Monkeys and baboons are the oddest creatures at the best of times but I thought these were rather cute and a perfect subjects for this week’s odd ball picture challenge
Peek-a-boo
And when he’s older he’ll take my place as leader of the troop!
After a rainy and cold week we find ourselves here in Struisbaai once again. A text from our rental agent warned us that there might be road closures due to the recent heavy rains and flooding. Really? We didn’t give it too much thought and set off with Tony and Sharon at about 3:30 yesterday afternoon. “I’d better just phone and check,” I said. “It would be a pity to get to Bredasdorp only to find that road closed.” Sure enough, we were warned that only twin cabs and 4X4s were able to make it through. “Huh?” No problem for us as fortunately as we drive a Fortuner! I still didn’t believe that it could be that bad but it was! There was a virtual river running across the road halfway between Bredasdorp and Struisbaai.
Will the big truck get through – Yes indeed so we should too.
Fellow travellers forging the river
It was dark and cold when we reached our house and we put on the gas heater the minute we’d unpacked! Then after a glass of wine and chat we set off to Agulhas to seek a place to have dinner. To our horror Seagulls was closed – apparently taking advantage of the quiet season to get away for their annual holiday. So we settled for Zuidste Kaap Restaurant (Most Southern Cape Restaurant) which had a fire in a huge hearth and very good food. (The fire did very little to warm the place though) Earl had Eisbein and Sharon and I had Vegetarian Pasta and Tony Rainbow Pasta. All excellent.
We slept snugly and rose this morning to a unique “Early” breakfast. Nobody else can possibly compete with whatever it is he does to make this the most delicious breakfast in the world. (Thanks my darling)
We then packed up and took ourselves off to De Hoop Nature Reserve – a very special place about an hour or so away. The results of the recent rains were evident everywhere and had attracted a variety of waterbirds not usually seen in the area.
A tranquil scene on a temporary lake
Indulging in a morning preen
Aren’t we beautiful
From Bredasdorp we take the Swellendam Road and then 6km out of Bredasdorp we take the dirt road to Malgas travelling about 40 km before turning right to De Hoop. En route, we stop of course, to observe birds and take scenic photographs.
Now we know why it is so cold – Snow on the Caledon Mountains!
A Patchwork of colour with farmhouse in background
A Grey Heron with an identity crisis – He is impersonating a swan
Capped Wheatear posing obligingly
Flood water creating a lovely scene
Mommy sheep with twins
Spurwinged Goose, Two Cape Shovellers and A Yellow-billed Duck
The proteas in the park were in full bloom
Although it was still chilly we the sun was shiny and there was good light and after the rain everything looked bright and clear. The birds and animals in the park clearly thought today was the day to make an appearance and we found them everywhere. All were enjoying the sunshine and the abundance of water.
De Hoop Nature Reserve is 34 000 ha in size and the largest natural area managed by Cape Nature. It is a good place to go if you enjoy hiking, cycling, bird watching and of course whale watching.
It forms part of the world’s smallest and most threatened plant Kingdom – the Cape Floral Kingdom. Fynbos is the dominant vegetation group. The Bredasdorp / Agulhas and Infanta area has an estimated 1500 plant species of the approximately 9 000 species found in the Cape Floristic Region. We live in a beautiful part of the world and have such interesting flora and fauna. What a privilege to have such easy access to it. Not only can we see the rare bontebok and other mammal species here but it is adjacent to the De Hoop Marine Reserve too and at Koppie Alleen there is an opportunity to see whales and other marine life too.
Cape Bulbul catching some rays
Common Fiscal
Ostriches out and about
Cape Mountain Zebra
Male and Female Eland
Bontebok
Our close cousins
Bokmakierie
We have often dined at the restaurant in the park and can highly recommend it. Sharon and I had traditional South African fare in the form of Bobotie and Tony and Earl indulged in Mussel Chowder.
The Four of Us Indulging in Good South African Food
This cheeky chap demanded crumbs but we declined to indulge him.
Cape Francolin
The trees were full of noisy birds eating berries
Cape Bulbul
Mousebird
After lunch we drove to Koppie Alleen to see if we could spot a whale or two. We were not disappointed. There were dozens of Southern Right Whales in the bay which were seen clearly with the aid of our binoculars. It was bitterly cold on the dunes so we didn’t spend too much time before we were driven back to the warmth of our vehicle.
Koppie Alleen
Whale Watching
The Bay was full of Southern Right Whales
On our way out the baboons once again amused us.
Daddy Baboon
Mommy and Baby
After a great day out we returned to our cosy cottage and Chef Earl produced a wonderful braai – chicken wings on sticks, skilpaaidjies (not real tortoises honestly – just liver wrapped in sheep fat) lamb chops, vegetables in foil and Sharon’s Coleslaw. To finish a stunning lemon meringue from Checkers’ Bakery.
