Author Archives: puppy1952

0

A Drabble

|

           Lovers’ dance

At sunset near a gurgling brook
I twirl in orange peasant skirt
He pipes a merry dancing tune
We share a secret look

Releasing feelings gay
We bop in leaping flames
It’s fun to take the risk
We leap and laugh and play

Hot passion burns my heart
Emotions in turmoil
We carry on the dance
And feel we’ll never part

We reach for stars and moon
We soar toward the sky
Our thoughts are telepathic
A sweet united croon

The centre of my life
We are in perfect sync
My partner, mentor, soul mate
A dancing man and wife

0

Puppy Prattles On – What happened to that book?

|

Today I am starting a new Blog topic.  I will still do my travel blogs and my Back in the Classroom Blog but I feel inspired to prattle on about whatever comes into my head – not related to the classroom or my holiday activities.  The “Puppy Prattles On” entries will be on just about anything that comes to mind – A place where I can “Free Write”

When I stopped teaching way back in 2001 I enrolled in a creative writing class. The intention was to learn the skills I needed to write a book – not just any book – I don’t do the deeply imaginative, brilliant prose kind of fictional stuff – I am more of a tell it like it is, factual kind of writer – and the book I wanted to write was a true story and I’d already started putting down fact after fact.   But at this creative writing course, I had to find my right brain! Now that part of my brain, I believe, is dead.  I am so left brained.   I am logical and methodical and like to have instructions on how to do any task.   I can figure out how to do most things as long as there is a manual with clear verbal outlines on how to go about it.   Don’t give me a map or a diagram though – uh uh – that is just not how I think.   Words are good – pictures are not.  I can’t draw. I can’t read a map.  I can’t sing. I can’t dance (except with my husband).  I am uncoordinated and uncreative.    Now these creative writing lessons were supposed to be relaxed and fun.  They were supposed to get me to dig down deep into my soul and get in touch with my innermost feelings and to let the pencil take control and express beautiful poetic prose.  Sometimes we had to draw – with our non-dominant hand – so we wouldn’t be embarrassed about our efforts.  Well!   I can’t even draw with my dominant hand so imagine my stress when I had to use the wrong one!  When I saw what my classmates produced I could have crawled under the table with shame.   I was definitely absent from school the day they taught us how to draw!

At my first lesson – the teacher said – just ‘free’ write – anything that comes to mind.  And I just wrote and wrote until the timer stopped us.  “Now if you’d feel you’d like to, stand up and read what you’ve written to the class.’  I was quite pleased with my effort but had no desire to stand up in front of all those people.  But many did – without hesitation – and I was gob-smacked – How in three minutes, were they able to write so much, so well?   I could see that I was among talented people here and the only thing that kept me coming was my ‘book’.  It was a good story.  Surely that was enough.

I stuck out the classes for a few years.  I enjoyed them to a point – and I wrote a lot and my writing improved.  But I never got to the level of my classmates, some of whom published their stories.

And did I finish my book – Yes – And I gave it to an editor – a member of my writing class.  She liked the story – but wanted me to re-write it.  She made some good suggestions – But the writing had taken a lot out of me – And I was tired of the topic.   So it is at the back of a cupboard now – I might take it out again but in the meantime, I am avoiding it by writing about everything else that comes to mind.   I hope there are people out there reading this – Welcome and please join me again.

0

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 9 and 10

|

5 July 2012

I was nervous about going outside before daylight this morning.   It was freezing and I got dressed under the blankets!   Earl said he was feeling better but I made him lie in bed until the last minute.

Heather, Peter and I packed up and loaded the car and by 9 o’clock it had warmed up a bit.    Earl wanted to drive but I refused to allow that.  The return track was a bit more hectic but with his careful instruction and my sound effects I managed.     The Italians were just ahead of us and at one point we spotted them stopped up ahead. They had found meerkats close to the road!

This chap used a tree for a higher view point

He made sure to look both ways

There were certainly enough little rodents for the birds of prey

An exciting find were these Namaqua sandgrouse parents with their chicks

Trying to get up the dune – he managed

We stopped at a waterhole to observe wildebeest

And gemsbok

The weather was once again hot and we started to strip off our outer clothes.  We arrived at Nossob just after 2 o’clock and checked in.  Earl was feeling very much better and after lunch went to spend some time at the hide.

