Paradise under stress: KTP October 2019

[GavinW]

We were glad we did.

At Kij Kij, a male lion and a lioness had made an eland kill, (how unusual) and were busy feeding off it

They were busy eating the organs inside the animal, which was pretty gross, so I have only posted one black and white pics of him eating, which is less explicit

[GavinW]

After feeding for a while, he moved off and lay down in the shade


A few hundred meters further on 3 lionesses were on another eland kill on the far side of the riverbed. They were lying in the shade of a large camel thorn tree and were pretty much comatose, however this male was staking his claim to the prize

We didn’t stay with them too long as we needed to get to Melkvlei.

Melkvlei was a hive of activity.


First up was the spotted eagle owl nesting in the fork of one of the trees in the picnic area.
By standing on top of our bakkie and by balancing on one foot, Debbie managed to get this pic of the owl.

There were quite a few people at the pinic area as a big bus had arrived with a whole bunch of tourists.
A land cruiser stopped and the driver quickly opened the bonnet.


A cape cobra had got inside the engine of the vehicle and this was cause for some concern.

Very quickly a whole lot of snake experts were debating the best way to extract the reptile from it’s new home.

Advice ranged from using sticks to brake fluid to get it to move.



Eventually sanity prevailed and the land cruiser carried on to Twee Rivieren for assistance from properly qualified personnel

[GavinW]

Returning back to Twee Riveren, the lions were still around but pretty much flat, however, when we got to Rooiputs , we found that the caracal had moved and was now positioned under a bush right next to the road.

A great farewell present for us at the end of our trip.

[GavinW]

Our evening drive was to Samevloeiing and back, and produced this awesome sighting of a jackal drinking from the waterhole in the evening light

and our last sunset of the trip.

[harrys]

Amazing Lion and Caracal sightings

[Lisbeth]

The lion fight, for obscure reasons, gave a great photo opportunity

Never seen an owl sleeping, lying down

There were lots of elands around

Lovely caracal

for sharing, Gavin and Debbie

[Klipspringer]

That was indeed a stunning last drive for you.

Glad that it was not your vehicle with the snake. Not nice to go to TR knowing you have a cobra in the car .

[GavinW]

Monday 14 October 2019

Even though we were driving all the way back to Cape Town, we couldn’t resist a short trip into the park

We drove as far as the 10km Twee Riveren sign before turning around.
We stopped at Samvloeiing to take the only picture of the morning

We left the park at about 8am and were home at 9.30 that night

Looking forward to our next trip.

[Alf]

Amazing trip once again

Thanks for sharing

[Peter Betts]

Thanks Gavin ..your trip reports always make me yearn for my special spots in the Kalahari