Caravanning in the Kgalagadi – Nossob Thursday 19 March 2015

2015-04-11 | puppy1952

Today is a rest day. We go out early in a southerly direction and try to find the lions but we have no luck and find out later that nobody else had a particularly successful day today either.

The highlight of the drive is at Casper se Draai. We spot the melanistic Gabar settled in a tree which does not make for good photography. But it flies off and we head in the same direction and find it perched in a tree with a juvenile and another Gabar of normal plumage. It is obviously a family – Mom, Dad and junior. They have a dove in the foliage and are feasting on it. Luckily for us they are on the correct side of the road – not into the sun – and we get some reasonable photographs.

Melanistic Gabar Goshawk

Normal plumage of Gabar Goshawk

001 Melanistic and Normal Earl 2015-03-19 07-50-45 AM 3162x2116

Parent and juvenile on right

We decide to return to camp and have a rest day as we are leaving for Polentswa tomorrow. On the way back we do some more birding.

Familar Chat

Yellow Canary

Crimson-breasted shrike

Burchell’s Sandgrouse

After lunch I go for a swim and meet some people from Somerset West. They ask where I live and I say – Fish Hoek. Oh says the lady, we are with our aunt and uncle from Fish Hoek – Eric and Margaret. I am gob-smacked. They are members of The Bird Club and I know Margaret and Eric very well. I also know their daughters! Later Earl and I pop up to their chalet to say hi. I had told Eric that we were off to KTP and he’d said – You lucky fish! At that stage he didn’t know that he would also be having a trip here – two weeks ago his daughter, Alison, suggested he and Margaret go in their place as here hubby, Alan was not well. Margaret tells me that it has been a brilliant trip with their niece and nephew treating them like royalty! Her niece also said that they’d learnt a lot about birds from Eric!

Caravanning in The Kgalagadi – Mata Mata Friday 13 March 2015

2015-04-05 | puppy1952

It is a calm day today – no cats but we do have fun seeing birds and other creatures as the photographs will show.

We ended our day early and came back to camp at 2 pm. The temperatures gets up to 36 every day but while in an air conditioned car this is not too bad but in camp it is energy sapping. I decide that I will go to the pool for a quick swim but stay in for an hour! I meet some interesting people. Mike is a vet from Hout Bay and heavily into Bird Watching so we have a lovely chat while his companions tease us about looking at birds when there is a lion right in front our noses. This is too true!

When I am out of the pool I chat to a lady who is on one of the recliners in the shade. It is her first visit to Kgalagadi and she is not impressed. “It’s just a dessert,” she says – “I miss Kruger.” I tell her that it will grow on her. “Why,” she asks – “The -vastness of the dry, scorched land, the muted grey-green-pink-mauve-lime-green-khaki colours that contrast with the orange dunes and brightly coloured bee-eaters and crimson breasted shrikes, the huge sky and the dusty pink clouds, the very earthiness of the place – I don’t know – but it does grow on one and one keeps longing to come back. Kruger has a different kind of fresh, lush beauty. Kgalagadi has a rugged character that keeps drawing you back time and time again.

Maureen cooks Puttanesca (Prostitutes’ Pasta) for supper and Earl is impressed. He wants me to learn to cook it!

Giraffe matching their background

The ever-present tawny eagle

He finds the remains of the cheetah kill

And what a feast it will be for him

Unusual to find a barn owl

Gemsbok (Oryx) at Thirteenth Water Hole

Rufous vented titbabbler

Ground Squirrel in our camp

Built in sunshade

Caravanning in The Kgalagadi – Wednesday 11 March 2015

2015-04-03 | puppy1952

We have still not learned to keep up with Jim but we have improved. Maureen is second in the queue, a chap named Des – a hardened bush whacker who has to be out first – has been waiting since 5:45! I am third! We chat with Des and he says it is vital to get to the waterholes as early as possible and that if something exciting is going to happen it must be right next to the road or it won’t be worth watching! But we are still torn between wanting to see the cats and wanting to enjoy the early morning birdlife!

It is already 23 C and rising. The first animal of the day is a Black-backed jackal.

By 7:10 we’ve spotted Gemsbok, Springbok, Kori Bustard Giraffe and Tawny Eagle.

Our first proper stop is at 13^th Waterhole where there is quite a bit of action. A jackal is drinking and so is a large tortoise.

Black-backed Jackal taking an early morning drink.

The birds – Namaqua doves, red-headed finches, lark-like buntings, grey-backed sparrow-larks, yellow canaries, Cape sparrows and laughing doves are flying down is flocks grabbing a drink and flying up into the trees again. The juvenile Gabar and a Lanner are there swooping down on the hunt. We see the Gabar take a lark-like bunting and settle in the tree to enjoy it!

Larklike buntings taking refuge in the trees

Juvenile Gabar with prey

We then head to the breakfast spot – Kamqua – and find a good table under a tree but the shade hasn’t reached it yet so Jim uses his canopy which works perfectly. This time we decide to have muesli and yogurt.

We then head toward Montrose Waterhole find very little so turn around and come back. We find a hyena lying in the shade on the side of the road.

He gives us a look that says “Hey – what are you looking at?”

Just let me sleep!

As we continue I yell STOP Go Back, I’ve seen a White-faced Owl. Earl reverses and sure enough there among the foliage is the bird I’ve been looking for in camp! Soon after this we find 4 spotted dikkop.

There were supposed to be a pair of these in camp but we never found them

One of the four spotted dikkops we saw

At Dalkeith a lovely family of ostriches runs away from us.

We watch a Namaqua Sandgrouse take drink

And a grey headed sparrow goes rock jumping

A car stops to tell us there is a lion at Craig Lockhart and when we get there we look toward the waterhole and see nothing. The chap in the car parked next to the big tree that dominates the site points next to us and there in all his glory sits a big male lion!

No peace from the tourists

Please go away

I wonder what Human tastes like

I have very sharp teeth

Half an hour later we find 4 cheetahs resting under a shady tree. We return to camp after a cursory glance at some beautiful giraffe and then return to the cheetahs later in the afternoon. They wake up and mover around and we hope to see them hunt but all too soon it is time to go back to camp so we don’t have that privilege.