drive in the park due to the number of wild game sightings we were anxious to get going. We have to say we were a little disappointed as the game sightings were, at best, average. N’wanetsi Dam produced nothing new with the exception of the only Spur-winged Goose of the trip. This huge bird flew down the dam towards us before landing in dense vegetation on the far bank. The Sweni Bird Hide was also a little quiet with an hours watching producing nothing new. We retraced our steps back to Satara, returning by late afternoon. The day that had held the greatest expectations of our time in the Kruger turned out to be probably the slowest.
New Trip Ticks: Blue-cheeked Bee-eater, Great Spotted Cuckoo, Wahlberg’s Eagle, Spur-winged Goose, Dusky Lark, Southern White-crowned Shrike, Mosque Swallow, Red-breasted Swallow. DAY 10 As this was our last full day in the Kruger we decided to do an early morning walk around the camp followed by a drive back along the S-90 which had been our favourite drive whilst at Satara. The camp walk produced all the same suspects as our previous one, what a great way to start the day. A Slender Mongoose, Elephant, Zebra and Wildebeest were all seen close to the camp through the electrified perimeter fence. We retraced our steps onto the main road and headed off to Timbavati & Ratelpan. The pair of Scops Owl had obviously had a tiff as today they were roosting a metre apart on the same branch. The only other birds of note were several White-backed Vulture in the large trees on the side of the river plus a couple of White-headed Vulture at the same location. Returning back to the camp we refreshed ourselves with a cool drink and a shared chicken & mushroom pie. At 5pm we returned to the Nsemani pan some 7km from the camp. We returned for a barely adequate meal and then on our arrival back at the bungalow we found a small snake in the external kitchen area. Prodding the snake at the tail-end with a rather shaky finger it curled into a tight ball and hissed loudly. Discretion being the better part of valour; we left it to its own devices. We later discovered it was a Common Egg-eater (Dasypeltis scabra) and fairly harmless. New Trip Ticks: Sabota Lark, Ostrich, Buffy Pipit, Green-winged Pytilia, Double-banded Sandgrouse and White-headed Vulture. DAY 11 Today was a moving day, so we spent the first hour walking round the camp; all the usual suspects were seen including a pair of Red-headed Finch feeding with the Blue Waxbills, a new bird for the trip. A meagre Satara breakfast followed before we left the camp via the Orpen Gate for the 100km+ drive to Hoedspruit Airport, the drop off point for our hire car. Incidentally we had to pass Nsemani Pan and noted that not only had all the waders disappeared, but the injured Waterbuck had also gone; a sombre note on which to leave.
Toro Yaka is part of the Balule Conservancy. This consists of a group of like-minded landowners who came together almost a decade ago to remove the fencing between their land and the Kruger National Park, allowing the unhindered re-colonisation of previous farmland by wild animals: this area has now become known as “Greater Kruger”. With Toro Yaka set deep inside the bush, it is tranquillity personified; a bush camp that exudes understated elegance. With only a single strand of electric wire set at chest height to deter Elephants, it is open to all the other creatures that roam wild. Having said that, as long as you comply with the rules, “don’t wander out of the confines of the camp and remain in your bungalow once the camp has retired for the night”, you are perfectly safe; after all the animals are more scared of us than we are of them. Most visitors to Toro Yaka are there for the game viewing and not for birding so it’s unreasonable to expect either management or punters to spend much time on birds. Steve is an excellent birder and stopped for birds when appropriate. He would mimic a calling Pearl-spotted Owlet with a modicum of success. With 250 species recorded in Balule, should a birding group stay at Toro Yaka, we are certain that they would have a very profitable time.
Both Steve and Nicole are very accommodating, as are all the staff; nothing is too much trouble. All remarks we read prior to the holiday complimented Toro Yaka on the standards of accommodation, food, facilities and game drives; it’s not difficult to understand why and it’s a trend we are more than happy to continue.
SUMMARY 83 species were seen during our stay at ToroYaka, of which 20 were trip ticks, an excellent return when you consider the birding opportunities were limited. Total number of birds seen for the whole trip was 188; we feel this is excellent when you consider the fact that 90% of the birding was done from inside a vehicle. Well over 60 bird photos were added to our bird library, of which 75% were new species for the library. The total cost of the holiday was £8,000; this included spending money. Fuel in South Africa is approximately £1-00 per litre; we used £120-00 worth in the hire car, not bad when you consider we barely got out of third gear and our average speed was less than 20mph. Petrol is available at most camps, but be aware that they only accept cash. Although rain clouds built up most afternoons we only experienced rain during the first couple of days of the trip. Temperatures topped 30°C with humidity at 70%. MOANS, GROANS & MEMORABLE MOMENTS Moan Having travelled for nearly 36hrs culminating in a 06.00am arrival at Heathrow on a full Boeing 747-400, the “powers that be” decided 2 customs officers were sufficient to man passport control, culminating in long queues & short tempers. Groan The total lack of consideration shown by some drivers in the Kruger, who, in their desperate attempts to get a better view, would be quite happy to totally block the road or even drive in front of you completely, blocking out any view you may have had. Moan All things to do with catering at Satara Camp. It’s inconceivable that a world attraction like the Kruger should be administered in such a shoddy fashion. Memorable Moments
Meeting a large bull Elephant head-on on one of the smaller dirt roads, reversing the car for several hundred metres, stopping at gaps in the trees hoping he would take the hint and return to more appropriate terrain and our relief when he eventually did. Seeing our first Leopard, which decided to descend the large tree where he lay astride a large bough and walk along the track before disappearing into the dense vegetation. The many encounters with all the special birds we saw, far too many to chronicle here, but all helped to make this one of the best birding trips we have had for many years. The whole experience at Toro Yaka; what an inspired conclusion to our trip, thanks Birding Africa.
Pat & Judy Hayes |
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