Page 14 - Issue 2 Kyalami Connect

local travel
Kyalami Estates
Brand Manual
Nature Reserve, which was expanded
during his tenure to become the Kruger
National Park in 1926. The Tsonga people
nicknamed him ‘Skukuza’ which means
‘turning everything upside down’ as
hunting in the park was banned and kraals
were relocated outside the park. The
Skukuza camp and Skukuza airport are
named in his honour.

Berg en Dal is one of the newer camps in
Kruger, having been built in 1984, and the
face brick chalets and reception buildings
blend in well with the surrounding hilly
terrain. Klipspringers were seen on the
surrounding rocks and leopard, bushbuck,
eland and Tsessebe were some of the
other notable sightings. Interesting bird
sightings included Kurrichane Buttonquail,
White-fronted and European Bee-eaters,
African Harrier Hawk, Double-banded
Sandgrouse, African Hawk Eagle and a
group of Ground Hornbills, one of which
The area around Crocodile Bridge in the caught a tortoise and ate the exposed
extreme south of the park is excellent parts of the unfortunate reptile.
for game viewing and indeed four of the
big five are often seen within 3km of the Throughout the southern areas of
camp. Rhino, which because of poaching Kruger, the rivers flowed strongly and
are sadly becoming ever harder to viewin the vegetation was green and very lush.
the park, were seen happily grazing in this Certain bird species like the Woodland
area. Early one morning, a lion lay in the Kingfisher, Red-backed Shrike and Rattling
road outside the camp, causing a huge Cisticola seemed to be everywhere.
traffic jam. Birds seen around Crocodile Dozens of elephant herds roamed around,
Bridge included Trumpeter, Yellow-billed as did hundreds of buffalo, while giraffe,
and Red-billed hornbills, Black and zebra and the various antelope species
Yellow-billed Kites, Shaft-tailed and Pin- were all plentiful.
tailed Whydahs, Cape and White-headed
Vultures, Red-crested Korhaan, and It was plainly obvious that poaching
Orange-breasted and Grey-headed Bush has had a disastrous effect on the rhino
Shrikes. Cuckoos seen included Klaas’s, population in the park, as rhino sightings
Diederik, Jacobin, African, Red-chested were few and far between. Indeed, in the
and Levaillant’s. eight days spent in the park, we counted
no more than a dozen white rhino. One can
The memorial to James Stevenson- only hope that this unforgivable practice is
Hamilton is situated up on a rocky outcrop quickly brought under control.
on the S114 road that runs between
Crocodile Bridge and Skukuza. Stevenson- The daily sighting board at each camp no
Hamilton served for 44 years (1902 to longer records rhino sightings, for obvious
1946) as the first warden of the Sabie reasons.

12 Kyalami Estates • CONNECT • Issue 2 • 2020