I'm from Durban, South Africa, and go up to Northern KwaZulu Natal often to see what I can find. It's an awesome area, with many different ecosystems and some amazing animals. I usually stay at Umkhumbi Lodge, just outside the town of Hluhluwe, owned by Anton Roberts. It's perfectly situated to explore the whole area, and it's a great place for snakes!
Isimangaliso Wetland Park
Setaro's Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion setaroi). This endangered species is quite common in the park. It ranges from the St.Lucia just into Southern Mozambique.
St.Lucia Estuary
Mission Rocks Beach
View from Bats Cave at Mission Rocks
The bats in the cave
False Bay
Ongoye Forest
Umlalazi Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion caeruleogula) from the Ongoye Forest. This species is only found in 3 forests in KZN.
Kosi Bay, near the Mozambique border. Some interesting snake species are found in this area.
Shield-nose Snake(Aspidelaps scutatus spp). Only the second one found in the province of KZN. Awaiting DNA tests to see which subspecies it is.
East-African Egg-eater (Dasypeltis medicii). A fairly rare snake.
Rhombic Egg-eater (Dasypeltis scabra)
Brown House Snake (Boaedon capensis)
Herald Snake (Crotaphopeltis hotamboeia). Along with the Rhombic Egg-eater and Brown House Snake, it is probably the most common snake found, especially while cruising on the roads at night. All 3 species are harmless.
Brown Water Snake (Lycodonomorphus rufulus) eating a Painted Reed Frog (Hyperolius marmoratus)
Spotted Bush Snake (Philothamnus semivariegatus)
Common File Snake (Gonionotophis capensis) Quite a rare and sought after harmless species.
East-African Shovel-snout (Prosymna stuhlmannii)
Forest Cobra (Naja melanoleuca).
Snouted Cobra (Naja annulifera)
Mozambique Spitting Cobra (Naja mossambica) A very common snake throughout most of its distribution. It never seems to run out of venom!
Puff Adder (Bitis arietans)
Boomslang (Dispholidus typus) One of the few sexually dimorphic species in South Africa. Females are usually brown while males are usually green.
Southern Stiletto Snake (Atractaspis bibronii). A primarily cytotoxic species responsible for many bites. All though not fatal, bites are painful and cause some damage!
Southern Africa Python (Python natalensis) Africa's largest snake.
Wahlberg's Velvet Gecko (Homopholis wahlbergi). The largest gecko species in the area.
Lowveld Dwarf Burrowing Skink (Scelotes bidigittatus)
Wahlberg's Snake-eyed Skink (Panaspis wahlbergi)
Water Monitor (Varanus niloticus)
Flap-necked Chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis). A large, common species.
Leopard Tortoise (Stigmochelys pardalis)
Perfect frog habitat in Hluhluwe. Many interesting frog species can also be found cruising on the roads at night after some rain.
Delicate Leaf-folding Frog (Afrixalus delicates)
Pickersgill's Reed Frog (Hyperolius delicates). Critically Endangered.
Tinker Reed Frog (Hyperolius tuberilinguis)
Brown-backed Tree Frog (Leptopelis mossambicus)
Natal Tree Frog (Leptopelis natalensis)
Southern Foam-nest Frog (Chiromantis xerampelina)
Red-legged Kassina (Kassina maculate)
Banded Rubber Frog (Phrynomantis bifasciatus). A poisonous species.
Mozambique Rain Frog (Breviceps mossambicus)
Knocking Sand Frog (Tomopterma krugerensis).
Mottled Shovel-nosed Frog (Hemisus marmoratus)
Sharp-nosed Grass Frog (Ptychadena oxyrhynchus)
Bushsqueaker (Arthroleptis wahlbergi)
Red Toad (Schismaderma carens)
Carrion Beetles feeding off a dead Rock Monitor (Varanus albigularis)
Dung Beetle
Yellow-legged Tree Scorpion (Opisticanthus asper)
Roman or Sun spider (Solufugid spp)
The Imfolozi River
Here's some photos of some of the animals that I saw in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Game Reserve. You don't need to go to Kruger to see the Big 5.
African Elephant
Lion
Charging White Rhino!
Wild Dogs
There's still plenty more to see in the area!
Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and more.
Moderator: Scott Waters
- Nick Evans
- Posts: 71
- Joined: February 6th, 2014, 9:21 am
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Fantastic post!!! Awesome photography and great variety of herps! That pic of the carrion beetles on the monitor is both gruesome and compelling!
- Nick Evans
- Posts: 71
- Joined: February 6th, 2014, 9:21 am
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Thanks! Yes, the Carrion Beetles were very interesting. I had never heard of them before!
- Jeroen Speybroeck
- Posts: 826
- Joined: June 29th, 2011, 1:56 am
- Location: Belgium
- Contact:
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Fantastic indeed!!! Too many cool species, outstanding photography. Now I rrreally need to get overthere some day...
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Super Cool, I always love African post. Thanks for sharing this with us.
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Awesome post. We don't often get to see pics of snakes from Africa.
