Across the Frontier into Eden*

[Sharifa]

me too I like the running Black Wildbeests
I still have to see at least one

for the Lark, I think you are right,
for the Pipit... I don't know, sorry

before a night drive.... is

Thanks for the confirmation of the lark ID nan
It was a beautiful warm evening for the night drive nan, so get ready...

[Sharifa]

Rinkhals maybe, there are a lot in the eastern cape.

Wow thanks General G
Pity it wasn't closer, would have loved to see it close up.

This is a cape cobra - they come in various various colours from bright copper to brown .
A rinkhals is black , white underneath , with black bands across its throat , from which the name which means " ring- neck/throat ".

Guys , your pics are great . Keep it up .

Thanks for clearing that up for us okie
Now to look for a rinkhals... next time

[Sharifa]

We set off at 6.30 PM for our sunset drive. There is another couple with two children with us. The children tell us excitedly about their drive from a few months ago when they saw an interaction between a lion and porcupine. Porcupine won

Richard Okkers is our guide, we had him last time too and for the cheetah tracking walk we did lat time. He is excellent, knows MZNP well and will try find what you wish to see. We asked for Aardvark and Aardwolf, the children for lions

Richard very confidently said we will see aardwolf but will have to search for aardvark. It is a beautiful evening and we see haarties and gemsbok and get a wonderful sunset. We had 5 great sightings on this drive, all mammals , here are the first two

At a waterhole we get a male black rhino Richard mentioned his name but I forget









he is not hanging around and moves off. We continue and not 5 minutes later we get a mating pair of black rhinos Forget his name but she is called Petra



He is shy, but she poses for us before they move away







We continue and Richard tells us that on this road are denning ............... and we will see the cubs playing ..................

[Sharifa]

We come round this bend and there are gremlins all over the place

We moving, they moving and it is dark



Better when we stop



Mom moves to the left



But keeps an eye on the little gremlins who are near the den



Some runnning away



Curiousity gets the better of them and we get some nice poses












This was Magic but next we see something I never expected to see in the wild, not even in my wildest dreams

[Richprins]

Found out the MZNP rhino are from Namibia!

[Sharifa]

Thank you Super Mongoose, Nan, Lisbeth, Amoli, Toko, RP, Pumbaa, Tina, Mel and okie for your comments

We just got back from a night at Highover , my birthday present to Duke because he is determined to find the blue swallow

[Sharifa]

On our night drive, we on the Ubejane loop and are about to get on to the main road from the gate to the rest camp when Richard stops and says Black Footed Cat. Duke is the first to react saying what , where

She/he is in the grass and we can clearly see her but it is very difficult to get a photo, the camera focussing on the grass. We get one half decent shot, but this is just the most incredible sighting and we saw her for about 7 minutes



We on the main road now and Richard enters the Jurie Dam Road and tells us if we in luck we may see Aaardvark and show us where the den is......no luck. We turn around and hit the main road again and see a - - - - -- wait a minute there is another one- .............

[Sharifa]

Black-footed cat WOW!!!! I must go there one of these days. You must come along though, I will need your incredible luck

We were very lucky to see the BFC Lis. So when do we go to the MZNP

indeed an incredible sighting!

Toko

wow super, what a chance
not often saw... these tiny cat

Very rarely seen in the wild nan, what a chance

Good gracious!

Very Special RP

[Sharifa]

Thanks Bushcraft

We see an Aardwolf



and then close by another one




Richard tells us they are a couple. For no apparent reason I would have thought they are solitary. I google and find out that they do live in pairs and are monogamous.





My Verdict on MZNP
A very well managed Park with friendly staff and beautiful scenery. Great opportunity to see rare nocturnal animals. Excellent accommodation and the cheetah tracking trail and night drive are a must.

We now move on to Addo and here is a VIDEO to get you in the mood . This is a large file - 1GB

[Sharifa]

Our arrival at Addo was similar to the one at MZNP - rain.



The cycads at the main gate



We are early, but we check in which is good as the queue at 2.00pm was looooong. They are strict about the 2.00pm rule. We go for a little drive

young PCG



Mom and calf



Zebra



Mother goose and her brood





We pick up our key at 2.00PM and head for our chalet, number 11. It is not ready yet

Our chalet