Christmas Trees in the Kalahari KTP May 2012*

[GavinW]

Here are another two pictures of the Lijersdraai lion




And one of my favourite pictures of the holiday!

[GavinW]

Day 12: Back to Nossob

We returned to camp, and dismantled our Polentswa home, packed it into the bakkie and set off back to Nossob.

The middle of the day is usually quiet in the KTP, and today was no exception.

We, no, I was anxious to get back to Nossob,to get settled and to be able to enjoy the evening in camp.

Near Bedinkt we came across the resident Wildies who posed nicely for us.






And eventually arrived back at Nossob, to be welcomed by Ron and Annette. Ron, being the star he is had reserved our favourite campsite (Old campsite no 5) for us.

We exchanged stories and set about putting up our tent for the last time during this trip.

Debbie decided to become creative at one stage of the proceedings, and took this pic of a fly on her shoe…



(talk about a filler!!)


All done and dusted we were eventually ready to go out and se what Maries had to offer….

And with us, Maries ALWAYS delivers

[GavinW]

Maries magic!!


Maries se Draai is our most favourite drive in the Kgalagadi, and it has always been kind to us. It’s like a love affair …. I always find my heart racing as I get near the entrance to the loop in anticipation as to what we are about to see.


In the past we have had some amazing sightings, from big maned lions, tiny cubs, cheetahs at the waterhole, and a mouse family on a log. All special and memorable.


We were not even 500m into Maries when I saw this delightful family on our right, having a good look at the goings on in the riverbed……….. Plutz!!

Oh my hat !










And I do need to post my pic as well I know it's overload but anyway!



We watched the quintet as they watched us as we watched them, they eventually crossed over the road and moved off into the distance pretty quickly.



A bit further on we were left debating….


When is a Kudu not a Kudu? (Or a mountain goat!!)






This steppe buzzard was also keeping eye on proceedings!

[GavinW]

Thanks once again for joining me on this trip.
I really do appreciate your comments and posts



Day 13: Unlucky for some!!


We arose on our thirteenth day of our holiday to cloudy skies, which was a change after the clear sunny days we had had thus far.

We were at the gate bright and early, and decided to head down around Marie’s yet again.

We were presented with this sunrise whilst on the way.



Maries was quiet as we meandered around, with no sign of the previous evening’s cheetah family.

Along the way we came across this herd of Kudu









All being very quiet, we got to the end of the loop and turned around to return to Maries se gat for coffee and rusks.


Whilst we were enjoying the serenity of the waterhole another vehicle arrived and told us that they had just seen the cheetah family a bit further back, and that the mother was limping very badly with what appeared to be a broken front leg!

We were mortified. If that was the case, there would be no ways the family would survive as the cubs were still too small to catch prey on their own.

We quickly set off in the direction indicated to ourselves, and soon spotted the unhappy family quite far away in the riverbed near to where we had seen them the previous evening.



The mother was in a great deal of discomfort and could only walk for short periods at a time.

We watched them for a while until it appeared as if they were settled for the day, and returned to camp feeling pretty deflated at what we had seen.

We assumed that she must have injured her leg in a hunt the previous evening, either by tripping into a hole in the ground or she had been

[GavinW]

As I said, we were also pretty devastated, and we so wanted her to recover,but first we had to do some housekeeping back in camp

Day 13 cont.. A day NOT for the birds!!

We got back to camp about mid morning with the intention of spending a fair bit of time in camp as we had quite a few domestic chores to handle before we set off for Urikaruus the next day.

It was not all work, and we both got a chance to play with my camera in camp a bit.

We took a photo of the only Koringkriek we saw the whole trip.



As well of as this Groundscraper thrush.



Debbie went off to download pictures and to do some of the washing up, and I took a stroll to the birdhide. (It was her turn!! )

The hide was a hive of activity with the blue wildebeest really putting on a show for me.






They were accompanied by hundreds of doves and a few jackals.






It was all quite fun watching.


Now I am in no ways superstitious, but I do believe that on this day the birds in and around Nossob had things coming at them, and they were to come in threes!!

First up was the case of the jackal and the dove:

I was quite intrigued at the antics of the jackals at the waterhole as they tried to hunt the doves which were coming down to quench their thirsts.

They really were trying hard, but almost always seemed to miss as the birds would suddenly take fright and all take off leaving the poor jackal stranded and looking pretty silly.



That was until one got lucky.





Totally over the moon at having seen a “kill” and of having got a few “proof” pics of the event, I rushed back to the ablution area to tell Debbie what I had just seen.

On my way there I noticed the second bad bird moment:

The mongoose and the dove.

A yellow mongoose had just caught a dove in the camping area. Debs grabbed her camera and was soon getting up close and personal with the action



This sighting must rank as one of the best of our trip, and it was all in the Nossob campsite!







TBC

[GavinW]

Day 13 cont.. A day NOT for the birds!! Cont ….

A PCG not in a tree!

Ok so this is a bit of poetic licence, but them it is my trip report and I am writing it!

We left Nossob for our afternoon drive and at Rooikop we came upon this Pale Chanting Goshawk, which appeared to be injured.



The bird was just parking off on the ground looking very sorry for itself. (the next day on our way out, it was still there, but I am sure that by now, there is a very happy BBJ with a full tummy somewhere near Rooikop.)


We also came upon these Kori bustards, which did not turn their bums towards us as soon as we pointed a camera at them



We were anxious to see if we could re-connect with the cheetah family, and at almost the same spot as where we left them earlier in the day, we found them again.


Nothing had changed.


