#NaBloPoMo 20 – Lions and more@ Addo

2015-11-20 | puppy1952

It was the call of the fiery-necked nightjar calling loudly that woke me at a rude hour this morning. I lay listening to The Good Lord Deliver Us over and over again before reluctantly climbing out of bed and heading to the showers. Good thing too – because it was already light and gate opening was at 5:30. We made it to the gate by 5:45.

The weather was somewhat cooler but still warm enough for shorts and t-shirt but I took along a jersey for when the windows were open. Our first bird of the morning was this summer visitor from Eastern Europe

Although the steppe buzzards breeds in Eastern Europe they migrate to Southern Africa in summer arriving in October and leaving in April

Another non-breeding summer migrant is the barn swallow

These birds start arriving in September and the last ones leave in April

An intra-African migrant Lesser Striped swallow greeted us early this morning.

Lesser Striped Swallow – present in South Africa from July to March

The Southern Masked weaver is a common resident in South Africa and is not too shy to pose for a portrait. They can become quite tame and frequent campsites in the hope that they pick up a snack or two from the friendly humans.

How those vicious thorns don’t stab them I do not know.

As we drive around the reserve we frequently hear – Willie – come out and fight – scared. Or that is what the field guides tell us the Sombre bulbul is saying. But I think it sounds more like. Look out – you can’t find me – whaaaaa. But today we did find him – right out in the open too.

Another one who calls out loudly and likes to hide is the very pretty little Diderick Cuckoo. Today Earl found him trying to camouflage in the foliage.

The male cuckoo is very good looking – but he and his wife don’t raise their own chicks. The female chooses a variety of hosts including the southern masked weaver, red bishop, Cape sparrow and Cape wagtail. She lays up to 20 eggs per season so that’s a lot of surrogate mothers she has to find!

It is important to get out into the park early if you want to see predators. Lions are lazy and sleep in a shady spot most of the day. Today we found two large males at Carol’s Rest and they were just lying there – awake and just staring into the distance.

Lions Rule

Red Hartebeest, zebra and kudu were waiting, dead still, over the road on the hillside, very aware of the enemy and too scared to come down to drink.

We parked off, had breakfast and drank our coffee while we waited to see if anything would happen. Warthogs have to be the bravest and cheekiest of animals. The appeared from the other side of the waterhole so did not consult with the herbivores on the hillside. They boldly approached their kings and I wondered how the conversation went.

Please, Your Majesty, may I go down to drink?

Now let me think – I’ll check with my brother

NO! Get out of here or we’ll have you for breakfast!

The cheek of those subjects!

You would think the others would learn from the warties – but no – all of a sudden a herd of donkeys in prison clothes came racing across the road – then stood dead still in front of their sovereign.

We’re just out of jail and very thirsty – May we have a drink please sire?

Oh sure – if you want to be steak!

So they turned tail and headed back to the hill.

They have to leave some time – we’ll just have to wait!

We watched these antics for over an hour and then decided to head back to camp.

We were thrilled to find two meerkats – but only one photograph is worth posting.

Life is good in Addo Elephant Park

Jackals are usually on a mission but this one must have had a tough night as he is settling for a nap

I’m watching you – please leave me in peace.

Back at camp we decided to follow the jackals example and have a nap before going out in search of more game later in the afternoon.

It was 3 pm when we set off again and I have to eat my words about summer reaching the Eastern Cape ahead of us. A cold front sneaked up, strong winds blew and the heavens clouded over. It is calmer as I type but freezing cold! It will probably rain in the night.

Anyway this did not dampen our spirits and we had an enjoyable game drive. Surprisingly there we saw no elephants until the very end.

It was great to see a black-shouldered kite

A greater double-collared sunbird posed and sang for us.

And finally at Hapoor we found a small herd of elephants

We decided to do a small potjie over the fire for tonight’s dinner

And just to make our day a bushbuck came to visit

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Saffies and Aussies on Safari – Day 22

2015-07-14 | puppy1952

23 June 2015

I am late for school – again. I rush into the building and race toward where I think my classroom is but I can’t seem to find it. I panic – the girls will be fretting, wondering where I am. They won’t know what to do. Some will be crying – I dash across courtyard after courtyard searching for a familiar room but mine does not appear and there’s a lion roaring really close by. He’s getting closer – I must find my classroom!

A distant voice yells, “Lion! Lion! Get up there’s a lion outside.”

I wake up – it is just the same recurring dream – I am at Gharagab and finally a lion has come calling.

It is 5:15 and it is Earl who alerts me to the lion’s roar. We listen but it does not come again. We check the water hole – no sign of them. Earl gets dressed and sits at the glass door, while I snuggle under the blankets a little longer. When it’s light I get up too. The Schoffls have heard them too and Erich says he heard the first roars far off at 3 earlier this morning. While Earlybird is packing Dawid comes to show him the spoor of two lions going past our cabin – so they were here!

