The spring is one of the best times to enjoy a Kruger Park safari. As the nature becomes green and full of colour once again, park visitors get to see new born animals and immerse themselves in a the vibrant sights and smells of the bush.
Although the rainy season has not quite started yet there is moisture in the air and the occasional light shower drenches the ground lightly. These quick showers are enough to awake the flowers and trees.
The Mopane trees start sprouting new leaves and the knob thorns and lilies start to bloom. The best game viewing is done around water holes or rivers and as the mercury rises around September you are likely to see the first migrant birds appear from the north while the weaver birds start breeding. Most birds start their courtship rituals and the steppe eagles arrive.
The Kruger National Park is still desperately thirsty when the first green shoots of grass start breaking through the ground. Many of the mature antelope are heavily pregnant at this time of the year and when the rains come in November the antelope usually give birth. Within a few days of being born, impala lambs form crèches with the understanding that there is safety in numbers. Most of the other female animals in the park are also sporting rounded bellies and awaiting the first rains.
Food is hard to come by towards the end of the winter and every day is a challenge for the animals to find food. The heat also intensifies and the days grow slowly longer. Any small showers of rain, although very welcome, evaporates before it has time to soak into the ground. You will notice an increase in the insect population with the start of spring and many butterflies take to the skies.
If you want to take a safari, this is the best time of the year to do so. The bush is at its thinnest so the game is easier to view. A good idea under these conditions is to stop at a river viewpoint or waterhole for several hours as all the animals hang around the water areas as they not only need the water, but the surrounding area usually has a little greenery too. Predators know that the animals either hang around this area or will come to the water so they too can be spotted close to water sources.
The heavier rains usually come towards the middle or end of October. In the bush, the first heavy rains have an amazing effect on the fauna and flora. The whole Kruger National Park looks like it has had the dusty dry brown colour replaced with vibrant shades of green and the trees and bushes appear to have lush foliage overnight. Dried brown grasses are turning green everywhere. Out of the ground, bullfrogs emerge from their mucous capsule and wind their way to the pools of water where they will start their romancing calls for a mate. The seasonal rivers will once again flow and out of the mud barbel will emerge from their drought slumber. Crocodiles and hippo that have been cramped into smaller pools now go out and find new dams and rivers to wallow in.