I was pretty tired and spent the afternoon resting and downloading photographs onto the computer.   Peter and Heather walked around camp for a bit and then also had a rest.  Our huts were quite far apart but we kept in otouch with the walkie talkies.  I did a chicken stir fry for supper and for the first time in days, Earl ate well.

6 July 2012

This morning we were up early and made our way to Twee Rivieren.  We were supposed to spend a night there but decided to push on to Upington so we could get some medication for Earl who was now battling with his sinuses.

We saw lots of bateleurs flying and were thrilled when we finally found one perched in a tree.

Bateleur

There were plenty of juvenile pale chanting goshawks

These two were chasing each other in the air and then landed in a dead tree

It was great to find a herd of eland

Nearing Twee Rivieren we found another troop of meerkat

They were vigilant in keeping an our out for raptors

Ground Squirrels were in close proximity

This sup-adult Pale Chanting has almost completed growing his adult plumage

We had hoped to have lunch at the restaurant at Twee Rivieren but found that it only opens for breakfast and dinner.    So we settled for some very good pies from the shop, refuelled and checked out.  We got to Upington just before 5 o’clock, got medication from a local chemist and then checked in at Evergreen B&B.  We were given two well appointed en suite bedrooms and the owner recommended we go to a Bilou Bistro for dinner. So after a good meal we returned to warm beds and a good night’s sleep.

And so ended our safari – a mixture of fortune and misfortune – but happily Earl recovered quickly and fully and drove us home the following day.

0

Back in the Classroom – Happy Birthday Madiba

|

18 July 2012

All the learners from Grade R to Matric at my school totalling 1 100 plus the 100 staff members gathered together in the school hall for a special assembly this morning. The children all held flags and few had balloons.  We were celebrating the 94th birthday of Nelson Mandella – the first president of a free and fair South Africa.   Our principal reminded us of the words that Mandella once spoke – Nobody is born hating another because of his skin colour, background or beliefs.  Hate is learnt and so if you can learn to hate you can learn to love.

Today’s assembly was inspiring and touching.  It was amazing to sing the Happy Birthday song knowing that thousands of other schools were doing the same and that the whole country was celebrating with this great icon.   One could not help getting tears in ones eyes to see those flags waving and the children whistling and cheering after belting out “Happy Birthday Madidiba”

Click the link to see and hear the children singing.

http://blogs.sunvalleygroup.co.za/

Our school also collected baby clothes and stationery to be donated to those less fortunate than ourselves.  And what an amazing response we got from our families.   We also did our 67 minutes of service – the Grade 1s did a grand litter clean-up of the area surrounding our school.   How vigilant these little people were.   They did not let one stompie, sucker stick of discarded sweet paper miss their eagle-eyes and they proudly showed me what they’d collected in their bags – the funniest item (to them) being a discarded pair of broken shoes.

It was a great day!

Happy Birthday, Madiba!

0

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 8

|

4 July 2012

Once again it was cold when we got up.  Earl was still feverish and had not had a good night.  We thought it might be a good idea to cut our holiday short and make our way home.   I went to Eric and asked him to try and get us accommodation in Nossob.  There was no way Earl could travel all the way to Upington in his state of health.  Unfortunately, Nossob was fully booked so we would have to stay another night and leave early the next morning as planned.    It turned out to be the best thing as Earl started to improve.

It was even colder today than yesterday.  We dressed warmly and prepared to keep vigil on the waterhole. We were a bit horrified to see that the water level had dropped considerably in the waterhole and found out later that the pump was broken.  The animals would be having a muddy drink today.  New people had moved into the hut 3 – an Italian dad and his teenage son.   It was their second visit to Africa having previously travelled through Namibia and Botswana but they had never seen lion.  Well at 9:45 a.m. they were to be rewarded.  Along came a lovely female.

The dad called across to us – there’s another one and sure enough Number one was joined by her sister.

They stayed for a while and then went off to do what lions do all day – sleep under a shady tree somewhere.

The bush telegraph must have gone out because very few animals came to drink at the waterhole today – they must have known that the water level was low.   Eric went off duty and he introduced Andries who was to take him place.  Andries turned out to be a very capable attendant.  He turned off the water and set about trying to fix our water heater.  It took him most of the day and in spite of many attempts at repair it became clear that a new one was required.   But he fixed the pump and the level of the water came up.   He also fixed the flood light!

There was not much happening after the lion visit but we enjoyed our bird watching.

