Wine, Whales and Music at De Hoop Nature Reserve

Saturday, 28 July 2018

Our friends Perci and Ray invited us to help celebrate their five years of wedded bliss at  De Hoop Nature Reserve.  There was a Wine, Whale and Music special on so we accepted with alacrity.

The weather was beautiful for this time of the year and it was great to get away for this special weekend.

On Saturday morning we arrived just in time to join a cruise on the vlei.

The Happy Couple

Our guide was excellent. What a great surprise to see hundreds of black-crowned night herons roosting on the bank with other herons and egrets.   We would never have seen them from the shore.  It was a fabulous start to our cruise.

Black-crowned night heron

Sacred Ibis and Little Egrets

Hundreds of flying ibis, herons and egrets

Adult and juvenile black-crowned night herons

The rest of the cruise did not disappoint.  We kept seeing more and more species but the moving boat made photography difficult.  Highlights were greater crested grebes,  lesser and greater flamingos, Caspian Terns, yellow-billed ducks, Cape Teal and black-winged stilts.

A tree full of African Darters

African Darter

Greater Flamingos

Rock Dassie (hyrax)

It was really a most enjoyable trip and it ended with another super surprise – spoonbills waiting to greet us at the jetty.

Beautiful spoonbills with a little egret

From there  we went to the restaurant and  did some wine tasting, bought some specialty cheeses and then enjoyed a mussel chowder for lunch.

As we were leaving the restaurant somebody came and threw her arms around me.  It was my ex-colleague Taryn who was there with her hubby, Craig and daughter Ella.   What an amazing surprise.  We keep up on Facebook but I haven’t seen Taryn for many years!

After checking into our chalet, Earl had a nap, I read my book and Perci and Ray took a walk to the restaurant to enjoy the high tea.   Later in the afternoon we went for a short game drive.

Bontebok

Blacksmith Lapwing taking a bath

Rhebok

Male Ostrich

Scrub Hare

The evening dinner was fantastic.  A quintet of a flutist, three violinists and a cellist entertained us with their beautiful music.  For dinner we had courgette soup for starters then Pork belly with mash and veggies for mains and a tiramisu for dessert.

Sunday, 29 July 2018

This morning we were up early and at breakfast by 8.   There was a lovely selection of continental goodies and then scrambled eggs, sausage and bacon.

Our morning activity involved a drive to Koppie Alleen where we would meet Lauren de Vos for a whale-watching and rock pool activities

Black-winged stilt seen on our drive

Grass bird at Koppie Alleen

Southern Right Whales in the bay – on the left is an albino calf.

Life in the rock pools

Star fish

Cape Robin

Whale Tail

What a great weekend.   We are so impressed with everything that De Hoop has to offer.   The accommodation is well maintained, the restaurant serves excellent food, the guides are exceptional and there is a lot to see and do in the park.

Check out their website

Weekend In Fabulous Cape Town

We left Struisbaai on Thursday, stopped for a leisurely breakfast, popped into the accountant in Stellenbosch, visited the staff at Fenwick Electric, shopped for dinner and finally arrived at Lisa’s at around 4 o’clock.  The weather was stunning for July and we braaied for supper and sat outdoors till quite late.

On Friday there were a few people we had to see including The Earl’s sister and brother in law, and some business to attend to but we had an hour or two to kill in the afternoon so we decided to go to False Bay Nature Reserve which we haven’t visited for some time.  Winter is not the best time to visit but the weather was lovely and we were delighted with the birds we saw.

New Welcome Board

Red-knobbed Coots

Red-billed Teal

Cape Shoveler Female

Yellow-billed Duck

 

Cape Grysbok

Blacksmith Lapwing

 

 

White-faced Duck

 

Great White Pelican

 

Greater Flamingo

Black-winged Stilt

White Storks – They should have migrated back to Europe but decided to over-winter.  Sacred Ibis with them.

Cattle Egret

Common Moorhen

On Friday evening we joined friends Pat and Tony for sushi.   It was a great catch-up. Co-incidentally they will be in London and Amsterdam at the same time as Laurie and I will so we will catch up with them again there.

On Saturday we popped in to see our old friends Jeff and Annaline and then we went to tea at my sister’s.  Laurie joined us and it was great to catch up with Katja, James and the great nephews too.  We took gifts for the kids and when we left, Mattie said, “Come again and bring more surprises – big ones, please!”

Laurie and Oliver enjoying the bubbles

Katja and Oliver enjoying story time

Mattie shows off while indulgent Uncle James looks on

Ollie loved the bubbles

In the evening we had a date with six more friends at Jakes on The Common in Noordhoek.  It was lovely but very noisy!

 

But the reason we were in Cape Town was to celebrate the Ninetieth Birthday of a legend at D’Aria Wine Estate in Durbanville.

