Work from Anywhere: Southern Kruger

With no date to return to the office we decided to make the most of “working from home”. We’ve spent over a year working from our spare room and dining room. We were desperate for a change of scenery. All we needed was reliable cell phone signal and a plug point. 

We chose Southern Kruger because it is only 4.5  hours from Johannesburg on the highway - close enough to escape home if something wasn’t working. It also had good LTE coverage.

We had a 4am wake up call on a Tuesday and hit the road. We arrived mid-morning at an AirBnB cottage in Marloth Park. We jumped on to our laptops for the day, enjoying the view of the pool and bush.

Marloth Park would not be a normal spot for us to visit. It is made up of an interesting mix of dilapidated holiday homes that look like they have not been visited since the 1970s and more modern over the top bush homes made of face-brick. (Ben: The South African obsession with face-brick is something I will never understand.) 

Making up for this is the beautiful bush with Maroela trees, buck and bird life. The cottage we rented sat alone in the bush and we could not see any houses from it. We spent three nights there, walking and running on the rutted tracks throughout Marloth Park each morning. In the evenings we would drive Lara the Landy along the Crocodile River in search of the perfect sundowner spot overlooking the Kruger National Park.

Sundowners overlooking Kruger National Park

After we knocked off on Friday afternoon we headed into Kruger through the Crocodile Bridge Gate and headed to Lower Sabie where we had booked for two nights. 

Big campsites are not really our thing - we go camping to get away from other people. Lower Sabie is the opposite of this. The campsite is basically a parking lot with campers packed in like sardines. After finding one of only two available sites, we decided to embrace the full Lower Sabie experience and headed to the on-site Mugg and Bean for dinner. Despite being in a restaurant that could have been in Fourways Mall, the view was spectacular and we saw elephants playing in the river. 

That night we fell asleep  to the sound of happy families chatting around campfires and the drone of caravan air cons powered by generators. We were awoken at 5am to an army of 4x4s heading out for morning game drives. If you held your breath you could maybe hear the morning chorus of the bush. 

We had coffee and rusks overlooking the car park (*ahem* sorry, campsite). Once packed up we headed to reception where the staff there were extremely helpful. We changed our booking to Malelane in the very south of the Park for Saturday night.

We spent the morning driving the gravel back roads of Kruger. We enjoyed stunning views of the bush that was so green from the good rains. This was the Kruger experience we were looking for. Quiet roads, good sightings, no other cars and plenty of time to stop and enjoy the view.

We arrived at Malelane and immediately knew that it was for us. The gate to the site is a flimsy old one that you have to get out and open yourself. There were only five other groups camping and staying at the chalets. We parked up in the corner of the campsite right up against the low fence under a grove of trees with views of the river. No generators or DSTV dishes in sight!

We spent the afternoon reading and enjoying the peace and quiet of the bush. We headed out on a game drive in the early evening. We had a good sighting of a leopard on the road to Berg en Dal.

Sunday morning found us at the Malelane campsite gate at 5am waiting to be picked up for a morning game walk. We were extremely well treated by our guides, Peter and Delphine, who were a fun double act with great knowledge of the bush. We walked for about 3 hours admiring the scenery and regularly stopping to appreciate the sites, sounds and smells of the bush. We heard a leopard barking and had a great hippo sighting when we disturbed two giants sleeping in a water hole. 

We love bush walks because it’s a much more immersive experience than being in a vehicle. When on foot in the bush you feel like you are part of it. When you’re in a vehicle the safety, height and noise means you feel as if you are viewing nature from a distance. Both have their advantages though, as you typically see much more from a vehicle as you can cover more ground and animals don’t fear vehicles but will typically run from you on foot.

We really recommend Malelane Campsite. While it is not wild (you can see sugar cane farms and industry on the other side of the river) it is a small, quiet camp that is not commercial. It is well situated in an area with spectacular scenery and a good road network. An added bonus is that it is probably the closest camp to Johannesburg along a good road. There was also strong LTE signal. 

If you’re looking for a “work from camp” spot, this is it.

Matamba Bush Campsite

Matamba Bush Campsite is a dream spot for Joburgers. 

We dashed out of the city at 2 pm and headed north towards Bela Bela.  Three hours later we had our camp set up and watched the sunset with a drink in hand. The drive is straightforward and on good tar until the last couple of kilometers. Matamba is located in the Waterberg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The private game farm has six campsites and one campsite in a different part of the reserve for large groups. This is the closest you get to the feeling of camping north of borders, whilst staying within a few hours of home. Each campsite is private with lots of shade and amazing bathrooms.

