Groundhog Day: Pretoriuskop Over and Over Winters 2018-23

[Alf]

Sorry, I meant "theer are a little bit of tar"...

[Pumbaa]

Lovely views along that road but normally we do not have that luck there

Nyamundwa is always a nice place to rest and watch

[Mel]

I will never understand why people have to be online while sitting at a waterhole in a park

[Richprins]

This was for the project, Mello!

An elephant at Shabeni, probably the same one that chased the WOF people a week before!

It were hot, as Alf would say, and Dwarf were REALLY enjoying his tea immensely.


Then disaster struck...we reached "Storyteller's Junction."

This is a nightmare ritual that happens now and again should one be traveling here with Dwarf, and he asks "Can I tell you a little story about this place?". I have normally forgotten the story, so I say certainly!

But Dwarf is a government employee, so everything takes very long...

The story is that one day many years ago he came to this junction and had to decide whether to turn right and exit at Numbi, or to turn left and go and camp at Pretoriuskop, going to work early the next morning!

Something told him to turn left...it was like a premonition...

Then he was all alone with a big male lion which bit his towbar and moved the car around and blah blah blah etc. Stole his rubber plug cover blahblah.

Anyway, as mentioned elsewhere one of my pet hates is DITHERERS!! Tourists who stop at a junction and then start trying to figure out where to go, pull out maps, reverse, stop again, look at the map again etc. FFS! Just PLAN your trips in the morning!!! One day when I have lost the rest of my mind I am going to sit near a junction with a submachine gun and should I spot ditherers I shall approach and give them 10 seconds to make up their minds and go somewhere.

Now we were doing exactly that!


Off we eventually went to make drunch at the Day Visitors Area.

An interesting pic:

[Alf]

Bla bla bla bla........

I were hot

[Richprins]

At the picnic area we sat for a while wondering how it works, as there are no attendants.

Eventually I went to the only other people, a Jeep Jockey tour group of Colonial Masters, and asked the pretty guide where she had organised their skottel? One has to phone the camp and they bring you one...sort of like Amazon. The system changes now and again. Anyway, we just borrowed theirs as they had finished, tried our best to clean it, and had a sumptuous meal of mostly eggs and bangers (still left from the Momprins trip) combined with scraps of chicken, noodles and whatever else was left on the skottel...

The mistake was using my brand new spatula that Momprins had bought me, and leaving it in Dwarf's car. That is now also gone, which makes it two spatulas he owes me.

Off to Mestel Dam again to watch rugby, as there were no animals besides hippo, as usual!

Very scenic though, in the late afternoon!

Then back to camp after rugby, with sun setting.

A herd of sable near Numbi!

[Richprins]

And another visit to the hyenas!

This time a new setup AGAIN...cubs all over the place without adult supervision!

More flash-photography required!

But camera also good without flash!

Back to meet Thirstyleach at camp for another lekker braai - no eclipse that night?


One downer was that we had a group of weekend locals next to us who were screamers both nights. It boggles the mind how one can have 8 people screaming simultaneously at the TOP of their voices at each other, in what seems to be casual conversation? How does actual communication take place?


But they didn't carry on all night, as the couples would pair off and vanish after victuals.

And next morning out chop-chop, leachy and I, before Dwarf woke up!


END of this segment.

[Lisbeth]

For adventure's sake, from time to time you have to hesitate on the road to take

You must have posted at least ten pics of Mestel Dam the last few days Nice pic though

Sweet little hyenas, but not for long

[Richprins]

One day I shall see animals drinking at Mestel, if it takes me 20 years!

[Lisbeth]

Good luck!