Africa Wild

Well we have 6 sleeps till the taxi comes to take us to the airport, and then we fly to our second home!!

Sept 2nd will see us arrive in WCNP for 2 nights, and after a leisurely drive stopping over at Clanwilliam, Calvinia and Upington, we will arrive in KTP on Sept 7th, for a week's stay!!!!

It will be our first time ever there, after 35 years of visiting Kruger, so we go with no preconceptions and completely open minds!!!

Watch this space!!!

5 sleeps!!!

Thanks y'all for the good wishes!!!

3 sleeps!!!

2 sleeps!!

KTP is delivering up all sorts of wonders to us!!

My informal wish list is just about all ticked off.

Hot and sunny days, cool evenings...........bliss!!!

Aug 31st
Well we were all packed and ready, had talked kindly to the house, because we would be away for 6 months, and then the taxi arrived!!!

We had a clear run up the M4 to Heathrow (Terminal 5) and then after a quick check in, we settled down in the Executive Lounge, where Dungie proceeded to fill his plate full of goodies, and I had a packet of crisps.

Disabled assistance eventually came to fetch us, and escorted us to the gate, where we were boarded onto the plane, which was unfortunately almost an hour late departing!

Sept 1st
After a very pleasant flight, we finally arrived to lovely sunny weather in Joburg, and almost missed our connection to Cape Town, but luckily we just made it!!!

We arrived at a very cold Cape Town, but we were delighted to find that DinkyBird and Hawk, had braved the weather to come and meet us.

We spent a very pleasant hour or so with them, having coffee and catching up, and then they very kindly helped us to the car hire area, which is a huge walk from the terminal building!!

We drove via the Waterfront (by mistake…….missed a turn somewhere) to Melkbosstrand, where we were staying overnight in a very pleasant Guest House.

P@m had arranged a Cape Town meet, for us at the nearby Spur Steak Ranch, and so we set off in a force nine gale (at least it seemed like it!!)

There we met P@m & SO, Caracal, Scouter and family, Rookie, and Bush Baptist & SO. It was so good to meet them all after a year of reading their trip reports, and having the odd disagreement with BB, but I can honestly say he is such a nice guy (though maybe now I’ve blown his cover!!)

The meal was delish, and all too soon it was time to leave…….at least we would have left, but at that moment the gale produced buckets full of rain, so we had to wait till it had at least died down a bit!!

Eventually we all decided to make a run for it, and said our quick goodbyes, and promises of future meetings.

Then it was home to the Guest House, a good night’s sleep, and then we woke to sunshine!!


Sept 2nd
Sadly the sunshine didn’t last, and as we left the Guest House down came the rain again, and then we had sun and scattered showers all the way up to The West Coast National Park, which was to be the start of an amazing 2 week trip.

We checked in at the gate, and had absolutely no problem using our Wildcard Confirmation letter, (though I’m reliably informed that ours has just arrived, so will be able to use it in Kruger)

We were staying at Abrahamskraal, which is a self catering cottage near the bird hide.
It sleeps six, and is very comfortable and well equipped. If we had realised how cold it was going to be, we would have brought wood and built a roaring fire in the huge fireplace.

Outside the back door there was a huge tree with loads of weaver nests, and the busy little things were coming and going, and chattering and nattering.
We also saw a grey heron pass by, and there was a male and a female ostrich not far away!!

Late morning the sun came out, which lifted our spirits, and we decided to take a drive to Postberg, to see the flowers, just in case the weather was bad the following day.

It was a weak sun, so the flowers were only partly out, but even so…………wow!!
We’ve heard about the Spring Flowers, but this was simply stunning!!!
Maybe tomorrow, the sun would shine more, and then the flowers would open even further...........

We also saw some wildlife, and after a pleasant few hours, drove home for our sundowners, and a chicken stir fry and noodles, followed by lemon cheesecake.

As it was so cold, bed seemed the best place, and after reading our books for a while the eyelids were drooping, so we turned out the light.

There were some strange sounds coming form outside, but it wasn’t long before the sun was rising, and we had another day to look forward to

Sept 3rd.
After some toast and coffee, which we had watching the weavers, we decided to go to the bird hide.

I have to say that there were very few birds there, but we did see a few lifers, namely southern double collared sunbird, sacred ibis, cape crow and red knobbed coot.

After lunch, as the sun was now very warm we decided on another trip to Postberg.
What a difference a day makes!!!

The flowers had all opened, and even though we had been impressed the day before, the sight that met us was truly awesome.

My only gripe is, that although it clearly says in various places not to walk on the flowers, there were some *&^&^%!!! walking, sitting down and having their photos taken!!!

Oh well, that seems to be the way of the world these days!! People think that the rules do not apply to them!!

We called at the Atlantic viewpoint, and saw a cape bulbul and a pied crow.
Then it was back to the Kraal for a sundowner, then beef stroganoff, followed by chocolate mousse!!

Again we had an early night, and I’m glad to say that we woke to another very sunny and much warmer day, which bode well for the next part of the trip.

