Sunday, 28th April
After my short time in Jo’burg, I thankfully leave at 5am this morning before the traffic gets going – leaving Renette behind with Cheryl and Basil Jones. The contrast between the solitude of Kruger and the helter-skelter of city life is just overwhelming. I was aghast at the blatant and general disregard of traffic lights by Jo’burg’s motorists, the litter and the swarming mass of humanity. How blessed we are in this country to have these havens of peace to escape to – our National Parks.
The N4 from Pretoria is an easy drive but at Machadodorp I stop for petrol and then barely manage to restart the Quantum. I stop at Autozone in Nelspruit where a youngster very kindly replaces the faulty battery for me and then quickly sends me on my way. I thankfully enter the Crocodile Bridge Gate and am quickly back at Lower Sabie where I find the caravan as we left it.
This afternoon I go up the H10 past Muntshe mountain but do not see much. Tomorrow I intend really getting back in the swing of things.
Monday, 29th April
Lowveld April-May weather has truly arrived. On a superb morning I take off for the Nwatimhiri S21 road where I crawl along its entire length seeing – very little of interest. But the roadside trees and grass makes up for it and I thoroughly enjoy the drive. Beyond the large koppie, I come to that picturesque pond where I sit for a while. All is quiet and I miss the frantic activity of summer at these water holes.
Rather than go back along the sometimes badly corrugated road, I push on past Skukuza and then down the Sabie River Road H4-1. Beyond the high-level bridge I come across two lionesses walking in the road but oh dear…..
The weather is now cool and I set out at 3pm to do Salietjie in reverse – up the H4-1, across the bridge and then down the S30. It is again a most beautiful afternoon and the scene before me with the sun at my back is just so wonderful.
Again, I see nothing out of the ordinary until after sunset I come across this oh so impressive owl next to the road.
Tomorrow is another day and I may well be trying to hunt down a fishing African Fish Eagle at Sunset Dam.
4 Comments
Eva Sander April 29, 2019 at 9:12 pm
Dear Richard,
Your pictures are so absolutely wonderful!!! They hit my heart deeply; actually these beautiful brothers and sisters of ours, wearing feathers or fur and looking through their beautiful eyes, it´s them who are hitting my soul. And it´s you who got them so brilleantly.
Thank you so much for sending me messages from the African bush!
Greetings from the Black Forest in Germany, where spring has arrived in full blossom! And… where the storks have arrived from their long journey from Africa and are breeding now!
Kind greetings from Eva
Richard Grant April 30, 2019 at 9:30 am
Hello Eva. I am so delighted that the photos are giving you such pleasure. Taking them gives me great pleasure too.
Helena May 4, 2019 at 2:39 pm
Hi Fred,
I just love your sunsets. You also make the plainest of LBJ’s (little brown jobs) look interesting. I’m referring to the Rattling Cisticola.
Richard Grant May 4, 2019 at 5:50 pm
We will make a “twitcher” of you yet Helena.