Photo: Arno Meintjies By Roxanne Reid
If you’ve been to the Kruger National Park but never sat for a couple of hours at Sunset Dam a few minutes' drive from Lower Sabie, you are obviously neither a birder nor a photographer.
If you’ve been to the Kruger National Park but never sat for a couple of hours at Sunset Dam a few minutes' drive from Lower Sabie, you are obviously neither a birder nor a photographer.
On a recent visit we had to share the space with a posse of other cars, but it was worth it for the chance to see hippos and crocs by the ton, as well as a feast of birds.
All this draws casual observers who stay only a few minutes. It also draws die-hard photographers who are there for the long haul. They know this is a photographer’s dream destination, the birds and animals relaxed and very close, the morning sun just right.
All this draws casual observers who stay only a few minutes. It also draws die-hard photographers who are there for the long haul. They know this is a photographer’s dream destination, the birds and animals relaxed and very close, the morning sun just right.
Sunset Dam, Kruger National Park
At least a dozen grey herons were posing stock-still in the water, or riding on the backs of hippos as if they were rafts. Some hippos had been immobile for so long they had white streaks of bird poo on their backs. One got irritated with being used as aquatic transport and jumped up in the water, grunting grumpily and dislodging the heron.
Grey heron, Sunset Dam, Kruger
Hippos are endlessly entertaining as they bicker and cuss or indulge in the odd competition to discover whose mouth is biggest. Now and again, when a tiny pinkish baby about the size of its mother’s head peeked out from the crush of adults protectively surrounding it on the bank, you could hear the frenzied clicking of cameras.
A hippo water taxi and a line of crocs, Sunset Dam, Kruger
But hippos weren’t the only photo models that morning. Some two dozen crocs lined up along the edge of the water as if they’d beached themselves, tails still in the water. Impala came down to drink, becoming momentarily panicked when their dainty hooves got stuck in the mud on the edge of the dam. Two small warthog families joined the party, and three zebras arrived, bobbing their heads as they walked.
Foreign invader
It was a peaceful scene, timeless, as Africa is. Until a white Toyota sedan pulled up next to us and a family of Dutch tourists rolled down their windows to exclaim loudly at everything they saw.
They laughed and pointed, shouting to each other in their excitement, oblivious of the hard stares from others trying to enjoy the quiet of the natural scene. Hippos were hilarious, crocs were menacing, and we had to experience – at volume – every emotion and new discovery with them.
Once they’d exhausted the possibilities for howling and shrieking, they drove away and peace descended once more. Birders raised their binos again and photographers their cameras.
Foreign invader
It was a peaceful scene, timeless, as Africa is. Until a white Toyota sedan pulled up next to us and a family of Dutch tourists rolled down their windows to exclaim loudly at everything they saw.
They laughed and pointed, shouting to each other in their excitement, oblivious of the hard stares from others trying to enjoy the quiet of the natural scene. Hippos were hilarious, crocs were menacing, and we had to experience – at volume – every emotion and new discovery with them.
Once they’d exhausted the possibilities for howling and shrieking, they drove away and peace descended once more. Birders raised their binos again and photographers their cameras.
Yellow-billed storks, Sunset Dam, Kruger
Birds have breakfast
A flock of yellow-billed storks dominated the far shore, some just standing there, some roosting companionably in a dead tree. Others foraged in the water for food. Using their feet to stir up prey, they swept their slightly open bills from side to side to catch any fish or frogs dumb enough to move.
Food was also on the minds of three green pigeons feasting on berries on a nearby bush, hamerkops flying low across the water and dipping in to catch small fish, even a pied kingfisher that took its catch back to a dead tree to shake and bash it against a branch until it was aligned right for slipping effortlessly down the throat. Spoonbill, jacana, white-crowned lapwings, the Sunset Dam breakfast Wimpy was open to all.
Every keen photographer has a favourite spot in Kruger, what’s yours?
You may also enjoy
Why to walk a 3-day wilderness trail at Kruger Park
More about Kruger National Park
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za
A flock of yellow-billed storks dominated the far shore, some just standing there, some roosting companionably in a dead tree. Others foraged in the water for food. Using their feet to stir up prey, they swept their slightly open bills from side to side to catch any fish or frogs dumb enough to move.
Food was also on the minds of three green pigeons feasting on berries on a nearby bush, hamerkops flying low across the water and dipping in to catch small fish, even a pied kingfisher that took its catch back to a dead tree to shake and bash it against a branch until it was aligned right for slipping effortlessly down the throat. Spoonbill, jacana, white-crowned lapwings, the Sunset Dam breakfast Wimpy was open to all.
Every keen photographer has a favourite spot in Kruger, what’s yours?
You may also enjoy
Why to walk a 3-day wilderness trail at Kruger Park
More about Kruger National Park
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without written permission from roxannereid.co.za
