In December I had a short break from safaris and had arranged to go on a birding course in the far north of Kruger. I had three objectives for that week– 1) to learn more about birds plus see some of the unique species of the area; 2) to have a holiday in Kruger Park which involved a lot of walking; and 3) to have that holiday in the Parfuri / Makuleke region which is relatively inaccessible to the general public. So on the 8th December I travelled to the far north of Kruger, the Parfuri region, to a training camp located on the southern banks of the “great, green, greasy” Limpopo River for a wonderful week of birding. I saw many new (for me anyway!) birds and learnt a huge amount more about their calls and habits. There were 15 of us on the course with 2 instructor guides and we walked for 3-4 hours every morning while it was still relatively cool and drove every afternoon when it was generally too hot to walk.
A Safari Guide’s Diary – Going Birding in the Parfuri Region, December 2009
February 1st, 2010Kruger Park wildlife
November 16th, 2009| The Kruger National Park has without a doubt one of the highest diversity of species for any park in the world. The Kruger Park is home to approximately 147 mammal species, 114 reptile, 517 bird, 49 fish, 34 amphibian and 336 tree species.
The Big 5 (Lion, Leopard, Rhino, Elephant & Buffalo) are probably the parks biggest attraction, however there are many more species to be on the look out for. Honey Badger, Serval, Side-striped Jackal, Wild Dogs and Cheetah are special sightings to have, and can in their own right be more appreciated than any of the Big 5. Of the more rare antelope to be on the look out for are: Roan Antelope, Sable, Eland, Tssessebe, Mountain Reedbuck and Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest. All this doesn’t even consider the insect life underpinning the park’s ecosystem - about half of southern Africa’s known species of insects are thought to occur in Kruger, producing the slightly mind-boggling figure of some 20,000 insect species in the park. In Kruger’s burn plots alone, 169 species of ants have been found. The insect life of the park is sufficient to sustain 39 different species of insectivorous bats. The area you visit will determine the species that you are most likely to see. See the camps for more on which species occur within the immediate region. |
South Africa
November 9th, 2009The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798 kilometers (1,739 mi) coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland, while Lesotho is an independent country surrounded by South Africa.
Modern humans have inhabited Southern Africa for more than 100,000 years. At the time of European contact, the indigenous peoples reflected migrations from other parts of Africa, where new tribes had become dominant. Two major groups were Xhosa and Zulu peoples.
Kruger Park package safaris
October 15th, 2009
Enquire NOW! safaris@outlook.co.za
South Africa safari
October 14th, 2009
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