Wild Adventure Chapter 12 Mata Mata Day 2

2016-04-30 | puppy1952

14 March 2016

Mata Mata Camp offered way more luxury than the unfenced rustic Rooiputs. Showering in the morning was now possible and Lady Peigh and Mrs Leigh were first up and finished at the ablution block before the other campers awoke. Now they had to check out of camp and the gate attendant did not open the office till 6:30 on the dot!

Mr and Mrs Frend-Leigh was first out the gate and indicated to the Grum-Peighs that they were following lion tracks. They followed them to 14th Waterhole but the cats were not there. A return to Dalkeith produced no luck either.

Clearly the lions had killed the previous night as they found a tawny eagle eating their leftovers. It then flew up into a tree to join its friend and they got some photos.

It was also good to see giraffe about. The leopard was nowhere to be found.

Back at camp the Earl cooked breakfast.

In the afternoon they all went out again. Nothing much was seen but a common buzzard was nice to see.

Other birds gave them pleasure too.

Red-headed finch

White-faced scops owl

Wattled Starling

Lilac-breasted Roller

So after a rather slow day they returned to camp and enjoyed a meal together before retiring for the night.

Caravanning in the Kgalagadi – Mata Mata Thursday 12 March 2015

2015-04-04 | puppy1952

Once again it is an early start to the day – I am second in the queue behind Des today. Maureen is a close third! We decide to stick as close to J&M as possible as they seem to bring us luck!

We speed-spot on the move and I mark down jackal, giraffe and Secretary Birds before we stop for a hyena at 7:05.

An early rising spotted hyena

At Dalkeith Waterhole we find a beautiful group of giraffe drinking and Gemsbok are there too.

Gemsbok drinking at Dalkeith

At 13^th Waterhole we spot a Tawny Eagle in a tree and also the usual bird activity going on.

Tawny by Earl

It is 9:30 when we arrive at Rooibrak Waterhole and here we are delighted to find 5 lions. They are drinking and then start moving. We follow them until they drop under some shady trees and clearly settle there for the day.

Lovely lions

We retrace our steps and go to Kamqua for breakfast – Muesli again as I forgot to pack the cutlery!

We meet some interesting people. A Dutch couple who have shipped their huge camper over for a 4 year sojourn in Southern Africa tell us all about their plans. They have everything they need in the bus and it requires a special licence to drive it. They were able to get a pensioners’ Visa to stay in the country for this length of time.

We hear about a cheetah who has killed a buck and then left it lying in the open while she and the cubs are taking a nap at the top of a ridge under a bush. There are a couple of Tawny Eagles in the tree watching and waiting for something to tear it apart so they can get a share too. But no jackal, hyena or any other predator appears. We watch the cheetahs for a while and then Mom gets up and makes her way over the ridge. The cubs follow but then return to their slumbers. A few minutes later Mom reappears with a buck in her mouth! It looks like bits have already been eaten. We assume she killed this first, started snacking on it then went and made the kill that she has now left to whoever wants it. She takes the kill to a bigger tree with more shade and the cubs obediently follow. We watch them feast and then decide it is time to leave.

Mom Cheetah

She has something

She brings it to the cubs

On our way back to camp we find two beautiful bee-eaters.

Swallow-tailed bee-eaters

I cook a risotto for dinner and as we sit down to eat a fellow camper calls to us – Lions at the Waterhole – we leave our supper, grab binoculars and cameras and race to the fence. Sure enough there are three beautiful lions taking a drink. What fun – right on our doorstep.

Lions at Mata Mata waterhole

Caravanning in the Kgalagadi – Veldrift to Molopo Lodge to Mata Mata

2015-04-02 | puppy1952

We survive our first weekend in the caravan. Prior to this It has been a week of stressing, faffing and fussing to get everything ready for a month long trip away in the Kgalagadi. Isn’t it amazing what people will do for fun? Here we were in a large home with everything that opens and shuts, electricity, hot and cold running water, air-con – the list goes on – and what do we do? We swap it for a tiny hut on wheels. I think this is going to be so much fun! But I think my darling husband anticipates every hiccup and tries to squash our familiar life-style into this small abode. Not gonna happen honey – we have to be prepared for the odd discomfort – and don’t panic – I will survive!

Sunday 8 and Monday 9 March

We are wide away just before 4 am on Sunday morning – the noise of the Sishon Saldana iron ore train being our alarm clock! There is no point going back to sleep for 15 minutes so we rise and get ready to leave. The biggest hassle is getting the roof folded down – there must be a knack that we haven’t mastered yet – but with only a minimum of grumpiness and a few giggles we finally did it. By 5:00 am were are on the road in beautiful weather and only a few stop goes to negotiate.

It is a 950 km journey to our overnight stop Mopolo. I love driving through the Karoo. It has a stark beauty all of its own but the roads can be long and straight with little change in the scenery. But I just love the muted green-grey and orange-khaki colours, the low scrub and mauve, flat-topped mountains and koppies that resemble crusty loaves of bread or Christmas cakes.

We stop at Vanrynsdorp to refuel and take-away toasted sandwiches and coffee. I am impressed with the pristine state of the loos and the quality of the coffee! The staff are gentle and friendly too.