Hymie is a fisherman and a gentleman.   His passion for the sport of angling caused him to become totally involved in working in all its aspects.   For many years he was PRO for The South African Deep Sea Association.  It was due to his efforts and negotiations that The Hymie Steyn Slipway was built at Rumbly Bay so many years ago.  The Conservation of our Oceans is important to him and he has been actively involved in ensuring that ethical fishing rules are followed.

Hymie’s daughter-in-law organised the surprise lunch for him and when he arrived thinking he would be lunching with a few close friends and family he walked into a crowd of well-wishers singing Happy Birthday to you.  He was clearly moved and later expressed that he’d been totally hoodwinked as nobody let on that this surprise was going to happen.  Two SADSA committee members even came all the way from Durban to celebrate with him.

Veels Geuluk, Pa – Verassing!

A very surprised Hymie

Reprimanding his friends for not telling him!

After the lunch we drove home to Struisbaai, happy to have caught up with so many friends and family and grateful that the weather had been so beautiful.

Kruger National Park – Day 26

5 December 2017 – Berg en Dal

We are nicely settled here at Berg en Dal at the south end of The Kruger National Park.  Our campsite is right next to the fence and when we arrived yesterday we saw a herd of elephant close by.   Also in front of our site is a tall tree where two yellow-billed kites have built a nest.  It is well hidden but we have seen Mom and Dad in the open a few times – but in poor light.  Hopefully better photos will be possible soon.

The whole of Berg en Dal rest camp is in pristine condition.  The paths are swept and there facilities are kept sparkling clean. In all the other camps we have found there are issues with maintenance. If Berg en Dal can get it right – then so can the others!

The one problem we are having here is with the monkeys.  Oh my – they are so cheeky!  The problem probably began because tourists insisted on feeding them and now thy take the easy way out and try to steal from the campers.   Our neighbours had a whole loaf of bread taken from under their noses and our butter very nearly went Awol but The Earl managed to frighten the culprit and she dropped it.  A bit of dusting off later and it’s now safely secured in a plastic container in the locked fridge.

This baby was right outside our caravan  – I yelled at him and he ran to Mom

“That nasty old lady yelled at me, Mom”  he said.                                                                                                                                         “How could you?!” she looked at me in disgust.

We were out by six this morning and were back for breakfast by ten.   At first we did not see much but then things improved.  Once again today there were more of the biggies and unusual smallies.

Lovely to see a red-breasted swallow

Gardenia Hide is usually stunning but there was very little there today.  We were also disappointed to find that the path to the hide had been neglected, there were poles missing from the fence and there was an overflowing bin at the gate as well as litter on the path.  Not good enough Sanparks!

African Wattled Lapwing

Tree-frog nest built over water so that when the eggs hatch the tadpoles will fall in.  They fend for themselves from birth.

A well camouflaged Water Thick-knee

Kudu, tortoise and buffalo were next on our list.  We also saw a few herds of elephant but they were hiding in the trees.  Four rhino were also some distance off.

And finally a leopard turned up this morning – not the best sighting ever but good to see him on a rock. He was fast asleep and didn’t stir for anyone!

After the leopard we continued to see some lovely sightings – elephants, kudu, tortoise and buffalo until we returned to camp.  We rested until 3 o’clock and then went out for our afternoon drive.

First we encountered a herd of elephants. The babies were adorable

A ground hornbill crossed our path

A wainterhole we visited proved to be absolutely stunning.  We found a rhino having a wonderful, wallowing time and when the elephants came down they gave him a wide berth.  I wonder what it was that made them nervous of a rhino – his lovely long horn perhaps?

Blissfully wallowing in the cool water

Elephant giving a wide berth

Eventually the elephants left with a great deal of trumpeting.  They chased the poor impala from the scene.   We stayed to watch the rhinoceros complete his beauty treatment. He had a few itches to scratch  and amused us with the solution to his problems!

Emerging after a lovely muddy bath

Oooh what a lovely scratch

Well, nobody’s going to do it for me, you know!

Finally he trundled off to his midden quite a way off but which we could still see.  He sprayed liberally into the midden and then wandered off.

We continued on our way too and enjoyed these other creatures along the way

A common duiker peeked at us

A hyena on a mission

A red-breasted swallow

And another rhino having a mud bath somewhere else!

It was another perfect evening and we braaied chicken kebabs for dinner.

Only one more full day left in Kruger – how time flies.

 

 

 

 

Kruger National Park – Day 23

2 December 2017 –

We haven’t seen cats for a few days and were feeling a little restless about it as it’s Tony and Pat’s last full day in The Park.   It would be nice to get one last sighting of a predator for them.

I suggested we drive to Tshokwane for breakfast because lions and leopard had been seen in that area.   Everybody agreed.

Before we left camp we found this chap foraging on the neighboring campsite.