At 7:30 on the dot Earlybird has us in the car and off in search of the cats. We find spoor on the road and just near Dankbaar water hole, Eagle-eye Wendy calls, “what’s that?” and there in the grass sit two beautiful young black-maned lions.

We are delighted that the lions are still in the area and that we found them!

Eagle Eye Wendy spots something again. “Are those ant hills or animals?” she says.

We scan with our binos and at first see nothing then they materialize – 7 very cute suricate a but quite a distance away. How did she spot them!

We are delighted with this lovely sighting and continue to enjoy the steenbok that appear quite often, red hartebeest in playful mood and gemsbok getting their morning exercise by racing across the veld.

It’s a long trip over the desert dunes and much like a rollers coaster ride. We are delighted by the Disco 4’s performance.

We stop at all the waterholes but apart from some bird activity there is little to see.

At Nossob we have brunch at the picnic site.

Upon arrival at Bitterpan we see another CA Land Rover. Another couple arrive just after us – Dave and Jeanette from Hogsback. The land rover owner introduces himself as Lee and we chat for a whole. Later his wife Shannon joins us. The six of us braai together but Dave and Jeanette decide to do their own.

We have a delightful evening.

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park – Saffies and Aussies on Safari – Day 18

2015-07-12 | puppy1952

Friday 19 June Cheetah Day

I wake at quarter to six and get up at quarter past – it is freezing! I wrap myself in a rug and go to the loo. My ablutions are quick and I get dressed under the blankets! Today I don a pair of thermal tights under my jeans. I can’t feel the ends of my fingers even though I wrap them in a warm pair of gloves. Packing up is painful and takes twice as long as with warm hands!

The temperature registers at -2 in the car and goes down to -3. Thank Goodness for an effective air-con in the car as soon we warm up.

There are a few exciting spots the first being two African Wild Cats darting across the veld. Unfortunately the light is wrong and they are too quick for a photograph. But still it is a great sighting.

At 13^th water hole we meet a couple we’d met the day before – George and Venetia. They say they’ve seen the cubs but they have now gone over the ridge – clearly following their mothers who must be ahead of them. We chat for a while then both cars move on. We find them stopped up ahead of us and as we draw nearer see what they have seen – three cheetahs moving swiftly through the bush high up on the ridge.

One of the cheetahs moving stealthily through the bush

We guess they are on their way to Urikaruus water hole so hurry along to wait for them. After 20 minutes, Earlybird says – they’re not coming let’s go but then a land rover ahead of us turns around. His mate has gone up to the viewpoint and has radioed him that the cheetahs are coming. So we turn around too and – there they are – coming right for us!

He is centimeters from my eyeballs

And touches the car as he passes by my door

He makes his way across the road passing right next to the passenger side of the car

We’ve been looking at a steenbok at the waterhole while we are waiting and the cheetahs spot her too. The one gives chase and she scoots off into the trees – we think the cheetah will return with breakfast for the others but she comes back empty handed.

She looks at the cheetahs nervously

We watch the cheetahs frolic and have fun for a while and then they move back over the road and over the ridge – but wow – what a sighting.

Next we find the three eagle owls in the tree.

one of the Verreaux’s Eagle Owls

We stop for breakfast at Kamqua before continuing our journey to Nossob

Earlybird cooks a killer brekkie

On the way we see some interesting birds and big herds of gemsbok at the waterholes.

We check into Chalet 8 just behind reception. It is quite warm now. We have a braai for supper and eat outdoors.

Sundowners at Nossob

A visitor looking for titbits

Nothing beats a good old fashioned South African Braai

After supper Earl takes the Schoffls to the waterhole and I stay behind and have a shower and catch up with my bookkeeping.

There is not much happening at the waterhole so they are soon back.

Namibia – Saffies and Aussies on Safari – Days 15 ,16,17

2015-07-11 | puppy1952

16 June Daan Viljoen – Getting Lost in Windhoek

Windhoek is not the biggest city in the world. No it is not even ‘big’ by any average standard. Yet we managed to get lost. How do we manage this? Well it’s all to do with not following your instincts. Its paying too much attention to robotic machines who will possibly take over the world one day!
The day starts well enough. We have a delicious breakfast at our fancy B&B – smoked salmon and a variety of cold meats and cheeses are on offer with the usual yogurts and cereals. OH and who can resist fig preserve with Camembert – so in spite of my Banting Diet I indulge in the tiniest little piece. My total carb allowance for the day.
This is followed by eggs, bacon tomato and mushrooms. Erich has an appointment with the dentist at 3 and we want to do our shopping for Kgalagadi — so we set off at 10:30 fill up with fuel and find all the places we need with ease. Armed with a new torch, flask, taser and meat – the latter from a stunning butchery called Trans Kalahari Meat – we make our way to the Dentist where we plan to have coffee at a nearby supermarket coffee shop. As we near I say -“I really would prefer a better place with nicer coffee,”

So we do a search on the “Car Wife” and find a mall 2km away – The coffee is somewhat better and Erich indulge in a slice of cake.

