Grootkolk

[nan]

early in the morning...Brown Hyena


sharing with a Jackal



doesn't forget to mark

[Wanda]

@nan - Thanx for the memories! You capture the essence of the big G perfectly!

@Mel - Thanx for the update on the birds and bees. When we were there, we were told that no-one was allowed to put out bird baths. We were really disappointed about that. The birds are such an integral part of the Grootkolk experience.

An interesting sighting we had near the Grootkolk turnoff:



This kudu obviously had a problem with hoof growth, but had managed ok up to now with this liability.

[Mel]

I'm not sure how bad the problem was for you, but after we had
sealed and plugged the tab and sink, there were like 20 bees at
the max at some point when it got hotter. And the disappeared
quickly again after realizing there wasn't much water around.
A very few tried the bird bath... and paid heavily for it.

[Wanda]

Our bee problem was really bad. We did not use the kitchen sink, but the bees got into the kettle and bathroom taps as well. We felt that not putting out bird baths made the bee problem that much worse.

[nan]

VIVA the bird baths

[nan]

[nan]

a last one

[nan]

It was the year of the flowers, we can't see the waterhole and asked... sorry can't remember the name , if one can cut a little bit the grass
they came... 3 men... watched... thinked a little bit... and returned... nothing done
to cut gras... better with knife




yes Mel now is your turn
because this one is the last one for me... I didn't have place in March

[Mel]

One of our most exciting moments on the patio - a skink catching a western sandveld lizard:
(24/10/2012)





Biting back, but the poor lizard didn't stand a chance:






And a familiar chat trying to scavenge (without success):

[Tina]

As you already have posted such stunning pictures of the lion, Wanda, here are just some others from that day to add to that episode

The kudus retreated as the lion arrived



but they returned as the lion had left



The lion passing unit 3



When we returned from our morning drive, he was still on the ridge, taking a nap, but when we left for our afternoon drive, he had moved into the shade on the access road to the the camp



We could barely pass him. When we drove by again some time later, he had shifted and was blocking the access road entirely. Fortunately, he was gone when we returned to camp. Thus, he stayed nearly all day long.