blue crane | Diary of an Adventurous Retiree

It was cool and overcast this morning but the wind had dropped and there was no rain. So there was no excuse – I had to get out there and run. The wind was in my face on the outward route and I found it a struggle but coming back with the wind behind me was far more pleasant. Still I missed the encouragement from the boys. I did not reach my personal best but I did it a tad faster than Wednesday!

Mrs Yassin made us delicious omelettes for breakfast and Yassin decided that my housekeeping was not very good and gave the house a once over before breakfast was cooked.

Yassin at work

Mrs Yassin’s lovely brekkie

Earl and Yassin fetched two labourers and they soon set to work clearing the garden and preparing it for a facelift.

Preparing the new garden

We left Yassin to supervise and went to do some chores in Bredasdorp and then drove to Rivierine on the Breede River to visit my sister, Tana and brother-in-law Brian.

Of course we did a spot of bird watching en route.

Flock of Blue Crane (Our National Bird)

Steppe Buzzard

Driving toward Riverine

It was great to find my nephew Rob and his wife Katya were there too. The weather was glorious. After soaking up some sun on the jetty we decided to take a cruise and to pop in on Brian’s sister and brother in law who live a few km further up the river.

Relaxing on the jetty

Two River Princesses – Cheers!

We passed other boats and I got soaked because of the bumpy wake!

On Pat and Tony’s stoep

View towards The River

Pat and Tony share our passion for birds. They have many feathered visitors to their garden including kingfishers and woodpeckers. Pat has counted over 60 different species during this holiday.

Francolin with chicks

When we returned Rob and Katya had lunch ready.

Lunch Alfresco

We spent a pleasant afternoon chatting and enjoying the fabulous weather.

Me acting like a Lady of Leisure

On our way home we stopped for more birdlife on the side of the road. There was a flock of 9 Denham’s Bustard. As soon as we stopped they moved further away and some took to the air.

Nervous Denham Bustards

One obliged but was still not as close as I would have liked

On the road between Bredasdorp and Struisbaai we found a flock of white storks. One had also flown over Tana’s place at Breede River – and we teased Katya that it was a little early delivering her baby!

Two of the white storks we saw

‘Min dae’ (few days) till we return to Cape Town, work and routine. We are making the most of every minute!

The wind was up this morning and so we decided a day trip to somewhere else was called for. A bit of bird and game watching might be a good experience for our grandchildren and would ensure that they didn’t get too much sun. So the early morning run was shelved and we had an ‘Early’ breakfast then Lauren, Earl the kids and I set off at about 8. Alan, Lisa and Laurie decided to give the nature thing a miss.

Jay was the most enthusiastic of all the kids and on route keenly spotted the birds of prey. Plenty of yellow-billed kites were hawking and steppe and jackal buzzards were atop of telephone poles. We also saw flocks of our national bird – the blue crane.

Flock of Blue Crane

We also spotted a special bird that we don’t often see in The Western Cape

Namaqua Dove – Male

Just before entering the reserve we saw baboons. Now we are used the cheeky Cape Point clan who have no fear of humans. They are pretty precocious in Kruger too. But these would not hang around for a chat at all. We managed to get some bum shots.

Bye bye baboons

We have all four children on our Wild Card so only had to fork out a R40 Conservation fee for Lauren. The Wild Card is well worth having. We have one for all clusters and we can get into any South African National Park free. The cost of the card is R745 per year for a couple and up to five children. (For more information on The Wild Card – http://www.wildcard.co.za/faq.htm?action=view-list&catid=512 )

Once in the park the kids were thrilled to see zebra, ostrich and bontebok.

Bontebok and Baby

Zebra Family

We stopped at the restaurant to go to the loo and then set off to Koppie Alleen where we planned to swim and play on the dunes. But on the way a mini disaster struck. The battery light came on and a message on the dashboard informed us that we should get the car to a workshop for alternator repairs. Earl and the boys got up to look under the bonnet – but couldn’t find where the alternator was hidden – Modern Cars!

Where’s the alternator, Grandpa?

Earl thought discretion was the better part of valour. We turned around and went back to Struisbaai – rather be stranded closer to home than in the middle of a nature reserve. So unfortunately we did not see Koppie Alleen today but if any reader would like to see what we did on a previous trip go to https://puppy1952.wordpress.com/2011/04/24/fishing-adventure-at-the-southern-tip-of-africa-day-3

We snacked on left over Christamas dinner, the kids amused themselves and the adults read, did crosswords, blogged and napped. Then we all went for a walk before supper.