Ken Borland

Driving from Lower Sabie to Letaba is one of the lengthiest routes (160km) one can hope to fit into a day in Kruger National Park, but the eastern sweetveld plains you travel through are richly rewarding.

This is prime birding country, travelling through the open savanna grasslands between Lower Sabie and Satara, heading into the Olifants rugged veld and then into the Mopane-dominated woodland around Letaba. Several of the roads also flirt with the Lebombo Mountains in the east, all of which adds up to numerous different habitats and a lengthy bird list.

The central grasslands around Satara are known as big-game country – there is plenty of grazing and therefore plenty of predators, whose kills attract the vultures.

And the king of the South African vultures – the Lappetfaced – is best found in this area and mine was duly spotted on the tar road (H1-4) between Satara and Olifants. It was an archetypal sighting as well – attending a kill, looking like the Red Skull with its featherless head and neck and malevolent, massive bill.

On the other side of Olifants, as the Mopane becomes more and more prevalent, Kori Bustard, another of Kruger’s “Big Five” birds, was spotted and other quintessential grassland birds seen between Lower Sabie and Letaba were Steppe Eagle, Rufousnaped Lark, Pintailed Whydah, White Stork, Wattled Starling (particularly common around Satara), Blackshouldered Kite and Swainson’s Francolin.

It’s also great raptor country and, apart from the vulture, resident Blackshouldered Kite and the migratory Steppe Eagle (in the Mlondozi/Muntshe area), Bateleur, Brown Snake Eagle, Whitebacked Vulture and Wahlberg’s Eagle were also seen.

But there are enough different habitats on the route to throw up all sorts of interesting things, and Jacobin Cuckoo, Carmine Bee-Eaters dashing around like the Red Arrows, Melba Finch (in the mixed woodland of the Trichardt Road heading into the Lebombo), Namaqua Dove, Natal Francolin and Helmeted Guineafowl were all spotted.

Late summer in the central savannas of Kruger Park are a time of feast and even the smaller birds were cashing in: just north of Lower Sabie there were a handful of Crested Francolin on the tar road, gorging themselves on a swarm of mayfly-like insects.

Aquatic habitats along the route further boost the tally; as you leave Lower Sabie you cross the Sabie River and from that causeway Wiretailed Swallow, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, Pied Kingfisher and Brownthroated Martin were seen.

Temporary pans on the basalt produce Wood Sandpiper, while there was even water in the watercourse at Tshokwane and a Threebanded Plover in attendance.

The Mazithi Dam on the side of the road just north of Tshokwane was full and a Grey Heron was perched on a half-submerged log of dead tree, with a couple of Hippo for company down below.

Turning off east shortly thereafter, one travels along the Trichardt Road (S37), which takes one through highly nutritious grasslands and mixed woodland as it skirts the Lebombo Mountains, eventually coming to the Sweni River and Sweni Hide, where Malachite Kingfisher was spotted.

There is unsurprisingly plenty of game along the route from Lower Sabie to Letaba as well, with 14 species of mammals, including Hippo, Elephant, White Rhino and Buffalo, seen along the way.

Sightings list

Little Swift

Blackeyed Bulbul

Impala

Blue Wildebeest

Wiretailed Swallow

Greenshank

Common Sandpiper

Pied Kingfisher

Brownthroated Martin

Hippopotamus

Blacksmith Plover

Egyptian Goose

Redbilled Buffalo Weaver

Lilacbreasted Roller

European Roller

Elephant

Lesser Grey Shrike

Sabota Lark

Redbacked Shrike

Yellowbilled Hornbill

Longtailed Shrike

Arrowmarked Babbler

Plains Zebra

Giraffe

Grey Hornbill

Waterbuck

Grassveld Pipit

Woodland Kingfisher

Spotted Flycatcher

Glossy Starling

Marabou Stork

Slender Mongoose

Brown Snake Eagle

Grey Lourie

Laughing Dove

Warthog

Brownhooded Kingfisher

Blue Waxbill

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

Grey Duiker

Steppe Eagle

Crested Francolin

Jacobin Cuckoo

Whitebacked Vulture

European Swallow

Rattling Cisticola

Carmine Bee-Eater

Bateleur

Rufousnaped Lark

Pintailed Whydah

Wood Sandpiper

White Rhinoceros

Burchell’s Starling

Cape Turtle Dove

European Bee-Eater

Forktailed Drongo

Threebanded Plover

Greater Blue-Eared Starling

Grey Heron

Melba Finch

Malachite Kingfisher

Vervet Monkey

Buffalo

White Stork

Wattled Starling

Marsh Terrapin

Blackshouldered Kite

Lappetfaced Vulture

Namaqua Dove

Kori Bustard

Swainson’s Francolin

Natal Francolin

Wahlberg’s Eagle

Hamerkop

Chacma Baboon

Helmeted Guineafowl

Red Toad

 

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The open savanna grassland between Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie not only provides plenty of game on the sweetveld, pan-dotted basaltic plains, but many of the typical “bushveld” birds of Kruger National Park.

