Camping with Petronella ; KTP May 2016

[Mel]

Love the pygmies

And lions again Incredible!

[GavinW]

Thanks everyone, yes waking up to a roaring lion that close to your tent is exhilarating to say the least
That’s why we keep going back.

We meet the three musketeers again

It was about 4.30in the afternoon when we left camp on our afternoon drive and headed south.
First up for the afternoon were these ostriches at Kousant waterhole



Just past Langklaas we saw a couple of stationary cars ahead
The three lions we had seen braving the wind, had made a kill overnight, and were now quietly contemplating their navels in the late afternoon sunlight









We sat watching them groom themselves for quite a while before deciding to drive on a bit further
All was quiet bar this black backed jackal, who seemed quite interested in what the lions were up to



We returned to the still flat lions and waited a while to see if they would start moving
Compared to their immaculate hairstyles the previous day, this guy was definitely having a really bad hair day



With time eventually against us, we had to leave the trio and start heading back to camp.

On the way back, we decided to take a quick look to see if there was anything at the Kousant waterhole.
As we drove into the access road Debs spotted this guy





Our only Brown Hyena of the trip, and although we only had a really brief sighting of it before it ducked into the long grass and away, we were really grateful that we had decided to take the short detour to the waterhole

Another perfect day in the Kgalagadi ended with another stunning sunset, our last evening at Polentswa

[Alf]

You should have given the lion some shampoo to wash his hair

Great browny sighting

[Lisbeth]

A brownie is always worth stopping for

[Mel]

Looks like they're still quite Young I'm sure they'll grow out of their bad hair days eventually

Brownie

[GavinW]

Tuesday 15 May: A spotted day as we bid Polentswa farewell

We decided the previous evening not to start packing up the tent until after we had been on an early morning drive up to Lijersdraai and back for a couple of reasons
• We were only going as far as Nossob
• To give our tent a chance to dry
• So we could make sure that we didn’t accidently pack Petronella in as well
• Because we wanted to.

The first animal of the morning was a spotted hyena lurking around the campsite. It disappeared up to campsite no 3 soon after seeing us start our day.
The road up towards the waterhole was full of spoor. Hyena spoor, by our amateurish observations.

All was quiet at the waterhole so we headed further up north

Our first photo of the morning was of this stunning Pale Chanting Goshawk, caught in perfect light



I was starting to get really frustrated animal tracks on the road which carried on and on, then disappeared, then came back on the road in a different direction. I thought I was losing my mind, so I decided to try and ignore the temptation of anticipating a stunning sighting every time we rounded a bend, and to just chill.

It worked.

On the open plain, just past the start of the first Lijersdraai loop we came across the culprits responsible for at least some of the tracks on the road
The hyenas bathed in the sunlight for a while before heading off across the open plain.







We tried to follow then by taking the Lijersdraai loop road, and whilst we did get closer to them, they stayed out of camera range.



They eventually settled down in the distance, in the middle of the plain, seemingly settled for the day
We wondered if their den was in the vicinity
So with lots to do we set off back to Polentswa

On our way, just before 9am we spotted this agama before we got back to camp



Back in camp we efficiently dismantled our campsite and left for Nossob at about 11.30, not before leaving a note for the next residents of no 1 informing them of their campsite companion.

The note was highlighted on Facebook a week or so after we got home, indicating that the note had been well received and that Petronella was still doing her rounds at no 1 Polentswa

[Lisbeth]

Lovely PCG

A very nice hyena sighting

The next campers were warned

[Mel]

I know those spotties

I'm sure the next Campers were quite grateful for the warning.

[Alf]

That's very kind to leave a sign for the next visitor

Not everyone would think about that

[okie]

You know , for the past 40 years or what , I've been trying to get my SO to agree that we camp instead staying in chalet's/bungalows when we visit National parks , and I am not going to tell her anything at all about Petronella in your campsite .