1st Time Mapungubwians *

[Penga Ndlovu]

I have promised myself I would not do any TT's anymore as it takes up so much of your time and data.

But here we are again.

A new park. A new adventure.

Eish.

It was a strange 4 days.

Left Sandto early at 4am and after a long drive we arrived at the main gate.
At check-in we discovered that the park consists out of two seperate sections divided by a couple of citrus farms.
As the bridge was out on the joining road it meant se had to make a detour of 40 km to get to the campsite. HUH????

It should have been repared a long time ago.

Ag.

We were not planning on having our fun spoiled and so we set off on the last leg of our journey to find the campsite.

[Penga Ndlovu]

Sorry it took so long to start with this TT again, but we have been moving over the last few days and it was a bit hectic.
It is becoming more hectic as I misplaced my laptop with my edited pics on them.
Must be in some of the boxes I still have not unpacked.

So let's start with some from my cellphone that I took.

As I said before.

We arrived at the main gate around 12- ish and the sun was already backing down on us.





The detour to the main camp took us about half an hour due to trying to find the road in-between the potholes, but finally we managed to reach Mazou campsite in the western part of the park.

We quickly set up camp and before long we were enjoying a nice cold beverage next to the braai.
These braais are great as they have a grid to braai on and a skottel to skottel on.



Finally it was time for a drive.

We first took the river road with the remnants of the border wars.
Barber wire fences,
Razor wire fences
Steel cable fences
Look- out posts

Must be murder on the animals that are trying to get to the river for some water.

A bit further on we came to the bird-hide.
The waterhole and hide was totally destroyed during the January floods and nothing has been done yet to repair the damage.



The damaged walkway and hide is on the right hand side



Then it was time to head back and during the ride the sun set in a beautiful hue of colors.



And then it was time to sit down for a braai and a Klippies and Coke while listening to the noises of the bush.
The Lions roaring close by.
The Baboons and Vervets barking in the trees.
And the Impalas snorting as it is rut season.



Peace at last.

[Penga Ndlovu]

Great start PN.

Looks like a great place to chill out and enjoy the bush.

It sure is Dewi.
It is not a place where you drive around like a crazed idiot and find animals around every tree there.
Apart from Elephants, Impalas and Vervet monkeys that is.

If you enjoy scenery, peacefulness and solitude it is the place to be.
Only every now and again we encountered a car in the park.
I think the most we have seen in a day was maybe 15, if that, different cars during the whole day.

[Penga Ndlovu]

Great start Penga,

The damage to the hide and surroundings look bad

Lovely sunset and braai.. -O

Yep.
The hide is totally demolished, but so is the dam.
If you look at the trees you can see that the water level must have been about 2 meters higher than it is now.

[Penga Ndlovu]

Day 2 arrived with an early morning wake-up call from a male lion roaring away somewhere close by.
Checked the time.
It was only 6.45.

Left the bed, did the usual thing and started the fire from the still glowing embers and put the kettle on.



That is what I need!

mMa joined me a little later with eyes still halve closed, but noise pointing into the direction of that heavenly smell.

A little later we went on our way to try and spot those darn Lions.
No chance!

They are there, but you never see them.

Meves Starling



Red Billed Hornbill giving me the "eye"



This cheeky bugger enjoying the early morning sun



The woodlands opened up and we came across a herd of Jabbies



This lone male standing guard over his extensive female "stable".

[Penga Ndlovu]

The morning came and went and we had a little bite to eat at the campsite.

We just lazed in the sun and enjoyed the animals in the camp





And then we took off for another drive

Mom was a little bit protective of her young but she let us pass



And then another youngster crossed the road



There are some massive herds in the park.
And they are all around the camp site.
You wake up with the sounds of them feeding and you go to sleep at night still hearing them.

A lonely Kori Bustard walking through the high vegetation



And on the riverine road a Cape Vulture high in a dead tree



A little further on a couple of Black Storks catching some sun



And then some general birdies and plains game that we encountered

A nosy Giraffe



Some Namaqua Doves





I think this is a female Wattled Starling



And as the sun got lower and lower we ambled of to the totally demolished birdhide





And in the setting sun this beautiful male Waterbuck



2 Ellies sparring



And eventually moving off with the herd to go and feed



And back to the campsite to enjoy a nice braai, again, and a well earned Klippies and Coke while the sun was setting again in a beautiful plethora of colours

[Penga Ndlovu]

In the meantime mMa has also been very busy with making pics.

As always hers are done from a different perspective and with a very different view on things.

More artistic. -O

Here a great shot of one of the birds that most people take for granted and never care to photograph.

A Dove



Then in the camp a Vervet.
Same as mine, but with a different take



This naughty youngster was giving us a big snort and warned us that something was coming up



A road crossing of family members



Mom and kid were lacking behind a bit



And then her artistic side showed up as she spotted the low sun glowing through the vegetation



The Cape Vulture from a different angle while I was busy negotiating the holes in the road

[General Gump]

Great photo of the Leonotis leonurus, or wild dagga.

[Penga Ndlovu]

The next day we decided it was time to take a drive to the other side of the park.

After a quick coffee and a hot shower we got into the car for a 40 km drive to the other side of the park.

As we were been made aware that we would only be able to drive on certain roads because of the 2 x4 we were a bit apprehensive about it.

Driving 40 km to get there and only be able to do a few km inside the park?

Oh well. We will see.

But as the sun was getting boiling hot we decided to get a drink and a bite to eat at the restaurant first and then go on the drive.

The drive started quite late, but straight away the beautiful vistas opened up before us.







Ahhhh.
Peace and solitude.
Just what one needs.

A bit further on we got our first spot.

A small herd of Gemsbok





And carrying on we got the most magnificent sights to see filled with the great Baobabs and descending the steep hills we came up on this Klipspringer



And a bit further on a lifer for me.
A Purple Roller



Who was not particularly fond of having his picture taken



Negotiating the steep hills we decided to give Leokwe Bushcamp a look over,
They had a great pool



The Treetop Lookout point was closed as it was demolished by the same flood that demolished the hide and so we pressed on to the Confluence lookout point

To the left is Botswana



To the right is Zimbabwe

[Penga Ndlovu]

After the Confluence Lookout we decided to carry on slowly, but then came to a dead stop!

"4 x 4 only" read the sign.

Eish.
What now?

"Ag screw this. Let's just carry on in our trusty 2 x 4"

Slowly we proceeded and every now and again we could hear the rocks scraping the bottom of the bakkie.

The scenery opened up magnificently and these great giants were to be seen everywhere.



A little further on we came to a dead stop. Again.

In front of us the road suddenly took a dive and I had to get out and build a kind of a bridge with the flat rocks that were lying about.

Having done that I got back into the car and mMa suddenly noticed that we have been seen protruding from the car by this little fellow



The rest of the drive was rather uneventful apart from a few Ellies and general plains game.

The only great spot we had was a sighting of a Kurichane Buttonquale, but the is very bad as it was moving very fast.