Spring SANPark Snaps (Part 1 of 2) – August & September 2022

Posted on by Susan

We returned to six of our favorite South African National Parks during the last few weeks of winter and beginning of spring. Because we have previously published detailed write ups about these parks, this 2-part post features surprising and memorable moments during our 2022 visits. 

Part 1: Tankwa Karoo National Park, Augrabies Falls National Park, and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

Part 2: Mokala National Park, Karoo National Park, and Agulhas National Park

Tankwa Karoo National Park – In addition to seeing little ground birds, we photographed a few larger water birds and a herd of ostrich.  Plus we were pleasantly surprised by the number and variety of spring flowers. 

Pied avocets

Augrabies Falls National Park – We visited the familiar waterfall overlooks and also hiked the 8 kilometer Dassie Trail over to Moon Rock and back to the rest camp.  Our stay in the Gorge Cottage was extra memorable because of the antics of the baboons wanting to get inside to enjoy our food. 

Susan standing at one of the viewpoints at the main falls.
Arrow Point on Gorge Trail

Baby dassies
Crested barbet

Susan conquering the many rocks on the Dassie Trail.
One of the Dassie Trail river crossings.

Blooming acacia

Welcoming committee for our overnight stay at the Gorge Cottage

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – We have been fortunate to see cats on each of our KTP adventures, just not always all three of the big ones: cheetahs, lions, and leopards. No cheetahs this time. 

Four or five vehicles were stopped on the Nossob Road and a man in an adjacent car told us that a leopard was to the right of the tree. It took a while for us to find the cat in the tall grass. 

Majestic sighting about 7:45 one morning on the dry Auob Riverbed.

Steenbok

Yellow-billed hornbill eating a beetle
Northern black korhaan
Tawny eagle
Juvenile Gabor goshawk
White-browed sparrow-weaver

We were entertained by the brief interaction between these two secretary birds. These photos were taken 4 seconds apart.

For more details about these three national parks check out our previous posts listed below:

Tankwa Karoo National Park – Thirsty Land (May 2021)

Augrabies Falls National Park – Flowing Water, Flowering Trees (May 2021)

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Feathered Favorites & Firsts (May 2021), Desert Feathers (May 2021), Surprises (May 2021), and Just a Few of Many (May 2021)