Once you enter the reserve you are not allowed to drive around. The emphasis is on enjoying the bush by walking, running or cycling. Ben did a couple of tough runs on the sandy tracks and we also did a couple of hikes. The bush here is wooded and in pristine condition. The shade makes it nice and cool for walking. Strolling through the combretum tree on Saturday afternoon we saw eland, blesbok and impala, as well as a variety of birdlife.

Apart from exploring the reserve we enjoyed lazy hours at camp in our hammock and at the campsite pool. At sunset a couple of zebra walked through camp as we were enjoying a few cold ones around the fire with our new TentoCo safari chairs.

We have heard so many great things about Matamba from friends who have visited. We think it is the best weekend camping experience within easy reach of Joburg. The peace and quiet of the bush and pristine nature of the reserve made us feel a million miles away from the stresses of everyday life.

Sadly this was our final adventure in Jolene the Jimny. She has been absolutely flawless since we got her nearly new in 2014. We logged nearly 90,000 km across South Africa and nearly all of its neighboring countries. She opened up a whole new world for us and ignited a passion for exploring the continent we live on. Some of our fondest memories as a couple are waking up at 3 am to drive from Joburg to Kalahari, coming back to Joburg tired but well rested from the Drakensberg on a Sunday evening or traveling in convoy with friends through the Namibian desert. 

Jolene has done so much for us and we will miss her. But we decided it was time for something bigger that will allow us to go further with a little more comfort. More to follow in our next post on what vehicle we decided on and where we take her on a first trip - COVID-.19 dependent!

Ngwempisi: Don’t bring your Ford Fiesta

4am alarm. Kettle on. Last minute packing: toothbrush, books, sunscreen. Where are the head torches? Jump in the car. Watch the sunrise over Joburg. We’re going to Eswatini. 

The drive to Sandlane border was easy and we were through in 15 minutes. This meant we were on track to arrive in Manzini by 11h45. The Springboks were playing the All Blacks in their first game of the Rugby World Cup. Our friend Caroline was joining us for the first night and recommended we head to The George Hotel. 

We arrived in the lobby - after fighting Saturday morning Manzini traffic - to find a large family wearing Springbok rugby jerseys. Caroline’s advice had been spot on. We watched the game while we enjoyed a couple cold Sibebes and some great fries. 

The Boks were unlucky - they lost 23-13. Slightly subdued we jumped back in the car and headed back out of Manzini. After a quick stop for petrol, water and ice-cream (a mint Magnum, always) we hit dirt road on our way to Ngwempisi. 

“Everything is fine!”

We wound up and down valleys on a bumpy, challenging road through forestry land and streams. We popped out at a local school and thought the worst was behind us. After passing a homestead we drove onto a large rocky koppie with thick bush ahead of us. The road was not obvious, which was the first red flag. 

The route to the camp was some of the most technical and challenging offroading we have done. We battled rocky slopes, loose rock and at one point wedged one of our cars on top of a boulder. We got into sticky spots and had serious clearance issues. Jolene the Jimny did well. Chris’s Toyota Hilux, which is heavy enough, had the added weight of two rooftop tents. It struggled and he sweated. 

Caroline and Kate were in and out of our cars guiding Ben and Chris and moving rocks. It took us an hour to get down. Our friends who left their car at the top walked down in 15 minutes. 

It was a lot of (nervous) fun. Worth it but hairy at times. We arrived just in time for well earned sundowners. 

Neverland campsite

We arrived at Khopho Camp as the sun began to set. Beers in hand we clambered onto an enormous boulder and watched fires burning down in the Ngwempisi river valley. 

Caroline brought Prosecco - which had made it unscathed despite the bumpy journey. We popped it and enjoyed the fire. 

The camp was opened in 2007 with funding from the European Union. Whoever designed it had a special vision. The only way to describe it is a treehouse built into a tumble of boulders. There are different wooden platforms with stairs and viewpoints. You wind from sleeping areas with 15 bunkbeds to an open air kitchen and then onto a hidden shower with a view down to the river. 

Sadly it has seen better days. It’s quite run down and has not been maintained. There was a lot of rubbish - including a toilet seat hanging from a tree! We brought our tent but flat ground is limited. You can drink the water and there are flush toilets. 