White-throated Robin-Chat

We drove the scenic route along the river and took all the loops we could.

Frisky male impala were butting heads and interlocking horns – it seemed more play than serious rivalry

A hippo still out grazing before going back into the water for the day

The Earl aways gets a fright when these giants suddenly appear and cross in front of him

These gentle waterbuck said a cheery good morning

There was a lull in sightings when all of a sudden we jerked to attention.  Something was crossing the road ahead of us.  Leopard, cheetah – No LION!   We all got an eyeful of her and then she was gone.  Maybe some more would follow and cross over too.  We waited a few minutes but nobody came.  Just a little ahead we saw a stationary car.  As we approached I saw them – lion lying under a tree.  A farewell gift for our friends,

The other car left and we had them to ourselves for a while. Suddenly another lion appeared and then two of them got up together to change position and flop down again

What an awesome sighting.  But wait – there’s more.  We drove on a little further and spotted two more lionesses lying on a log. There was a lot of foliage blocking them so we didn’t get photos but enjoyed seeing them get up and stretch before settling back down again.

We were thrilled at this sighting which was just before we got to our breakfast stop.  At Tshokwane we were amused when this pied barbet settled on a plate and himself to scraps!  I’ve never seen a barbet do that before.

On our return we concentrated on bird watching and enjoyed seeing a common duiker, giraffe and zebra.   As we approached the lion spot a car stopped us and said there were male lions up ahead.   Our females had left but these boys had settled in close by to where they had been. The one remained asleep but the other gave us a bit of entertainment.

Why did you wake me up?

Oh how tiresome – yawn, yawn!

Don’t you know a lion needs 20 hours of sleep per day?

Oh well – while I’m up i might as well have a scratch

When we came to the place where we expected to find a leopard on the rocks, we got a klipspringer instead!

We decided to take a long midday break as it was really hot again today.  We swam in the pool a few times and only went to Lake Panic later in the afternoon for an hour.  I would be quite happy to spend an entire day in this hide as even on a slow day interesting things happen.  You have to sit very quietly in a hide and at first you might think there is nothing there but when you really look you start to see things. It took a while for us to notice that a Jacana at the far end of the pond had four chicks that must have been just out of their eggs.  Father Jacana looks after the kids while Mom goes off to find another mate and another nest in which to lay her eggs.

Father Jacana wtching his young

Squacco Heron fishing

Pied Kingfisher with is prey

We heard the Water Thick-knees before we them

Once again it was a perfect evening and just as we were enjoying Magnum Ice-creams for dessert I heard a rustle at the paper packet that we use for a bin. I yelled and it ran away. I suspected it was a honey badger but I caught sight of something smaller.  African wild cat perhaps?  The cheeky creature came back again and Pat said – shine your torch on it which I did and saw it was a bushbaby!.  At that moment Pat and Tony’s daughter was Skyping from New Zealand.  Chaos ensued as we raced to see if we could find the intruder.  We found him behind the caravan on the branch of a tree.  He wasn’t at all concerned and just stared at us from his safe vantage point.  Tony was able to show his daughter, Maria, the naughty creature.

Sorry Bushbaby – We’re not the type of campers who hand out leftovers! Go find your own food!

Sadly tonight is the last one in the park for P&T as tomorrow they will make their way back home.  We still have a few more days before heading back to Kokstad.

Kruger National Park – Day 22

1 December 2017 – Transport Dam and Lake Panic

What is it that brings one back to the Kruger National Park time and time again?  For many it’s the thrill of seeing the Big Five – Lion, Leopard, Elephant, Buffalo and Rhino.  And yes – there’s not doubt that these creatures as well as hyena, jackal, wild dog and cheetah give one an enormous thrill.  But that’s not what brings me back for more.  It’s more than that – it’s being in the bush, communing with nature, the trees, the peace the whole vibe of the place and especially the birds.   I love to sit at a waterhole or dam and observe the activity of the waders, the weavers, herons and kingfishers.  I can’t put into words how awesome it is. I know that some people raise their eyebrows and shake their heads and wonder what I’m on about – but I can’t help it.  Put me in a hide for three hours and I will be content to just sit and watch and take in the peace and tranquility of it all.

Today was awesome.  Let me tell you about it.  But if your eyes have already glazed over -don’t worry – I won’t be offended if you do not read – this blog is for those who are as bird nerdy as I am!

Omigosh – as I sit here outside my caravan at 21:06 on the balmiest if evenings I hear the distant sound of a hyena calling.  This is what it’s like in the middle of the African Bush!  But back to today’s story.

