We last visited Kruger on my 60th birthday, two weeks short of 17 years ago. Our journey started in the north, the Pafuri region, home to the Makuleke Conservancy. Home also to Baobabs and Fever Trees, elephants and the best bird viewing in the park.
The Makuleke people were removed in 1968, and only returned 30 years later when they were given back their land to use as a conservancy area within Kruger National Park. We stayed in their lodge named Pafuri Tented Camp situated on the peaceful Luvuvhu River.
This is the Luvuvhu River, the picture taken from the main bridge, our camp two kilometres downstream.
The confluence of the Luvuvhu and Limpopo Rivers, the latter only sand, the former bringing life. Across that river is the Zimbabwean Transfronteir Park. The animals need no passports to cross that sandy frontier.
One Tusk, a frequent visitor to our tented camp. The passage to the tents on the river’s edge are wooden walkways raised two and a half metres above the ground, and one can often be within 2 metres of a feeding elephant. Risk and opportunity.
Pafuri provides the best birding of the park, even in autumn before the migrating birds arrive and the weavers and widow birds get their distinguishing features and colours. With the great help of our ranger, Wiseman Manganyi, we saw 120 bird types in the 3 days we were there. This picture is a Little Bee Eater. The pictures to follow are the African Jacana, Ground Hornbill and Crested Barbet.
This picture, and the next were taken on a walking trail with Wiseman through a magnificent Fever Tree forest to one of the picturesque pans in the area, teeming with water birds; cormorant’s, herons, storks and strangely enough, only White Faced Whistling Ducks. Our return journey was delayed by an elephant which had taken a liking to our game viewing vehicle.
This last image reminds us of the dangers which lurk in these magnificent lands – a Black Mamba in a crevice of a Nyala Tree.
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