This week’s Fun Photo Challenge from Cee calls for pictures of anything beginning with Z. Of course the first thing that comes to mind is Zebra.
Part of the challenge includes photographs of ‘catching zzzs’
Lazy Lion
Sleeping Puff Adder found in our Kgalagadi Camp!
Went straight back to sleep when he was caught and put under a distant tree!
A very comfy position to sleep in
16 March
It rained in the night and it was still dripping when the Grum-Peighs woke up at 5:30 am. Fortunately it stopped enough for them to pack up in relative comfort.
They bade farewell to the Leighs and were ready to exit Mata Mata by 6:30. They took a slow drive to Twee Rivieren not expecting too much in the way of sightings as after rain the game don’t need to come to the water holes.
However, they were in luck. They found their Port Shepstone neighbors stopped and staring into the bush. “There’s a lioness on a kill,” they told the G-Ps. And sure enough there she was under a tree chewing away. To her right Lady G-P spotted another one – obviously she’d had her fill. A few jackal were waiting on the sideline too.
After watching for a while they pushed on and saw all the usuals including giraffes
and then her Ladyship noticed something small running across the veld.
A dassie!
Another unusual sighting for KTP
A lone warthog!
All too soon they arrived at Twee Rivieren, pumped the types back to their normal pressure and then went to Kgalagadi Lodge for breakfast.
Feeling fortified with fresh energy they sadly let the Kgalagadi behind and made their way to Oranjerus, a lovely, shady, grassy campsite next to the Orange River where they spent the night.
A red bishop seen from the restaurant at Oranjerus
They dined at the restaurant with a fellow camper and so ended their wonderful Wild Adventure.
333
15 March
Lady Grum-Peigh was first in the queue with the Frend-Leighs close behind. She raced out of the office, permit in hand and jumped into the Land Rover. “We’ve beaten our friends!” said the Earl excitedly. “We’ll be the first to see the lions!”
“Slow down,”said her Ladyship. “You’ll miss the good stuff on the way!” He ignored her and gleefully overtook the campers from Kalahari Tented Camp who’d got out first.
Then suddenly a wild cat appeared and crossed the road in front of them. The Earl screeched the breaks and yelled instructions to his poor wife but she still missed the photo! The kitty toddled off into the veld. The Earl turned the vehicle and said, “Keep the camera on him.” Tufts of grass kept hiding him preventing good shots. The Earl was furious. “Why didn’t you get him – he was right there!”
“Did you get any?” asked Lady G-P calmly.
“No!”
“Well, he was on your side of the car!”
“But I was driving!”
“I’m tired of you yelling at me I’m getting out right here!”
“Well don’t let the hyena get you,” said the Earl and there right next to her door she spotted him and they both burst out laughing.
Come out and play, Lady G-P – I won’t eat you.
Look at my innocent eyes
Oh well – I guess I’ll have to find somebody else
Other cars including the Frend-Leighs were now ahead of them so the Earl slowed down and enjoyed the birdlife.
A secretary bird marching determinedly through the veldt
There were no lions or cheetahs at the waterholes but they saw tawnies on the kill.
They made breakfast at Kamqua picnic site and then made their way back. There was a sleeping lion near Dalkeith but otherwise no big cats.
But the other creatures seen were fun.
Rock Kestrel
Pin-tailed Whydah
Brown Snake Eagle
Common Buzzard
A Journey of Giraffe
Wildebeest competing with Butterflies for a drinking rights
Back at camp they had a salad for lunch, the Earl had a nap, Lady G-P did some chores and Mrs Leigh prepped lamb stew for dinner. She and Mr Leigh went out again later in the afternoon but the G-Ps stayed to pack up as, sadly, it was our last night in the park.
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.
13 March 2016
By 6:30 the Frend-Leighs and Grum-Peighs are packed up and ready to leave Rooiputs. Although it had stormed in the night it kindly let up for them to pack up without getting wet.
