Game driving is insatiable, the more you see, the more you want to see. The list gets bigger & the expectations of sighting's get rarer.
Our game drive in the truck began today at 7:40am, driving different roads then yesterday. It was still bitterly cold, the weather app says 13 degrees at 7am, I'm pretty certain that's a lie.
First left turn out of the gate & we saw a watering hole with 2 giraffe, some zebra, 2 black backed jackel & hundreds of guinea fowl. The jackal were chasing the guinea fowl & attempting to catch one for breakfast.
After this we saw our first big herd of zebra on the right of the road, on the left we saw springbok, both a guaranteed & frequent sighting for today.
At 8.30am the truck stopped to do some paperwork & we got out to have a look at another waterhole.
We saw zebras & guinea fowl at the waterhole but closer to us we could see field mice & sparrows on the ground. We were standing at a good place to see & photograph a small black bird with a red breast land on a rock wall. Jurumba later identified it as a red bishop.
We also saw a dead tree with 3 large social weavers nest's & what would have been nearly 100 small birds flying in & out of them.
As we walked back to the truck Tom spotted a hornbill, we've been trying to get a photo of one of these birds, so far without any luck.
Today was the day we would get lucky as another one appeared & moved into the sunlight!
After finishing the paperwork we set off in the truck again where we would soon see a male ostrich walking close to the road.
Our driver Steven spots something 2 dirt roads away & reverses back so he can get us directly on the closer road. I am always amazed how good the eyes of our driver & some of the national park guides are without glasses or binoculars. So much better than our puny eyes!
It is a group of carrion birds finishing off what we guess is a giraffe, it's all bones now. In the group of birds is 2 types of vultures (Lapid faced vulture & the white backed vulture) and 1 maribou stalk.
Today might turn out to be a big day of bird watching!
Tom spotted a common duiker or dik dik, one of the smallest antelope, shortly after we drove past the bird feeding fest.
At 9.30am Steven spots the smallest of smudges on the horizon, it is a rhino! I have no idea how he seen it, Tom & I struggle with a borrowed pair of binoculars.
We see herds of blue weelderbeast, which I'm sure will be a consistent sighting.
Once again we saw oryx in small herds & even 1 crossing the road in front of the truck.
We excitedly thought we had seen some meercats in burrows next to the road but they turned out to be 2 different type of squirrels, still very cute though.
Nothing was seen for quite awhile, then at 11:22 we passed a big grassy field with lots of zebra, impala, Springbok, Oryx & 2 male ostrich.
There was a few baby zebra running around & playing in the dirt & the ostriches also had a wallow in the dirt.
We drove to a man made watering hole & saw Zebra, impala, oryx, springbok & ostrich. The zebra were standing in the waterhole & bullying anyone who came over to drink, once they had left the other animals came down for a drink. We saw another man made watering hole just before lunch which is well known for the elephant's that visit. There was no elephants when we arrived & we saw pretty much everything that we had seen at the other watering holes.
After lunch we drove out of a fenced picnic area and went to the same watering hole. This time we were in luck, there was 2 large matriarch groups and 1 solo bull elephant. There was approximately 25 elephants with 5 babies. They had taken over the watering hole & were fiercely holding it hostage from the other animals. There seemed to be a particular rivalry between the elephants & zebra.
Following the waterhole sighting, it was time to turn back & head out of the park. Nothing much was seen on our way out, barely any zebra or impala. It was one of the more boring game drives we've been on.
We arrived back to camp at 4pm, Tom jumped out & went to reception to use the phone & call the South African embassy.
Unfortunately he would not return with good news & his chances of getting through into SA at the border are uncertain. Tom has also discovered that one of our Visa travel cards has had some fraudulent purchases made totalling $400.
Not a great ending to the day! The money will be refunded by commonwealth & the card is instantly blocked. Were more worried about the border crossing & making a plan for that.
More wine was opened as we watched the sun set from the chairs behind our tent, the magic of the moment we felt from yesterday was lost, replaced with anxious plotting & our resolve to plan for the worst, while hoping for the best.
