Swadini

We set out on our long drive to Swadini on 27th June. We decided to take the longer, but far more interesting route through Kruger & leaving the park at the Pha;aborwa Gate. Our first stop was the bridge over the Luvuvhu River where I spotted a distant Bohm's Spinetail but I failed to get a photo. Couldn't get the sensor to focus on such a small erratic flying bird. Very frustrating! 

Cheetah

Superbly camouflaged

Spotted Hyena

A very tiny baby!

We saw four Sable, but as usual they were very shy.

Further south on the main road we spotted a Cheetah, which gave us reasonable views. We stopped at Shingwedzi for a much needed breakfast & then drove further south. We discovered the road we wanted to take was still closed due to the recent heavy rains & consequent flooding. So we had to take the longer route to Letaba & then the main road to the gate. This added another 40 minutes or so to the driving time. Upon leaving the park we were hit by yet another diversion which added considerable time & distance to our route. 

Despite all the people, Swadini proved to be 

a pleasant place to camp.

We arrived at the Swadini Resort finding the camping area packed & it took us some time to find a vacant pitch. Finally we set up camp feeling very crowded among all our fellow campers! We are not used to this!

The dam is surrounded by the 

northern Drakensberg Mountains.

It is a stunning place to be when the light is right.

Our boat was similar to this one.

The next day we enjoyed a lazy morning around camp (all of us tired after yesterday's long & unexpected drive) & then went on the afternoon boat trip around the dam. I have done this trip several times before & it is always very enjoyable & so it proved today. 

Some parts of the dam have habitat 

for a variety of creatures!

There is a good population of Hippos in this dam.

Nile Monitor

This species is common here.

Crocodiles are big & abundant here!

African Fish Eagle

White-breasted Cormorant

There is a small colony nesting here.

African Finfoot

Lucky to see this from the boat.

Half-collared Kingfisher

Always a difficult species to find.

Trying out our new heater!

We spent the evening in camp & it was cold! Time to use our new heater! It worked a treat!

Blyde River Canyon

The dam where we had the boat trip.

On the 29th June we drove into the mountains to view the Blyde River Canyon from above. It really is an impressive place being the third largest canyon in the world. However, the light was all wrong to obtain the best photos. 

We then enjoyed a good lunch at the Chubby Pig, always a fun place to be!

Brown-backed Honeybird

On the last day of the month Delana & I birded around the resort & despite all the people, it turned out to be a good mornings birding. The highlight being great views of Brown-backed Honeybird. The afternoon was spent packing up as much as we could for our early departure the next day. It had been a very pleasant stay at the Swadini Resort & there is still a lot of birding to be done in this area.