Day 4 Tuesday 12 November : Maroela -> Balule.
We were originally booked into Maroela for 3 nights but we decided to go to Balule a day early; not such a great idea as it turned out but you win some and you lose some!
As usual on a moving day, we got up when we felt like it and did a leisurely pack up.
The Lions were still at Nsemani Dam.
A few minutes later, a Martial Eagle.
About 500 metres from the H1-4, a lioness stepped into the road in front of us. She was calling and we got quite excited because we thought there might be cubs. Not this time, she was trying to locate the pride who were hidden in the bush about 100 metres away.
We hadn't finished with Lions yet, we found some following a small herd of Buffs on the S90 near Balule. Impossible to photograph as they were deep in the bush.
After we had set up at Balule.
We headed off for the afternoon drive down to Bangu Waterhole, where we found some more Lions.
From there we headed for the Olifants high level bridge which is our usual place to be in the late afternoon when we are staying at Balule.
on the way, a Red Crested Korhaan.
At the bridge, a Croc.
Then something happened that we have been waiting to see again for many years.....
The bats came out of the bridge...
This is quite a spectacle, there are thousands of them and they come pouring out of the bridge expansion joints.
I took a slightly out of focus video of the action. Taken from directly above the exit point.
As the sun set we headed back to camp and it was......
time to try out my new secret weapon.
Introducing The Scorpion Torch
I'd bought this from Take-a-lot a few weeks before and this was the first time I'd tried it out. It only cost R100 so I thought it would be rubbish. I was wrong; Scorpions shine like they have a light bulb in them.
This is what they look like when the fluoresce. The light isn't very bright - this pic was hand held at 1/13 @ F3.5 ISO 6400 using my Tamron 90mm Macro lens.
This is what they look like without the torch.
