Kruger Part 7

Tsendze Rustic Camp

Report by Paul and Sally Bartho

28 November to 1 December 2018

We arrived at Tsendze after checking in at Mopani. A bit of a shlep especially if you are coming from the south as it is about eight kms north of the camp. The camp is well treed and great for birding. It is right next to the Mooiplaas picnic site and you can walk through if you ask permission (saves driving the three kms all the way round). The picnic site is also well treed and right next to the Tsendze river so birding is excellent there too.

The one thing we loved was the early morning dawn chorus. We (mainly Sally) identified numerous different birds calling before getting out of bed.

Tsendze is also known for its owls – the African Scops-Owl, the Barred and Pearl-spotted Owlets in particular. In the past we also saw and heard the Verreaux’s Eagle-Owl there. This time only the Owlets were heard calling.

Story time. On arrival Sally went off to check the plumbing. She returned rather quickly with news that the ladies loo had been closed because a suspected Black Mamba had been seen inside the day before. Fortunately there was another set of loos further into the campsite.

Our first morning was full of surprises.

It started with a Cheetah kill right beside the road. We watched for a while as it got fatter and fatter. After a while we left it in peace but determined to return to watch the Vultures flock to finish it off.

Further on next to the marshes we came across a Honey Badger doing its thing with a number of avian followers hoping to catch the tidbits.

Yet further we stopped as we heard a Red-crested Korhaan calling. It was right in front of us in the road. It called three times and immediately after it had finished the third call it took off heading vertically for between 5 and 10 metres before flipping onto its back and falling out of the sky – much like those acrobatic planes do. Just before it hit the ground it opened its wings and pulled out of the dive. A truly amazing sight to see.

On return along the same road we had another Red-crested Korhaan do the same thing. Our cameras however were not ready to catch either event.

Returning now to see the vultures at the kill, we came across some Chestnut-backed Sparrow-Larks at the Mooiplaas waterhole.

As we were looking at them another vehicle approached and asked us what we were looking at. Their response was not the usual “Oh” and drive off. They told us to proceed a little further and look to our left in the open area by the waterhole.

We were more than pleased that they had suggested this as we came across a bird in full display. It was something neither of us had ever seen before and remains as one of the highlights of our trip.

At first it was hard to recognise although we immediately knew what it was. Listening to its call was something else too. We did a short video which unfortunately I cannot post on this website. However here are some of the photos we took.

After it moved off into the bush, we moved off to check the vultures at the Cheetah kill a short way away.

On arrival we were very surprised to see that the whole carcass had been eaten. In the 4 hours after we had seen the Cheetah kill there was very little left and all the vultures had gone. Except for these two.

What a morning.

The weather became cloudy and rain was forecast. So after a long lunch and rest we took a ride around and ended up at the Mooiplaas Picnic Site. The wind was blowing and the birds scarse. Something was up and they knew about it.

Looking across the river we realised we better get back to camp quickly. There was a massive dust cloud coming our way and rather fast. Perhaps the rain was behind it, we thought. Although the camp was right next door we had to drive about three kms to enter through the gate. By the time we reached the gate so had the dust cloud. Opening the gate we quickly got back to our campsite and battoned down the hatches as best we could. Thunder and lightening all around but very little rain unfortunately.

Some day.

The next day we explored Mopani, its dam (the Pioneer Dam) and we took a drive down the way to Joubert’s Grave.

As we turned off the main road to the Mopani camp, there below us were Tsessebe and young. In the past Tsessebe were unusual to see, this trip we had numerous sightings of them predominantly in the area around Mopani.

There is a walk around the fence line below the Mopani restaurant and next to the Pioneer dam. Definitely worth a walk round as you can see the waterbirds up close and in the bush below the restaurant birds are seen and heard. Probably the sweetest of those was the call of the White-throated Robin-Chat.

We did encounter a Dove which had us perplexed for a while.

Here are some of the birds we saw along our walk.

On the opposite side of the dam from the camp there is a hide. And another hide is on the way there overlooking the dammed Tsendze river. Driving round to the first of the hides we came to a road block.

We waited patiently for them to clear off – and they did – up the bank to the right towards us in the photo. Just to the right across the bridge is the hide overlooking the river. However there was not much about while we were there. Every time that we have crossed that bridge we have seen Black Crake to the left. It was no different this time.

Opposite the entrance to the hide is a rocky koppie on which elephants were grazing and Sally noticed this ground Euphorbia.

A bit further along there is a turn off to the right to the Hide overlooking the Pioneer Dam. The view from the hide shows the size and extent of the dam.

The birds were on the other side and required the scope to identify them. On this side there was one camouflaged to the shoreline.

Next we headed down the S146 to Jopubert’s Grave. At first this seemed a lost cause at that time of day. Half way there we came across a tall koppie of rock with a rather interesting and large Baobab half way down it – facing us as we came along.

From a distance it looked evil as though it wanted to capture us in its arms.

It was a very unusual looking tree. Some photos from different angles. Not so creepy.

When we eventually got to the end of the road – having battled with a few elephant to get through we came to a river but no sign of a Grave. Now wondering if we weren’t a bit stupid trying to get passed the elephants which were on both sides of the road.

So to kill some time to give the elephants time to move on we took a side road to see where it went. Straight to Stapelkop Dam as it turns out. Very unexpected and a great surprise as it had a load of water in it and there was game and many waterbirds about. Also Vultures by the dozen on the dam wall – presumably coming for a dip. We stayed for over an hour with nobody else around.

Mopani was always a camp we used to avoid as driving though mopani trees never seemed to be productive for wildlife. However after the first time we stayed at Tsendze our impression changed drastically and this has become a must whenever we come to the Kruger.

Here are some photos of other birds we saw in the area.

In total we identified 140 different bird species. To see the list click here.

One of the least expected sightings was that of a Zebra with a Yellow-billed Oxpecker on its  back. The furthest south that we have seen a Yellow-billed Oxpecker in the Park.

Coming soon. Kruger Part 8 – Satara

Paul and Sally Bartho