We are back to HOT. Including ourselves, nothing else seems to have the energy to move! The pool seemed to be the answer but to our disappointment it was a very small pool for such a big camp so we did not spend much time there.
We managed to get a shady camping spot which provided a feeling of being secluded. The majority of folk seem to prefer a campsite next to the fence, but we find it too much of a reminder that we are actually enclosed.
This is the start of the Impala lambing season and we never tire of watching the little ones. Of course the first prize would be to witness a birth!
We took a drive to the N’wanetsi picnic spot on Wednesday. This was a really picturesque place with a lookout point over the river. We went there especially for Mom (Anne Ford)…
En-route we spent a long time photographing this Great Spotted Cuckoo feeding on caterpillars he picks off the leaves.
A beetle flew into our car and when Roger wanted to put it outside it feigned death, a strategy called thanatosis. Once he perceived the danger to be over he simply jumped up and flew away!
Thursday morning we came across a group of Ostriches; 3 males, 6 females and approximately 30 chicks of varying ages. We thought we were in Oudtshoorn!
Today (Friday) we managed to wake up with a 4am alarm (ouch!). We took route H-6 to Sweni hide and afterwards went back to N’wanetsi picnic spot for breakfast.
En-route we spotted 2 hyena but they moved too fast for a photo. Shortly after that we stopped to watch 3 Kori-bustards. While watching we saw what we thought was a Lioness approaching in the distance but suddenly realised that it was actually a Cheetah! It flopped down in the shade of a small shrub about 50 metres away from us and we then realised that there was another one resting there already!
At the hide we saw Water Thick-knee chicks with their parent and a gorgeous Malachite Kingfisher, amongst a number of other birds, a crocodile and hippos.
From the lookout point at N’wanetsi we spotted a hippopotamus mother and young calf resting in the shadow of a Fever tree in the river below.
We mentioned the Giant Plated Lizards at Mopani swimming pool. We were very surprised to read that they feed on flowers and fruit as well as insects. The ‘flower eating’ was confirmed when we watched a young one at the lookout. He was meticulously plucking and munching the flowers from a Wild Jasmin.
While packing up camp, Roger found a Foam Nest frog when he was about to close the freezer compartment (you may recall we showed their nests in a previous blog). As if it wasn’t hot enough outside he was clinging to the heat exchanger cover and was actually hot to the touch.
The next destination was Maroela Rest Camp. En-route we stopped at the Bobbejaan Krans lookout point where we met Erich and Anna. We had a long and interesting chat with them and they told us about a cantankerous bull elephant they encountered on the road from Orpen Gate. They were driving a VW Polo. He actually charged and would not allow them to pass for 10 minutes! He was still there when we passed the same spot a while later. Although he seemed unimpressed with our presence he also seemed intimated and backed off. He must have realised he was no match for Ufudu (ha-ha!)
Julle kry warm en ons is besig om weg te spoel. Die een voordeel, al is dit so warm julle sien al die nuwe lewe.
Stuur bietjie reen die kant toe asb.! Ja, alles en almal het kleintjies. Dit is te mooi.
The other day I touched a toktokkie (I have no idea what the latin name is) and it fell over with its legs stiffly extended and it looked dead, I left it for a while and it righted itself and craweled away.
Nature never ceases to amaze!
Send some heat….. It’s cold and pouring with rain in Knysna…..