The Frend-Leighs left first as they wanted to get a good site at Mata Mata. Their large-lensed cameras were packed so they wouldn’t be stopping for anything but the most exciting sightings.
The Grum-Peighs were thus able to follow at a more leisurely pace. There was a lot of water lying around and they found bokkies drinking at the puddles. They took the dune road and found a total of 16 korhaans.
Then there was a lovely sighing Mom and Dad Jackal with their pup.
It was great to see giraffe on the Mata Mata road and there was plenty of game around.
“Why are there cars parked up ahead,” called Lady G-P. They looked into the bush but couldn’t see anything. The Lord G-P said – “Look – there in the tree – leopard!
Wow – what a great sighting. They were about to move on when suddenly he stood up on the branch.
I don’t think I like this spot anymore
Let me find a more comfortable perch
There’s a cosy hollow here – this is where I’m staying for the rest of the day
At 10:30 they arrived at Mata Mata and set up camp. The Frend-Leighs had found a lovely shady site.
At 4:30 the Grum-Peighs were ready for another drive but the Leighs decided not to go out. It was a long way to the waterholes but the drive was rewarding.
They enjoyed the little steenbok that were about and one chose to pose beautifully.
The highlight of the afternoon was seeing a lanner at Dalkeith – he had caught a sparrow and was devouring it on the ground.
At 14th waterhole they were delighted to find an African harrier-hawk.
They found the leopard in the tree again but he had moved and was difficult to see. However, they managed to point him out to two other cars who were most grateful as they had not yet seen leopard.
In the evening the Earl found some good steaks at the new improved Mata Mata shop and that is what they had on the braai for supper.
101
12 March
“What will today, hold in store for us, I wonder?” said Lady Grum-Peigh as they climbed into the Land Rover for their morning drive. “It’s our last day at Rooiputs and boy, I’m going to miss it!”
They headed straight to Kij Kij arriving around 7 ish. “Oh look there!” called the Earl. “Two male lions!” That was a wonderful surprise. They were lying a little way off from the waterhole, one on each side of the road.
One of the big boys
Suddenly Mr Frend-Leigh started his Pathfinder and raced toward them. “It’s a brown hyena,” said the Earl excitedly. And they weaved through the parked cars to get a better view. But the poor creature was spooked by seeing the lions and instead of going for his morning drink he headed away and up a dune.
Oh no! What are those two doing here. I’m off!
Then the lions were up and making their way to the waterhole as if to say – hey – nobody drinks from here but us!
After the lions had had a good long drink they moved off into the shade and settled down for a long morning nap. The G-Ps and Leighs went on towards Melkvlei.
“What’s moving over there – oh great – Bat-eared fox!”
Posing for his portrait at last
One of the foxes stopped and stared straight at them. “At last you’re posing for me, you elusive creature,” said Lady G-P who had seen a few but not managed to get any decent photographs.
There was a lot of game about and they saw many kori bustards and jackals. “That eagle looks different,” called the Earl
“It’s a tawny,” said Lady Peigh “The blond version!”
At Melkvlei Lord Peigh cooked a delicious Banting Breakfast but the Leighs continued on a bit further preferring to have muesli in the car a little later. They also had a lot of packing up to do so would return to the lions and then head home.
After breakfast the Grum-Peighs took a slow drive and enjoyed all the usual game and birds. Then about 1 km from Rooiputs the Earl said, “Look at those gemsbok. They’re standing stock still – there must be a predator somewhere close.” They scanned the dunes with their binoculars – Nada. Then her ladyship dropped her eye to a lower level and nearly fell out of the window – “They’re right there,” she whispered “under the tree.”
“What? where?” whined his Lordship.
“They’re so well camouflaged – three cheetahs – in the shade just where the gemsbok are standing.”
A very wary gemsbok keeps a close eye on the cheetahs
One lifts her head to see what all the fuss is about
His lordship finally finds them and is amazed at how well they could hide.