We arrive at Molopo Lodge at 3:30 and decide to check into a chalet as there are no campers in the camp site. Also it’s been a long, hot drive and we don’t feel like battling to set up the caravan for just one night. What bliss to get a chalet with a plunge pool right in front. We spend a couple of hours in the pool and watch the many birds flitting about in the tropical garden. This place is like an oasis in the middle of the dessert. In the evening we go to the restaurant. The service is shocking – the waitress doesn’t know what Dry White wine is and brings a sickly sweet glass of something awful. We send it back and order a bottle of Durbanville Hills sauvignon blanc. I have a couple of glasses and take the rest with me. However, the Gemsbok steaks are really good and are accompanied by beautifully prepared vegetables and chips.

The plunge pool

White-backed mousebird

Red-eyed bulbul

Looking toward the Lodge Pool

Monday 9 March

The hot water doesn’t work in the chalet but as it is very hot we are not too fussed about it. We are up at 6:00 and ready to leave by 6:45, pay our bill and ask for the ice bricks we asked them to freeze for us. But they are not frozen. Clearly they were put in the fridge and did not see the inside of a freezer at all! Oh well!

We arrive at Twee Rivieren at 8:30, check in and pay the balances we owe and then check in at the Botswana side too. Maureen has already paid for us here but the receptionist insists we fill in the register too. We decide to breakfast at the restaurant – our last bit of luxury for the next three weeks.

We have over 100km to travel and the first 15 takes 3 hours as we tend to stop for all the birds and little things too!

The Kalahari Sky

The Pale Chanting Goshawk is very common in the park

Most of the flycatchers we see are Marico Flycatcher

A familiar bird is the Familiar Chat!

Here he is with a kill!

Before taking the Mata Mata Road we detour to Samevloeiing Waterhole which is very rewarding.

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Sociable Weavers and Red-headed finches

A jackal slakes his thirst

The signature animal of the park – Gemsbok (Oryx)

En route we find a lanner falcon in a tree

Lanner

What a delight to find the Northern Black Korhaan

This cross little chap is a scaly-feathered finch

Kgalagadi is famous for the swallow-tailed bee-eater

Here we are at Agterlonie Picnic Site

Soon after leaving the picnic site we find a car with its occupant staring into the bush. I look into the tree and say – He’s looking at a leopard’s kill

In the “pan-tree” springbok for lunch.

And then we see him – on the ground but well hidden. Imagine our first cat of the trip – a leopard!

Leopard resting up after making a kill

We see a whole pool of secretary birds at Montrose waterhole. Here is one of them.

Secretary Bird

The main diet of the predators is springbok and there are plenty of them

Taking shelter from the sun

Giraffe

The cutest creatures reside here – Ground Squirrel

We arrive at Mata Mata at 16:00, check in at reception and are told we have to find the campsite as none are allocated in advance. We find Jim and Maureen easily – fortunately they are not out! In no time we set up the caravan – Jim lends a hand and gives some good advice. Maureen kindly offers to cook the meal for all of us this evening and I will repay the favour tomorrow. Her chili con carne is to die for!

Our camp at Mata Mata – Jim and Maureen have an Jurgen’s Xcape on the right – we have the Imagine Comfort Van on the left

Fortune and Misfortune – A Fortuner Adventure – Day 4

2012-07-13 | puppy1952

30 June 2012

Earl did not have a good night and in this morning decided to stay in bed, rest and drink only water to try and cleanse his system and get rid of his aches and pains. This sounded like a good plan to me. I was convinced that the stress of buying a new car and getting organised for a trip away had taken its toll. “No problem,” I said. “We will bird in the camp and have a chill day.” “No – you must take Heather and Peter on a game drive.” “I’m not going to drive the new car.” “Of course you are. It’s an easy car to drive.”

Now I knew he had to be sick! He never lets me drive! I had tried to rouse Heather and Peter at 6 to tell them not to get up but there was no reply from their hut and we had not yet switched on our walkie talkies. At 7:30 I went over again and they had just arisen. Peter said he had set the alarm for 7:30 instead of 6:30. So it all worked out for the best. We decided to make a slow start to the day and ended up leaving after 10 o’clock for a game drive.

I went to the shop to get more mineral water and a pair of warm gloves and found this ground scraper thrush outside our bungalow.

Ground Scraper Thrush

We decided to go on a short drive and then return to bird around the rest camp. The birding was good. First up we took photos of sociable weavers outside their condominium. Imagine these tiny, community birds building these huge natural blocks of flats. No human can create anything near as good. These nests are cleverly built and their owners are careful to watch out for snakes who might try to enter then to steal their eggs or chicks. Sometimes they share their residence with pygmy falcons.

Scaly Feathered finch chatting beneath the Sociable Weavers Nests

It was good to find this pretty Capped Wheatear

Secretary Birds were seen frequently – and here is one with its crest up

Secretary Bird

A young pale chanting goshawk modelled nicely for us.

Juvenile Pale Chanting Goshawk

The great thing about Kgalagadi is seeing so many raptors. This tawny posed in good light.

Tawny Eagle

We saw lots of white-backed vultures but the other species were conspicuous by their absence.

White-backed Vulture

Dalkeith waterhole was once again productive and we enjoyed watching the birds flocking down to drink.

Red-headed Finch

On our drive we saw the usual gemsbok, wildebeest, springbok and jackal but the cats were elusive. We got back to camp at about 3. Earl had slept most of the day and had made himself a cup of soup. We had a rest and then went for a walk around the camp. There were lots of yellow mongoose and ground squirrels – the holes they make can be quite hazardous if you don’t look where you are going.

Yellow mongoose

Familiar Chat

Earl did not have a temperature but was really feeling ill. I cooked supper and gave him his in bed and hoped that the next day would see him feeling better. But this is where misfortune began.