Blown away by (in) the Kgalagadi- November 2015*

[GavinW]

Blown away (by) in the Kgalagadi November 2015


As usual the pictures are generally those of Wannabe Nerd ( my delightful SO, Debbie) and the attempt at narration by myself

Ok, so life has got in the way, and I am only starting this trip report 3 months after having been in the park. But then better late than never.
Seeing as I am still to start this report now, and due to the fact that we have about 80 sleeps till we are back in May, I think that it is a cool idea to post this report in anticipation of our next trip.
So sorry for you, you are going to have to put up with the agony for the next two and a half months of enduring some great, and some not so great pictures from a very dry, windy and sandy Kgalagadi at the end of last year. (That's if you want to read the report at all!!)

[GavinW]

[We arrive!!

We drove up to the park, this time stopping over at an establishment just outside Brandvlei on the evening of the 30th October. A nice spot, just sorry the mozzies enjoyed it more than we did.

The next day we arrived home at about 1pm, booked in, as best one does on the Botswana side of the park, and set off to Rooiputs to pitch tent.
A bush shower later, we were off on a drive (no we were not sick of the car yet!!) to Kij Kij and back.
Our first sighting of note

A very skinny eland

[GavinW]

Bad manners:

We arrived at Melkvlei to enjoy quick sundowner, but we found that the picnic spot was already occupied by this young Valentine’s couple



She had a really strange way of showing affection, (as lions often do!)

No............ you didn’t really do that did you?


On my head!!
Oh yes you did!!!!



Gross!!!!

[GavinW]

Flat

Thanks all for your comments and for jumping aboard

We turned around and headed back to Rooiputs.

At Kij Kij, we found a very flat lion.

Debbie said she wasn’t going to bother with a photo, but I insisted, jokingly saying that it may be the last lion we see.........
Never a truer word was said in jest ( Well almost)



We were also blessed with these two bird sightings on the drive

A Verreaux’s Eagle Owl


As well as this juvenile black chested snake eagle



Back at camp we were treated to our first sunset of the trip

[GavinW]

Thanks guys
Here is a pic of the lion when we went up to Melkvlei earlier



Complaining that someone was keeping him awake

[GavinW]

Wind of note

I knew before we left Cape Town that a major cold front was due to hit the Cape on the 1st of November. That’s supposed to be summer!!
From past experience we knew what that meant in the KTP........Wind

Well we woke up to a cold and windy morning the next day.

We set off north towards Kij Kij, but saw very little. All the animals had ducked into the dunes away from the wind.
We did spot this honey badger wondering where everyone had gone



And an African Wild Cat sheltering in a tree

[GavinW]

Fun and games

We were due to meet up with some friends from previous trips, who were to spend two nights with us as we slowly got them used to camping in unfenced caps. Call it safety in numbers, but that was the plan.

We turned around at Melkvlei and headed back south so as to hook up with them.

We met them near Rooiputs, and after showing them our campsite, and where they would be lion bait for the next two days we all set off again.
Still zip to be seen.

Traigh decided that he needed a break from the car



(We didn’t tell him what we had seen at that same spot the previous evening!!)

Carrying on further north we came across some white backed vultures on a kill



However, more intriguing was a lappet faced vulture and a tawny eagle having a bit of a scrap over scraps (if you get the drift.)





But the rest of the drive was definitely a wild cat drive.

(Thanks katydownunder for the heads up as to how to spot them in trees)

[GavinW]

Thanks guys for your comments.

( Please forgive me right up front if I don't reply to each of you individually, it's not that I don't want to, but I find that my time on the forums is quite limited, so thanks anyway) And they said that working for yourself gives you more time REALLY


A Tradition revered

Besides a short, and uneventful trip down to Twee Rivieren, that was pretty much that for the day.

Jenand arrived in camp to join us, and left her tent in the car as it was way too windy to try and pitch
(However, we think it’s just because she is quite scared of things that go bump in the night though!)
(Richprins she is also a friend of ours in case you are wondering)

Traigh made the most of some fun time



We watched the windy sunset



Didn’t braai..... way too windy for that :



Just look at how we were dressed. It was vrek cold at the start of November, and none of us had brought warm clothing, and what we did have with us after a few days, did NOT smell great.

And whist Jenand slept peacefully in her car, we got battered around and sandblasted in our tent!

[GavinW]

Sorry about the delay, but life got hectic and I missed a few days, so we are now on

Paparazzi

The wind was still blowing like crazy the next morning when we woke.

We left the others sleeping as we headed out at the 5.30 “gate opening” time and set off north to Kij Kij .

We drove as far as Melkvlei, and this is as much as what we saw:



We turned around, drove over the Lower Dune Road and up north as far as Kamqua, before returning to Rooiputs via Twee Rivieren.

It was one of those Kgalagadi days which you get at least on a few occasions where all the wildlife hide away in the dunes and you hardly see anything.
(We tend to wonder as to whether or not they have all been raptured, and wonder why we were left behind)

That being said, the Kgalagadi always has something to show us.

Today it included this Southern White Faced Owl



And some swallow tailed bee-eaters.



We returned to Rooiputs and found the others also back in camp, having had a similar experience as ourselves.

We noticed that a Swallow Tailed Bee-eater couple had a nest in the ground just near our A Frame, and soon the paparazzi were out:



Needless to say this was my attempt with the smallest camera there

[GavinW]

Thanks everyone for the comments and putting up with a quiet couple of days in the park along with us.


Lion King:

Time came eventually for our evening drive, and we set off down to Leewdril and back.

We were fortunate enough to come across a family of meercats, just south of Rooiputs out foraging.





Whilst this Red Necked falcon
posed nicely for us



We wandered slowly down south, and just before Leeudril, a convoy of cars stopped on the side of the road, could only mean one thing.

A cat, or possibly two or more cats.

We had come in at the end of a sighting of two lions, who had moved over the road, up onto the dunes, and by the time we got there, we could only spot this guy, who seemed pretty settled in for the evening.



We waited as long as time would allow before we were forced to head back home, stopping just long enough to photograph my favourite tree in the park



(A couple of times )



Over the past few trips up to the park, a small tradition was started by a friend of ours BillyCan whereby we would have evening snacks of smoked salmon on biscuits along with a bottle of champagne.

This was continued in later trips with Chris and Kelly, and true to form, Chris came up with the goods this year.

Here is a pic of us enjoying the moment,(whilst Traigh played along with the empty bottle)



A less windy evening than the night before enabled us to have a wonderful farewell braai with our friends. From tomorrow we were on our own.