We enjoyed our one night there. We didn’t have time to explore the hiking trails. Ben made it down to the river, which was clear and deep. Good for swimming and fishing! Be warned the climb is very steep and hard to find. 

The next morning we packed up and prepared to tackle the road again. It was a bit easier going up but still challenging. Jolene’s power and lightness really helped. 

We were charged R200 per person for the night,. We thought this was quite expensive considering the state of the camp and the basic facilities. We passed on our recommendations to the manager. 

It is a spectacular spot, with good 4x4-ing and tough hiking trails. A little investment and on-going maintenance would make us return. It is also possible to do multi-night hikes in the reserve hiking to different camps each night.

We dropped Caroline back in Manzini and headed east to Mbuluzi Game Reserve. Blog post coming soon.

How to book

There isn’t much information about the camp online. To book contact the manager, Nothkozo, on +268 7614 5863. He doesn’t have Whatsapp so you need to call. 

Baines' Baobabs

After a night at South Camp, at Nxai Pans National Park, we had one night left in Botswana before the long drive back to Joburg.

I had seen photos of the famous Baines' Baobabs and heard wonderful things about the campsites there. So we decided that’s where we would head for our last night in paradise.

We went to reception at South Camp and enquired about Baines'. We were happy to hear that Site 3, supposedly the best site from a privacy point of view, was available...but it was going to cost us US$ 90. We thought this was quite a lot of money for a campsite with no facilities. But, as it was our last night, we decided to go for it.

Jolene the Jimny on the salt pans at Nxai Pans National Park

We packed up camp, whilst keeping an eye out for the elephants that were roaming nearby. There is no water at the Baines' campsites, so we filled up one of our 20L water containers. We also picked up firewood at the shop and jammed it into the back of the Jolene the Jimny, mangling the upholstery on the roof.

We headed off down the same sandy track we came along and about halfway back turned left towards the famous Baobabs. The landscape changes quickly from scrubby savannah grassland to the famous Kudikama Pan and its islands of Baobabs.

We stopped and took photos of the famous thousand-year-old ‘upside down trees’ that were made famous by Englishman Thomas Baines who painted the trees in 1862 during an expedition through the Kalahari.

We drove across the salt pan, making sure to follow tracks made by others and arrived at campsite number 3. Tracks4Africa is a must in this area, as there are very few signs pointing you to your campsite.

Campsite number 3 is marvelous. It is set on its own tree island of golden grassland and, of course, it is scattered with baobabs.

Jolene under the baobab at campsite 3

With camp set up, we went for a walk along the shore of our tree island and admired the endless grey expanse stretching to the horizon. The wind picked up and began to pump as the sun set, so we headed back to camp. Strong wind is apparently quite common on the pans, but you can usually count on it stopping after the sun sets.

That evening we had our last bucket shower in the wilderness and cooked Kate’s famous potjie bread and a bean stew. Thankfully we had saved a couple of bottles of wine for our last night, which we drank admiring the stars.

The next day we set-off early, as we had a long drive ahead of us. On the sand road to the main gate we came across a family of ostriches, who weren’t too pleased to see us. Mum and Dad were so quick to run off flapping their wings that they left a couple of stragglers behind.

We spent all day on the road and made it to the Groblersbrug border at sunset. We pushed on for another hour in the dark to Lephalale, where we found the Palm Park Hotel.

We were exhausted and stopped for pizza. We gave into temptation and booked an overpriced hotel room for the night. The hot showers (our first in a week!), aircon and clean white sheets were much appreciated.

Catch up on the first 3 parts of our Botswana adventure: Central Kalahari Game Reserve, Khumaga and South Camp.

South Camp at Nxai Pan National Park

This is post three from our trip through Botswana. Make sure to catch up on our earlier posts about Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Khumaga.

Our sightings at Khumaga had been so fantastic (Elephant swimming across the Boteti river! A male lion on a zebra kill! A jackal fighting off 40 vultures!) that we had our doubts about moving on.

We didn’t know if we would find a campsite further north in the Nxai National Park (or if the viewing would be as exciting) but we decided to push on anyway.

We broke camp quickly. Kate sorted out the tent: collapsed the stretchers, rolled the mattress, folded the linen and repacked the bags. Ben sorted out the camping chairs and table, repacked our boxes and started packing Jolene.