Acacia Pied Barbet

Chestnut-vented titbabbler

Two jackal sharing a drink

The last photo of the day was of two jackals sharing a drink.

Earl was feeling better and got up to have a shower.  We had to use Peter and Heather’s as our water-heater had been disconnected.    He was exhausted afterwards and went straight back to bed.

The wind dropped so we made a braai and then turned in for an early night.   And what a scary night it turned out to be.  Earl had slept most of the day so was not sleepy and we read for a while before going to sleep only to be woken in the early hours of the morning by a prowling lion roaring loudly right outside our hut.   I leapt up and unzipped the canvas window but could not see a thing.  “He must be behind the hut,” I said to Earl. “Go out on the deck and see what you can see”  “You must be crazy!”  I was terrified and was not about to risk life and limb to see and predating cat!   He roared and roared.  It was at once both thrilling and terrifying.   We lay and listened to the sound which eventually faded away and we went back to sleep.

0

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 7

|

3 July 2012

It was freezing and still dark when I woke up. Earl was asleep – thank Goodness as he had been quite restless in the night and I had been up giving him Disprin to bring down his fever.   I pulled on some warm clothes, gloves and scarf and went out onto the deck.  There were Gemsbok around the waterhole but it was still too dark to take photos.  But when the sun rose I couldn’t resist taking a few shots.

Sunrise at Gharagab

To add to our problems, I found that water was leaking from the gas water heater.   I reported it to Eric and he promised to look into it.  This he did and said that he would have to order a new heater.   In the meantime I placed a bucket under it to collect the many drips.   During the day it had to be emptied a few times.   He could not turn the water off as that would affect all four huts.

When Peter and Heather get up we decide to cook our our breakfast in our own kitchens.  Earl requested scrambled eggs and he wanted to watch me make it – but he fell asleep during the process and I had to wake him up to eat it.   He had the grace to say, “Thank you – this is delicious.”  Yes – I know –  he was really sick!   I was seeing to his needs when Heather called on the walkie-talkie – “Helen – no joke – lion at the waterhole.” It was 9:30 a.m.   I asked Earl if he would like me to help him to the deck so he could take a look. “Show me the photograph,” was his weak reply.

First Lion

Before we arrived at Gharagab, Peter had said, “Let’s agree not to joke about lions as the chances are we will be seeing plenty of them!”  He was on the deck when the first lion appeared and called to Heather who said, “You’re joking!”   But no – we had agreed – no joking about lions!

Along comes number 2

Close brothers

And here comes number 3

After they’ve quenched their thirst the brothers entertain us.Something in this tree smelt good.  They played around it for some time then walked off to a more distant one where they lay flopped down for some time before getting up and moving off.   It was an amazing encounter which had us on a high for hours.

We spent the rest of the day observing the birdlife, walking around close to the huts, visiting the viewing deck and just waiting for the animals to come to us.  No driving around – no stress.  It’s the first time we’ve done Wilderness camps and it certainly won’t be the last.  The only trouble is that they get booked up very quickly and you have to make sure you get your reservation in early.

Juvenile sociable weaver

Lots of striped mice were about

It was great to get this Ashy Tit 

Heather’s wish to see Brown Hyena was granted several times.   Sometimes a brownie would be accompanied by a jackal.  The jackal appeared friendlier toward the hyena and one even licked his friend.  But the hyena’s response was not as affectionate and he sent the jackal packing.

Lunch time visitor

Another one comes down later in the day

In the company of a jackal

Jackal decides to keep his distance

The weather remained cool all day which we all agreed was better than the heat we’d been having during the day up until then.   How idylic it was to spend an entire day reading, chatting and watching wild life come to the waterhole.  The walkie talkies were a blessing, keeping me in close touch with the invalid.   He did not eat his supper last night but managed to eat some of it at lunch time.  There was a bit of a wind blowing so we decided not to braai. We pan fried ostrich steaks and served them with sousboontjies, avo and cooked carrots.  Earl thought he was hungry but could not eat. I managed to get him to take a few spoons of left over spaghetti bolognaise.

2

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 6

|

2 July 2012

Earl had a bad night of hot and cold shivers and this morning his temperature was up.   I gave him some breakfast and dosed him with medication and ordered him to stay in bed until we’d got everything packed and were ready to go.   He did not argue and only got showered and ready at the last minute.   It was, of course, freezing and as you can imagine all he wanted to do was stay cuddled up in bed.

