Nancy Vandermey, Author
South Africa Trip October/November 2013 part 11
But that wasn’t the end yet! We had 3 nights at Notten’s bush camp, in the Sabi Sands reserve adjacent to Kruger park. There are no fences between the two. The big attraction to going to a private reserve is they can drive off road to follow animals, and the animals are habituated to the vehicles. In case we hadn’t seen any leopard in Kruger (entirely possible), and to have a few days of being driven around and fed well, I like to end a trip here.While driving in we passed a buffalo herdand then got checked in and had Amarula on ice. I neglected to take any pictures of our fabulous room, but they can be found online. At 2:45 pm it was time for high tea (a multi course gourmet lunch) and then 3:30 out on game drive with ranger Tinyko, who was awesome. Almost immediately our tracker Abi (not sure if I’m spelling that right) said, “Lioness in a tree” – a shocking sight here, as they almost never climb trees, and this one was high up and very uncomfortable lookingShe finally jumped down safelyAnd went for a walkabout, eyeing some waterbuckOther sightings included elephant, steenbok, duiker, gray lourie, and young giraffeDuring sundowners I got to try the tracker’s seatSpotlighting on the way in revealed a white tail mongoose. Dinner was held in the downstairs area, with a scorpion on the wallThe area by daylightOn the 27th we were up at 5 and out at 5:30, we went to the south of their driving area to where the Southern pride had killed a young rhino 3 days ago. One lioness and her two cubs were still at the smelly killWhile the pride male lazed nearbyHeading north we joined a sighting of the Mahlatini male leopard as he huntedAfter the drive Eric went for a walk, seeing flowersand the scratch marks on the tree the lioness had been inwhile I went for a swimAfter another delicious high tea, the evening game drive found a giraffe with a missing hornand then two male lions (Solo and the Eyrefield male)More impala with youngWoodland kingfisherElephant on the plainsPosing zebraAfter dark, a chameleonAnd a Scops owl just outside campDuring dinner, 2 hyena paid a visit outside camp. There were only 4 of us going out in the morning (an Australian couple and us) so we left at 5:15 am. Wild dog had been seen late last night so we were tracking them. It was a pack of eight, on the hunt – we followed them at high speed after some impala, but they missedNearby the two male lions were restingtwo male rhino feedinga tree full of baboonsand a peaceful waterbuckFor our final evening drive, we saw some busy leopard tortoisesand then spent a long time laughing at two young male elephants fightingA young elephant in the same herdNext up we visited Mahlatini again, resting on a riverbankDuring sundowners 5 rhino walked nearbyJust down the road another male leopard had been found, MxabeneA side striped jackal and pups were spottedOur final dinnerAnd one last morning drive, with elephant, male nyalaleopard tracksand ending with Solo and the Eyrefield maleNotten’s Video has several short clips, including lions, leopards, wild dog, and elephantsAfter that it was just packing, a drive to the airport, and a long flight home.
Part 1 – Planning and Kgalgadi: Twee Rivieren
Part 2 – Kgalgadi: Urikaruus and Kalahari Tented Camp
Part 3 – Kgalgadi: Nossob, Grootkolk, Mata Mata
Part 4 – Kgalgadi: Twee Rivieren and Black Footed Cat group
Part 5 – Kruger: Berg En Dal and Skukuza
Part 6 – Kruger: Nwatimwambu Walking Trail and Lower Sabie
Part 7 – Kruger: Satara
Part 8 – Kruger: Sweni Wilderness Trail
Part 9 – Kruger: Olifants
Part 10 – Kruger: Tamboti and Biyamiti
Part 11 – Notten’s Bush Camp
 Hours:
NEW OPERATING HOURS: 10 am to 4 pm We will now be open every day except Wednesdays and Sundays, unless we are closed due to government restrictions.
Private Tours & Behind the Scenes Tours are available (advance reservation necessary).
Admission: General $10 Children (3-12) $5 2 and Under Free Seniors (60+) $8 Veterans & Active Military (With ID) $8
Members & our Cat's Adoptive Parents receive free admission
Recent Births &
Acquisitions: - Caracal arrived December 2020
- Ocelot male and female arrived October 2020
- Ocelot arrived July 2019
- Serval arrived May 2019
- Snow Leopard arrived May 2019
Upcoming Events:
Saturday, July 2, 2022 is our 4th of July Party for the cats! Join us for themed enrichments and treats! Celebration starts at 12pm!
|
