Kruger :  Nov – Dec 2020

Kruger : Nov – Dec 2020

Videos and photos of good rain in the dry areas of Kruger are coming through this evening – just after we left. Hopefully Kruger will respond quickly to good rain and will be ready for us at the end of…

Lower Sabie 13-14th December

Lower Sabie 13-14th December

Sunday, 13th The prolonged heatwave is taking its toll and I go out by myself, heading for Salitjie S30. The forecast is for cooler weather today and change is indicated by a large storm cloud to the north with lightning…

Lower Sabie 11-12th December

Lower Sabie 11-12th December

Friday, 11th We must, rather unexpectedly, return to Malalane today to complete some of our errands from yesterday. This is no problem as I wanted to travel the S25 Crocodile River road at some stage. So, uninterrupted by lions and…

Lower Sabie 10th December

Lower Sabie 10th December

“God works in mysterious ways”. For some reason my 4am alarm does not sound and we only rise at 5am and then leave the gates at 5.30am. Remember that today we are heading for Malalane for Renette’s dental appointment and…

Lower Sabie 8-9th December

Lower Sabie 8-9th December

Tuesday, 8th Maybe as a hangover from yesterday’s high drama, both of us are drowsy and dopey as we go up the H4-1 main road to Skukuza at 4.30am. The weather is lovely with a gentle wind from the south…

Lower Sabie 7th December

Lower Sabie 7th December

Salitje it is as we cross the Sabie at 4.30am on another cloudy morning. We take the S128 gravel road towards Mafourteen and it is apparent as we draw away from Lower Sabie that the rainfall has increased all the…

Lower Sabie 5-6th December

Lower Sabie 5-6th December

Saturday, 5th Again, a strong, cool blows during the night and we awake to leaden skies. Sadly, only a little misty drizzle falls. We are going to replenish our groceries today in Komatipoort so at 5.30am we take off down…

Lower Sabie 4th December

Lower Sabie 4th December

Following on from yesterday’s legless ellie may I remind bloggers of this Satara ellie that I saw a year ago with this hole in his trunk which did not seem to inconvenience him at all. With the caravan in tow…

Satara 3rd December

Satara 3rd December

The S100 and Nwanetsi area is so beautiful that I could travel up and down this road every day – especially as there is so little traffic early in the day. Again, it is cloudy as we creep down this…

Satara 2nd December

Satara 2nd December

Again a strong south wind is blowing this morning but the clouds are thin and by 5.30am it is bright enough to venture out. Satara has not been at its best. The road north along the H1-4 has so little…

Satara 1st December

Satara 1st December

I am changing tactics somewhat. I am finding that preparing a blog covering the events of the day can mean that I get to bed after midnight – which with a 4am rising is leaving me a bit ‘zonked’. So…

Satara 30th November

Satara 30th November

There are eight cars in the queue on this, a crisp and fresh morning after the rain. Out we go and rather amusingly, seven of those eight cars take the Orpen H7 road with the lion/buffalo kill providing a perfect…

Satara 27-28-29th November

Satara 27-28-29th November

Friday, 27th Today is the worst of Kruger days. A strong, cool 20℃ wind is blowing from the south and thick leaden clouds mask the sky as we follow a number of cars down the S100 Nwanetsi River road at…

Satara 25-26th November

Satara 25-26th November

Forecaster yr.no has it spot on as at 4am this morning the south wind starts blowing, thunder cracks and rain starts falling. But by 7am the weather calms, the rain stops and my rain gauge tells me that only 8mm…

Satara 24th November

Satara 24th November

Today is forecast to be a pre-frontal hottie – even more incentive to get to Satara as early as possible. So, we leave Skukuza at 6am having spent 22 very pleasant days there. We move rapidly up the H1 road…

Skukuza 22-23rd November

Skukuza 22-23rd November

Sunday, 22nd Dave, Steph and family leave for Jo’burg at 5.30am and what a wonderful week it was with them. With the weather being cool with high cloud, Renette and I take off across the Sabie and Sand Rivers along…

Skukuza 20-21th November

Skukuza 20-21th November

Friday, 20th !0mm of gentle rain fall during the night and it is still raining at 4.30am so we rise late today leaving camp at 7.30am. Although not soaking, 10mm will find its way into the grassroots alleviating the general…

Skukuza 18-19th November

Skukuza 18-19th November

Wednesday, 18th The dry weather cycle seems to be breaking. A high cloud cover sees us travelling down Salitje S30 early on a dark morning. Everything is quiet until we reach the Nwatindlopfu lookout spot over the Sabie River. Some…

Skukuza 16-17th November

Skukuza 16-17th November

Monday, 16th David was disturbed by a sound on the stoep of his chalet at midnight and upon investigating found two hyenas at the door. So they seem to be plentiful in the camp. In what are now almost drought…

Skukuza 15th November

Skukuza 15th November

To their great credit Dave, Steph and children are all ready at 4.20am and out the gates we go on yet another clear, still day. Of course we are introducing our visitors to Salitje S30 road – our favourite at…