I woke to the sound of the “Piet my Vrou” at 5:00 am this morning.   This cuckoo – the red-chested cuckoo to be precise calls incessantly in the summertime but is almost impossible to find as he hides so well in the foliage of the trees.  However, as I emerged from my caravan to go to the showers, wrapped in nothing but my sarong I spotted said cuckoo atop a dead tree in full view and full song!   The early morning light is not good for photography and I thought – No – I don’t think this is worth a photograph but when I got to the ablutions I dumped my vanity bag, clothes and towel and dashed back to the caravan for the camera.  “Patricia, ”  I called outside my friend’s tent.  “The Piet my Vrou  is in full view.  Come quickly and you will see her.”  I then took several photographs, put my binoculars outside her tent as she couldn’t find hers and headed to the showers.

An early morning shot of a Red Chested Cuckoo – “Piet my Vrou”

When I was done I found a forlorn Patricia Mary.  “I missed it by a second,” said she. “As i raised the binoculars to see him he flew away!”  The problem was that P.M. had dallied over putting on some clothes instead of coming out half naked to see the elusive bird!  But me?  I have no pride!  And if anybody saw a mad old woman in a sarong taking photos of an irritating bird calling at some ungodly hour and they didn’t like it – tough – I got my shot and that is all I wanted.  For those of you reading who do not know the South African Birds – The call of the red-chested cuckoo sounds like the Afrikaans words – Piet my vrou meaning  Pete my wife.   Yes, I know it makes no sense at all.

Before we left for our morning drive we watched some little birds flitting about in the trees and were pleased to add bronze manikin to our list although the photograph is not worth publishing!

Choosing which bird is my favourite is very difficult because there are so many that I just love to see.  But I definitely get a huge thrill every time I see a Saddle-Billed Stork so if pressed I would have to say that this is my favourite bird.  Usually we spot them at some distance away in a pond or river but today we were hugely surprised to find on on the side of the road.   She was alone, clicking her bill and hunting morsels to eat.  She was not at all bothered by our presence and we were able to observe her for quite some time, first on the right side of the road and then crossing to the left where there was a midden.  A dung beetle was busy doing his cleaning up job when his life came to a sudden end as Mrs SBS gobbled him up!

Our route took us to Afsaal Picnic Site where we stopped for breakfast.  On the way we spotted some of our favourite creatures

What big tusks you have

This carnivorous snail is a big chap 

Pearl breasted Swallow at the Afsaal

A lovely welcome from Tindlovu Rustic Kitchen at Afsaal

Afsaal is a busy stop but we were impressed with its efficiency.  You can queue for take-aways or sit at a table and a waitron will take your order.  We chose the latter and were highly impressed with our waitress.  We dithered over our order and she treated us with patience and humour.   The Earl said something annoying and I smacked him playfully.  She looked at me in horror and rubbed his hand.  Then we all burst out laughing.   Finally she sorted out our whims and fancies and brought us a most enjoyable breakfast.

Our sassy waitress, Mpumi

Feeling fortified with food and content with our experience we continued on to Transport Dam.  On the way we saw buffalo

And stopped for a loo break at Pretoriouskop

Beautiful Coral Tree

Ellie cooling off at Transport Dam

White-faced ducks

Wood Sandpiper

On our way to Skukuza we spotted a few regulars

Steenbok

Giraffe

It was very hot today and so we swam in the pool during our rest time and then Pat and I did a load of washing at the laundrette before we all went off to Lake Panic for our afternoon outing.  This hide never disappoints.  We spent an hour or so enjoying the business of nature going on before our eyes.

Nyala Males were having a drink and a play-fight – or were they serious?

A three-banded plover popped in for a while

There was great entertainment from green-backed herons

And Squacco Herons

Terrapins sunned themselves

Mr (below) and Mrs Pied Kingfisher fished

A paradise fly-catcher dipped in and out of the water for a bath and a drink.

Hippos conversed

A shy female nyala or three came down for a quick drink too

And two fish eagles loudly declared their love for each other

This was the best part of our day but reluctantly we had to leave.

Just before returning to camp we spotted this guy crossing the road.  He scuttle off into the bush but not before turning around to say good evening.

Spotted Hyena ended our day

This evening we treated ourselves to an evening out to dinner at The Cattle Baron and it was awesome. Once again we had a smart, sassy waitress who took excellent care of our needs.  It was a perfect ending to a stunning day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kruger National Park – Day 20

29 November 2017 – A Day for Leopards

The weather was warm again today with the temperature reaching the mid thirties.

As I have mentioned in previous episodes – no two days are alike in Kruger.   Today was a good one for seeing the “Big” guys.

The bridge gave us our first thrill of the day.

Hippos had an early morning meeting

Saddle-bill Stork and Yellow-bill egret sharing a fishing spot

Is the yellow-billed egret leading the spoonbills astray as the saddle-billed looks on?

These two Fish Eagles had a confrontation over a fish

The black-shouldered kite is usually rare in KNP but due to the drought in the West of the country many have moved East and there is now an influx of them in The Park.   On one day we saw 18 of them.

