Not what we expected KTP Dec Jan 2017

[Mel]

Quite an interesting sighting of the tortoises! Don't think I have seen anything like this from any KTP nutter so far. So - well done

Glad you were able to sort out your tent

Alf, raptors got a special "skin" on top of the eyelid (actually underneath the eyelid, of course ). It's a special protection for their highly functional eyes.
It's called the nictitating membrane. However, only the KTP raptors are able to shut just one instead of both

(Kidding of course about the last bit.)

[pooky]

Glad you were able to repair your tent

Beautiful one eyed marshal

[GavinW]

27 December: Polentswa or bust

As I said, the storm hit us at about 3.30am. It started off with really hectic winds and how our little tent survived I still don’t know.
Then the rain came.

In bucket full’s
Great!!

And we need to pack up a tent in the morning and head off to Polentswa

The rain continued for about an hour, and at about 5am, it suddenly subsided.

We took our chance, in the dark to pack the rest of our stuff into the Jap, and roll a very wet tent into its bag and wait for “gate opening “time.
By the time 5.30 arrived we were up and ready to go

This is the scene that confronted us as we left the Rooiputs campsite.





Amazed, we took some proof pictures in case nobody would believe us.

We had travelled about 10kms up north when we hit the other side of the storm



Not fun.
Not fun at all.
I was driving along the road in a submarine without a clue as to where I was going.

I couldn’t stop for fear of getting stuck, and couldn’t see the road.
(If you click on this pic, it will lead you to a video which you could watch, if you have the patience to follow all the clicks through)


Instinct and the fact that I had driven the road a few times over the last few days must have clicked in
You have no idea how happy we were to arrive at Melkvlei in one piece.

The place was flooded.

After resting, and getting my pulse back to normal levels, we continued.
I opted to go over the hill behind Melkvlei which was a good call

Nossob here we come>>>>>

[Mel]

Wet indeed! Seems there was a lot of rain this time around, judging by the "lakes" I saw on various photos.

[ExFmem]

Catching up here - wow, what an exciting , er, scary trip at some junctures! Both the excess sand buildup AND the excess water flow scare me. Kudos to you two brave souls!

The tortoises were funny , and I think you two should join in on the KTP Mammal Challenge, in case you haven't already (I should have looked first)

Looking forward to the rest of this adventure

[GavinW]

Thanks for all your comments everyone.

I think you two should join in on the KTP Mammal Challenge, in case you haven't already (I should have looked first)

Where do I find that ExFmem?

b]We carry on to Polentswa[/b]

Going up and over the hill behind Melkvlei gave us some respite from the water on the road, but not the rain.

The road along the Nossob River north of Melkvlei is sandier than further south, where the road has been redone and is quite clayey. As a result we found the going a little bit easier as we carried on.

Sighting wise there was nothing on the go. Also due to the fact that both of us had our eyes firmly fixed on the flooded road as we aqua planed along
We had the car heater on and Debbie was wrapped in a blanket

By the time we reached Gunong started to see a bit of blue sky in the distance, and it seemed as if we were out running the storm.
This agama seemed also to be on the search for some sun and a break from the water.





By the time we arrived at Dikbaardskolk, the rain had abated and the world had returned to normal.

We stopped for a well needed break before carrying on. It was freezing cold and wet

This family of ostriches were having a drink, and were about the only wildlife we saw on the way to Nossob.



We stopped briefly in Nossob to refuel and to purchase wood and ice for the next three days and set off for Polentswa

Arriving at campsite no 3 in Polentswa, first on the agenda was to try and dry out our tent, and effect some more repairs to the splintered tent poles.
Luckily we had some heavy duty duct tape in our possession





Debbie is quite the Magiver when she wants to be
An hour or so later we were all set up



After showering, we decided to go down to the waterhole in the hope of seeing some animal life, but were only presented with storm clouds over the waterhole



Back at camp we were treated to some awesome evening vistas



And a really special Polentswa sunset





We were home.

[Mel]

We were home.

Ja, we can see that... Debbie is working hard and you are taking the photos

[Lisbeth]

I think you two should join in on the KTP Mammal Challenge, in case you haven't already

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[pooky]

Wow what an experience

The photos give a good idea of the downpour.

Well done on the tent repairs Debbie

[GavinW]

Thanks for all your comments everyone


Wednesday 28 December : The rain gods get going again


I woke up at about 2am to the sound of the rain gods doing battle right above our tent once again. Bright bolts of lightning lit up the tent but the incredibly loud claps of thunder did not stir my SO.

She slept through the lot.


Luckily there was not too much wind, so our tent stood firm

About an hour later the heavens opened and we had torrential rain for the third time on our trip
That, well that and probably me as well had succeeded in waking Debs.


We were awake and once the rain subsided we set about getting ready for our day.

Leaving the campsite at dawn, we had one concern. What was the state of the muddy crossing over the Nossob River, which lay between us and the road up to Lijersdraai?

This is what we saw:





Stunning to look at, but a bit scary to cross.
We managed

The area around the waterhole at Polentswa was pretty waterlogged







And further north, the Nossob was full of water.





We travelled north with the plan of going up to Lijersdraai for about 8 kilometres before we reached a point in the road which was so flooded, as were the side tracks going around the road which was now a dam, and we decided to cut our losses and turn around and try the road south instead



The only animals we saw as we drove to Nossob were these bat eared foxes





The road down to Nossob was a whole lot better than the one north, and we arrived there mid morning