Where We Be
One of the highights of our entire time in Kruger
is this close-up leopard sighting near Lower Sabie
Lower Sabie Camp -- Kruger NP
Of the four Kruger rest camps we visit, Lower
Sabie is our favorite. It's located right on the
Sabie River and offers a lovely outdoor patio
for dining. It's abundant in wildlife due to all the
water in the area, and multiple roads radiate
out from here, giving you numerous options for
exploring each day. Lower Sabie and Crocodile
Bridge are where we have our best sightings
of predators in Kruger -- including the leopard
at left who casually strolls past our car.

It's at Lower Sabie that we fully enter "Kruger
mode," which means getting up at the crack of
dawn each morning to maximize our chances of
seeing wildlife. The ideal is to be at the camp
gate when it first opens in the morning -- which
in winter is 6 am (it varies by season). That first
hour of dusky dawn really is a great time to see
predators. The other best time is close to dusk,
which means taking a siesta at midday (to stay
sane), then staying out until right before the
gate closes at 5:30 pm in winter. All told, we
spend about eight hours a day on safari, which
can be a little intense, but like most folks, we
want to make the most of our limited time here.
All good things must come to an end -- goodbye Lower Sabie
Better safe than sorry when it comes to elephants --
they can flip a car if you don't respect their space
A pair of kori bustard strut their stuff across a dirt road
Nkumbe Lookout on the way to Lower Sabie offers tremendous views of the
plains below. We could see elephant, giraffe, and herds of antelope far below.
Giant cookies tempt us mercilessly
The Sabie River provides a permanent water source for
wildlife -- a big reason why this area is so rich in game
Mugg & Bean restaurant offers panoramic views of the Sabie River from the outdoor patio.
We enjoy several dinners here, and even with wine, meals rarely come to more than $20 total.
We spend three nights at Lower Sabie in what is called a "tent" but seems pretty permanent to us.
Whatever it's called, we love Its sliding doors and big windows that let in plenty of light.
Looking down from the bridge, we get a kick out of this
hippo relaxing in the rapids in his own private "jacuzzi"
Next morning we get up at the crack of dawn and are greeted
with the most beautiful misty river views at the bridge overlook
Then we head down the paved H4-2 towards Crocodile Bridge, where we're the first
to come upon this large herd of elephant walking straight up the road towards us.
What would you do? We wait...and wait...and finally back up as they get too close.
We detour onto the S28 gravel road and make our way to Ntandanyathi Hide --
where, once outside the car, we edge past this cape buffalo near the entrance
Hides like this one are scattered all throughout Kruger, and they
offer a great chance to slow down and see bird life in particular
And this lilac-breasted roller
We start to joke that maybe hyenas are
our spirit animals -- we keep seeing them
Towards evening, we spy this spotted hyena
walking towards us along the roadway
Next morning, one of our first sightings is this giraffe drinking from a watering hole
We have a little fun with giraffe reflections in the water
We count at least five oxpeckers on the back of this wildebeest
The leopard walks straight up the road towards us, with lots of cars trailing behind.
All we have to do is stop and wait as she comes closer and closer before passing us.
Despite getting up early and doing everything right, our sightings in the morning are a
little sparse -- but we more than make up for it with this leopard sighting in the afternoon
A pied kingfisher sits on the bridge wall
Another favorite spot close to Lower Sabie -- one that offers almost guaranteed sightings
of hippos, crocs, and shorebirds -- is Sunset Dam. Yellow-billed stork are a common
sight -- but it's not every day you see a gray heron taking off from the back of a hippo!
Nests built by red-billed buffalo weavers have pretty much taken over this dead tree.
Because Sunset Dam is only about 1 km from Lower Sabie, you can visit here just
before sunset and still be sure of getting back before the gates close each evening.
This bridge near Lower Sabie is a favorite spot to scan for
hippos, crocs, birds -- and even the occasional pride of lion
Camp gates open at 6 am and close at 5:30 pm in winter.
Be sure to get in before the gates close or else risk a fine.
Another perfectly coiffed waterbuck makes an appearance (is someone grooming them?)
The gift shop / mini-grocery offers sandwiches, sodas, beer, wine, fruits, veggies, etc.
And a goliath heron hunts in the marshes below
This elephant looks like it's doing some kind of
weird jig but is probably just scratching an itch!
I takes a good twenty minutes, but the elephant
traffic jam finally gives way and we continue on
From the very big to the very small ... This is a dwarf mongoose,
smaller than most of the blades of grass surrounding it
And a young vervet burns off some excess energy
Like this wattled lapwing
She checks out a root clump --
maybe she thinks it's leftovers!
A Cape glossy starling checks
us out with its bright yellow eyes
Kruger roundabout?
Not all dirt roads are created equal at Kruger. Most (like these) are navigable
in a passenger car, but we do turn around on occasion when they get too rough.