Yet another Black-shouldered Kite

As we continued along the tar road we saw a single stationary car stopped on the right hand side of the road.  It was open country with few trees and we couldn’t see anything at all.  But we never pass a stationary  car so we stopped alongside and asked – “What do you see?”  “A leopard,”  replied the rather good looking young man behind the wheel. He lovely wife was beside him with a huge smile on her face.   “Where?” we asked  and how come we hadn’t seen it?   “Reverse a little and look in the biggest tree you can see over there.” he pointed.

We looked at the tree – it was far away and we saw nothing until we trained our binoculars on it. “I have him!”  I said – “But how on earth did they spot that!”

The distant leopard in the far away tree

It turned out that they’d stopped just to scan the area with binoculars and the lovely wife and spotted him quite by chance!   What a lucky break.  Before long there were four or five cars wondering what the fuss was about.  We were able to point out this special for them before we moved on.

Next we stopped at a look-out where you are allowed to get out of your car and sit in a boma to view the vast valley below.   At first we saw nothing but veld and trees and then The Earl said – Omigosh – look at all the elephants!

They just kept coming – a huge herd of them

Just before we got to Tshokwane we saw a few cars staring into the bush.  Another leopard!  He was lying asleep under a bush, well hidden and a photograph was impossible.   But when he sat up The Earl managed to get one before he walked off into the thicket.

Not our best leopard picture ever!

Tshokwane is the best picnic site in the park.  The kitchen and the seating area incorporate big trees, the coffee is excellent and the food inexpensive and good.

The Shady Eating Area

The Cooking Area

With out hunger satisfied we set off again and found yet another leopard.  This one was also in a tree and we could see him nicely.   But we did not manage to get a photograph.

 

we also saw lots of elephants today.   At Orpen Dam Lookout we watched them come down and have fun in the mud.

Orpen Dam Lookout

The View

Elephants having a confrontation

Mud glorious Mud – Mum, I think I may be stuck!

Don’t worry – you’ll get out

White-faced ducks and glossy ibis were also enjoying the dam

We spent a long time out this morning and enjoyed many fascinating sightings.

Yellow-throated Longclaw

Red-crested korhaan

Male Kudu

Playful Zebra

Enter a caption

Giraffe and Elephants

Follow the leader

Scary Crocodile

Black Heron

Mischieveous Monkeys

We have seen rhino a few times this trip but I am not mentioning on what day nor on which roads in case some poaching criminal comes across this blog and it helps him find his target.   Rhino are being poached at an alarming rate although Sanparks are going to great lengths to put anti-poaching measures in place.  We are delighted to have seen many men in camouflage patrolling and checking and we have heard that recent arrests have been made.

A Happy Rhinoceros – Long may he remain safe from poachers

It was another perfect evening in The Park although the weather had clouded over.  We enjoyed The Earl’s chicken wing starter and a braai of chops, steak and boerewors with sweet potatoes and a lovely Greek Salad before retiring for the night.  Yes another great day in Africa.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kruger National Park – Day 19

28 November 2017 – Even The Bad Days Are Good So Long As I Am In Kruger

No two days in a game reserve are ever the same.  Some days the creatures appear around every corning and the adrenaline pumps all day long as one predator sighing after another pops up.  On others you can drive for miles through beautiful countryside but with hardly a sign of life and you wonder if Scotty has beamed the wildlife up from the earth and then all of a sudden they’re there again and you once again exclaim in awe and wonder at the sight of gentle impala or strikingly beautiful zebra.

We started off early this morning on the H4-1 and enjoyed some good birding and saw all the regulars.  We took several loops until we came to Skukuza where we had breakfast at The Cattle Baron which overlooks the Sabie River.  It is an awesome venue.

The Jacobin Cuckoo

Who can resist all this cuteness?

Always great to see the red-crested korhaan

Red-billed Oxpeckers grooming a kudu

After breakfast The Earl said he would not take me to my favourite hide – Lake Panic – as our next camp would be Skukuza and we would have five days to spend there!   But then he told our friends that  he might have a grumpy wife for a few hours so stopped there anyway!  What a brilliant spot.  I could have stayed there all day.  The lesser masked weavers were busy with nest building, the African Black Crake was busy seeking snacks, a squacco hero fished and so did a green-backed heron.  We saw several pied kingfishers and a little malachite as well.

Lesser-Masked Weaver

Female Pied Kingfisher

Male Pied Kingfisher

Green-backed Heron

Expert at fishing

Squacco Heron

All fluffed up

A terrapin is always fun to see

Mom and baby hippo

It was an elephant day today and although we’ve seen many we still get a thrill with each new heard we encounter.

