The hunt for elusive species is on *

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Penga Ndlovu
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by Penga Ndlovu »

Posted on Sun May 13, 2012 4:26 pm

Eish.

That time already.

Setting up camp and greeting Rodger took a little longer than anticipated and it was time to get to Mopani quick for some firewood and Charcoal and to check in.

Turning onto the tar we slowly drove towards Mopani.
Enjoying the sights and sounds Kruger had to offer while the sun was setting with that golden glow that we all know so well.

The car was making a hell of a noise, but driving slowly kept the decibels down to an accepted level.

The check-in went quickly and without a hitch and we went to the shop for some neede stuff and an icecream.

We were tempted to take a quick swim as we were a bit overheated, but decided against it.

Just as well we didn't.

While driving towards the camp we noticed something standing in the distance right next to the road.

Hyena!!!

Slowly we drove up and she was a beauty.

Posing and hardly moving from where she was.

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Her coat was shining in the light and she was really looking as good as I have ever seen a Hyena look.

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It dawned on us that there might be a reason why she was not going away.
There must be something important nearby.

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She was in greaT health.
The Saltatorial adaption that makes them so well adapted for long distance running was quite evident.

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She really made us curious.
Slowly we crept up and saw that there was a lot of grass trampled at the side of the road and we decided to leave her alone and come back tomorrow morning.

So it was time to start a fire and slap some meat on the fire while downing a cold Barley apatiser.
The food went down well and as the moon came up over the horison it set the camp in an eary light. Reminding us that tomorrow will be the start of the Supermoon stage where the moon will be 50,000 km closer to the earth than it normally is.
Therefor it will be 30% brighter than usual and seem 15% bigger.

mMa went to bed and I sat in my chair while the fire was crackling listening to the sounds of nature.

This is just a reflection of the moon taken during the day

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In the dark I could hear the resedent Elephants breaking off branches while feeding.
The whooping of the Hyena calling her mate.
Thr trrrrr of the Scops owl overhead.
And way in the distance, somewhere, a Bard Owl.

The next morning, after a cold night, we got up early, downed a cup of steaming Jawa and hit the road just as the sun stuck it's head over the Mopani Shrubveld.

We took to the north and just after the Mooiplaas entrance we decided to take a look at the spot where we saw the Hyena.

There she was.

But not alone. :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:

2 Beautyful, 3 week old pups was with her.

Yeah.

What a catch.

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"Longing for the bush is a luxury many have.
Living in the bush is a luxury that only a few have"
mma_ramotswe
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by mma_ramotswe »

Posted on Mon May 14, 2012 8:18 am

Yeah, Mma was suffering from her usual "first day in the bush migraine" too much excitement/heat/lowveld.... Just had to sleep it off, did wake in the night to hear the hyena's... great sound!

this is another one of our hitchiker
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What I saw at the bridge
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The hyena in the afternoon was a great sighting, the light was lovely and she was a real beauty, I haven't had too much luck with hyena's and I really wanted to see some so this was wonderful. And then in the morning with the pups was a dream sighting for me.. and we were there all alone, mom wasn't bothered at all and one of the pups was so adventuresome & curious, he was almost in the car :)

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Mom

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TLC

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Curious

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And Curiouser

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Hungry


Better to regret what you have done, than what you haven't
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Penga Ndlovu
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by Penga Ndlovu »

Posted on Sat May 19, 2012 11:51 am

After a good nights rest it was time to hit the road again.

Our first stop was the Hyena den with the pups.

I hate to be P...sed off so early in the morning, but a car was literally parked inside the den.

I sped off and went to Shipandane hide.

The first thing we saw was a Giant Kingfisher perced in a tree.

Not a good shot as it was right in the sun, but still......

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In the hide was nobody and we enjoyed the sights of the hippo's warming themselves in the first light of the sun

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And a croc lazily floating by

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And a Dove sitting in a tree

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We decided, as we have never been there, to take the long road to Stapelkop Dam.

At the Pioneer hide there was nothing to but a lone Waterbuck at the other side of the dam and in my point of view the hide was build on the wrong side of the water.

On the road towards the Dam we saw some Giraffe, a lone Steenbokkie, some Natal Francolin and a few Double Banded Sandgrouse.

The road to Stapelkop is long and tedious and the view is not so nice because of the powerlines that are so evidenly.

Suddenly!

There was the dam!!

One great body of water and peace and tranguility came over us.

A lone Elephant bull was giving a great display.

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Some Waterbuck grasing along the waterline

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And some birds flying around and doing what they do best.

And that in the heavenly laden silence of nature.

At peace we stayed there for quite a while.

Finally it was time to move off again and as we drove back suddenly!!!!.......


PWHAAAAAPPPP!!!!!!!!!

A female Elephant came up behind us, without us noticing it, and decided that black monster is not to her liking.
A bit shaken we kept up the speed to keep in front of her and then found that we wandered off in the middle of a breeding herd.

On the righthand side there was another female that did not like us and she stormed with intent.

Ears pinned back, trunk between the legs and tail down.

Time to move and move fast.

I jammed the gear in second and put the pedal to the metal and the Swart gevaar roared like an angry Lion as I did not have time to fix the manifold properly.