To make things more miserable for my darling husband, it was his 68th birthday!  As he settled into the passenger seat we all broke into the birthday song and managed to get a weak smile out of him.

We made some last minute purchases from the Nossob shop – beer and wine which we could not get yesterday because it was Sunday!   Earl had his camera and binoculars on his lap, ready for any eventuality.

The first waterhole we came to had some gemsbok and wildebeest activity,there were birds fluttering around and then a flock of Namaqua sandgrouse made an appearance.

Namaqua Sandgrouse – the males have a double breast band and plain necks while the females’ necks are streaked

The next waterhole also produced a herd of wildebeest.

Wildebeest

I kept up a steady pace of between 40 and 50 km an hour stopping only for the most exciting birds and game.   Gharagab was a hard 160km away and I really wanted to get Earl into bed.  Soon we saw a stationary car ahead and one facing the opposite direction.   What could they have seen.  We could not get past as they were blocking the way.  Then I saw ears right next to us. The car ahead of us went forward and turned around to get a better view. We moved on as more cars were backing up behind us.   When we looked back Earl managed to get a reasonable photograph.    We would not have seen it if the guy opposite had not spotted it first.  This is how easily you can miss an animal who is the same colour as the grass!

Hidden lion

Near Union’s End we stopped at a picnic spot and met up with the people I’d chatted to at reception yesterday.  The young woman ran up to us and related a scary tale.   “We arrived after dark and Eric rushed to tell us not to get out of our car.   There was a lioness with cubs right outside one of our huts.   We parked the cars between them and one of the huts and managed to get in.    Our friend could not get to his hut – he had to sleep with us.” This meant that she and her hubby had to share a narrow single bed!   “When the guys went to the car to fetch our food, I just prayed that they wouldn’t be eaten. The lions remained where the were the whole night and roared.  It was really scary!”

I can imagine!   There are reasons why you are not allowed to arrive at camp after dark.  It’s just too dangerous.  these people had not given themselves enough time to get to their destination.    When we soon after that got onto the 4×4 track I could only imagine how awful it must have been driving it in the dark.

Earl was not a happy passenger with me behind the wheel but I made a meal of it.  I pretended to tear up the dunes, making all the appropriate sound effects.  My passengers giggled hysterically in the back but he was not amused.  It was fun and Earl was really very good with his instructions of how to manage the tricky parts.

We disturbed lots of little birds – mainly larks – but photography was not really possible.  Eventually we arrived at about 2:30 and were greeted by the tourist assistant, Eric who pointed out all the rules of safety to us.

The rules were clearly displayed

Our bungalows were partially canvas but with wooden floors an open plan kitchen and a small shower and loo section.  There were only 4 altogether and we had number 1 and 2.   There was a deck with a table and two camp chairs with a stunning view of the waterhole.   We were ecstatic.   Poor Earl went straight to bed and I put a walkie talkie at his bedside so he could call me whenever the need arose – quite often I might add!

Gharagab Unfenced Wilderness Camp  – Huts 2, 3 and 4 – Taken from the viewing deck behind.

Canvas and reed hut 2

Bungalow 1 where Earl lay for 3 days!

After seeing to Earl’s needs, Peter, Heather and I sat down with a cup of soup and slice of bread and began to enjoy our new environment.  We were in HEAVEN.

The birdlife was prolific and we enjoyed watching, sociable weavers, Acacia Pied Barbet, Kalahari scrub-robin, chestnut-vented titbablers, namaqua doves, ashy tits and many others.  And of course the raptors flew in from time to time too.

Acacia Pied Barbet

The first mammals to visit the waterhole were a large herd of springbok.  It was interesting to watch them file down in an orderly manner, circle the waterhole, interact with each other and then drink in turns.   They young males were frisky and made a nuisance of themselves until the older ones put them in their place.

The Waterhole

Springbok coming down to drink

They spent some time and then at a signal that only they could understand they trooped off together.

Some time later a single eland appeared.  This is a species we’d never seen in Kgalagadi before so it was nice of him to pay us a visit.

A beautiful specimen of an Eland

Not wanting to be caught far from my own bungalow after dark, I cooked an early spaghetti bolognaise supper and was back at my own deck by 6 o’clock.  It was great having the walkie talkies so I could still chat to Heather and Peter without shouting across to them.    Heather had never seen a brown hyena and all she wanted was for one to appear at the waterhole.   Eric came around to chat to the guests and she mentioned this to him.   “Well,” he said, “If you look over there you will see one coming to drink right now.”  And sure enough a lovely one calmly trotted down to quench his thirst.  The light had gone so the photograph is a bit grainy.  But he was not the last to appear and so a good picture will be posted later.