Lion at a kill at Khumaga

With our car packed we opened the map on the bonnet and plotted our route. We decided to head north towards South Camp and see if we could get a campsite. We knew there would be water so we ditched a couple of 5 litre bottles, which provided much appreciate leg room for Kate.

We hopped in Jolene and took the road towards the north gate of the Makgadikgadi National Park. We passed the zebra kill again and had a peak. It was almost completely stripped bare by the vultures. What had two hours before been a red and pink carcass was now bones and dried brown flesh. A few vultures were still hanging around in the nearby trees and flew off as we drove by. The two jackals had long moved on - to shady sleeping spots, we imagined, as they must have had full tummies.

The road north was more of the same - sand, sand and more sand (Ben: Kate was asleep for this bit so she can only assume.) As we approached the gate we began to speculate about the possibility of ice. It had become the thing of fantasy for us. Where can we get it? How long will it last? How much are we willing to pay for it? Answer: much more than it was worth.

We reached the gate and the receptionist, Becca, started the checkout process. We signed the forms, chatted about recent sightings and bought ice-cold Fanta Oranges.

“Do you have ice?” we asked. She smiled and disappeared around the back of the building. She emerged a few minutes later with a couple of 2 litre frozen water bottles. We could have kissed her.

We repacked the cool box - positioning gin and tonic supplies next to the ice - and hit the main road.

About 15 kilometres later we arrived at the entrance to Nxai National Park. We booked a campsite for the night at South Camp and hit the sand again. (There’s only so much we can say about the sand. It’s tough going.) We had a dicey moment when Ben hopped out for a quick pee and the car started sinking. Sticking Jolene the Jimny into low range and reversing saved the day.

We arrived at the reception to find an elephant trunk-deep in an underground water tank. He emerged every few minutes to check on the cars coming and going.

The reception has an impressive shop! It's not cheap but there is an amazing selection of supplies and (importantly!) booze. After four days of low rations we stocked up on cold drinks and packets of chips.

After signing in we headed to South Camp. It’s a well equipped campsite but not our sort of place. The campsites are very close together. It doesn’t have the feel of a wilderness camp but you will regularly have elephants wandering past your tent.

The toilets are protected by electric fences, metal spikes embedded in concrete and locked gates. This is to keep the elephants from breaking down the building to get to water pipes.

We relaxed during the afternoon and then headed off to a nearby waterhole with a bottle of wine. We arrived just as the sun began to set and sipped Chardonnay while about 20 elephants jostled for the water.

Sunset at the watering hole.

The next morning we were up early and headed off in search of cheetah. We didn’t have any luck, though. The highlight of our drive were two bat-eared foxes curled up together in the morning sun.

Our next stop was a night at the legendary Baine's Baobabs - a camp on tree islands in the middle of a salt pan.

---

Khumaga Wildlife Camp

We were sad to leave the CKGR and we will definitely return in the summer after the rains when it’s cooler and the bush has recovered from the tragic fires. The trip really reminded us of the importance of putting out a campfire at night - even hot ash can start a bushfire in very dry areas like the Kalahari. (Read our trip report from CKGR here.)

Khumaga zebras checking us out.

We’re planners so heading off into the unknown was a new to us but we enjoyed it more than we thought we would. A week or so before we departed Ben had read a blog on 4x4community about Khumaga. We found it on the map and it looked pretty close.

We packed up Jolene, plotted our route and headed back along the sandy track to the main gate. It was slow going and we saw little game.

After signing out we got back on the tarred road and headed towards Khumaga. After days in the dry and dusty Kalahari we were amazed the GPS instructed us to "take the ferry in 300 metres"!

And sure enough, just over a small hill, the Boteti river was in full flood and a pontoon was waiting for us and Jolene.

Jolene floating across the Boteti river on a pontoon.

We paid out fare and drove onto the pontoon. The driver guided us safely across the bank on the other side. We drove up a short dirt road and arrived at the entrance to the Makgadikgadi National Park.

Two very helpful and friendly receptionists welcomed us and recommended we spend the night at the Khumaga Wildlife Camp. Unfortunately, there had been a small burn at the camp recently but nowhere near as bad as at CKGR.

We set up camp under a large Tamboti tree in campsite 10. The camp has excellent ablutions and after the bucket showers and long drops of CKGR Kate headed quickly disappeared to enjoy a long cold shower.

The campsites could be a little more private, but the recent burn meant a lot of the normal vegetation providing privacy was gone. It is a small very well-maintained camp and the staff were extremely friendly.

