KTP March 2013 - Now I've had the time of my life... *

[Mel]

And it was definitely a morning when the camera had to work overtime. -O Not long after the tawnies and the goshawk we bumped into some friendly people who told us about a wild cat on Dalkeith loop. Off we went and indeed, it was still up in a tree like described to us. And she wasn’t alone (very sure on the ‘she’ part – got a distinctive proof photo )



She came down and fed, but alas with her back turned on us.





By now there was quite some mayhem with all the cars and the cat obviously didn’t feel all too comfortable anymore. As she went further and further into the dunes, we left to find the lions sleeping on the dunes on the very same loop. And yep, they were there. A big daddy who got up shortly after we had arrived, to seek shelter behind the dunes and 4 others, all doing what lions do best and very far off. So, no photos. Not worth it.

[Mel]

The merry parade continued:

Lilac breasted roller

Martial eagle

Juvenile PCG
I’m off!

Lanner falcon

The same after finishing the foot bath



Ostrich fluffballs

Tbc

[Mel]

Thank you

Toko, Dewi, nan, Lis, BC, Flutty, Pumbaa

for reading and commenting once again

nan



BC, the morning wasn't done yet

Dewi, we did - have a look!

[Mel]

Once again we went up all the way to Mata-Mata as it’s the only way to get a toilet break inbetween the long drives. On our way back we met some fellow visitors who told us about two cheetahs close to the road on the dune road at 14th CHEETAH??? Let’s go! Cruise control, 50 km/h and lots of prayers for the cheetahs to stay put. But we couldn’t find them at the spot where they should have been. We were searching high and low. Nada. Then one of the visitors who had enjoyed the cobra sighting with us approached us, greeted and just said: “They are still there.” Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! He knew exactly what we were after. -O We had just looked in the wrong place. There were two more cars around but they soon left and nan approached from behind.







Once they had settled in a – for my lens – very inconvenient way, we left them to go back to the camp. Mother Nature was already calling again. We came back on our afternoon drive but the guys had vanished.

Yet a hamerkop and a jackal kept us entertained.





I was also treated to the smallest bokkie baby I got to see on this trip.



Some TLC



But mum wasn’t having any of it and chased the aunty away.



The sky was already looking ominous again.



Yellow canary with reflection.



And not far from the camp I was treated to another first.

Grey hornbill

What an awesome way to end an awesome sighting day!

[Mel]

I will arrive at Kielie too, nan... But you're still on the 28th and I'm going for the 29th already. -O

[Mel]

29/03/2013 – Urikaruus to Kieliekrankie

It was our last full day in the park and with all the rain that had fallen over the last days and particularly last night, we didn’t expect much to happen anymore. And we couldn’t have been more wrong!

First up were some BEFs – a sighting I really appreciated as I hadn’t seen many on this trip and felt betrayed.



Then yet another martial.

[Mel]

And a tawny showing of its motility









Did I say motility?

[Mel]

And another one that looked like it had been partying too hard the night before.




I was in heaven! The rain had flushed out these eagles which had been far and few between before.

[Mel]

The bokkies were at it again – even choreographed as a quartet -O

[Mel]

Just after Auchterlonie we ran into the first of two crime scenes today. The offals of some big beast were lying in the middle of the road. I’ll spare you the photo as it doesn’t look all to palatable. We were wondering who had lost his / her life here, when we noticed the dead oryx on the verge of the road.



We could hear a distant roaring of what we thought was the culprit of this massacre but never thought we would find the originator of it. Well, here he was and his belly was tale-telling.