Suddenly the hills were alive with elephants

They came down and surrounded us

Later we came upon a huge herd, quietly marching through the trees to a waterhole.  It’s quite scary when they wave their trunks at you, trumpet loudly and then pass you by with a nonchalant gait.

At the waterhole

Getting the hang of using that trunk

A friendly play fight – or not?

Some of the animals we meet are remarkable human

I’m safe here with Mom

How adorable is that!

Yes – even a quiet day in Kruger is thrilling.

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Kruger National Park – Day 14 – Satara

23 November 2017 – Letaba to Satara and The S100.

After yesterday’s 40 degree C heat we woke to cooler conditions today.  In fact the mercury dropped by 20 degrees!

We were packed up and ready to roll by 7:00 o’clock.  Pat and Tony were to follow after going to reception to find out about getting Pat to a doctor.

The first excitement walked toward us on the tar road.   Mom, Dad and Little One

Come on Mom and Dad – keep up!

Then they veered off the road and passed by the car.  We got a shot of Mom – or Dad – difficult to tell the sexes apart.

She seems to be smiling about something.

When we arrived at Satara we got a call from Tony.  They were on their way and would set up camp and then head to Skukuza to see the camp doctor.

We set up next to the fence at the North-west side of camp.  There were quite a few interesting birds hanging around and posing for their portraits.

Red-billed Buffalo-weaver

Burchell’s Starling

Grey-headed Sparrow

When Pat and Tony  arrived we helped them set up and then went to have breakfast at the restaurant.  They managed to get an appointment for 2 o’clock and set off for Skukuza at midday.

Earl and I had a rest and then at 3 pm set off to do a stretch of the S100, turning around and retracing our route so as to be back in camp in time.  The drive there produced some common residents.

My favourite creatures

Zebs had a dust bath

A stripe of zebra

Delighted to have this red-faced mousebird sit still for a second

This non-breeding shaft-tailed whydah had us guessing for a while

Red-billed quelea

We hoped to see a lot more as the S100 is famous for seeing both lion and leopard – but not luck there.  However, the birding was good.

A lovely surprise – Trumpeter Hornbill

Male Red-backed shrike

Bateleur Female

Bateleur Male

Seeing the trumpeter hornbill was special for me and I counted that as the highlight of the day.  I was in a bit of a complacent dream when suddenly I saw it, just a short distance away, so well camouflaged in the dry grass.  “There’s a cheetah!” I called out to The Earl.  “Where?” he said.  “There,” I pointed.  “Where’s there!”  he was frustrated.

“Stop!” I yelled.  “He’s going to come out in front of the car.”  And then he saw it too.

What a brilliant surprise

We had him all to ourselves

The beautiful boy!

He crossed the road and then moved off into the distance.  We watched until he disappeared over the ridge.  A car approached – just a minute too late.  We were the only ones to have seen him!

Pat and Tony were back from the Skukuza by 6:15.   Pat’s wrist is badly sprained and the doctor strapped it into a brace.   She is comfortable but may have to have x-rays if the swelling doesn’t go down.

As it was so cool we decided that a stew would be best for dinner tonight. Once again our Master Chef of the Bushveld put our snappy chef and smartspace pots to excellent use and we dined in style once again.

Kruger National Park – Day 13

22 November 2017 – Birthday Surprises

I am celebrating my birthday in my most favourite place in the world.  Who could ask for a better gift than that!  And all my birthday wishes came true today.  The creatures of the Kruger National Park popped up to say Hi.

I had no plans to celebrate in any way – just being here was enough for me.  But my darling husband arranged for us to make a breakfast stop at Mopani Rest Camp because they have such a lovely restaurant overlooking the Luluvu River.  Letaba’s restaurant is closed and there is only The Rustic Kitchen to replace it.   This meant quite a long drive there but we had some lovely sightings and every time something interesting happened, Pat said, “Happy Birthday, Helen!”

And it did seem as if though some of the animals knew it was my special day.  A giraffe crossed the road, stopped and looked right at me ane I believe sent me a birthay greeting.

 

And so did this buffalo!

Who’s the birthday girl then?

This warthog provided some amusing entertainment

Mud, glorious mud

I need a good scratch

Oh Hi, didn’t see you there – Happy Birthday

Birding is our passion and today we saw some lovely specials

Marsh Sandpiper

White-Crested Helmet-Shrike

Red-billed Ox-peckers on a buffalo’s back

Namaqua Dove

Kori Bustard

My birthday breakfast was fantastic.  What a view we had and what lovely birds we saw from the deck.

The deck at the Mopani Restaurant

A really scrumptious breakfast

The temperature got up to 40 degrees C today but we were relatively cool in our airconditioned vehicle.  However, opening the windows to take photographs let in the hot air and by the time we got back to Letaba we were all ready for a swim.