At about 5 that afternoon they returned to the spot with the Frend-Leighs. They were on the move and then they flopped down under a tree. They stayed with them hoping they would get up to go to the waterhole but they had to leave at quarter to 7 to get in before dark.
Thinking about getting up
I could do with a drink
I love you dear cheetah
They returned to camp and Mrs Frend-Leigh took out the leftover chili con cairn and they shared the meal with Jan. Everything was packed up as far as possible for departure to Mata Mata the next morning and then they turned in for the night.
99
This morning’s game drive found Lord and Lady Grum-Peigh back at Kij Kij in search of the lioness and her cubs. They found them in the company of two adult lions. One of them was a young male. They must have been drinking at Kij Kij but by the time they arrived there they were on the Rooiputs side of the WH. They played for a bit and then made their way over the ridge – the opposite way to the previous day.
There was nothing much to see other than kori bustards and other birds further on toward Melkvlei. Then the Earl and Her Ladyship turned around and went to Twee Rivieren to refuel. On the way they had lovely sightings of the smaller things. They saw two yellow mongooses hunting and one caught a mouse! There were also two slender mongoose and the two species didn’t seem to want to share territory.
“What’s that jackal up to,” said Lady G-P He was howling and looking quite agitated. “There must be a cheetah or a lion about – that’s how they behave when they want to get at the left overs from a kill” The jackal was staring into a tree but in spite of a thorough search Lord and Lady G-P couldn’t see anything so they continued on their way.
At Twee Rivieren they filled up then went to the restaurant where they took advantage of the internet access and caught up with emails and messages. The shop had no fresh produce they nipped off to Kgalagadi lodge and bought some cauliflower and broccoli, pattipans, cucumber, tomatoes and sweet potatoes.
The Frend-Leighs decided to pop there too and they met up with them on their way back to TR. The Leighs reported that there was a leopard in a tree between Leeudril and Rooiputs. That’s what the jackal must have been agitating about.
On their return trip to Rooipust they found the site of the leopard but were told by Jan (a young man from the Cheque Republic who was camping on their site) that they’d just missed her in the tree. She’s jumped down and was definitely in the undergrowth under the tree but she was impossible to see. They waited half an hour but it was very hot so they left her in peace with a promise of coming back later.
At Rooiputs waterhole there were 4 Secretary birds.
The late afternoon found them back searching for the leopard. En route they were amused by the meerkats.
There were a number of cars looking into the tree but nobody could see anything. The Earl wanted to move on but Her Ladyship persuaded him to be patient. Finally they were rewarded when all of a sudden the leopard emerged from his hiding place and began moving.
His nap was over and he was off on a mission
What a beauty
I wonder if I’ll find a snack anywhere here?
Nothing much happening – think I’ll sit here for a while
After walking off along the dunes the leopard flopped down for a rest then got up again and disappeared over the dunes.
“Another wonderful ending to a great day,” said Lady G-P
The day started with a lanner. This is a common bird in the KTP and the Grum-Peighs often see them chasing and catching doves. But this one decided to show off to them on the road. He was eating insects or getting minerals from the gravel or whatever attracts all the creatures of the park to this habit. Anyway he posed beautifully.
After enjoying the lanner they pushed on to Kij Kij and found a beautiful male lion drinking at the waterhole. They then followed him as he walked off toward the Nossob road. Several cars were parked facing the waterhole and he flopped down in their shadows. Eventually they decided that enough was enough and set off in search of other game
A kori bustard entertained them by showing them how to take a dust bath.
When there is little game to be seen the G-Ps keep a sharp eye out for birds. Even the little familiar chat is good to see.
At Melkvlei waterhole there were lots of gemsbok.
On their return they found the male lion sleeping in the shade of a tree. Lady G-P aimed her camera but suddenly the car started moving forward. “Hey – I’m trying to get a shot,”she complained.
