Pungwe camp, Greater Kruger, South Africa. Part 1.

Last month my partner Doug and I met up with 3 people who had been guests of mine on previous photography tours I’d organised.  I’ve now retired from running big trips and had simply suggested meeting up at a small authentic safari camp that I’d been to before.  Needless to say, I did end up doing all the organising but it was a really nice week and I consider those previous guests to be lovely friends who I enjoy spending time with. Sadly we don’t meet very often as we are all from different parts of the world.

The camp we went to is on the outskirts of the Kruger National Park in South Africa, and only sleeps 8 people in 4 tents, so we occupied 3 of them.  When I write ‘tents’, they are bigger than some hotel rooms, with a solid door and ensuite shower & toilet, so although the only power is from solar it’s hardly slumming it!  Being without internet or connection with the outside world for a week was a very nice digital detox.

Over the course of the week we had quite a few sightings of lions.  Two separate prides had each killed a buffalo, and this meant that they stayed in the same areas whilst they feasted on them.

The male on the right hand photo below had been injured in a fight and his lip had been torn.  Just look at the full belly of the one in the bottom photo!

They certainly had no qualms about getting right inside the carcass!

We also saw painted wolves, which are also known as African wild dogs. Each dog has an individual pattern of black, brown, and white patches. Sadly there are only approximately 6,000 left in the world, and are Africa’s second most endangered carnivore.  (After the Ethiopian wolf) Our first sighting was of a tussle over the scant remains of what looked to be an Impala.

Later in the week we also found them just before sunset.  A hyena thought it could chance its luck on any remains, but two dogs saw it off fairly quickly and it slunk away.

We had a better sighting of a hyena on another drive. They are part of the ‘Ugly 5’, but I don’t actually think they are that ugly.

Our days there started at 05.30 with a wake up from one of the Pungwe staff, who went to each tent to check that there were no predators in camp.  (Each night we had to be escorted back to our tents for the same reason, and all set off as a group from the main lounge & dining area.  There’s safety in numbers! ) In the morning it was just starting to get light and we would have a cup of tea or coffee around the camp fire, and then set off on our morning drive. The temperature was very cold but we saw some absolutely beautiful sunrises and sunsets each day, and would stop somewhere safe after a couple of hours for coffee/tea/hot chocolate & freshly baked muffins. (And a bush wee!😂)

I can never resist trying some motion blur photos of trees. It’s very much a case of trial and error and most of them are rubbish, but I really liked this one.

Below was one of my favourite moments; The bush coming alive with birdsong, zebras and wildebeest grazing peacefully, fresh invigorating air, and a beautiful sunrise casting a warm glow over the landscape.

After our morning drives we would return to camp for breakfast, then have free time until mid-afternoon when we would go out again for another drive.  That also included a stop to stretch our legs a little, and for a sundowners drink.

One day we were driving back to camp and saw an Aardvark, which was a rare sighting indeed, and the first time I’ve ever seen one. It was more special for our guide, who has been guiding for 19 years and had never seen one before, so he was really excited.  I didn’t manage to get a photo of it as it was too dark but had to make do with this one back at camp 😆

From early morning until bedtime there is always a campfire burning and a huge kettle on the boil. As each kettle comes to the end of its usable life it’s hung up on the tree and a new one is purchased.

‘Downtime’ at camp proved to be quite exciting most days as we had elephants and giraffes wandering through, with cheeky vervet monkeys chancing their luck at coming into our tent to see if we had any food that they could steal.  The first indication I had of elephants was hearing some very distinctive ‘cracking’ and ‘swishing’ sounds as they browsed & grazed only meters from the tent. I have deliberately kept the overhang of the tent in the first image below to show just how close one of them was.

Another day I could hear them nearby but not see them, so I very carefully and slowly picked my way a short distance through the trees to see the herd standing still, all close together and facing outwards, protecting a baby who was having a sleep.💚

The giraffes that came nearby one day were partially hidden by trees and were not photo worthy, but I managed to get photos of the vervet monkey who visited a few times and definitely would have come inside if the door was open and we hadn’t been there. Again, I’ve left a chair and door frame in the photo to show how close it was.

We had plenty of elephant sightings on our drives.

I love it when baby elephants are still learning how to control their trunk!

Our guide positioned our truck on the other side of a waterhole and we watched a herd coming down to drink.

This one may make you think!

I’m going to split my Pungwe week into two blog posts as I have so many photos I want to share!