In the pool I chatted to an older lady who was such an inspiration.  She and her hubby were still travelling and having lovley holidays together.   Then she went out and the next thing I knew she’d slipped and fallen. I leapt out of the pool to see how she was.  How amazing was her attitude. “I’m fine,”  she said, “It’s just my dignity that’s damaged!”  There were two young men immediately on the scene and her husband said, “Don’t pull her up by her arms.”  He put a towel under her arms and then said,  “Pull her up using the towel.”  It worked perfectly and she was absolutely fine.

I went in for a little longer and then we all got out and would you believe – Pat slipped and landed flat on her back hitting her hand hard as she fell.  Oh horror!   We used the towel trick to get her up too.   Unfortunately her hand was really hurt.  Back at camp we iced it and I put an ice-pack in the freezer that she could use in the night.   Earl strapped her up as best he could and she insisted that she would be fine.  (I am writing this two days later so I can report that she went to Skukuza the next day to consult a doctor and is now in a brace and on medication for the pain.   If the swelling does not go down she will have to have x-rays but right now she is comfortable.)

Without my noticing, The Earl slipped into the park shop at Mopani and bought a bottle of champagne which he chilled in the car fridge.  So when we were about to pour our sundowners out came the champers to celebrate my 65th birthday!

Cheers!   ( I’m sure my sister approves)

The Earl refused to let anybody help with the preparation of my celebratory meal tonight and presented us with a Master Chef quality chicken dish.  It was to die for.

 

Enjoying my dinner in the bush

Pat with injured wrist on ice managed with one hand

Another African day under the belt!

 

 

Kruger National Park – Day 4

13 November 2017 – Shingwedzi

I anticipated the mood of The Earl this morning.  The caravan is still new!  We have had one setting up session and now the first packing up session was about to occur!  There was bound to be trouble!   We decided last night not to rush things and not to leave at sparrow’s fart!  Instead we had a leisurely breakfast and then started to pack.  Yes I did have to keep him calm and constantly remind him that it would all work out in the end but it went comparatively well.  Perhaps those calming drops I gave him did the trick because the set up at Shingwedzi went fairly well too!  Hopefully by the end of this month long trip we will have the anxiety attacks under control.

The Earl cooking a delicious breakfast

The trip here went smoothly too.  There were plenty of elephants about but none confronted the caravan so there was no need for His Lordship to panic.

We saw lots of buffalo too and as we neared Shingwedzi there was a lot to see in the river bed.

Elephants for Africa

And Buffalo too

Bufflalo love to wallow in puddles and they don’t mind sharing with a warthog

One of our cousins hiding among the Mopane leaves

We chose a campsite next to the fence and near the swimming pool but far from the ablution block.  It I shady and there is a constant sound of birdsong.   Squirrels are going to be a problem!  They’ve already been here looking for handouts.   Not happening my furry friends!  We have also been warned to watch out for monkeys and baboons.

Bennet’s Woodpecker seen in the camp

Set up went really well and we were done with hardly a hiccup within half an hour.  I went in search of the laundry and was delighted to find two coin operated washing machines and dryers!  It was wort the R10 for each to get the washing done in a jiffy.

After we were done with setting up and laundry chores we took a drive to Red Rocks.  Sightings were slow but we did get some good birds, the highlights being the white-fronted bee-eater catching bees!

Back in camp The Earl cooked us a delicious curry in our Smart Space Frying Pan.   A honey-badger came to visit but we didn’t manage to get a photograph.

Kruger National Park – Day 3

12 November 2017 – Visit to Letaba and Tropic of Capricorn Loop

Today we decided to do a trip to Letaba Rest Camp and back taking the river loops along the way.  By 6:30 we were ready to leave.

First to greet us this morning was a wildebeest. (Erich, if you’re reading this – we gave him your regards 🙂 )

Our most exciting sighting of the morning was when we stopped at view point to get a closer view of the river.  Looking down we were delighted to find a grey heron, a hamerkop, two pied kingfishers, two fish eagles and two saddle bill storks fishing in a shallow pond.   We spent a while there enjoying the scene and taking photographs.

Female Saddle-billed Stork

Fish Eagle

The Bug and Mean – oh sorry The Mug and Bean have been a resounding failure in some of the camps and Letaba is one where the restaurant is closed till further notice.  However, there is temporary arrangement in the form of The Rustic Kitchen operating an open air or under canvas restaurant.  What a stunning idea – so much better than the Bug!  You sit at a simple wooden table and your food is cooked in the rustic kitchen and served on tin plates.  Coffee is also served in a tin mug.  It was fun and we enjoyed our fried eggs, venison sausage and grilled tomato!

The highlight on our return trip was just as we approached the Tsendse bridge we noted a stationary car with his lights flashing.   He’s seen something we thought as he indicated to the car in front of us to stop. Said car ignored and overtook him.  Then I spotted them lying flat on the river bed.   There were five of them. They were so well camouflaged but then one got up and moved his position  – wild dog.   We watched them sleeping for a few minutes and when we saw they were not going to do anything for the rest of the afternoon we left them in peace.