The Indoor Braai
Yum!
Earl was so exhausted last night that he could hardly eat so we decided to make a late start this morning. I thought this would mean – leave camp at about 9 a.m. but he was totally refreshed when we woke up and our ‘late’ start was at 6:30 instead of 5:30!
Although each day in Kruger has its special moments, some days can be slow with little game appearing. Yesterday was such a day and I knew that if we didn’t do something to keep the kids interested we’d have some rioting in the car. So we started straight away with the points for first sightings and the competition was on!
Our first excitement were elephants crossing in front of us – they’re a favourite with the kids although they get the adrenalin going when they get too close.
Then buck – not impala – a different buck – Jay called out in excitement – and there on the side of the road was a lovely Male Bushbuck – so different from the female they’d seen yesterday at Afsaal. That earned him 5 points as it’s not a common one to see.
Jay kept ahead with spotting birds and animals first but Shannon was better at naming them. Josh insisted that the people in front had an advantage but Jay still seemed to beat me to it. We laughed when he then insisted that it was because he was on the wrong side of the car.
Of course when he won 10 points for finding Granny a Marico Sunbird no mention of unfair advantages was made.
The competition certainly kept the eyes glued the bush and we saw lots of wonderful things in the time that it took us to travel from Skukuza to Nkulu picnic site.
Female Red-backed shrike with breakfast
Bad hair day for this hamerkop
Nkulu is on a river bank and we love stopping here. The only problem is that the monkeys are rather naughty and you have to be very careful that your breakfast isn’t stolen. Our attention was distracted by a green-backed heron on the opposite bank when our order was placed on the table. Fellow tourists yelled a warning when a cheeky Vervet snatched half a toasted cheese sandwich from Joshua’s plate!
He was horrified but placated when I offered him my chips and half a toasted chicken mayonnaise. Shannon told us she didn’t really like monkeys – they scared her and a large male must have sensed this as he actually threatened her with a grunt and a made a move toward her. Earl shouted and she hid behind me giggling nervously.
Cheeky monkey enjoying Joshua's breakfast
Jay is enjoying Nkulu's famous buffalo pie
As soon as we’d eaten we packed up left over buffalo pies and sandwiches and continued our journey. Shan was sitting up front with me. We stopped to photograph some very young monkeys and Shan was really enjoying them until Earl pointed to a big one right next to her window – she started to wind up the window and I said – “no – don’t I just want to snap his portrait” she burst into tears and leapt over onto Earl’s lap. I think the incident at the Nkulu upset her more than we realised. After a cuddle and comforting words she was fine again and we warned the boys not to tease her about monkeys, please!
We had further fun with primates when we stopped on a bridge and a troop of baboons had the kids in fits of laughter with their antics – chasing each other, play fighting and tumbling and almost 0ff the bridge.
They then went and climbed the sandy cliffs and foraged for termites or whatever lives in the bank.
There were other interesting things to see in the water too. Simon spotted a legawaan on the rocks and another where the monkeys were climbing up and down the bank.
A Goliath heron patiently fished in some fast running water
Birds of prey earned our young spotters lots of points and gave us an opportunity to teach them how to tell one from another.
The brown snake eagle has yellow eyes and feathers only to its knees while the lesser spotted eagle has ‘stove pipes’ , pale eyes and yellow feet. And the don’t be too convinced that you’re right – all birds of prey are tricky to identify – even the experts make mistakes. But the martial is unmistakable with its black chest and white, speckled tummy.
Brown Snake Eagle
Lesser Spotted Eagle
Martial Eagle
At Sunset Dam the challenge was to see how many crocodiles you could count – they camouflage so well and perhaps there were more than the 10 we got. Plenty of hippos lazed and grunted in the shallows and the shore birds gave us lots of pleasure.
Wood sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
After a refreshing drink at Lower Sabie we made our way home. Simon had been as good as gold but was now starting to ask when he could go for a swim. It was really hot today.
The elephants could not let us off lightly today – a rather angry looking bull decided not to make way for us as he trundled down the middle of the tar road. We had to reverse until he found a place that suited him to get off the road. A lovely adrenalin rush to end the day!
After the kids had a swim we went to the nearby hide of Lake Panic for just half an hour. There were hippos and birds but at this time of year not the variety that we usually see. Still it was good to see that no damage had been done by the floods.
A thunder storm cooled things down this evening but put rather a dampener on our braai. Jay stripped to his waist and used a storage box lid to prevent the fire from going out while he finished off cooking our chicken.
Diary of an Adventurous Retiree 