A Cat a Day, almost every day: Kgalagadi Oct/Nov 2023

[GavinW]

The 3 hyenas were up and about, getting ready for the evenings activities

[GavinW]

As were the lions further south

We got back to Kieliekrankie and had a wonderful evening gloating in the sightings of the day


No pics, Sorry, but we did have another leopard at the waterhole that evening



Also no pics, but a BIG FIRST for Kielie

(and no scorpions )

[Lisbeth]

Grown-up spotted hyenas are not my favourites, but they are an absolutely essential part of the food chain

I like the row of wildebeests, it looks so....."Gnuish"

I've lost the count of the cats

[GavinW]

Saturday 28 October 2023

We woke up really early and whist we were packing up to leave for Mata Mata, we kept a beady eye on a very quiet waterhole at Kieliekrankie
We left at 6.05 as we were keen to secure a campsite at Mata Mata

The drive up was uneventful as far as predators were concerned, but certainly we saw enough to see us more than entertained
First up were two eland enjoying the cool morning

These kudu, a bit further on were doing much of the same

[GavinW]

Things started to brighten up when we spotted this stunning Martial Eagle perched on a tree next to the road

And then from the largest raptor in the park to one of the smallest
A Pygmy falcon, doing much of the same

[GavinW]

At 13th Borehole we came upon two very flat lions

It appeared as if that, between the two of them, they had taken down four young eland, as the carcasses were all evident in the area

With sleeping lions, and a campsite to claim, we pressed on

These gemsbok at 14th borehole delayed us for a while and after that we got to Mata Mata

[GavinW]

Choosing a camp site involved a few marital discussions, but eventually Debbie won and we set up camp

After a lot of time in the car over the last few days, we decided to skip the evening drive and stay in

We were rewarded with a stunning moon rise that evening

[ExFmem]

Looks like you were there right after our trip ended - so happy to see you also had an abundance of lions and other cats. Nice to follow how they have done since then. Will be fun finding out what you encountered day by day

[Lisbeth]

Sleeping lions is not exactly the top of excitement

It is always nice to see elands

You have a great set-up there (Big sigh sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs with a drink in the hand and watching the full moon)

Quite an impressive full moon

[GavinW]

Thanks guys

Sunday 29 October 2023

Our first morning at Mata Mata and we were up early and at the gate, ready to head south (That’s the only way you can go ), looking forward to the day’s drive

We travel pretty slowly when we are in the park, so after all the speedsters rushing off to see the lions on the loops had passed us, we bumbled along happily.


All was pretty quiet until we reached the turn off to the new Craig Lockhart campsite, when we came upon this journey of giraffe

Then about a kilometer further down the road, this lone male cheetah was surveying the surrounds

We watched him as he walked along,