Innehållsförteckning för Summer 2019-2020 från Kruger Magazine

“Life’s joys mostly come from relationships and friendships, not from material things.” The first summer rain has started falling and in and around the Greater Kruger the scenery has changed overnight… how wonderful is Mother Nature! The first sign of spring moving towards summer was spotting the distinct yellow flowers and green leaves of the long-tail cassia against the still colourless shades of winter. Read about this smallish, deciduous tree, perfectly described by Nick Zambatis, on page 64. This time of the year there is so much to get excited about other than the rain itself – the beautiful shade of green when the mopani trees get new leaves, the different species of migrant birds returning, the new impala and other antelope babies to be spotted, and the anticipation of…

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The game drives at Shimuwini is like driving in an untouched area in the Park, which means you can enjoy your sighting and watch animals without any disturbance. Morning self-drive The S141 Shimuwini road is a 12km private road for residents only, with a second 8km gravel road along the Letaba River with little loops that take you right up to the river. On these loops you will find some of the largest baobab trees in the KNP – one of them estimated to be between 2 000 and 3 000 years old. It is protected from further damage by elephants by a circle of stones around it. Late November, these giants are in full bloom with beautiful white flowers. Vegetation along these loops are quite dense, and one can…

Situated more or less in the middle of the 8 500ha Karongwe Private Game Reserve, east of the Drakensberg Mountains in the Limpopo Province – the Indlovu River Lodge is an undiscovered jewel that should be on your bucket list, especially if you are an avid photographer. The area has a rich history and reads like a mystery novel. Until the late 1940s, this area in South Africa was not favourable for permanent agricultural activities due to the presence of tsetse flies and mosquitos in the summer months. Europeans have, despite this, begun hunting and exploring here during the early 19th century and the Royal Geographical Society, on behalf of The Harmony Mining Company, properly surveyed the area for the first time in 1893. Today it is still known as…

started his conservation career in 1964 as a postgraduate student in the Sabi Sand Wildtuin and was appointed to the Kruger National Park as Junior Ranger at the end of 1964, stationed at the remote Klipkoppies Section on the Mozambique border (due east of Letaba). In 1967, he was granted study leave to do a BSc (Hon) (Wildlife Management) degree at Pretoria University. In November 1967, he was transferred to the Research Section with responsibility for rare antelope, in particular roan. For his work on the social behaviour of roan, he was awarded an MSc and subsequently a DSc degree on the population ecology of roan. In 1976, he was promoted to Head of Research and was intimately involved in monitoring large mammal populations, a study that yielded all the…

I always think why put your camera away at the end of the day when you look up and see the Milky Way above your head just waiting to be captured. I decided to try my hand at astrophotography. I self-taught online on how to set up and which settings to use. The great thing about night-sky photography is that you can extend your photographic day for as long as you like, particularly in the winter months when daylight hours are fewer. You have a whole celestial world to explore and don’t have to rely on a waterhole floodlight, erratic spotlight or the pale ghosts of an infra-red scope. These images were taken at Talamati Bushveld Camp where, being a smaller camp, you have far less light. We always check…

The Manyeleti Private Game Reserve is located between the Timbavati and Sabi Sands Game Reserves and covers 23 000 hectares of land. As the land is unfenced, all wildlife is able to roam freely between the KNP, Timbavati and Sabi Sands. The name Manyeleti means ‘place of the stars’ in Shangaan and is my personal heaven on Earth! Before my first stay in the reserve, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve travelled a lot in Africa, visited good friends in Johannesburg and Hoedspruit, and travelled through Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa in a group in an overland truck. But staying alone in an unfenced tented camp with only five tents was a new experience for me. I can still feel my excitement when entering Manyeleti behind the Orpen…

Skukuza was our first stop. It was still the days when the veranda of some of the bungalows were enclosed with mesh. Being five of us, a spare bed was placed on the veranda, where my father slept. He often recounted the story of waking up in the early hours of the morning and seeing a hyaena on the opposite side of the mesh enclosure that had been scavenging in the dustbins near the bungalow. He always said how grateful he was that there was a barrier between him and the hyaena, even if it was just mesh! We were amazed at the large herds of impala, together with herds of zebra and wildebeest. We were enthralled when we saw our first rhino near Pretoriuskop and two magnificent male sable…

“Strategies involve the utmost patience and stealth, a combination that makes the leopard such a successful predator.” ‹‹ Dr Ian John Whyte is an independent environmental consultant who retired from SANParks in 2007. He was previously engaged in full-time wildlife research in the Kruger National Park from 1970-2007. At the time of retirement, he was responsible for the coordination of all research projects pertaining to elephant, buffalo and other large herbivores and rare antelope. He is a member of the IUCN’s Species Survival Commission’s African Elephant Specialist Group. He has co-authored two field guides to the birds of the KNP and is in the process of publishing a book about his life and work in KNP. Originally there were up to 13 subspecies described, but now only one species is…