Khumaga Bird List

• Khumaga Bird List

• White backed vulture

• Double banded sandgrouse

• Pied Kingfisher

• Hammerkop

• Lappet faced vulture

• Sacred Ibis

• Great White Egret

• Goliath Heron

• Greater Flamingo

• Lilac breasted Roller

• Red-billed hornbill

The banks of the Boteti, with little water elsewhere in the region at this time of year, are teeming with game. The river is fed by the highlands of Angola, where it rains for nine months of the year.

We were lucky enough to see a herd of elephant cross the river at sunset. In places the river was so deep that the elephants had to use their trunks as snorkels. They emerged on the bank less than 20 metres in front of us.

Elephants swimming across the Boteti River at sunset.

We headed out on a game drive the next morning thinking this experience couldn’t be topped. We were wrong.

We had a great breakfast on the banks on the Boteti river while we watched its abundant birdlife waking up for the day.

An after breakfast pic on the banks of the Boteti River.

On the way back to camp we stumbled upon a large male lion on a fresh zebra kill. We watched him finish off his meal before he sauntered off. He stopped briefly to have a quick pee on a bush.

The real action then got underway. Over 50 vultures had been watching the lion from trees. But before they could get to the carcass a jackal dashed out and claim it for himself. For the next 45 minutes we watch the jackal fight off the vultures between mouthfuls of zebra.  

Spot the angry jackal.

The vultures eventually fought off the jackal and mobbed the carcass. We quietly drove away and headed back to out camp to pack up and set off.

We arrived back to find out tent collapsed under the weight of a troop of monkeys. They had tried to break in and raid our bags. Luckily they had been unsuccessful and the only damage was a couple monkey turds on our tent.

We packed up our gear and headed off with our sights set on spending a night or two at Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. Check back soon for that trip report.

Central Kalahari Game Reserve

I had always dreamed of visiting the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR). This large green swathe in the heart of the map of Botswana was created in 1961 as the last refuge for the Kalahari Bushmen living a traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Sadly, now the bushmen have all but disappeared but remote unfenced camps in total wilderness remain.

Last year I read The Cry of the Kalahari by Mark and Delia Owens. It’s an account of their experiences living in the CKGR for seven years conducting research into the reserve’s lions, hyenas and jackals on a minimal budget. This was the final spark I needed. I was determined to visit in 2017.

Looking for cheetah.

4x4community has a lot of information on CKGR and I spent hours (maybe even days) ploughing through it all to plan the perfect trip. I love the planning part of an adventure, so I took the careful preparations required to visit such a remote place all in my stride.

We booked through Tara at Botswana Footprints, who came highly recommended on the forums. She was brilliant and made all our bookings for us and couriered all the confirmations to Joburg. She charges a flat rate of ZAR 500 - an absolute deal.

Some campsites in Bots are run by department of wildlife and national parks and others are run by private operators. Tara can book with both - meaning that you only have one point of contact when booking trips. We booked about two months in advanced and a lot of the sites we wanted were already full.

CKGR: Need to Know

• CKGR is the second largest game reserve in the world and is very remote with few roads.

• Don’t expect wildlife densities like Kruger or elsewhere in Botswana. The primary reason to visit the CKGR is the experience the remote wilderness and careful planning is required.

• You will need to bring all your own fuel and water.

• A lot of the roads consist of thick sand, which will greatly increase your fuel consumption and travel times.

• We used 10L of water between us each day and this allowed us a very quick shared bucket shower, but we did have other soft drinks to supplement our water supply. The more water you can bring the better. There is nothing better than a bucket shower in the CKGR after a long hot day.

• As we were traveling alone we rented a satellite phone for emergencies and the occasional call to family. We used Sat4Rent. They couriered it to Kate’s offices before the trip and collected it afterwards. It was quite pricey but a relief to know we could call if we needed help.

• We didn’t have a fridge. Our cool box put up a good fight but after three days we were struggling for cold beers.

• Bring lots of books - apart from game drives there is not much else to do.

Day 1: Joburg to Tuuthebe Lodge

We left Joburg at 5am with Jolene the Jimny fully loaded and arrived at the Stockpoort border post, via a refuelling stop in Lephalale.

Based on the advice we received on 4x4community we decided to use this border post because it is less busy and quicker than Martin’s Drift. The advice proved correct and we were on the other side of the Limpopo in under 15 minutes.