Sept 4th 5th and 6th
We woke to a wonderfully sunny day, and after we had checked that everything was packed, we set of on our journey to KTP!!!

Being Poms, and not used to driving the huge distances that you Saffies are used to, we had decided to make stay overs at Clanwilliam, Calvinia and Upington, and spent three enjoyable days travelling through areas carpeted with flowers and very friendly people. it was such a pleasure!!

We said hello to Calvinia for Elzet, and it said it misses her!!!

Sept 7th
Today was the day…….we were finally going to KTP!!!!

We had emailed Pick n Pay, to have an order ready for us, but somehow it has gone astray, but never fear…….Jeremie the owner met us at his office, and within 20 mins our order was bought and paid for, and packed away in our little car. He even went home to get his cool box which he loaned us, as ours had died!! Thank you Jeremie.

Then it was up the R360, and imagine the thrill when we read the signs “Red Dune Route”
The famous red sand of the Kalahari!!!!

After an uneventful drive we eventually saw it in the distance……………
Twee Rivieren.
We were here, and we had a glorious seven days to explore this fascinating place.

I had a modest wish list this time, and we had no sooner sat down outside our unit, when the first one appeared!!

Sept 7th (cont)
As I said, we had no longer sat down outside our unit when this lovely crimson breasted shrike landed in the tree nearby.

Of course by the time I had got my camera out it had flown off, and I know that it can be very difficult to film them, so imagine my joy when it returned soon after, and landed on the ground.

Snap……..and there I had a picture, and crossed a name off my wishlist.

We were very tired from our few days drive from C Town to KTP, so decided to have an early braai and bed.

Dungie cooked us some delicious fillet steak and wors, that we had bought in Pick n Pay, and as we sat waiting, we were visited by a red eyed bulbul, a white browed sparrow weaver (I think!!) both lifers, and a glossy starling.

Then we saw movement by the braai, and spotted a yellow mongoose (a first for us both)
It was so cute, and looked up at so so expectantly, but of course we had to send him away with no food in his tummy!!

After our scrummy braai, we made a terrible discovery……………..we forgotten to buy any Amarula in Upington, and the camp shop was now closed!!!

Oh well, no use crying over spilt Amarula, so we had another glass of wine each, looked up at the amazing African sky, listened to the almost silence, and hit the sack.

We were now really excited, couldn’t wait for the morning, so that we could start exploring this wonderful place………………was that a lion roaring?

Sept 8th
We woke as the sun was rising, and after a quick shower, we made a flask of coffee, and got into the car.

This was to be our first ever visit in to the Kgalagadi and boy were we excited!!!

I had already crossed a bird off my wish list, and although I had a small unofficial list, it would not spoil things if we didn’t see any of them!!

Just to be here was enough, with the red sand dunes and the total tranquillity.

We picked up our permit at the gate, and then set off into the park.

We had only gone a few kilometres when I saw a bird from the list!!!
One of the strangest looking things we’d ever seen……..yes, of course it was a secretary bird!!!

Only problem was, he was on a mission to walk as fast as he could, so it was difficult to get a photo!!! However I persevered and eventually got a reasonable shot.

Off we set to the Samevloeing waterhole to have our coffee, and there having an early morning sip were some Springbok and Gemsbok……..both on my list!!

Yes I know, they’re very easily seen, but we had not seen them before, as they don’t live in Kruger!!!

We didn’t realise how long those Gemmies horns are, and those Springbok are so graceful……similar to my lovely impala, but somehow more regal.

We drove off from the waterhole very pleased with ourselves, but then as can often happen we saw nothing for quite a while.

We were approaching Leeudril waterhole however, when we saw a sight to behold…….. a huge male lion, just walking near to the roadside.

He appeared to have no cares and just glanced at us, before moving on. He eventually waked a bit further off road, and flopped down under the shade of a nearby tree, and there I believe he stayed for most of the day!!

By now it was getting hot, and we had some laundry to do (boring I know, but essential!!) so we started a slow drive back to camp.

Up in a tree there was something white…..and with great excitement we remembered that Caracal who we had met at the CT meet, had said that if we wanted to see a Pygmy Falcon to look up in the trees for a blob of white!!!

There it was, our first PF, and it was such a thrill. Such a beautiful little bird……wow!!!
We saw a tree on our left with two huge sociable weaver nests, but on top there was another nest. There appeared to be nothing in it at first, but then a little white head popped up!!!

We thought it may be a Martial Eagle nest, and that would be junior, but no sign of the parents that morning.

We made a note to check this nest each time we passed, as believe it or not, in 35 years of visiting Kruger we have yet to see a Martial Eagle.

A few kms along we saw a brightly coloured bird fly past and land in a nearby tree.

Imagine our excitement when we realised it was a Swallow Tailed Bee Eater.
I have seen pictures of these beautiful birds, but to see one close up was awesome.

I think all bee eaters are stunning, but this one must be the best.

We saw some more Springbok and Gemsbok on our way back to camp, where we made a visit to the shop to buy a large bottle of Amarula, and then set about doing a large pile of dirty washing!!