Brown Hyena

The flood light was not working so staying up late to watch for game was not worth it. The temperature dropped and we were soon snuggled up for a peaceful night.  No lions roared to scare the wits out of us.

0

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 5

|

1 July 2012

Earl was still not feeling good this morning.   He did not have a temperature but he complained that his body was aching.  It sounded like a dose of influenza was on the way!   I left him in bed while we got up and packed and in spite of his ails he insisted on driving.

We were enjoying the early morning drive, snug and warm in our vehicle, no cars in sight and just the odd springbok and gemsbok about, when just up ahead we saw a car stopped and wondered what he had seen.  We soon found out.  Right in front of him, on the road was a young male lion.   Eyes forward we got our cameras ready.   We were thrilled to be only one of two cars and did not have to fight for position.  Suddenly someone in the car ahead gesticulated to us and we looked around to see a lioness in the distance.  She was slowly making her way toward us and we didn’t know where to look – at the lioness or the lion who was really close.  I insisted that we wait for the lioness to get closer.  “She’s going to join her husband,” I said.  And he did keep looking behind him to monitor her progress.   Of course, I was right and eventually we were rewarded when she came up right next to the car.

Lioness

After snapping many photographs we slowly overtook the car in front  of us and past the male so we could turn around to get more than his back view.

Looking for his wife

Happy that she’s following her lord and master

It was a great start to our journey to Nossob!

Close by a jackal expressed what he thought about his king and queen

We don’t often see kudu in Kgalagadi so it was great to find these beautiful males at the waterhole.

Kudu

A passing tourist alerted us to cheetah around the corner.   We took our time as we’d seen cheetah in this spot before and knew they would be far from the road and not in a hurry to move on.

On the way we spied these two perched high up and surveying the scene.

White-backed Vultures

We could not resist snapping this kestrel either

Rock Kestrel

And then as we rounded the corner we saw a few cars looking over the wide grassland and soon caught sight of cheetahs on the move.

Cheetahs

We wondered where they were headed

Just to a shady tree where they could sleep for the rest of the day!

We continued on our way, delighted to have had 2 cat sightings in one morning.   There was not much excitement for the rest of the way but we did stop for birds and enjoyed seeing all the springbok, gemsbok, kori bustards – we counted 97 in one day – there must have been a Kori Bustard convention that nobody told us about.    Usually it’s very exciting spotting one but we had become quite blasé about these magnificent birds.

Our plan was to stop at a picnic site and Earl would cook breakfast but by the time we got there he was feeling dreadful so we settled for cereal and coffee.

Isn’t it amazing that you can be 1000 km from home in a reserve where you seldom see another soul on the road and then you can randomly turn up at a picnic site and  you recognise the only other people there.  Yes – we met Sean and Isobella, members of our bird club,  who just happened to be on their way to Mata Mata where they were exiting to go to Namibia!  What were the chances!

There was a lot of bird activity but this was the best photograph I managed. This little chap is a black chested prinia. He is in his non-breeding feathers hence no black chest!

Black-chested Prinia

We made Earl as comfortable as possible in the passenger seat and I drove the rest of the way to Nossob.  He had the shivers and was not a happy man.

It was after 1:30 when we arrived.  We needed to refuel for our trip to Gharagab the following day as there would be no place to do so between here and there.   We had also been warned that Nossob was running low on diesel but there was no point on filling up at Mata Mata as we were close on full.   It was a Sunday and the petrol pumps were closed till 2!  Earl got into the queue while I went to check in.   There was some delay at reception too as there was only one attendant who could deal with us and she was busy dealing with a gate and key crisis – not too sure of the details.  I got chatting to young woman in the queue who was checking in to go to Gharagab.   There were two vehicles and three people in her party and they’d driven all the way from Twee Rivieren and were heading straight for Gharagab 160km away on a 4×4 track.   I wished her luck as I was sure they wouldn’t make it before dark!  We would not dream of driving from Twee Rivieren to Gharagab without an overnight stop at Nossob.   You never know how often you are going to stop for animals, whether you’ll get a puncture, how bad the roads might be etc. etc.  But they were young, thought themselves invincible and didn’t have a care in the world.  Do I miss those days?  No, I don’t think so!