From the border to Mahalapye on the A1 was approximately 45km on a fast gravel road with nothing but cattle and trees to keep you company. A nice welcome to Botswana.

Once on the A1, the main motorway heading north in Botswana, the going was easy and the roads relatively quiet. We stopped for a Steers and few supplies at Palapye and then took the A14 north-west towards Orapa. We stopped for cash and fuel at Serowe, but there is not much here and would recommend that over landers pick up their supplies in Palapye.

We reached our overnight stop of Tuuthebe Lodge on the edge of the Kalahari at 4pm, roughly an 8 hour drive excluding stops from home. It was ominously hot! Luckily Tuuthebe had aircon and cold showers. While Kate napped I drove to Choppies in Letlhakane to pick-up some beers. It’s a well-stocked Choppies, which is open to 7 or 8pm in the evenings. It's not on Tracks4Africa, so ask for directions at the reception of Tuuthebe.

Tuuthebe Lodge Bird List

• Fork-tailed Drongo

• African Red-Eyed Bulbul

• Kalahari Scrub Robin

• Green-winged pytilia (melba finch)

• Blue Waxbill

The lodge is the perfect stopover, with nice braai facilities overlooking a duck pond. The land surrounding the lodge is a cattle farm, which you are welcome to explore on foot. After a long drive it was nice to stretch the legs and spot some interesting birds at sunset. I wouldn’t recommend camping there unless you are desperate. The sites are fine, but the traffic noise would drive you mad.

Day 2: Tuuthebe Lodge to Kori 3 (CKGR)

I was up early and filled up our water tanks from the borehole tap when disaster stuck. One of our new 20L tanks was leaking water and despite Kate’s ambitious duct taping we were unable to stem the leak. Knowing we needed more water we headed back to Choppies in Letlhakane and bought four 5 litre water bottles and left the leaking tank in the car park.

We refueled and filled our jerry cans in Mopipi, overlooking a vast salt pan. We also refueled Jolene at Rakops, where there is now a Puma filling station. We were told it now has reliable fuel. We were persuaded by the petrol attendants to buy wood here because we were told there would be none at the park gate. This turned out not to be true but we were fooled.

Left turn ahead!

Just outside of Rakops is the turn off on to the sand road, which leads to the Matswere entrance gate to the park. There were some thick sandy sections on this road, but no major dramas. As we headed further along the sand track the vegetation got thicker and signs of human life got thinner. As we got closer to the entrance gate we started to see signs of recent fire damage. This was a sign of things to come.

We got to the entrance gate in good time and the receptionist was extremely friendly and helpful. We headed into the park and the burn damage became worse as we drove. We arrived in Deception Valley to find vast stretches of it decimated by fire.

Kori 3 is a fantastic camp. It is large and private, with some trees for shade - a real luxury in the Kalahari. It has a good view of the Deception Valley, but this was a little spoilt for us by the burn. Kori 2 also looked good, with a nice view of the valley but is a smaller than Kori 3.

We set-up camp and settled into our home for the next three nights.

Magic nights by the fire.

Days 3 & 4: Kori 3 (CKGR)

On Day 3 we spent the morning and later afternoon on game drives without seeing anything noteworthy. During the day the temperate was in the upper 30’C, which made it hard to even concentrate on reading a book. Kate was then stung three times by insects and morale was running low. The only solution I could think of was to go on a game drive with the AC on full blast while we sipped cold beers.

CKGR Bird List

• Black-shouldered Kite

• Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

• Violet-eared waxbill

• Secretary bird

• Bateleur Eagle

• Crimson-breasted Shrike

• Red-crested Korhaan

• Northern Black Korhaan

• Cape Glossy Starling

• Black-faced waxbill

• White-Browed Sparrow Weaver

By the morning of day 4 we had decided that because of the severity of the burn and the extreme heat we would not be moving deeper into the park to our next booking at Phokoje. We decided to move on and try our luck elsewhere.

Knowing this was our last full day in the park we decided to make the long drive to the Letahiau waterhole (a 90 km round trip) where we had been told at the entrance gate of frequent lion sightings. We were in luck, about 10 km before the waterhole resting under a tree we saw two cubs and a lioness resting after a long night of hunting. We sat for over an hour enjoying the curious cubs watch us carefully whilst Mum was fast asleep.

Lion cubs resting in the shade.

The next day we packed up and headed off without a plan. Check back soon for that blog post!