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Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:50 pm
by Mel
We headed towards Kranskop loop. Arriving on the plateau at the top I couldn’t believe my eyes! On my left there was a cheetah walking towards the ridge!!! ^Q^ ^Q^ ^Q^ I was so unprepared for this lucky sighting that I never managed a photo of it. 0- By the time I had gathered my wits again, the cheetah had disappeared… Still, SO and I were elated! O\/ O\/ O\/ First proper game drive and first proper sighting was a cheetah! Surely, that had to be a good omen for the two days to come? :-?

Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:51 pm
by Mel
Otherwise the first drive produced mainly far off sightings of the black wildebeest, blesbok, zebras, springboks and ostriches.

Just a very few didn’t not jump off when we stopped to take some photos. They were all miserable looking though. :-(

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The rain continued but we decided to have a sundowner (could have started hours earlier with that – the sun had been ‘down’ for ages that day…) on the look-out point towards the guesthouse and the dam.

Back at the bungalow, SO lit a fire in the fireplace and instead of a braai we had veg parcels from the oven and potatoes. X#X

Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:51 pm
by Mel
Mountain Zebra
31/03/2012
The next morning started rather gloomy as well. We headed out to Kranskop again after having been told that our chances to see the cheetah again would be reasonably good as it obviously roamed that area at the moment.

The sighting day started off with a few distant elands:

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Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:52 pm
by Mel
A very far off and hence blurred rock pipit (tick!) was singing on a… rock!
*edit* It's actually a tawny-flanked prinia (Thanks once again, Dewi! 0/0 ), but it's still a tick. O\/

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Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:53 pm
by Mel
Still on our way up to the plateau, I spotted a brown-hooded kingfisher (tick!). But the birdie had decided to camouflage itself with as much branches as it possibly can, so my photos are even worse than the one of the pipit…

Arriving on the plateau we didn’t get to see a cheetah but the closest gemsbok we would ever have in this park.

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Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:53 pm
by Mel
A beautiful mountain zebra gave me the eye:

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And while I was shooting away at the zebra, a spike-heeled lark (tick!) emerged next to me:

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Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:54 pm
by Mel
The blesbok had an urgent need:

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While this one was rather uncooperative regarding photos:

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Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:54 pm
by Mel
The wildie had an itch:

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Generally I found the critters in Mountain Zebra rather skittish. Most of them would move off as soon we approach with our car…

Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:56 pm
by Mel
Next tick with a sickle-winged chat:

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Re: Addo and the Frontier Parks - Two-timing the KTP

Posted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 4:56 pm
by Mel
Further down the road we saw our first mountain reedbuck ever:

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