Kruger: December 2009 (Part 9)

We booked into Punda Maria for our one-night sojourn and eventually made it out for a late afternoon drive around the kopje. These are some of the sights we enjoyed on this last afternoon drive...


An ugly bugger (Marabou Stork):

 A big boy: 

Pumbaa and his friend:

A tender Impala moment:

Inquisitive Zebras:

Our last dinner under the Kruger stars was nice but also sad. It's always sad to be leaving the bush and going back to the rat-race. The next morning I decided to do something bold - with the gates opening at 04h30 already, I decided to drive south as far as we can get before the gates close at 18h00, and only then take the 4 hour drive home. Talk about maximising your time in the field, haha.

These are the sightings we enjoyed on this long, but rewarding drive from Punda Maria to the Paul Kruger Gate close to Skukuza.

Open-Billed Stork:

Yellow-Billed Kite:

Same raptor being harrassed by a Fork-Tailed Drongo:

The ever-present Glossy Starling (a Kruger stalwart):

Impalas locked in a fierce contest:

Cute warthog piglets:

The high level of the Olifants river this particular year:

 

Compare the 2 scenes I posted above with the same river, from the same viewpoint, 5 months earlier (July 2009)!

 

We had a long way to go still - so we carried on southwards...

Mud-bath:

Stork and Elephant:

The lovely Carmine Bee-Eater:

The lovely Lilac-Breasted Roller:

We reached the Paul Kruger gate around 5pm (and got home by about 9pm!). I am looking forward to possibly fitting in another trip to the northern reaches of the Kruger National Park in the next few months. I hope you enjoyed these trip reports...I've got a few to catch up on so there are more coming!

Have a blessed Christmas time with your families and loved ones!!
God bless you all.

Morkel Erasmus