Camping with Petronella ; KTP May 2016

[Mel]

I LOVE those cute little squirrels. They are definitely high on my wishlist

[GavinW]

Great going GW BTW , who or what is Petronella

Who Petronella is, will be revealed in a day or two

[GavinW]

9 May: And the wind persists.

We awoke after a surprising good sleep, given the rain and wind we experienced during the night to another day of strong winds.

Debbie was talking very seriously of driving back to Cape Town, but I had to remind her over and over again that the wind had to stop soon.
We battened down the hatches and were out on the road as soon as the “gates” opened

We were first out of camp, and as we trundled along pretty slowly, it was not long before another vehicle caught up with us.
They were happy to stay behind us at a comfortable distance

Suddenly I realised that they were no longer behind us. I stopped and waited. Nothing.
Then FOMO set in and I reversed down the road.

Just around the bend we saw them and they flashed their lights to alert us to as to what they had spotted.







The lions soon disappeared over the dune, and we carried on, thanking our neighbours for their keen, youthful eyes.
The morning would not be complete without the usual sunrise pics

[Lisbeth]

[GavinW]

We continue our morning drive:

Happy with our brief lion sighting, we continued on our way northwards towards Kij Kij, which was quiet this morning, and on towards Melkvlei.

Just past Kij Kij, we spotted this Lanner falcon in perfect light



We got to Melkvlei just before 9am, and after a brief stop for some coffee and a leg stretch, we decided to carry on north.
About 500m after the picnic site, high up on the dunes were the two lions we had seen the previous day, seeking refuge from the wind behind a large bush.





They were keenly watching the procession of antelope passing by in the riverbed, and appeared hungry, so we waited with them for quite some time, before reluctantly realising that they were not going anywhere.

On our way back we came across this Spotted Eagle Owl, probably also a bit irritated by the wind.



Back at camp, I decided that not only the lions were hungry, and with the wind, a braai that evening seemed improbable, so we decided on a lunch time braai, using the bakkie as a wind break





As can be seen from these pics, campsite no 4 at Rooiputs is on the crest of a rise, and fully exposed to the wind, especially at the A Frame. Besides that the campsite is great as it is secluded and has a great view down the valley to the south.

[Lisbeth]

Very good looking lions

[okie]

Hmmm... GW , great sightings , nice pics

Errr ... your " spotted eagle owl " on page one , and your " giant eagle owl " on last page , seem to be sitting in the same tree , on the same branch , and ... seems like it's the same bird too

[Lisbeth]

Errr ... your " spotted eagle owl " on page one , and your " giant eagle owl " on last page , seem to be sitting in the same tree , on the same branch , and ... seems like it's the same bird too

[GavinW]

Hmmm... GW , great sightings , nice pics

Errr ... your " spotted eagle owl " on page one , and your " giant eagle owl " on last page , seem to be sitting in the same tree , on the same branch , and ... seems like it's the same bird too

Same bird, same tree different day

[Mel]

So the lions are still everywhere

Absolutely beautiful sunrise Picture

KTP wind