Kruger Day 2 - Phalaborwa / Kambuka

Sadly it was time to leave the hotel which felt all too soon, but we were on our way to Kruger National Park. The first stop was Phalaborwa located to the west (outside the park boundary) and roughly at the mid-point of the parks' longitudinal extent (around 220 miles).

We drove straight to our accommodation for the following two nights meeting Dave, the owner of the excellent Sunbird Lodge, a mere five-minute drive to Phalaborwa Gate. 

Half the day had already passed, so we were reluctant to head into the park. Instead, Dave advised us to visit Kambuka set alongside the imperious Olifants River that had swelled after the recent heavy rainfall.

And what a place this was - initially planning to spend a couple of hours over lunch, we decided to spend the rest of the day there. The lodge had a bar and restaurant, but it was practically empty but for a few tourists passing through. 

So we just sat, ate, watched the water rush by and ate some more. On the opposite side of the river, our first sightings of giraffe, zebra and elephant and crocodile added to the thrill of just spending a few relaxing hours at this stunning venue.

Little swift were swarming overhead, and a small group of lesser striped swallow alighted on the temporarily redundant riverboat (no water safaris were possible due to the high water levels and flow velocity). A small colony of lesser masked weaver were breeding on-site with an incredible sight of one individual 'brawling' with a diederik cuckoo that had dared to encroach into its territory.

As the sun started its preparations for nightfall, a couple of the wardens generously took me round on a short birding walk picking up some of the local species such as grey heron (pic), black crake, green-backed heron, African fish eagle, white-browed robin chat and spectacled weaver.

A couple of water monitor slinked by.

We were grateful to Dave for the suggestion as it was a great experience and a lovely place to relax.