Don’t remember the name of the coffee shop

Then a miracle happens – Earlybird agrees to leave Wends and me to shop while he takes Erich to the Dentist! Bliss – but I am warned to have my cell phone at the ready so that my guardian and protector can find me on his return. I discover that I have run out of Namibian air time so find a cell shop and quickly top up. I leave Wendy to browse while I do this and some Chemist shopping. Then the two of us go to Checkers to do our grocery shopping. This is almost complete when The Boys return – tooth successfully repaired by a charming dentist who Erich thinks undercharged him = It would have cost twice as much in OZ.
The boys help complete the shopping – mainly by adding beers and wine to the trolley and then we try to make our way home.
Earlybird enters the destination and for some strange reason the thing gets us lost! You’re mad he tells his car wife – that’s not the way to go – but still he slavishly obeys her instructions. After meandering around WIndhoek for an hour while he and “Greta Garmin” argue. I finally intervene and say let me speak to her. Well she’d lost satelite reception hadn’t she!

Go back to town and find Sam Mojoma Street says Wendy so we do and then we manage to reset satellite contact and head into the blinding sunset.
We have pre-dinner drinks and then go to the lovely but chilly restaurant again. We are the only guests in the vast, high ceilinged room. We are the only chalet dwellers but there are some campers who brave the cold and have outdoor braais.
Earl has game steak but the rest of us order two starters – delicious tomato soup and then calamari with a wonderful aioli sauce.
For dessert we decide on the cheese platter to share – R80 – well – it is enough for 10 people so we take the leftovers in a doggy bag – well worth the money.
When I booked at this venue I saw the rate as over R1000 per person and didn’t want to take it but Early bird told me to go for it as we’d visited Daan Viljoen as day visitors 20 years ago – it was stunning then as the dams were full of water and the bird life was prolific. This time it was dry and so I felt a bit cheated after paying a fortune to stay there. Everything was lovely, though, so I didn’t fret too much. But on checking what I actually paid I had a pleasant surprise – There are 2 rates – one for rich overseas tourists and one for Africans – Hooray – I paid the African rate – only R795 per person per night. That made me feel much better! Also the food was excellent and cheaper than the buffets in Etosha!
We could have braaied at our chalet but we opted for the restaurant as we will be self-catering fro the next 9 nights.
Another tip for potential travellers NWR resorts – get an NWR card for about N$700 and all accommodation will be 25% less.

17 June Kalahari Tented Camp

Daan Viljoen to Kalahari Tented Camp

Earl is worried that we won’t make it to the Mata Mata Border Post by its closing time at 3:30.

“What’s the worst that can happen?” I say.. “If we don’t make it we can check into a B&B” and I find one 14km from the border post which puts him in a better frame of mind!

Of course we do make it – with an hour to spare.

We check into tent 4 and 5. After unpacking we go for a short drive and find the usual gang.

Wildebeest cannot be ignored

Jackal checking around before taking a drink

We get back by quarter to six and start the braai. It is chilly sitting outside but Wendy and I have knee rugs and warm jackets so we aren’t too fussed. We sit in the kitchen to eat.

But when we go to bed it was freezing. We put two extra blankets on each bed but it takes ages to warm up. I find sleeping with my beanie on helps. If ever you go here in winter – take a hot water bottle!

18 June – A Lion Day

We rise in freezing temperatures – when we got into the car at 7:30 we find the temperature to be -2 and it went down to -5 as we drive toward the waterholes. Brrrr. We turn the aircon up to 24 and soon warm up. We welcome the sun streaming into the car too.

There is very little at each waterhole and we when we get to 13th we stop to watch the red-headed finches darting in and out of the water.

Red-headed finches

We are the only car there when we notice one reversing at speed toward us. He rolls down his window and says “Stay here – there are 10 lion heading this way”. Another reversing vehicle is right behind him and he reports seeing 11.

Wow – we find ourselves in the prime position without any effort at all. Here they came yells Wendy and sure enough 4 adult females and 7 cubs appear and begin drinking right next to us.

Here comes the first one

CLosely followed by the others

Other cars have gathered from both directions and jostle for position but we are right where the action was – right time right place! We see the moms snap at the cheeky youngsters and chase them to their own spot.