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Excellent shooting. The snakes were cool, but the frogs take the cake for me. I'd go to SA just to see that Rubber Frog. The Mottled Shovelnosed Frog is awesome too. Are there amphibians besides frogs in southern Africa? Sals or caecilians?
- walk-about
- Posts: 567
- Joined: June 14th, 2010, 12:04 pm
- Location: 'God's Country' aka western KY
- Contact:
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Nick,
Fantastic post! Your pictures could grace the pages of any natural history fieldguide. The cave shot opening out into the surf is my personal favorite. Were all those bats found there? Incredible cross section of south African serpents and Anuran as well. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Rock ON!
Dave
Fantastic post! Your pictures could grace the pages of any natural history fieldguide. The cave shot opening out into the surf is my personal favorite. Were all those bats found there? Incredible cross section of south African serpents and Anuran as well. Thank you so much for sharing this with us.
Rock ON!
Dave
- Nick Evans
- Posts: 71
- Joined: February 6th, 2014, 9:21 am
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Thanks guys!
cbernz, no, there are no other amphibians except frogs in Southern Africa. I'm not too sure about the rest of Africa though.
Dave, thanks very much! Yes all those bats were found there. It's quite a small cave, but there's thousands of bats! There's quite a few species too. You can hear them when you approach the cave!
cbernz, no, there are no other amphibians except frogs in Southern Africa. I'm not too sure about the rest of Africa though.
Dave, thanks very much! Yes all those bats were found there. It's quite a small cave, but there's thousands of bats! There's quite a few species too. You can hear them when you approach the cave!
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Sensational! Terrific pics of a fantastic variety. Some very cool looking frogs, and a great collection of snakes. Thanks also for throwing in some wonderful habitat shots, as well as a few bonus mammals. I hope to get a glimpse of a few reptile species during my safari in October in and around Kruger, but KZN looks like it would be a great choice for a dedicated herp trip.
Thanks for sharing!
Eitan
Thanks for sharing!
Eitan
- Brian Willey
- Posts: 100
- Joined: June 21st, 2010, 6:32 pm
- Location: St. Louis, MO
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Very cool post! I especially enjoyed some of those anurans.
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Absolutely stunning post! Love love love the aspidelaps, South Africa is high on my bucket for sure.
-
- Posts: 139
- Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
- Location: Illinois
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Spectacular post! I'd kill to make it over there some day.
- Rich in Reptiles
- Posts: 494
- Joined: November 30th, 2012, 7:45 am
- Location: Missouri
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
This is like all of South Africa's finest packed into one post! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the shield-nosed cobra and the shovel-nosed frog!
- Rich in Reptiles
- Posts: 494
- Joined: November 30th, 2012, 7:45 am
- Location: Missouri
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Yikes. Just realized Trey said "love love love" too! lol. That's what i get for not reading all the comments!
- Scott Lupien
- Posts: 56
- Joined: June 15th, 2010, 5:15 am
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Wow, Nick! You certainly did a lot better than I did in South Africa last year and your photos are way more awesome as well! Perhaps we can hook up in 2014 for some herping. I'm there a lot and love to look for herps in my free time. I live in China, but my safari business keeps in Africa about half of the year (unfortunately not the best herping time, though.)
Scott
Scott
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Stellar post. I was glued to this post. The frog diversity was so amazing. I had thought that if I ever made it, I would hunt for snakes and large mammals. You've made me really rethink what my activities would be. Keep posting these pictures were great, thanks so much.
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Awesome post! Inspires me to get over to South Africa. The snake and mammal shots are great, but I was also surprised by the diversity of frogs you found. Thanks for sharing.
Roki
Roki
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Great stuff! I almost took advantage of the St. Lucia beaches, but couldn't pull myself away from my research this past Feb. Thanks for posting!
- IllinoisGuy
- Posts: 55
- Joined: June 14th, 2013, 2:17 pm
- Location: St. Louis
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Wow, what an incredible diversity. Some of those frogs are truly amazing!
- Mike VanValen
- Posts: 2074
- Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:41 pm
- Location: Connecticut
- Contact:
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Can I come visit?
There is one caecilian sp. nearby in Malawi and Tanzania. Kirk's Caecilian (Scolecomorphus kirkii).
There is one caecilian sp. nearby in Malawi and Tanzania. Kirk's Caecilian (Scolecomorphus kirkii).
- Nick Evans
- Posts: 71
- Joined: February 6th, 2014, 9:21 am
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Thanks for the comments! Hope to meet some of you here for some herping!
-
- Posts: 39
- Joined: August 29th, 2011, 11:26 pm
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Excellent post Nick! I know you put a great deal of time & effort into getting these images. It shows in the quality of your work!
- Nick Evans
- Posts: 71
- Joined: February 6th, 2014, 9:21 am
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Thanks Dean! Appreciate it!
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Great post, great photos and I love the diversity of anurans. Were all those frogs from that one wetland in Hluhluwe?
- Nick Evans
- Posts: 71
- Joined: February 6th, 2014, 9:21 am
Re: Northern KZN, South Africa- Reptiles, Amphibians and mor
Thanks! No, some were found in St.Lucia and a lot were found on the roads at night after rain in Hluhluwe.