"Imagine" - A Comfort Van in the Kgalagadi*

[puppy]

Now that we are retired SO and I have invested in an off-road caravan so that we can spend more time travelling and enjoying the wildlife offered by this wonderful land in in which we live. Our choice is an Imagine Comfortvan - and this is our first trip in it. We started our journey on 6 March at a Bird Club Camp in Veldrift and then on the 8 March we travelled to Molopo Lodge where we spent a night before entering at Twee Rivieren on the following day. When our friends M&J heard that we had acquired our van they invited us to share their campsites which they'd booked a year ago! Of course we did not hesitate - what a wonderful way to begin our adventures.

We arrive at Twee Rivieren at 8:30, check in and pay the balances we owe and then check in at the Botswana side too. M has already paid for us here but the receptionist insists we fill in the register too. We decide to breakfast at the restaurant – our last bit of luxury for the next three weeks.

We have over 100km to travel and the first 15 takes 3 hours as we tend to stop for all the birds and little things too!
Of course we seen plenty of Gemsbok

The sky is huge and the clouds a dusty pink

A Pale Chanting Goshawk is not missed

Next up is a Marico Fly Catcher

We take a quick look at Samevloeiing before taking the road to Mata Mata. We find some Namaqua Sandgrouse, red-headed finch, lark-like buntings and a Jackal



Along the way we find the often seen Familiar Chat and he has prey!

[Toko]

puppy, how is Molopo lodge? Good place for a stopover?

[puppy]

En route we find a lanner falcon in a tree

An interesting reptile captures our attention

A Northern Black Korhaan is always lovely to see

We stop at Achtelonie for a loo break and leg stretch. This is the Imagine Comfort Van. It is all folded up here.

Soon after leaving the picnic site we find a car with its occupant staring into the bush. I look into the tree and say - He's looking at a leopard's kill

And then we see him - on the ground but well hidden. Imagine our first cat of the trip - a leopard!

We arrive at Mata Mata at 16:00, check in at reception and are told we have to find the campsite as none are allocated in advance. We find Jim and Maureen easily – fortunately they are not out! In no time we set up the caravan – Jim lends a hand and gives some good advice.

Maureen kindly offers to cook the meal for all of us this evening and I will repay the favour tomorrow. Her chili con carne is to die for!

[puppy]

@Toko - We stayed in a chalet at Molopo and it was basic but comfortable. The shower had very little pressure. The restaurant food was excellent. It is a beautiful spot and the best is that there are plunge pools right outside the chalets which helped to cool us off. There is also a big pool outside the restaurant.

[puppy]

Day 2 10 March 2015 Mata Mata
We are up at 5:15 and get ourselves ready for our first trip around Mata Mata. We are still drinking coffee when Maureen and Jim say they’re heading for the gate and will see us on the road. Wow – travelling companions who are ready before us – that’s a first! We take our coffee in the car and chase after them. Gate opening time is 6:30 and it is quarter past six now. Maureen is number 2 in the queue. I am number 4. It takes a while for the guy on duty to meticulously write down time of departure and whether you’re on a game drive or leaving the camp/park and he only starts at 6:30 on the dot! So it is a while before we actually get going. By the time I’m through Maureen and Jim are long gone. It is our practice to take it very slowly in the park and to stop for every bird and tiny creature. After today we learn – get to the waterholes as early as possible and don’t dawdle or you will miss the sightings as we did today! When we finally catch up with J&M they tell us that Lions came down to drinkat 13th Water Hole and they had 9 cubs with them! They also went as far as the spot where we’d seen our leopard and found lions eating its kill!
Oh dear! But we did enjoy our bird watching. We stopped to admire Pale Chanting Goshawk, Secretary Birds, Familiar Chats, Sociable Weavers with the condominium nests, ant eating chats, Namaqua Doves, Lark-like Buntings, Grey-backed sparrow-larks, Marico Fly-catcher and swallow-tailed bee-eater among many others.








We also see wildebeest, giraffe and the ever present springbok and Gemsbok. Jackal are also commonly seen and as it is our first full day in the park we stop to photograph them of course. J&M. While waiting for them we are told by other tourists that there are Cheetah lying under a tree a short way off so we head out to look at them. They are quite far from the road under a shady tree so photography is not great. However, we enjoy them for a bit before returning to meet up with the Gibsons.
The picnic site is busy and all the shady spots are taken but no problem – Jim has a canopy on his bakkie and we cook in the shade of a tree and have our chairs so between us we have enough shade. The Gibsons are surprised that we cook eggs and bacon while they settle for cereal! They decline our offer to share brekkie.
After breakfast we follow Jim and Maureen and find lions and later a cheetah with a kill.



So all is not lost today!
We return to camp via the waterhole route at about 4 p.m. and it is hot! We rest up and in the evening I cook risotto for supper.

[puppy]

Thanks for the comments Nan and Lisbeth
Lisbeth - If I remember correctly there were 3 lionesses with the male.
Here is a pic of one of the females when she finally woke up.