- Alli
Our game drive in the truck began today at 7:40am, driving different roads then yesterday. It was still bitterly cold, the weather app says 13 degrees at 7am, I'm pretty certain that's a lie.
First left turn out of the gate & we saw a watering hole with 2 giraffe, some zebra, 2 black backed jackel & hundreds of guinea fowl. The jackal were chasing the guinea fowl & attempting to catch one for breakfast.
After this we saw our first big herd of zebra on the right of the road, on the left we saw springbok, both a guaranteed & frequent sighting for today.
At 8.30am the truck stopped to do some paperwork & we got out to have a look at another waterhole.
We saw zebras & guinea fowl at the waterhole but closer to us we could see field mice & sparrows on the ground. We were standing at a good place to see & photograph a small black bird with a red breast land on a rock wall. Jurumba later identified it as a red bishop.
We also saw a dead tree with 3 large social weavers nest's & what would have been nearly 100 small birds flying in & out of them.
As we walked back to the truck Tom spotted a hornbill, we've been trying to get a photo of one of these birds, so far without any luck.
Today was the day we would get lucky as another one appeared & moved into the sunlight!
After finishing the paperwork we set off in the truck again where we would soon see a male ostrich walking close to the road.
Our driver Steven spots something 2 dirt roads away & reverses back so he can get us directly on the closer road. I am always amazed how good the eyes of our driver & some of the national park guides are without glasses or binoculars. So much better than our puny eyes!
It is a group of carrion birds finishing off what we guess is a giraffe, it's all bones now. In the group of birds is 2 types of vultures (Lapid faced vulture & the white backed vulture) and 1 maribou stalk.
Today might turn out to be a big day of bird watching!
Tom spotted a common duiker or dik dik, one of the smallest antelope, shortly after we drove past the bird feeding fest.
At 9.30am Steven spots the smallest of smudges on the horizon, it is a rhino! I have no idea how he seen it, Tom & I struggle with a borrowed pair of binoculars.
We see herds of blue weelderbeast, which I'm sure will be a consistent sighting.
Once again we saw oryx in small herds & even 1 crossing the road in front of the truck.
We excitedly thought we had seen some meercats in burrows next to the road but they turned out to be 2 different type of squirrels, still very cute though.
Nothing was seen for quite awhile, then at 11:22 we passed a big grassy field with lots of zebra, impala, Springbok, Oryx & 2 male ostrich.
There was a few baby zebra running around & playing in the dirt & the ostriches also had a wallow in the dirt.
We drove to a man made watering hole & saw Zebra, impala, oryx, springbok & ostrich. The zebra were standing in the waterhole & bullying anyone who came over to drink, once they had left the other animals came down for a drink. We saw another man made watering hole just before lunch which is well known for the elephant's that visit. There was no elephants when we arrived & we saw pretty much everything that we had seen at the other watering holes.
After lunch we drove out of a fenced picnic area and went to the same watering hole. This time we were in luck, there was 2 large matriarch groups and 1 solo bull elephant. There was approximately 25 elephants with 5 babies. They had taken over the watering hole & were fiercely holding it hostage from the other animals. There seemed to be a particular rivalry between the elephants & zebra.
Following the waterhole sighting, it was time to turn back & head out of the park. Nothing much was seen on our way out, barely any zebra or impala. It was one of the more boring game drives we've been on.
We arrived back to camp at 4pm, Tom jumped out & went to reception to use the phone & call the South African embassy.
Unfortunately he would not return with good news & his chances of getting through into SA at the border are uncertain. Tom has also discovered that one of our Visa travel cards has had some fraudulent purchases made totalling $400.
Not a great ending to the day! The money will be refunded by commonwealth & the card is instantly blocked. Were more worried about the border crossing & making a plan for that.
More wine was opened as we watched the sun set from the chairs behind our tent, the magic of the moment we felt from yesterday was lost, replaced with anxious plotting & our resolve to plan for the worst, while hoping for the best.
- Alli
No comments:
Post a Comment