Stop the World I Wanna Get Off: My Escape to KTP

[ExFmem]

My first two nights were at TweeR. Some of the sightings from those drives:

Hartebeest







Slender Mongoose




An ostrich male who obviously wears the pants in the family




And also the lipstick




This is the ONLY springbok youngster I saw the entire trip. The rains had not yet arrived, which play a part in the onset of birthing.







After a relatively quiet 2 days, I moved to Kielie Krankie for the next two.

[ExFmem]

In addition to the Lanner family, there were other bird moms/dads to be seen.


A Secretary Bird




Tawny Eagle




A Spotted Eagle Owl mom and chicks under a low shrub at KK camp




Two lion brothers were on the move toward Dertiende waterhole one morning







And an afternoon drive to Kij Kij produced two Elands that were not quite as skittish as most of them are, and allowed some pics










One of the few places I can venture out at night to try and find insects to photograph is KK, with its gated entryway. I certainly didn’t have the number of insects I usually find (lack of rain, still cool temperatures, or the yellow lights SanParks now uses instead of brighter white ones???), but coming up are your FAVORITE creatures of the night…..

[Lisbeth]

How lucky to see a slender mongoose. I have only seen a couple, but crossing the road at the speed of a Spitfire.

Do spotted owls nest on the ground

Are the lions speeding or was it very windy

and then the elands

[Mel]

That owl has good faith in other animals... having the chicks on the ground Did they survive? At least as far as you can tell from your stay at Kielie?

The mongoose looks incredibly relaxed. For me, the usually run

Shame about the springbok lambs. That's one of the best parts when going to the park end of October.
(But had a good at your remark about the lazy males!)

That is one beautiful portrait of an eland. I must admit I had never notice before that they have such a pretty furry forehead.

Those lions certainly were on a mission.

Let's see if we are allowed to go at all next year... Our infection numbers are currently soaring and it might be a only a matter of time before we become a country non grata regarding travelling internationally

[Richprins]

Amazing the deep orange of those mongoose compared to the lowveld version!

Remarkable colour and lighting on that gemsbok/waterhole pic, Ex! looks like a compilation!

And yes, those owls nest on the ground, what a find!

Sorry about being alone...didn't you braai even once, once make some buddies?

[Pumbaa]

WoW ExFmem,

really love all your shots but the owls and the elands are simply incredible

[Klipspringer]

I love the little falcons- The white raptor chicks do really stick out, dangerous existence

And the Eland hairdo is super cool.

A dry season trip is not good for insects but I like birds, too

[ExFmem]

Sis, you’re correct - slender mongoose are SO elusive! This one was under the bushes overhanging the road, and took off immediately. I positioned the car and waited, and waited….finally, it reemerged and sat there until I restarted and drove off. Maybe one just has to wait them out.

The lions were walking quite fast, but it was quite windy as well. In my experience, elands are about as elusive as slender mongoose, so I was happy for their cooperation.

Mel, I believe they did survive long enough to leave the nest, as during my stay at KK again 25 days later I heard Jacques tell someone they had all left the nest. Yes, the elands have quite the hairdo - nan calls them Donald Trump.

Wishing you and hubby a trip very soon - salve for the soul.

RP, I don’t know how to do photo compilations/stacking, but I did like the gemsboks against the scenery.

As far as braiing, it would mean wood, charcoal, fire starter, BIC lighter, meats, etc to carry around and I was trying to keep it to the bare necessities. I do talk to quite a number of fellow visitors, but being a true introvert, am quite content being alone - BUT I always miss interacting ( ) with my SO - he’s a stitch!

Pumbaa, thanks, as always!

Klippies, yes, I was surprised the chicks don’t seem to have any camouflage at all, maybe having predators as parents helps. Wonder what advantage the evolution of eland bouffants was? Yep, this year was not productive for insects, even tho’ previous years at same time have been. Urikaruus Honeymoon cabin is usually great, but I didn’t take a single macro pic there, tho’ I hunted for them every night (all my previous lacewing couplings were taken there).

[ExFmem]

Okay, all you bug-huggers, here’s a few of my six-legged friends that kept me company at night.

Male Driver Ant







Tree Locust







Burrowing Grasshopper




Hawk Moth




Potter’s Wasp




Midge




Mouldy Beetle



The rest of you can open your eyes now.

[ExFmem]

After my two days at KK, I moved to MataMata for an entire week. The morning of the change of camps, I set out on a brief early AM trip to KijKij, whereafter I intended to return to KK, collect my belongings, and check out.

I had only gotten about 5 minutes past the turnoff to KK, heading towards KijKij on the Lower Dune Road, when I came upon a number of little faces peeking out from the tall grasses up on the dune.




I never got to see all the members at once, as they were on, and behind, the top of the dune, but I believe there were 2 lionesses and 8 or more cubs.




Curiosity got the best of the little ones, and very slowly they moved down the dune to check me out.











Under Mom’s watchful eye -




I was lucky to have the sighting all to myself, so could maneuver the car more easily than usual when in a crowd.

The bravest of them all -




Safety in numbers -