Luckily there was enough diesel, we stocked up on fire wood and mineral water – no drinking water at Gharagab and checked into our bungalows.  Earl went straight to bed.  Heather, Peter and I, after some lunch and unpacking walked to the hide which overlooks a waterhole.

Wildebeest taking a drink

There was quite a lot of bird activity and we watched a lanner trying to catch doves but he was not successful.

I managed to snap a pale chanting goshawk just as he took flight.

Earl remained in bed and Peter braaied our supper.   We debated whether we should abandon the trip and try and get to Upington and a doctor. I had a well-stocked first aid kit with flu medication but no antibiotics.  Earl’s fever was over 40 degrees C, which worried me. Once at Gharagab we would be settled for three nights – no driving around as the only road is the one-way, round trip on a  4X4 track between Nossob and the wilderness camp. Travelling to Twee Rivieren would take forever and then it would be another 250 km to Upington.  I thought Earl would be more comfortable staying put and decided that he might as well be sick there as anywhere else.  So the plan was for me to drive the 4×4 track and see how things went.

0

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 4

|

30 June 2012

Earl did not have a good night and in this morning decided to stay in bed, rest and drink only water to try and cleanse his system and get rid of his aches and pains.   This sounded like a good plan to me.   I was convinced that the stress of buying a new car and getting organised for a trip away had taken its toll.   “No problem,” I said.  “We will bird in the camp and have a chill day.”  “No – you must take Heather and Peter on a game drive.”  “I’m not going to drive the new car.”  “Of course you are.  It’s an easy car to drive.”

Now I knew he had to be sick!  He never lets me drive!  I had tried to rouse Heather and Peter at 6 to tell them not to get up but there was no reply from their hut and we had not yet switched on our walkie talkies.   At 7:30 I went over again and they had just arisen.  Peter said he had set the alarm for 7:30 instead of 6:30. So it all worked out for the best.   We decided to make a slow start to the day and ended up leaving after 10 o’clock for a game drive.

I went to the shop to get more mineral water and a pair of warm gloves and found this ground scraper thrush outside our bungalow.

Ground Scraper Thrush

We decided to go on a short drive and then return to bird around the rest camp.   The birding was good. First up we took photos of sociable weavers outside their condominium.  Imagine these tiny, community birds building these huge natural blocks of flats.  No human can create anything near as good.   These nests are cleverly built and their owners are careful to watch out for snakes who might try to enter then to steal their eggs or chicks.  Sometimes they share their residence with pygmy falcons.

Scaly Feathered finch chatting beneath the Sociable Weavers Nests

It was good to find this pretty Capped Wheatear

Secretary Birds were seen frequently – and here is one with its crest up

Secretary Bird

A young pale chanting goshawk modelled nicely for us.

Juvenile Pale Chanting Goshawk

The great thing about Kgalagadi is seeing so many raptors.  This tawny posed in good light.

Tawny Eagle

We saw lots of white-backed vultures but the other species were conspicuous by their absence.

White-backed Vulture

Dalkeith waterhole was once again productive and we enjoyed watching the birds flocking down to drink.

Red-headed Finch

On our drive we saw the usual gemsbok, wildebeest, springbok and jackal but the cats were elusive.   We got back to camp at about 3.   Earl had slept most of the day and had made himself a cup of soup.  We had a rest and then went for a walk around the camp.  There were lots of yellow mongoose and ground squirrels – the holes they make can be quite hazardous if you don’t look where you are going.

Yellow mongoose

Familiar Chat

Earl did not have a temperature but was really feeling ill.   I cooked supper and gave him his in bed and hoped that the next day would see him feeling better.  But this is where misfortune began.

0

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 3

|

29 June 2012

It was freezing when we awoke and not easy to get up out of our warm beds.  I made the first move and after a cup of hot coffee felt better to face the day.   Although cold it was crisp and clear and promised to warm up later.   The first bit of wild life I encountered was in the kitchen – a tiny mouse was scavenging at the bin. I won’t post its poor portrait here but he resembled one of his mates that I took later in the day.

Once we were all up we stood out on the boardwalk chatting and eating our muesli – it was the warmest place with the sun on our backs!   Our tourist assistant (his name escapes me) called to us – there’s a hyena at the waterhole.  We just caught sight of it as it ambled off.