Arriving at Crocodile Bridge at mid-morning in March almost guarantees you a hot welcome and so it was that, upon my arrival from Mlawula in Swaziland, I entered one of the southernmost gates of Kruger in sweltering 35° heat.

Crocodile Bridge is acknowledged as one of the hottest, most humid places in South Africa and arriving towards mid-day meant most birds were keeping quiet trying to conserve energy.

But just two kilometres from the entrance gate there are two significant spots that provide reward.

The first is the Gezantfombi Dam (more on that later) and the second is the turnoff for the Nhlowa Road (S28), one of the best birding drives in Kruger Park, particularly in late summer when the relatively water-impervious basalt allows numerous pans to survive around the stunted Knob-thorn and Marula trees.

Turning east on to the Nhlowa Road, towards the Lebombo Mountains, both Lilacbreasted and European Rollers were quickly seen, followed by another pleasing migrant in the Lesser Grey Shrike.

Most of the typical Bushveld birds were all there, with the long grass and numerous perches proving ideal habitat for Shrikes, which included Redbacked and Longtailed as well as the Lesser Grey.

Sabota Lark, Yellowbilled and Grey Hornbill and Arrowmarked Babbler were all there too.

After travelling 17 of the 24km towards Lower Sabie, you reach the Ntandanyathi Hide, a spacious, solid wooden structure that overlooks a section of the Nhlowa River.

Three Bushveld beauties were waiting there for me in Woodland Kingfisher, Greenbacked Heron and Crested Barbet.

In temperatures around 35°, birding around water is one of the better options and Gezantfombi Dam had earlier produced European Bee-Eater, Redbilled Buffalo Weaver, Common Scimitarbill and Cardinal Woodpecker, while crossing into Kruger over the Crocodile River bridge had thrown up a Redfaced Cisticola, locally common and always good to see, as well as Southern Red Bishop and Brownhooded Kingfisher.

The thorn trees around the parking lot where you complete the formalities of getting into Kruger had some friendly Blue Waxbill, tame Southern Greyheaded Sparrows and, surprisingly, a Steelblue Widowfinch, which is an uncommon resident in the park.

Between the gate and Gezantfombi Dam, one gets a taste of the thick thorn thicket known as Gomondwane Bush that characterises the tar road between Crocodile Bridge and Lower Sabie, and this is prime habitat for the Whitecrowned Shrike, another localised bird, which was sharing a tree with the ubiquitous Rattling Cisticola.

A pod of Hippopotamus was keeping cool in Gezantfombi Dam, while Elephant, Plains Zebra, Greater Kudu, Giraffe, Waterbuck and Slender Mongoose were all spotted along the open grassland savanna of the S28.

Nearing the tar road, and with the temperature now up to 37°, Marabou Stork were soaring on the thermals and there was also a Brown Snake Eagle flying about. Fantailed Cisticola were chip-chip-chipping at lower levels above the grassland.

All that hot air had to lead to something and, sure enough, a huge storm hit while I was setting up camp at Lower Sabie. Trying to hammer your tent pegs into the concrete-like hard ground of the badly redesigned campsite while a deluge is falling from the heavens is not the ideal way to end your first day of birding in Kruger Park, but it could not detract from the thrill of being back in the bushveld.

Sightings list

Southern Red Bishop

Redfaced Cisticola

Brownhooded Kingfisher

Blue Waxbill

Southern Greyheaded Sparrow

Steelblue Widowfinch

Impala

Blue Wildebeest

Whitebacked Vulture

European Swallow

Whitecrowned Shrike

Rattling Cisticola

Burchell’s Starling

Cape Turtle Dove

European Bee-Eater

Forktailed Drongo

Hippopotamus

Blacksmith Plover

Egyptian Goose

Redbilled Buffalo Weaver

Common Scimitarbill

Cardinal Woodpecker

Lilacbreasted Roller

European Roller

Redbilled Quelea

Elephant

Lesser Grey Shrike

Sabota Lark

Redbacked Shrike

Yellowbilled Hornbill

Longtailed Shrike

Arrowmarked Babbler

Plains Zebra

Greater Kudu

Giraffe

Grey Hornbill

Waterbuck

Grassveld Pipit

Woodland Kingfisher

Greenbacked Heron

Crested Barbet

Spotted Flycatcher

Glossy Starling

Marabou Stork

Slender Mongoose

Brown Snake Eagle

Fantailed Cisticola

Grey Lourie

Laughing Dove