Back in camp we had a cup of tea and I started downloading photos and The Earl pottered about sorting out technical stuff to do with the car fridge.  A few hours later we went for another game drive.

On our afternoon drive we found the usual zebra, giraffe, buffalo, elephants, waterbuck etc.   We took the Tropic of Capricorn Loop which produced some lovely sightings.  Sometimes there are stretches of nothing and one can lose concentration as I obviously did at one point.  Omiword – The Earl slammed on breaks.  Did you see that. I looked back and saw a bird of prey on a tree but he flew off.  Darn we missed him and he was on your side – why didn’t you see him.  Maybe because he was so small?   Not that wasn’t it – I’m usually on the lookout for small raptors.  Just a lapse in concentration I’m afraid.

The Earl wanted to carry on but I persuaded him to go back to see if we could find him again – and we did.  He led us a bit of a dance flitting from one tree to another but in the end we got a nice shot of him and were thrilled to identify him as a Gabar Goshawk.

Other sightings that we enjoyed were the following:

Tsessebe having a rest

The Iconic Lilac-breasted Roller

Heaviest flying bird – the kori bustard

Sadly it was our last night in Tsendze but we really loved this camp and will certainly be back.

 

Kruger National Park – Day 2

11 November 2017 – Tsendze

How fantastic to wake to the sounds of the dawn chorus in the bush.  It was already getting light at 4:30 am and that’s when the gate opens.  But we had no intention of making such an early start.  I went to shower at the ablution block just after 5 and we were packed and ready to leave at 6:30

Our first exciting event was an encounter with  Ayres Hawk-eagle.   There were actually two.  The light was bad so the photo is not great but we found this one on a kill.

 

We also got a good sighting of the common black-shouldered kite – but what a pretty bird.

 

Elephants, buffalo, hippo, wildebeest and zebra were also on the menu and we got to see a lot of birdlife.   Here are a few photos that we managed to get.

Lesser-striped swallow

Hippo

The uncommon yellow-billed oxpecker – grooming a zebra

Cute little blue waxbill

Shy steenbok

Beautiful giraffe

 

A rarity in the park is an antelope similar to a red hartebeest – the Tsessebe – We found a few of them which was lovely.

Time wore on and we were getting hungry.  We decided to head back toward Mopani and have something to eat there.  After a few hours of game driving you rather hope that you won’t see anything exciting as all you want is to have a break and get some strong coffee into you.  I yelled at the earl to stop with a couple of interesting birds but either I was too late or he’d lost interest because he just drove on.  Thank Goodness for that because just a few kms from camp we spotted some stationery cars – always a good sign – It has to be a leopard, I said and as we got closer I spotted a tail hanging down from the branch of a tree.  Oh joy – all thoughts of coffee and food disappeared in an instant.   There was a young leopard on a kill up in the tree.  And was she having a delightful breakfast – lucky creature.   If we’d delayed over the birds I’d called we would have missed her as after a minute she slid down the tree, washed her paws and slipped off into the bush!  Gone!  The only evidence were the remains of impala hanging in the tree!

We lingered long over breakfast at Mopani as its restaurant has such a lovely view over the river.  We saw marabou storks and watched greater striped swallows take off and land back in the branches of the trees again.   There was a lot of activity.  I had a second cup of coffee while the Earl went to another section of the facility to pay accounts and send emails from his laptop.

We like to rest in camp in the middle of the day and it was now just after 11.  We just did one more loop to Mooiplaas Picnic site, spotted some birds and hippos and then did a little river loop where we saw buffalo and elephant.

We got back to camp around 1 o’clock and rested until 3:30 and then went out again.   We saw all the usual suspects and were not expecting anything too exciting.   It was nearing 6 o’clock when we were in sight of this morning’s leopard tree and gate closing is at 6:30.  And what should we see – three cars stopped at the tree.

“They’re probably looking at the carcass,” I said the Earl.

But no as we got closer I saw that the leopard was back.

But wait there’s more – “Look there,” said The Earl,  “There’s another one in the tree.”

 

And then all hell broke loose as the two leopards started growling and slapping each other.

This is my dinner – Be off with you!

 

After a brief skirmish one decided she’d better get out of there and slipped down the tree and disappeared into the bush.  The victor sat in the split in the tree for a few minutes looking for all the world like any domestic kitty cat.

Then he climbed onto the branch where the impala carcass was and proceeded to finish his meal.

Soon other cars appeared and in the end there were five of us watching this amazing sight.   It gets dark quickly in the Kruger and by 6:10 I had enough photographs in good light.  It was time to head quickly back to camp before the gate was locked!   We made it with 10 minutes to spare