A kinda, uhm, weird trip to KTP (Oct 2012) *

[Mel]

If you thought you were finished with the bateleurs...

This one had me in stitches:

Spreading the legs…






…uhm, no good. Let’s start all over again:







Check… Nah, still no good… One more go…





And start leaning forward…


… and further…


… and flat out:


We laughed so hard that all photos that followed came out absolutely bonkers. But hey, I got treated big time for many an hour of relative silence. The day was mine again.

Eventually we proceeded towards GK as it was getting hot and we were getting bothered after the so far long drive. We were met by Franco, the camp attendant. Another first timer as well and an absolutely pleasant one as I had read so much great stuff about him on the forums. All I can say is that every word is justified. Franco is brilliant!

That night we would have our first brownie sighting at GK.

[Mel]

Other sightings of the day:

Steenbok with an itch, just outside the Kieliekrankie:


The red dunes in the early morning:


White-backed vulture against a deep blue sky:


Cape Cobra, slightly hostile:




Black-headed heron at Gunong (I think):


One of the very few occasion with a BSE:




A cheerfully coloured LBR:


At GK camp:

Black-faced waxbill

The noisy sociable weaver lout.

Bliss!

[Mel]

The downer of the day was this red-necked falcon… A very blurred one on top of it... When I said “Stop”! to take a photo of it, SO slammed the breaks so hard that the camera on the backseat smashed into the armrest between the two frontseats… (0) I don’t blame SO though… Was my fault just as well. How can one possibly be so daft to let the camera sit unsecured on the backseat like that??? Still awaiting the quote for the repair…



Dinner is not being served anymore, seeing that the Prins doesn't come to eat.

[Bushveld Jock]

Hi Mel,

I am bust catching up. You took some amazing shots of the lions and just love that kitty (AWC) staring at you. The little jackal is so cute and what an fantastic time you had with the bateleur. It makes one wonder what impact the cycling will have on these juviniles. Breeding is up to April but you might only get your wings later the year. I do not know how fast these birds grow, but I've seen a juvinile in Kruger around July that is the size of its parents, but could not fly yet. Estimate is thus that training may start August Sept?

I am glad too see Cubitje is still green and not burnt as your one pic shows. How did you get it right to take a pic of the Cape cobra with its head up. My actions would have been to run.

[Mel]

Day 4
24/10/2012 Grootkolk

Our first highlight was already early in the morning: We had gotten up just in time at 5.30 am to see a brownie coming to the waterhole.b Otherwise we took it slow after the long travel the day before and left the camp only around 7.15 am instead of 6.00 am with gate opening. Not far after the turn off from GK in northern direction I saw two batties cuddling up together in the sun. Unfortunately they decided to hide behind the sparse grass and all I could get was some ears.



5 k’s north I noticed a golden dot in the wheat fields and was pleased to see we had found ourselves our first lion. Far off and therefore rubbish for photos:



But on this trip something new had set in: Experience over photos. Kinda weird, I suppose.

Anyway, Madame La Lioness had a blood smeared face and as we watched her for a while it became clear that there she had made a kill not too long ago which she consciously protected against the arriving jackals and vultures. Through the binocs we could see that it was lion mum with her offspring. Alright, I’ll admit it: Not getting a decent photo of a cub does make me grumpy. (0)


We moved on towards Union’s End.



On our way back, we checked out the lioness again and saw that a second one had appeared on the scene. Still far off, so we made our way home where we spent the rest of the day lounging on our patio and overlooking the waterhole in company of some chilled Charles Glass later in the afternoon.

[Mel]

But apart from 3 kudus at 3 pm and the reliable brownie at 9 pm it remained pretty quiet.

[Mel]

Well, quiet as in the big animals – the birds certainly kept me entertained:

Kalahari scrub robin

Mrs violet-eared waxbill

Mr violet-eared waxbill

black-chested prinia

white-browed sparrow-weaver

chestnut-vented tit babbler (tick! )

[Mel]

My highlight however was a kill happening right on our patio! A plated lizard caught a western sandveld lizard at our front door. This happened all too fast so I didn’t really get what was going on and thought the plated lizard had caught a big insect. Alas, it disappeared with its catch underneath the kitchen where all the water and wood was parked. Taking photos was pretty difficult but eventually predator and prey moved into the open again:





The resident familiar chat had gotten note of the kill as well and was trying to participate, but the plated lizard was faster and hid underneath the fence:



The lizard then moved off into the bush and I lost sight…

[Mel]

Other sightings of the day

Juvenile PCG


Jackal at UE


Agama basking in the sun


Sundown at GK


Tree mouse at night:


Dinner: Marinated Chicken (olive oil, white wine vinegar, pepper, salt, garlic) and in tin foil grilled veg (pepper, onions, tomatoes)

[Mel]

Fantastic birdies, Mel and the kill is impressive Does the little Sandveld lizard kill the big one ?

But my fav is the Grootkolk sundown - sigh I want one

The sandveld lizard actually bit the plated lizard into its upper lip. But it was the plated lizard that caught the little one.
I thought that maybe rigor mortis had set in and that's way the little one got stuck like this to the big one.

It was the only good sunset we really got on this trip. Well, at least for photos.
The clouds were absent and I find sunsets without clouds are a bit boring...