“But this guy in front is calling me to chat to him,” replied the Earl.
He pulled up next to the hired four by four. “I’m so sorry,”said a British voice “But I stopped here to see this lion and now my car is dead!” There were two men and two women in the vehicle and they all looked terrified.
“Don’t worry,” said Lady G-P, “My husband will fix it.” She has great confidence in her her husband’s MacGyver type skills.
The Earl turned the car around with a view to jump starting his dead car. “Just keep an eye on Leo.”said His Lordship as he climbed up and opened a rooftop box to retrieve his tools. “He’s sitting up!” yelled Lady Peigh. But her hero was not fazed. He took out all the tools he needed and passed them to her.
“He’s standing up now!” Lady Peigh was getting nervous. Leo sniffed the air and decided the smell of his Lordship was not to his liking and dropped down again and went back to sleep!
Leo licked his lips as he contemplated an earl for dinner
Nope – not worth the effort – think I’ll have another nap instead
The Earl decided that caution was the better part of valour and quickly hitched the tow rope to the distressed vehicle and towed him to a safer spot. The car did not start while being towed but when they stopped the Earl found that it was a loose connection and fixed it pronto.
The First Earl of Struisbaai using his MacGyver skills
The British tourist were most grateful. They had no tools in the hired vehicle and were quite unprepared for any mishap. Lady G-P would never travel without her personal handyman.
They went back to look at the lion and wait for the Frend-Leighs and then took a slow drive home finding a pale chanting goshawk and a few ground squirrels on the way.
Isn’t he beautiful
On guard and ready to warn his friends of pending danger
8 March
The advantage of staying in a bush camp on the Botswana side of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is that there are fewer people in camp and one really gets to commune with nature – it’s living on the edge as there is always a chance that a wild creature could wander past your caravan or tent. This is what the Frend-Leighs and Grum-Peighs love about Camp Rooiputs Number 2. It is also closer to the water holes so you get to them before the crowds from Twee Rivieren arrive. But Rooiputs has the added advantage of being close enough to Twee Rivieren so that when you need to replenish your stocks it’s a quick trip there and back. On this particular morning the friends decide to check out the Kij Kij Waterhole nice and early and then take the long dune road that connects to another road that takes you to TR. The plan is then to leave the park and shop at the Kgalagadi Lodge shop – and have breakfast at their restaurant. There is nothing as good as mixing a bit of rustic living with luxury now and then!
And they are well rewarded when they get to Kij Kij and find some frolicking lions.
Good Morning Kgalagadi
This is fun!
Come on let’s play!
Time to go!
The Dune Road is very long and bendy and can be boring but today a honey badger rushed over the road in front of them and they saw 19 Northern Black Korhaan
The best of the bunch
On the return journey the Grum-Peighs stop for every bird. Ho-Hum!
A lesser grey shrike
The ever-present tawny eagle
Southern Masked weaver and Lark-like Bunting
Male and female red-headed finch
Grey-backed sparrowlark
Male red-headed finch
Immature Pale Chanting Goshawk
Jackal
The highlight was seeing a cobra try to invade a sociable weaver nest.
In the evening the Frend-Leighs and Grum-Peighs had another delicious braai. There was no sign of stormy weather and the sunset was magnificent.
The Earl and The Friend bonding in front of the fire
Sunset
Camp Rooiputs Number 2 at night
After experiencing a fairly wild and stormy night with thunder and lightening interrupting their dreams and the caravan rocking like a row-boat on a rough sea the Grum-Peighs woke up and went out to assess the damage. Neither they nor the Frend-Leighs needed any major repairs. The rain had gone and the weather was calm so after a slightly later than usual start they set off on their morning drive.
First up was a beautiful Martial Eagle
Their breakfast stop was at Melkvlei. Lord Grum-Peigh loves to cook eggs and bacon on his special camping stove. Lady G-P makes sure he has the right pans and ingredients and is ready to follow his demanding instructions. The results are always delicious.
