Atlasville, 04 Oct 2005
Just back with my wife from 3 nights in the Mopani Camp of Kruger National Park. Mopani is the newest of the main rest camps in Kruger, having been established in 1989. We have stayed in all the other rest camps and all of the Bushveld camps over the years and although we had visited Mopani many times to have lunch in the cafeteria, this was the first time we had actually stayed in the camp.
After a very early departure from home we entered the Park via the Phalaborwa Gate and headed straight for Letaba Camp to have a late lunch after the long drive, stopping only at the Nhlanganini Dam where we watched a pair of Klipspringer as they moved very watchfully down from the rocks towards the dam. You can always guarantee to see Mourning Collared Dove while sitting at the tables under the thatched roof outside the Letaba cafeteria, which also have one of the best views in the Park, looking along the Letaba River. Also ever-present at the cafeteria to mop up any crumbs falling to the ground are Red-winged Starling, Dark-capped Bulbul (now regarded as a sub-species of Common Bulbul) , Southern Grey-headed Sparrow and Red-headed Weaver. The last-mentioned often nests in the trees right next to the cafeteria. The cafeteria car park boasts a large Sausage Tree (Kigelia africana) but don’t park under the tree as these ‘sausages’ can weigh up to 7 kg and if one falls you might be needing a new windscreen!
After some post-lunch birding on the riverside paths around the cafeteria we headed north to Mopani, with just enough time left to unpack at our chalet and take a walk to the restaurant/shop complex with its elevated views out over the Pioneer Dam, where I added Mocking Cliff Chat, an ever-present in the area beneath the boardwalk out to the viewing deck. This is a great place to sit and watch the sun go down with flocks of water birds silhouetted against the fading sunlight.
Next morning I drove out of the camp gates as they opened and headed due west to the Stapelkop Dam, which on previous visits has turned up the odd surprise like Greater Painted Snipe. This morning, though, I’d be treated to roosting Mosque Swallow on a dead tree in the middle of the dam and Collared Pratincole. Inevitably I ticked off African Fish Eagle, Blacksmith Lapwing, Three-banded Plover, Egyptian Goose, Grey-headed Gull and Water Thick-knee as well as Kittlitz’s Plover. On the way back to Mopani I called in at the Pioneer Dam Hide on the opposite side of the dam to the camp itself, where I added some of the bigger and common water bird species, Goliath Heron, Little Heron and African Darter, as well as the less common Black Heron, and a big surprise in the bushes around the parking area outside the hide, Stierling’s Wren-Warbler. Back at Mopani I added Long-billed Crombec and Southern Black Tit in the tree right outside our chalet before my wife and I headed off further north for the day to the Shingwedzi area of the Park.
Initially heading east you join the Old Main Road, a gravel road that heads north paralleling the Mozambique border. At this time of year the very dry late winter conditions make for 90 minutes of very uninspiring driving as much of the game avoids the sparse veld of this area and heads for the Shingwedzi River, but once there this is some of the best game viewing and birdwatching in the Park.
As soon as the road reaches the Shingwedzi at Dipeni the change in vegetation is quite dramatic, from sparse mopane shrubveld to lush riverine forest with many large Fever Trees (Vachellia xanthophloea). From here to the Shingwedzi Rest Camp is a drive of only just over 20 km, but you need to spend at least 2-3 hours along this stretch to really do it justice. There are numerous small loops off the main road winding through the riverine bush, as well as other small roads that take you to viewpoints overlooking the Shingwedzi River. At this time of year the river below the Kanniedood Dam and at Shingwedzi Camp itself has become a series of large pools to which the game comes to drink. It is almost impossible to miss the elephants and you are almost guaranteed to see bushbuck, kudu, waterbuck and impala. This is a very good time of year for lion and leopard sightings with so many of their preferred prey congregating along the river. Some of my best leopard sightings in the Kruger have been along this stretch of road.
