Thursday 28 June

It was chilly when we woke up and so the layers were piled on, breakfast consumed, the car packed and we were off to Urikaruus.

Our first interesting photo session was with crimson breasted shrikes.  They are beautiful birds but difficult to capture as the busily go about their business.

At a lookout point we found this chap making sure we obeyed the rules.

This cutie is, I think, an immature spike-heeled lark all fluffed up and standing at ease.

We came across a small traffic jam and the occupants of the cars were staring up the dunes.  At first we did not see what the fuss was about and then we caught sight of a leopard heading to the ridge.  We managed to follow him with our binoculars for a few minutes and then he disappeared over the edge.  He was the only leopard we saw this trip.

It is always a good idea to wait at a waterhole for a while.  The rule is wait five minutes – if nothing appears then move on.   At this one we found two species sharing a drink.

This common fiscal has a feature that is different from his relatives in other areas of the country.  The Western race sport a handsome white brow strip.

The pygmy falcon is no bigger than a dove and a very pretty bird.   One can tell this is a female because of its red back.

Another bird that adds colour to the desert is the yellow canary and they are everywhere.

I just love giraffe.  They were introduced to the park a few years ago and are doing well.

This beauty perched in a tree to survey the scene

Always an exciting bird to see is the Secretary Bird.  This one spread his wings for us.

We only managed to get one night at Urikaruus and spent the afternoon there watching the waterhole which produced gemsbok, secretary birds and springbok while it was still light.  Other birdlife kept us amused in the bush around our deck.   When the light started to fade the spotted hyenas made an appearance – but we did not take photographs.

Our huts were on stilts and there was a board walk between the two that we occupied – number 1 and 2.    This meant we could walk between them after dark, something we were not able to do at Gharagab later during the trip.

After our braai we watched the flood-lit water hole but not too much appeared.   During the night I woke a few times and lifted my head to look out of the window – but nothing exciting happened.