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.

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.

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