[puppy]

Hi Mel
Yes - A pity we did not meet up - we were at TR from 27 March to 1 April. Our three weeks in the park were amazing. Lots of cheetah sightings to follow - with better photographs.
Thanks for the leopard ID. I am happy for you to repost on the KTP Leopard Sighting thread.
The cheetah hiding in the trees with its kill was on her own. It was on the TR side of Kamqua picnic site.
I hope this photograph is helpful

[puppy]

WEDNESDAY 11 MARCH 2015
We have still not learned to keep up with Jim but we have improved. Maureen is second in the queue, a chap named Des – a hardened bush whacker who has to be out first – has been waiting since 5:45! I am third! We chat with Des and he says it is vital to get to the waterholes as early as possible and that if something exciting is going to happen it must be right next to the road or it won’t be worth watching! But we are still torn between wanting to see the cats and wanting to enjoy the early morning birdlife!
It is already 23 C and rising. The first animal of the day is a Black-backed jackal. By 7:10 we’ve spotted Gemsbok, Springbok, Kori Bustard Giraffe and Tawny Eagle.

Our first proper stop is at 13th Waterhole where there is quite a bit of action. A jackal is drinking and so is a large tortoise.


The birds – Namaqua doves,Namaqua Sandgrouse, red-headed finches, lark-like buntings, grey-backed sparrow-larks, yellow canaries, Cape sparrows, grey-headed sparrows and laughing doves are flying down is flocks grabbing a drink and flying up into the trees again. The juvenile Gabar and a Lanner are there swooping down on the hunt.


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We see the gabar take a lark-like bunting and settle in the tree to enjoy it!


We then head to the breakfast spot – Kamqua – and find a good table under a tree but the shade hasn’t reached it yet so Jim uses his canopy which works perfectly. This time we decide to have muesli and yogurt.

We then head toward Montrose Waterhole find very little so turn around and come back. We find a hyena lying in the shade on the side of the road.


As we continue I yell STOP Go Back, I’ve seen a White-faced Scops Owl. Earl reverses and sure enough there among the foliage is the bird I’ve been looking for in camp! Soon after this we find 4 spotted dikkop.




A car stops to tell us there is a lion at Craig Lockhart and when we get there we look toward the waterhole and see nothing. The chap in the car parked next to the big tree that dominates the site points next to us and there in all his glory sits a big male lion!



Half an hour later we find 4 cheetahs resting under a shady tree.


We return to camp after a cursory glance at some beautiful giraffe


and then return to the cheetahs later in the afternoon. They wake up and mover around and we hope to see them hunt





but all too soon it is time to go back to camp so we don’t have that privilege. The giraffe are magnificent against the darkening sky

[puppy]

THURSDAY 12 MARCH MATA MATA
Once again it is an early start to the day – I am second in the queue behind Des today. Maureen is a close third! We decide to stick as close to J&M as possible as they seem to bring us luck!
We spot on the move and I mark down jackal, giraffe and Secretary Birds before we stop for a hyena on the move at 7:05.

At Dalkeith Waterhole we find a beautiful group of giraffe drinking and Gemsbok are there too.


A good bird today is a brown snake eagle. We also see a number of white-backed vultures. At 14th Waterhole there is a jackal drinking and some more Gemsbok.

At 13th Waterhole we spot a Tawny Eagle in a tree and also the usual bird activity going on.

It is 9:30 when we arrive at Rooibrak Waterhole and here we are delighted to find 5 lions. They are drinking and then start moving. We follow them until the drop under some shady trees and clearly settle there for the day.


We retrace our steps and go to Kamqua for breakfast – Muesli again as I forgot to pack the cutlery!
We meet some interesting people. A Dutch couple who have shipped their huge camper over for a 4 year sojourn in Southern Africa tell us all about their plans. They have everything they need in the bus and it requires a special licence to drive it. They were able to get a pensioners’ Visa to stay in the country for this length of time.
We hear about a cheetah who has killed a buck and then left it lying in the open while she and the cubs are taking a nap at the top of a ridge under a bush. There are a couple of Tawny Eagles in the tree watching and waiting for something to tear it apart so they can get a share too. But no jackal, hyena or any other predator appears. We watch the cheetahs for a while and then Mom gets up and makes her way over the ridge.

The cubs follow but then return to their slumbers. A few minutes later Mom reappears with a buck in her mouth!

It looks like bits have already been eaten. We assume she killed this first, started snacking on it then went and made the kill that she has now left to whoever wants it. She takes the kill to a bigger tree with more shade and the cubs obediently follow. We watch them feast and then decide it is time to leave.

I cook a risotto for dinner and as we sit down to eat a fellow camper calls to us – Lions at the Waterhole – we leave our supper, grab binoculars and cameras and race to the fence. Sure enough there are three beautiful lions taking a drink. What fun – right on our doorstep.

[puppy]

FRIDAY 13 MARCH 2015 MATA MATA
It is a calm day today – no cats but we do have fun seeing birds and other creatures as the photographs will show. A
A Barn Owl was an exciting spot

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Yellow Cananry

Gemsbok drinking thirstily

Black chested Snake Eagle

Rufous-vented titbabbler


We ended our day early and came back to camp at 2 pm. The temperatures get up to 36 every day but while in an air conditioned car this is not too bad but in camp it is energy sapping. I decide that I will go to the pool for a quick swim but stay in for an hour!
When I am out of the pool I chat to a lady who is on one of the recliners in the shade. It is her first visit to Kgalagadi and she is not impressed. It’s just a dessert, she says – I miss Kruger. I tell her that it will grow on her. Why she asks – The colours, the stark beauty, the wildness – I don’t know – but it will. You can’t compare this place to Kruger. She wasn't convinced!
Maureen cooks Puttanesca (Prostitutes’ Pasta) for supper and Earl is impressed. He wants me to learn to cook it!