Mommy was still limping badly, and we felt that the babies were starting to nag for their next meal…


This is another proof pic as they were a bit far away for our camera equipment.



We returned to camp, really concerned about our little family, and mentioned to the field guide, Melissa, who was about to go out on a sunset drive to keep an eye out for them.

[nan]

I will search for them... in a week
I hope... I hope...

[GavinW]

Day 14; A last visit to Maries and leaving Nossob:

Day number 14 of our trip saw us getting up and out of bed with very mixed emotions.

One side of us was really excited about the next stage of our trip. A whole lot of nights in “luxury” at Urikaruus, with no more camping for the holiday.Whilst on the other side, we kinda enjoyed the camping, and Nossob had been really good to us this year. It is always sad to say goodbye, and even more so to one of our most favourite places in the world.


We were first at the gate, but I soon had to move my vehicle so that Melissa, who was doing a morning drive could get past.
Morning drives leave about 30 minutes before the gates open.
She was headed south, and on the look out for cheetahs.

Once they headed off, I took a stroll down to the hide,and took this pic of the sunrise.



We came upon Melissa and her guests just after Rooikop. They had spotted our family of cheetah.

Great news!!

They were on a kill. The cubs had chased down a jackal, and had managed to pen it down long enough for old hop along to pitch, and to finish off the kill. Unfortunately they were hidden by long grass and we could see zip. We trusted her word, and carried on very happy campers.




As this was a “transit” day, I really expected to see very little, (as was our custom), and Maries was dutifully quiet.

We did see this juvenile PCG on our way:



Back at camp, a quick last trip to the birdhide provided Debbie with pics of the locals in action


A springbok



And an ever hopeful jackal






All to soon, after some sad farewells to Ron and Annette we were packed up and ready to set off to Urikaruus,



We were just before Rooikop, when I spotted this puff adder in the road. What a stunning specimen!



I was leaning out the car taking a photo of the snake, when I noticed a vehicle approaching quite fast. I expected it to slow down as we had obviously seen something, but no. My frantic gestures for him to slow down were ignored, and the ignoramus drove straight over the snake.
We were shocked and I saw the whole thing in slow motion.

The snake spewed under our car, and after slowing moving away, we found the puffie on the side of the road.



We were devastated, and really were pretty speechless. We eventually carried on in silence, contemplating what we had just experienced, and were really angry at not having got the registration number of the car.

Just after we got into Maries, at what we were now calling cheetah alley, we came across another cheetah family of 5. This time the cubs were tiny!!





Very cute, but far away.

This sighting reminded us that all was still good in the land of the red dunes, and we carried on on our way!!

[GavinW]

Now that I have a new page, I will continue, in case I don't get a chance over the weekend


Day 14: Urikaruus

Our trip down to Dikbaardskolk was uneventful. We stopped there for a short leg stretch before carrying on over the Dune road



This cute steenbok was the highlight of the section.





In the riverbed as you cross the river before going on the dune road just before Urikaruus, we came upon another Kgalagadi traffic jam.

The reason:

A coalition of 4 brothers on a kill.

They were about 50m off the road partially obscured by foliage, but we did manage a few pics








(I had by now lost count of how many cheetah we had seen this trip)


After watching for a while, we decided to head up over the hill to book in to our accommodation for the next three nights

Urikaruus cabin no 1 Our unit of choice

Camp attendant Jacques, and these three longnecks greeted us








What a special welcoming present!

Once settled in, we took a short drive back to see if the cheetahs had moved. They were passed out, flat under the tree, and going nowhere.

We returned to camp and spent a relaxed evening watching the comings and goings at the waterhole, before going to bed. I must admit, the new floodlight is a definate plus

[GavinW]

Day 15: Winter arrives, and provides!!!


I really don’t know who opened the freezer door, but whoever it was, seriously forgot to close it again.



Arriving at Urikaruus was like arriving in another country. Nossob and Polentswa had been mild, and with the exception of when we were on the night drives, we very seldom had to put more that a light sweater on in the evenings.

Here it was different. Everything was freezing. Holding a torch gave your hands frostbite, and everything from shampoo, toothpaste and LPG gas froze!

So when during the night we heard hyenas howling outside the cabins, there was NO WAY I was getting my beloved SO out from under the covers! I got up and saw them in the car park, but no pictures I am afraid. (It was a very quick peek out of the room!)



We were up early and ready to go at “gate opening” time and headed off south.

Just out of camp as the sun was rising, we came across a herd of giraffe up on the rise, which presented us with our first photo opportunity of the day.



Inbetween Montrose and Batulama, we came across a car which waved us down, and told us of a leopard walking along the riverbed about a kilometer further down the road. We were puzzled as to why they had left the sighting, but anyway we set off in search of the cat.

A trip down past Batulama revealed nothing, so we turned around and retraced our tracks. We eventually spotted it, as promised walking down the riverbed towards Batulama.


The leopard was quite far away and we were looking directly into the light, so our pictures are seriously cropped and not the greatest:









The leopard continued walking down the riverbed, and did not go unnoticed by some of the other residents of the area,



Climbing in and out of the many camel thorn trees, the feline carried on, obviously on a bit of a mission.











At one stage she (?) disappeared up over the dunes for a while.

The leopard eventually came down from the dunes, and with any other cars now having left, all we saw was a whole lot of dust, followed by the leo with her catch in hand!




YES, YES, Yes we had actually seen a kill. ( No photos though)

The leopard had caught an African Wild Cat, and soon settled down under a bush.



Sorry about the poor photos, but the whole sighting was into the sun