They all lap happily for a while and then the cubs begin to play. Soon the moms head in the opposite direction to which we are parked. We decide that we won’t turn around to follow them. But just as we start the car Wendy says – they’re coming back and they give us another half and hour’s entertainment before heading toward the trees and over the ridge. The babies remain behind playing and climbing the tree until one of the moms has to come and demand they follow. It is so much fun.

We are chuffed with our first day and continue on. We stop for breakfast and Earl cooks scrambled eggs, bacon, banana and cheese. Our starter is banting muesli and yogurt. A chap from another group comes over to chat and see whether our brekkie is better than theirs. Of course it is! He tells us they’d seen the ion but also a leopard and cub at another waterhole – how had we missed that!! Wrong place at the wrong time.

Nothing else too exciting happens the rest of the drive and we arrive home at about 3.

some of the creatures we see besides lion.

African Harrier-hawk

Yellow Mongoose

Always good to see – giraffe

Erich and Wendy go to their tent to do a few things, I wash up the brekkie things and prepare for the evening meal before having a short rest.

Earl is sitting on the deck when he suddenly yells – lion – he runs to fetch Wendy and Erich and we watch a male and female come down to the water hole.

Earl spots the lion at a distance

A male and a female make their way to the waterhole

The springbok are stock still

They quench their thirst

The springbok run when they see them then stand perfectly still watching them. A wildebeest some way away is also on high alert. after a few sips they head across the veld and we dash for the car to see where they come out. Other residents have seen the action too and are heading in the right direction to follow the lions. We find them and get some close up shots before heading back to camp.

Jan has seen us all dash off without our permits and comes to check up on us and to ask what we have seen.

Supper is chicken casserole and dessert peaches and yogurt. After tea we pack up and have an early night. It’s off to Nossob tomorrow.

Namibia – Saffies and Aussies on Safari – Day 13 and Day 14

2015-07-10 | puppy1952

Sunday 14 June 2015 Okaukuejo

We go out at 6:30 this morning and visit a couple of waterholes. There is not much except for the usual suspects. We see one elephant. It is good, though, to see that there are animals scattered about. We return at 8:30 for breakfast and then do our own thing for the rest of the day.

Breakfast at Okaukuejo

Earl takes some lovely shots of animals at the waterhole.

Lots to see at the waterhole

Keeping an eye on the ladies

A tawny hoping for a snack?

Janet and Stuart arrive and we find their camping site and invite them to join us for a braai in the evening. We have a great time.

Monday June15 2015 Are there any Lions in Etosha?

Our six days in the park are stunning. We have marvellous encounters with elephant, zebra and giraffe. We see black rhino at the waterholes and the weather is fabulous. But hey where the hell are the lions? Certainly none cross our path. Okay, so we come to the parks for the birds and enjoy whatever happens to turn up – but this is the first time ever that we’ve visited a major park and not seen cats. Yes – we see Cheetah but they are half hidden and boring. And when you have overseas guests you want to impress them with the king of the African Bush for Goodness sake. So it was with a slight feeling of disappointment that we exit Okaukuejo Gate for the last stretch to Anderson Gate and I say, Don’t worry guys – we will probably get lions in Kgalagadi.
Then just minutes from the gate we see a few cars stopped up ahead. Wendy yells What’s that?

A lion cub slipping through the bush

Soon we catch sight of 4 lions. 1 mother, 2 small cubs and an older sibling we think. The Mom and big sister flop down under a tree but the cubs go on a bit further and then flop down in full view. Oh Joy! The older one gets up after a while and joins the little ones. We spend 20 minutes watching them get up and wander and return to the comfort of their spot. we reluctantly bid them farewell and continue happily on our way to our next destination.

We reluctantly bid them farewell and continue happily on our way to our next destination.

Goodbye Etosha

We check into Sun Kaross, Daan Viljoen at 1ish and are assigned chalet 8 and 9. Great spot but the view is of an empty dam! Our accommodation is stunning but it is very cold. Luckily we have down duvets and extra blankets and we put the airocn up to 30.

We unpack and have a cup of tea and then go on a journey of exploration. The list of game includes warthog, giraffe, zebra, red hartebeest, eland, jackal, wildebeest and kudu. Erich is delighted when our first spot is a single wildebeest and red hartebeest together! We follow a 4×4 trail and find all the species except eland, zebra and jackal.

Red Hartebeest

Go Away Bird

Short-toed Rock Thrush

The braai facilities are great but the chalet is not equipped with crockery and cutlery. There is a fridge, kettle, glasses and cups and saucers. Tea and coffee are also provided.
We go to the restaurant and find we are the only chalet dwellers and there is no one else there for dinner. We order the chef’s curry which is a huge helping and totally delicious. Erich has Schnitzel, which is okay, if a little dry. The value for money is good.
Nobody wants dessert.