Hello, Bonjour and Sawubona from Mkhaya Game Reserve, eSwatini (former Swaziland). After a short morning drive to this other big game park, I was greeted by some fabulous sable antelopes close to the entrance gate.
Sables in the bushes
My car needed to stay safely at the main gate while my personal game drive started. Plenty of nyalas came into sight and I spotted my first black grey Big Five one followed by some magnificent white ones. A wonderful place and a great start into this reserve! Further, I saw giraffes, zebras, impalas, wildebeests – even a white one, eland antelopes, tsessebes, hippos, crocodiles and tracks of buffaloes. At one point the car broke down, luckily the guide knew quickly that it must be the pointer apparently and within a couple of minutes the driving continued and I did not have to spent the night in the open bush.
Black beauty
Hippo alarm in the pond
A family of white rhinos
An oxpecker checking out his landing place
Our landy on strike
For lunch, some nyalas joined my table along with some crusted guinea fowls. The camp is magical, operating without electricity only with gas lanterns and candles while the rooms are located in semi-open stone rondavels. Welcome to Stoney Camp!
Lunch in Stoney Camp
Semi-open rondavels as my new home in this gorgeous camp
The bush huts are well blending into the bush
Semi-open rondavel huts where you can experience the nature very closely
After my lunch, I spent some time in a hide close to a waterhole to find a rhino bathing in the mud. During the evenning drive, I could spot plenty of wildlife and even a crocodile that had made a kill within the few last hours, a warthog was the unlucky guy that served as dinner for this night.
Enough of the resting time
A male nyala on his evening stroll before the sun sets down
Curious zebras during the golden hour
Good night, it was a fabulous day
Next morning was reserved for some game drives and a walking safari. I finally got a shot of the shy tsessebe antelope – unbelievable, it’s very hard to get them in front of your camera lense. The rest was all about the games such as giraffes, nyalas, impalas, wildebeests and even hippos as well as crocodiles. Of course, I spotted also some beautiful grey Big Five ones while they were taking a muddy bath. It was a very relaxed day full of great wildlife sightings that I truely enjoyed before heading further west to the last of the three big game parks in eSwatini: Mlilwane.
Early morning and the wildebeests are greeting me
Two black rhinos happy to have found some cooling mud
Three giraffes overlooking the thorn bushes
Too hot to move around
Finally, a tsessebe caputed on my camera
Someone is coming for a last good bye
One cannot resist the lure of Africa
Rudyard Kipling
My new lessons learned during my travels through Mkhaya Game Reserve:
- You should know the basics of car engineering – otherwise you might find yourself sleeping in the bush;
- Spot well on the game drives – it’s the only reserve in eSwatini where you can find some white wildebeests;
- Enjoy cute company during lunch – plenty of nyalas will join you.
Cheers to wandering the world and the wonders of our lives – bye bye, salut and sala kahle ∞
See you next time