The animals were scarce as is often the case after a storm. They seem to move deeper into the bush and find water in puddles rather than trekking to the waterholes. So all they saw was the following.
This meerkat found a wonderful platform right outside the camp – a good vantage point to spot potential danger.
A tiny tortoise
And a giant one
Bokkies of course
Having a confrontation
Lanner Falcon
Camp Rooiputs
“It can’t be time to get up yet,” complained Lord Grum-Peigh “It’s still dark!”
“It will be light soon and we need to get out before the Twee Rivieren Mob arrive – come on get up – here’s your coffee.” Her Ladyship packed the picnic basket and filled the flask while her grumbly husband reluctantly readied himself for departure.
The sunrise was just a stunning as last night’s sunset and they were on the road atn6:30 am on the dot. The campers from the other five sites were rushing off too. The Frend-Leighs always keen to be first at the waterhole to ensure good photographs were up ahead. As the Grum-Peighs followed slowly behind a fellow camper passed and waved to them to stop. “Your left front tyre looks a little soft,” he said.
And so they had to turn around and return to camp to check it out. The Earl who fusses about the small stuff was remarkably calm about this major disaster. He set straight to work. Getting the tyre off proved no easy task. The thingy that is used to loosen the bolts was faulty but the Earl made a plan and within 45 minutes the job was done.
Now when one travels in the extreme conditions of the Kgalagadi one would be foolish not to have a working spare so the Grum-Peighs decided to abandon their original plans and make their way to Twee Rivieren where there was a workshop to have the spare tyre repaired. And although it was a Sunday it was open.
After enjoying a cooked breakfast at the restaurant they took the long Mata Mata and Dune roads to get back to Rooiputs. “Hopefully we will see game on this route,” declare the Lord.
Lady Grum-Peigh had an acute attack of FOMO (fear of missing out). “I bet the Leighs have found yesterday’s lions on a kill and that the cheetahs are mating or giving birth or something equally exciting.”she whined.
“No way,”comforted the Earl “we’re going to see good stuff.”
And he was right. “Look what we have here,”he said excitedly.
Tawny Eagle
A little later they found a male lion right next to the road
Then a little far off under a shady tree lay a cheetah with its kill. It was not worth taking a photograph though.
The Grum-Peighs are more interested in the birdlife and tend to stop too long to observe the winged creatures that others choose to ignore.
One of their favourites is the Namaqua Dove
Of course they also saw all the regular chaps. Gemsbok (Oryx) are very common in the park.
Meanwhile the Leighs had been wandering what happened to their friends. Had they missed them at a sighting? Had they carried on to the planned breakfast stop? But no they couldn’t find them anywhere. “They’re either behind or in front of us,” said Mr Frend-Leigh – don’t worry we’ll catch up with each other eventually.”
So when they finally did see each other back at camp they were shocked to hear that there had been a mishap. “We would have come back to help!” they declared.
“Then you would also have missed the excitement,” said Lady G-P
“Ha – we only got sleeping cats – nothing too thrilling!”
The two men got to work fixing the faulty thingy while the girls caught up with washing and then they all had a nap before going out for the afternoon drive.
It was 5 o’clock and still hot and they hoped to get the sleeping lions waking up. There was a little action but they were still pretty sleepy.
Then a police car stopped next to the G-Ps “Good afternoon, sir. How are you this afternoon?”
Lady G-P thought they were going to ask for their permit and started reaching for it. But no – “Ma’m about 3km further on, you will find a cheetah. He is on his own and has been there since 1 pm this afternoon.”
“Thank you so much officer. We will check it out!”
Just before they reached the 3km mark, Lady Peigh yelled, “I see him.”
It was overcast and a storm was threatening so the light was dim and if she hadn’t been looking intently she would probably have missed him. Then suddenly he disappeared. “Has he gone over the ridge?”