Later as we were driving we spotted it again, this time with a some fresh kill in its jaws.  It must have either stolen it from a lion kill or made a kill itself.  Her tummy was quite big either from gorging herself or was she pregnant?  She could have been taking the meat to her den – for puppies?

Spotted Hyena

Because we only had to check in at Mata Mata by two and it was a short distance away we decided to drive the dune road and then turn back.  We did not see much but this little chap always deserves to have his portrait taken.

Steenbok

We hadn’t gone far when we realised that we’d forgotten to collect our park permit – so just as well we were turning back.  We picked it up and then continued on the road to Mata Mata.

Common in the park and always good to see was this chap.

Marico Fly Catcher

Then to brighten up the scene a swallowed tailed bee eater posed beautifully

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

When you see cars stopped up ahead it is a sure sign than something interesting has been spotted.  We looked in the general direction that others seemed to be staring but could not see anything.  We asked a chap who said there were three cheetah but they’d ducked down and were now not visible.  Then one sat up and we eventually got to see four of them before they lay down in the long grass again.

Two of the four cheetah we saw

Most of the fun on trips like these occurs at the waterholes.  We stopped at 13th where there was not too much action and moved on to 14th  and enjoyed the birds coming in waves down to drink. But most of the action seemed to be at Dalkeith.

Cape Sparrows somehow look brighter and bolder in the desert environment

Red-headed finch flit so quickly that it is difficult to digitally immortalise them

There were hundreds of sociable weavers

I was delighted to get this violet-eared waxbill

Common but pretty, this yellowbilled hornbill posed confidently

Driving between the waterholes we saw a favourite bird of prey.

Martial Eagle

We were also happy to get two cousins within a short distance of each other.

Lilac Breasted Roller

While parked off at Dalkeith, I became aware of movement in the trees to the left of the waterhole.  I made noised about it but my travelling companions were too involved in watching the birds, checking the bird book or fidgeting about for a snack.  I trained my binoculars on the disturbance and then yelled – People there’s something furry in that tree!   Earl reversed and to my absolute delight we found an African Wild Cat grooming itself in the fork of a very comfortable tree!  How amazing to find this nocturnal creature preparing for a nap in the middle of the day!  He looks just like your house pet – but don’t try to stroke this creature of the wild.

African Wild Cat

We continued on to Mata Mata and took pics of the more common animals – like these Springbuck setting off somewhere in a neat line with the boss checking on them every now and then.

Springbuck in a line

Our last bird of the day was a male pygmy falcon.   He has a grey back while his wife’s is red.

Pygmy Falcon Male

We checked into the riverside cabins and Mata Mata and were delighted with them.

The deck looked over the perimeter and water hole

Inside was spacious and comfortable

0

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure Day 2

|

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.

Crimson-breasted shrike

Ground Squirrel

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

Greater Kestrel

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

Spike-heeled lark

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.

Leopard

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.

Gemsbok and Springbuck

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.

Common Fiscal

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.

Pygmy Falcon

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

Yellow Canary

A Gathering at the Waterhole

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

A Male Giraffe – Top of horns are bald

This beauty perched in a tree to survey the scene

Rock Kestrel

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

Secretary Bird

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.

0

Fortune and Misfortune – a Fortuner Adventure

|

A Brief Preamble

You can, if you are brave and not particular about your motor vehicle, travel the roads of The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park in an ordinary sedan car.   We have done it twice in my Volkswagen Caravelle which is four motion. But we found that it was expecting a bit much and ever since the first shake up of a trip we suffered the consequences as the poor vehicle had its insides and parts severely shaken up and it was never the same again!

The plan this trip was to take Earl’s Toyota Hi-Lux twin cab – not as comfortable as my Caravelle but it still had plenty of room to pack the catering equipment and luggage for four travellers. Earl has never been completely happy with the afore mentioned Toyota which he’s had for about a year.  The back didn’t seal well. He was afraid everything would be covered in red dust. It was an automatic and he didn’t like the way it handled on the road and the list went on.    After having a special holiday service something went wrong and that sent him over the edge and the day before departure he arrived home with a brand new Toyota Fortuner.   Well!   All very nice and comfortable with tinted windows (just done and couldn’t be opened for 48 hours) BUT what about the packing space!   He should really have purchased one of those aerodynamic roof rack thingies with bags that fitted snugly in included but there was not time for that!

