Africa Wild

There are lots of tortoises in all sizes in KTP

Oh we KTP addicts are indeed spoiled with all the exciting sightings that regularly occur. I find your entries quite special, indeed! You had animals actually "doing something", rather than just walking or staring.

Yes, the falcons hunting doves can entertain me for hours, your camera trap captures are really special, Hanri's cub , Mr. Handsome lion, the owl encounter on your roof , the jackal w/ the tortoise shell , and your funny observation about ostrich eggs evolving into chicks is so funny

Really enjoying your "almost" boring trip

Thanks for more amazing shots, Mel,

love the owl - What great sighting

Lisbeth wrote: ↑Thu Aug 16, 2018 8:43 am These pics are certainly not boring, quite the contrary

Well, I only gave you the best ones... the rest will put on dust on my computer

Richprins wrote: ↑Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:13 am What an interesting collection, Mello!

Tortoises in the desert?

The eagle and bee eater captures are rare!

Clever ostriches too.

Thank you

I always wonder where those tortoises actually come from because when it's dry, you hardly get to see them.
We've been on October (after the dry winter period) trips without having seen a single one. But once it rains
the keep crawling out from God knows where

ExFmem wrote: ↑Sat Aug 18, 2018 12:11 am Oh we KTP addicts are indeed spoiled with all the exciting sightings that regularly occur. I find your entries quite special, indeed! You had animals actually "doing something", rather than just walking or staring.

Yes, the falcons hunting doves can entertain me for hours, your camera trap captures are really special, Hanri's cub , Mr. Handsome lion, the owl encounter on your roof , the jackal w/ the tortoise shell , and your funny observation about ostrich eggs evolving into chicks is so funny

Really enjoying your "almost" boring trip

Thanks, Ex. But like I already said to Lis, these are the best of the lot. Trust me, we had enough animals kinda doing nothing.
But maybe, just maybe, we are a bit spoilt by now because we had trips that were action packed with maybe two days on a
two week trip that offered very little. This time it was more or less the other way around. And I'm sure you can relate to the
fact that one exiciting encounter in the morning doesn't necessarily get your adrenalin through the day

But still, we were blessed with what's coming up next and I'm totally grateful for that particular sighting because it had been
high up on my bucket list

Pumbaa wrote: ↑Thu Aug 30, 2018 10:21 pm Thanks for more amazing shots, Mel,

love the owl - What great sighting

Thank you I had to work that pic because we only used a very weak light in order not to
hurt the owl's eyes. So I don't think it's a good shot, but it's the experience that counts and
it was certainly the closest I ever got to an owl

Before posting the main course, I still have a story to tell…
I had always wanted to see a genet in the KTP. My wish was granted on our last trip, so it would actually make for another tick
on my bucket list. But unfortunately, I got way more than I had bargained for…

The SO and I were sitting on the deck after dinner - as you do - watching the waterhole - also as you do - when we heard
a rustling noise in the tree right of our unit. Unreasonably we had thought it was a snake (never heard of snakes in the dark, but
never mind - you can never be too careful ) but after a quick inspection with our head lights we found this genet sitting there.
Of course, we were totally excited and happy that it would finally introduce itself to us after we had heard so much about it
from others.

Well, the genet sat there for a while watching telly (aka what was happening in the dark). At some point it got up and moved
closer towards us The SO who was sitting on the outer side of the deck and therefore closer to the genet got a bit nervous
when the genet hopped onto the beam of the wooden roof of the deck. He got up. I told him not to be such a sissy, but couldn't
convince him to sit down again. When the SO had gotten up the genet had returned to the tree but since the SO disappeared into
the bathroom (he said he might as well seeing he had been up already), it came back to the beam. I of course thought it would
be best to pretend nothing was happening and kept seated. The genet then moved on out of my view and onto the wooden roof.

There was a funny noise coming from the direction where I thought it had wandered off too. Just as my mind was processing
what kind of noise exactly it was I was hearing, I already felt the "rain" falling down on me. That genet had chosen me to
spray mark and make me hers / his If you have never smelled the urine of a genet - make sure you won't either in the future.
It's one of the worst things I can imagine, right after the smell of a skunk. I was lucky enough that it only hit my feet but my
flip flops were ruined. Despite washing them I don't know how many times, they still smell. I have yet to decide if I can take
them with me again or if they go to the bin now.

So, genets are not really my friends anymore

You asked for a genet and that's what you got with a little extra

It must have been Urikaruus?

Oh ja, we only stayed at Grootkolk and at Uri on our last trip.