“No – there he is!” said Lord Peigh. “He’s lying down – how well he camouflages!”
They stayed with him until a car approached and then pointed him out to the occupant. It took quite a while before he could find him.
Back at the lion sighting very little was happening. Mr Leigh pointed out a striped kingfisher in a tree opposite and then they decided to make their way back before it got too late.
The Leighs pointed out the Vereaux’s Eagle-Owl and that was the last sighting of their day.
5 March
Travelling with an Earl can have its trying moments. His Lordship has firm ideas how things should be done and when things don’t go exactly according to plan he tends to shoot into stress mode. Packing up camp is a trigger so Lady Grum-Peigh has to encourage him to calm down to a panic and remind him that it will all come together in the end! On this morning all her reassuring seemed to work and all was packed up in a jiffy except for one thing!
“Don’t you have to put the leveling legs up first?” asked Lady Peigh. Uh oh! A few minutes of rapid unpacking and repacking later and all was set. The caravan was hitched to the towbar and by 7:40 am they were on their way to Rooiputs.
Luckily the rain from the early hours had abated and it was a stunning, clear day. The birds at Samevloeing cheered the Earl up and gave Her Ladyship great photo opportunities.
yellow canary drinking at Samevloeing
Next was a tawny eagle in a tree.
Mr Frend-Leigh had marked out an area where he thought the Grum-Peighs should park their caravan – this was to optimise the best afternoon shade. The setting up went well and just as they finished the Frend-Leighs returned from their early morning drive..
Here is the Earl in front of the caravan – all set up and ready for their 8-day stay.
It was very hot and Lady Peigh felt drained and exhausted. Although it was unusual for her and it was only midday, she decided to take a nap. The wind got up too and shook the caravan like a leaf. The Earl worked hard to secure the tent pole and ropes while she slept on for the next three hours! Finally she woke up and gave in to His Lordship’s pleas to go for an afternoon drive.
“Oh look, even the lions don’t feel like doing anything in this heat.” said Lady Peigh. “Don’t even take a photo – too boring.” They left them dozing and carried on up the Nossob road. All the game – wildebeest, springbok, red hartebeest and gemsbok – were standing or lying under whichever shady tree they could find. The landscape was dry but there had been a little rain so there were patches of green and lots of lovely yellow flowers from time to time.
A ground squirrel is always an entertaining sighting
Lanner Falcon
A single wildebeest in the company of a herd of springbok
“Look at Melkvlei,” said Lord Peigh, “Quite a difference from last year.”
Melkvlei Picnic Site when Dry
Melkvlei Picnic Site after heavy rains! This picture was taken in March 2015
After a leg stretch and loo break at the picnic site they retraced their route towards Rooiputs.
“What’s happening now,” said the Earl. “those springbok are stock-still and all looking in the same direction.” T
The bokkies gathered together and nervously crossed the road. The Earl scanned the dunes and soon spotted two cheetahs on the ridge.
One of the cheetahs sat up but there was no attempt to hunt.
The Grump-Peighs carried on until another vehicle alerted them to another sighting further on.
A contented, sleeping male lion
Remember the snoozing lions from the beginning of the trip? Well that’s where they met up with the Frend-Leighs who had only left camp an after they had. Their cameras trained on the felines who were still in dreamland.
“Let’s go,” said His Lordship. “I don’t feel like watching sleeping lions.”
“Give it five minutes,” begged his wife. “I’m sure they’ll wake up soon.”
The words were no sooner cold on her lips when one of the females stoop up and started walking toward them. One by one the others followed but the male remained hidden behind his tree.
What a brilliant sighting.
Although they were in an unfenced camp they were expected to stick to the gate times – out at 6:30 am and back by 7 pm in March. They made it by 17 minutes and then enjoyed a spectacular sunset.
The wind had dropped and they enjoyed a delicious braai before retiring for the night.
Diary of an Adventurous Retiree 