Nothing happened but the wheels spinning in the dirt.

She, luckily, decided that here was something that is making more noise that she did and broke off the charge and we, with our hearts throbbing in our throuts, were quite happy to leave them behind us.

A bit shaken we mosy'd on back to camp to relax a bit, have the car cool off to fix it and get ready for an afternoon drive along the Mooiplaas area.

While we were waiting for Rodger to bring me a nr 14 spanner I heard the sound of one of the most elusive bird I ever came across.

The Ghostbird.

He shurely did not get his name for nothing.

mMa finally found it for me and as I was hunting that damn Grey Headed Bush Shrike I managed to get a few shots off.

Geez. What a bugger to get.

Allways putting me at extremely strange angles and having me extend the lens to the full 500 mm.

Here are a few attempts:

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With heavy arms and a sore neck I finally managed to get a bit of a decent shot:

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Just before Rodger came I heard another sound.

Woodpecker. Somewhere behind us, but I could not find it.

Luckily Rodger found it for me, but I cannot define it.

Is it a Bennets- or a Cardinal Woodpecker?

My guess is the Cardinal

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With a reapaired car, and mMa at the wheel we slowly drove off to the Mooiplaas waterhole and or first sighting was another sight of peace.
The sun was slowly setting and starting to set the place alight with another golden glow.

First this Ellie who decided that he needed a bit of powder because the bugs were badgering him a bit too much

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Then, after driving around a bit we came to the Nshawu dam weher these two posed for us nicely

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These two were having a bit of a scuffle and in the process demolished a tree or two

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As we came up on Mooiplaas there was and Ellie coming towards us and he had no intention of getting out of the way.

mMa solved this encounter with grace and sensibility and finally he wandered off to the side and let us pass while keeping a close eye on us.

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Relaxing again mMa carried on only to have this crazy stud stop us again and let the adrenalin levels get raised.

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This guy did not even pay attention to the whole episode

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and finally the stud decided die Swart Gevaar is not worth humping and he let us pass.

In the soft glow of the sun we spotted a Secretary bird

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That soon flew off

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And this Kori Bustard

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And then it was time to head home again and relax by the fire with a few Klippies and Coke, a Steak and a Charles Glass or two.

Phew.

What a great and nervewrecking day this has been,

but what a day of spleandour and beauty.


"Longing for the bush is a luxury many have.
Living in the bush is a luxury that only a few have"
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Penga Ndlovu
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by Penga Ndlovu »

During the braai we decided to take a long stretch the next day.
Going north to see what the surroundings of Shingwedzi has in stall for us.

Like every morning the sun came up with that great golden glow and we headed off towards the north with hope in our hearts for great sightings.
We had decided to stay to the tar and get to Red Rocks and the Tshanga as soon as possible and have some breakfast there.

Slowly we drove past the turn-of to Mopani and the towards Bowkerskop dam. The previous day there has been a sighting there of a Lioness with Porcupine quills stuck in her coat and so we kept our eyes peeled. Well. You never know.

The waterhole was empty, but just as we drove past the cement dam we spotted her. Cheetah!!!

All by ourselves.

We could not believe our luck!!

She came to have a drink or two and paraded before us nicely

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Without really noticing anything else because of this great gift we drove off towards the Tropic of Capricorn.

It was a quite drive, but still there was a Vulture sunning

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And on the gravel towards Red Rocks this lovely Steenbokkie

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"Longing for the bush is a luxury many have.
Living in the bush is a luxury that only a few have"
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Penga Ndlovu
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by Penga Ndlovu »

Ahhhh!!!

Red Rocks.

Always good to be there.

A place of beauty and relaxation.

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Then onwards towards Tshanga to make ourselves some breakfast and just enjoy the peace and quietness of the surrounding bush.

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After breakfast we took a slow and realaxing drive to Shingwedzi to get something cool to drink and fill the tank with some prtrol.
There we learnt about a big herd of Sable at Babalala.
Geez.
This is a difficult decision as Babalala is still quite a drive.

We decided to just go ahead and see if we can find them.

No dice of course.

We took to the tar again and decided to do our favourite loop.

The Tropic of Capricorn!

The "bounty of the last 3 hours of the day was a lot better than in the hours before.

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It was a slow but relaxing day.

Time to unwind at our last campfire and contemplate all the beauty we have seen so far.

Tomorrow it is going to be packing up again, say goodbye to Rodger and Alena and hit the road for a slow drive to Phala gate and the long drive back home to the concrete jungle.

Ei Ei Ei


"Longing for the bush is a luxury many have.
Living in the bush is a luxury that only a few have"
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Sprocky
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by Sprocky »

Great pics of the Temminck's Courser bud!! \O


Sometimes it’s not until you don’t see what you want to see, that you truly open your eyes.
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Penga Ndlovu
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by Penga Ndlovu »

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"Longing for the bush is a luxury many have.
Living in the bush is a luxury that only a few have"
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Amoli
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Re: The hunt for elusive species is on

Post by Amoli »

^Q^ ^Q^

Lovely baby ellie, and I like your dark-capped bulbul O\/

I believe your next TT is on the table... O**


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