“It is one of the first trees to respond to the arrival of spring.” « Nick Zambatis the former Manager: Biodiversity Conservation in Conservation Management: Kruger National Park. He job in the Kruger was as a research technician based at Skukuza, which he started in 1987. “The  transfer from Pretoria to the Lowveld was ecstasy and the Kruger appointment was a dream come true,” he recalls. He holds an MSc degree on the determinants of grass composition and production in the Kruger National Park, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. General description The long-tail cassia (Cassia abbreviata subsp. beareana – ‘sjambok pod’ in Afrikaans, ‘numanyama’ in Tsonga and ‘muvhonelathangu’ in Venda) is a smallish, deciduous tree of 4-7m tall with a symmetrical crown varying from umbrella-shaped to round. It is one…

The lodge is located right on the doorstep of some of the Lowveld region’s most well-known tourist attractions, such as a trip to the Kruger National Park, the Panorama Route that includes the Blyde River Canyon, Bourke’s Luck Potholes, the Three Rondawels, Swadini Dam, God’s Window and many beautiful waterfalls and spectacular vistas. In the nearby town of Hoedspruit, a variety of educational wildlife centres can be visited. Other visits in the area include cultural tours, the Moholoholo Rehabilitation Centre and the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre.…

1 Environment Preventing waste fabric off-cuts from going to landfills and using this ‘waste’ to make functional, stylish and affordable bags of all shapes and sizes. IMPACT TO DATE: 86 700m WASTE FABRIC SAVED FROM LANDFILL 2 Skills Development Empowering communities through the development of skills, entrepreneurship and education, and creating of employment opportunities. IMPACT TO DATE: 30 000+ SCHOOL BAGS DONATED 3 Conservation Supporting The Bateleurs, a non-profit organisation who ‘Fly for Conservation’, by donating a percentage of all sales to assisting conservation in South Africa. IMPACT TO DATE: R175 000 DONATED TO THE BATELEURS…

It is said that the north of the Kruger National Park is visited less frequently than the south, but this is where we found one of the most beautiful bush camps ever. As you drive through the Phalaborwa Gate, the Shimuwini Bushveld Camp is little more than an hour’s drive to the north on the H14. On our way there, with the first summer rains having just fallen, the lime-green new leaves of the mopani trees, contrasting against its near-black bark, were an amazing sight – despite the little rain received in this area. Shimuwini is named after the Shangaan word meaning ‘place of the baobab tree’ and is set in a remote area along the Letaba River, which is lined with majestic baobab trees. One of them is estimated…

Joep Stevens is a keen historian who was introduced to the Kruger National Park by his parents in 1966. This ignited his interest in and passion for the Park. Part 10: Shingwedzi – the remotest of camps In Issue 9 of KRUGER MAGAZINE, we featured Part 2 of Skukuza Camp history. In Issue 10 we look at the history of Shingwedzi Camp. A-circle with the flowering impala lilies. Photo © Joep Stevens The origin of the name Shingwedzi Shingwedzi is named after the river with the same name and it is thought to have been derived from the Tsonga word ‘ngwetse’, meaning ‘the sound of metal objects rubbing against each other’. Many of the rocks in the river originate from the ironstone or dolerite hills in the river basin and…

Waterbuck bulls are large animals, slightly more than 1.5m at the shoulder and weighing around a mass of more than 250kg. Their long horns have numerous prominent rings and are up to roughly a meter in length. From the base they form a wide V-shape from the front and initially curve slightly backwards for the first half and then gently forwards. The overall body colour is grey, ranging from darker on the back and upper body to lighter towards the belly. The face has white markings in front of the eyes and mouth and, of course, around the tail. It is not as striking as a sable or kudu bull but, all in all and in its own right, yet another superbly handsome and impressive animal. The waterbuck cows are…

All KRUGER MAGAZINE Facebook members are invited to share their favourite spots with the community. The TOP 3 winning entries are chosen by the KRUGER MAGAZINE executive team and will be announced on the KRUGER MAGAZINE Facebook group. Popular votes by members of the Facebook group will be taken into consideration in combination with engaging entries. PENTAX South Africa sponsors our popular FAVOURITE SPOTS competition!…

My new favourite spot is the corridor along H3 from Malelane Gate to the S113. Why? There are so many unique spots with such diversity in terrain, vegetation, microclimates, scenery and almost all the beautiful species the Kruger has to offer. In a 90-minute drive one can visit five watering holes, see a mind-blowing variety of everything from the Big 5 to crocs, hippos, giraffes, antelope – a seemingly endless list of large, eye-popping photographic creatures. Add the little gems that many people miss – the wide variety of birds – and basically you have found heaven in a day. It’s like the best stage show on Earth! All one has to do is show up, behave and be patient. Mother Nature will do the rest – supply the visual,…