Added to the large wader list here were African Spoonbill, African Openbill, Saddle-billed Stork and Yellow-billed Stork, while Hamerkop is an ever-present along this stretch of river. We had added Black-headed Oriole, Red-faced Mousebird, Green Wood Hoopoe, Grey-headed Bushshrike, White-fronted Plover, Giant Kingfisher and Common Greenshank, among others before arriving at Shingwedzi Camp, where African Green Pigeon and Yellow-breasted Apalis were added.
After a late lunch at Shingwedzi we headed back to Mopani on the main tar road. Although we had crossed the Tropic of Capricorn heading north it is not marked as such on the gravel road, but here on the tar there is a sign to let you know that you are crossing from or into the Tropics. We turned east again just before this and headed for the Tihongonyeni waterhole, probably the most reliable spot in the Park for seeing tsessebe, and we were not disappointed. Also present, and always nice to see, was a single Kori Bustard, Africa’s largest flying bird. Then it was back to Mopani just before gate closing time.
Mopani Camp is well situated for a weekend stay in the Park as you can spend a full day to the north and another to the south, which is exactly what we did, so on our second and last full day in the Park we headed south towards Letaba. First stop just south of Mopani was the Mooiplaas picnic site where all three common hornbills put in an appearance, Southern Yellow-billed, Southern Red-billed and African Grey. Arrow-marked Babbler, Greater Blue-eared Starling, Magpie Shrike and Brown-hooded Kingfisher swelled the list, and first raptor of the day was a very nice Gabar Goshawk. Then on the Nshawu No.1 waterhole where the bushes turned up several Marico Sunbird. The raptor list added a Bateleur at Mooiplaas waterhole, while the Tsende Loop gave up African Hawk-Eagle and Brown Snake Eagle. Back on the main road south towards Letaba, White-backed Vulture and Lappet-faced Vulture were added.
At Middelvlei waterhole a small herd of elephant were drinking from the dam. No rain has fallen yet and the veld is exceptionally dry. We turned off to the east just before the Letaba River bridge and headed for the Engelhard Dam viewpoint overlooking the dam wall and Mantambeni Hide just upriver from the dam wall. White-faced Whistling Duck, Black Crake, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper and Squacco Heron were all added, and the raptor list grew with the addition of African Fish Eagle, Yellow-billed Kite, Wahlberg’s Eagle and Tawny Eagle. We retraced our steps back to the main tar road and on to Letaba Camp where we sat outside the cafeteria, relaxed and took in that tremendous view, while African Palm Swift circled overhead.
We never seem to have enough time to do all we’d like to in the Park, so if I wanted to take in the in-camp walking trail back at Mopani it would have to be a straight run back up the main road with no deviations and minimal stopping. We did though stop at the bridge over the Letaba River adding White-fronted Bee-eater.
On our final morning the plan was to head south again to Letaba then follow the river road to Olifants Camp and back up the main tar road to Letaba, then head for Phalaborwa Gate, rather than taking the direct route from Mopani straight to Phalaborwa Gate. At Letaba Camp, our 3rd visit in 4 days, I actually added a new bird to the trip list, Southern Crested Guineafowl. This was all the more surprising as in the past 20+ years of visiting Kruger I had never seen this one here before. Heading down the river road to Olifants we encountered several Red-crested Korhaan scurrying across the road. I have mentioned a couple of times that veld conditions were very dry, yet I was still not prepared for what I saw from the river lookout at Olifants Camp. The mighty Olifants River had been reduced to a string of puddles! Contrast this with the more normal end of winter situation that we encountered on our very first visit to Olifants in October 1982. I have seen the river here in full flood (1993), literally wall-to-wall water flowing around that bend, even inundating the veld above the banks. I suppose that’s what makes visits here so special, the ever-changing seasonal/climatic conditions dictate where and in what numbers you will see the game and birds. Different every visit. That’s was brings us back time after time. My maxim is “the best photograph is the next one”.
We called in at Letaba one last time to fill up the twin-cab with fuel for the journey home and believe it or not in a tree at the filling station I added another bird not yet seen this trip, Golden-tailed Woodpecker.
It would still be a long drive home, but a weekend (well 2 days and 2 ½-days) trip list of 152 birds was not bad at all for the tail end of winter.