He arrived home late on the day before departure.  Our travelling companions had dropped off their luggage and now the Magiver manipulation began to get everything in and leave room for the passenger.  Talk about canned sardines – we were canned tourists for the next 10 days!  Having said that – it all worked out and got the packing an unpacking down to a fine art for the rest of the trip!

26 June 2012

I am always like a kid before Christmas the day before departure and so of course I was too excited to sleep.  I must have dropped off an hour before the alarm went off at 3:30 a.m.  Typical!  But I was up and out of bed like a shot and soon we were picking up Peter and Heather in Fish Hoek and we were on the road on schedule.   We stopped at Muis Huis in Van Rynsdorp for breakfast and spent the night at Kalahari Guest House just outside Upington.  Our hostess cooked us a delicious three course dinner – mushroom soup,  babootie, roast leg of lamb with sweet potato and vegetables followed by Melba pudding followed by Melba pudding and custard.

She also gave us a packed breakfast – toasted cheese and tomatoe sandwiches, yogurt and juice. I thought cold toasted sandwiches would not be so great but they were delicious!

Earl, Peter and Heather at Muis Huis, van Ryndorp

27 June 2012

It was freezing when we got up but we dressed in layers knowing that the days warm up considerably – so it was a short sleeved shirt, jersey and warm jacket over jeans and shoes and socks all wrapped up in scarves, beanies and gloves. By the time we reached Twee Rivieren we were beginning to peal off the outer garments!

Before entering the gate we were treated to a wonderful sighting of this magnificent eagle.

Martial Eagle

We checked in at around 10 o’clock but could not get into our accommodation before 2 so set off for our first game drive.   Everything is exciting on the first day so the cameras were clicking furiously as we stopped for every creature.

The white-browed sparrow weaver is a common resident in these arid parts.

White-browed sparrow-weaver

The black-backed jackal was not too shy to greet us.

Black-backed Jackal

It was good to find our National Mammal – or Rugby Buck as my grandsons used to call it.   These beautiful antelope were everywhere and we never tired of watching their antics.

Our National Animal – The Springbok

The Kgalagadi was formerly known as the Kalahari Gemsbok Park and was originally created to protect these handsome creatures.

Gemsbok/Oryx

The Kori Bustard is the heaviest flying bird in the world.  He is a magnificent bird and we get really excited if we spot one.  This beauty proudly showed himself early in the trip.

Kori Bustard

Another common resident of the Kalahari is the ground squirrel.  These cute, cuddly creatures are my favourite.   I just love their bushy tails and cute manners.

Ground Squirrel

Earl started complaining that his muscles were sore – I told him to stop being grumpy so he showed me GRUMPY.  Watch this space to find out why he was grumpy!

Grumpy Old Man

The last pictures we took were of Red Hartebeest – lovely to see – and then we went to check into our family chalet.

Red Hartebeest

Twee Rivieren did not have a more comfortable bungalow for us so we had to settle for one with one bedroom and a kitchen with two beds in it!   You had to walk from the kitchen through the bedroom to get to the bathroom – but we managed and it was only for one night.

Once unpacked we set off for another brief game drive.  We found these beautiful black faced waxbills just outside the gate.

Black-faced Waxbills

The Kgalagdi is home to many small rodents and  birds and so it is not surprising to find a variety of birds of prey.  Lanners and red-necked falcons both prey on small birds and look pretty similar.  This one is a red-necked falcon – it has finely barred underparts whereas the Lanner has none.

Red-necked falcon

One of the little creatures that has to keep a constant look out for raptors is this cute little whistling rat.  We had great fun watching him and his mates.

Whistling Rat

The colours of the Kgalagadi are beige, stone, brown, cream, pastel greys and blues, pinks and mauves.  Now and then you get a splash of brightness like this swallow-tailed bee-eater.

Swallow-tailed Bee-eater

Just as beautiful but not as brightly coloured, the scaly feathered finch is a common resident and appears frequently with flocks of friends.

Scaly-feathered finch

As our afternoon drive took us back toward the gate – closing at 6 o’clock – we watched a tawny eagle fly over and then settle in a tree giving us a good photo opportunity.

Tawny Eagle

Altogether it was not a bad start to our trip.  As the sun set the temperature dropped and we added our discarded layers and sat outdoors to enjoy a good South African braai before tucking up into warm beds to rise early and continue to our next camp – unfenced in the wilderness – Urikaruus!