randombirder

Christmas in Krakow with the family. How lovely. The trip started with a nice surprise with an upgrade to the front of the aircraft and my goodness the difference between Business and Economy class is vast. So an early Christmas dinner was a real treat. It was predictably cold in Warsaw on arrival but the journey was not complete as the next day, the four of us were back at the airport for the short flight down to Krakow. Krakow is such a stunning city and despite the Christmas fare, it didn't feel touristy and was very charming. We stayed in a lovely Airbnb with adjoining apartments so it was really convenient having a relaxing space for a few days. The Main Square (Rynek Główny) was beautifully decorated, nothing garish just tastefully embellished, no plastic Santa Claus inflatables flapping about in the wind, and not a single utterance of fucking 'Last Christmas'. It was cold and largely overcast, but a joy to spend the festive season here. The castle is a short walk fro...

Time to leave. It reminded me of the moment I had to leave Kuwait a year or so ago, gazing out the window trying to bottle the moment. It felt the same here. Why couldn't life be like this everyday? Then the guilt of feeling this way - getting the sense of the opportunity and privilege that we have to travel to these incredible places. The freedom to fly. The drive to the airport felt long, because it was - over five hours - but a stop at what could be the greatest service station still makes me smile. Yes indeed - there were 13 rhinos here - albeit in captivity but was grateful for the last throes of seeing these wonderful animals regardless of their provenance. Apart from earlier finding out that British Airways had cancelled our flight back to the UK but being quick enough to secure a couple of the last remaining seats on the Virgin flight at the same time averting a potential inconvenience - the trip was the stuff of dreams. Two years in a row is indulgent - but it doesn't ...

Apparently an annual catholic event where worshippers from the area come to enjoy an evening of worship, wine, and hip swinging happened to be on the night we had planned for our early start. The music blared into the night but thankfully it still gave us enough time to rest well before the 5am alarm call. Trees Too Lodge  is conveniently located in proximity of the Crocodile Bridge Gate which in our opinion is the finest of the access points we'd visited in the park. Once through the gate, it is all to play for. The only time we had entered the gate at the 5.30am opening time to chance upon some early foraging mammals. It was a truly stunning morning. We wanted to re-trace our steps from the day before taking the S28 north. The lions were still in situ but we didn't linger too long in the area and continued heading north.  Birds were more of a feature this morning more than mammals. This brown snake eagle posed beautifully for us. Whilst common in the park, lilac-breasted r...

On the road again heading to Lower Sabie, hoping for a much quieter day travelwise, in an attempt not to dash around and limit the kms.  Lower Sabie is an excellent area for wildlife and today there was plenty of activity with over forty giraffe and plenty of elephant indulging within the shallows of the river. The views across the river from the Lower Sabie are magnificent. The park authorities really should seek to limit the number of zebra crossings. Another opportunity to jump out the car at Ntandanyathi Game Viewing Hide that was relatively quiet with a few lurking elephant. The river held a three  African jacana and a couple of  black crake while lesser striped swallow zipped past the hide. While staying at Lower Sabie rest camp, we were tipped off about a nearby lion sighting just a short drive up the road. Armed with half-remembered directions and a bit of luck, we somehow found the spot on our first attempt. Tucked away from the midday heat, was a small f...