MZNP - A Nine-Night Stay in Cloud Cuckoo Land*

[Puff Addy]

Day 5 – November 30, 2015

We woke up one hour later than usual as we were ‘only’ going for a hike on the Black Eagle Trail above the rest camp. We did this hike last year in the afternoon heat and wanted to try it in the morning. Before we had even finished our breakfast, we managed to see a Southern Tchagra in the tree next to our driveway.

We left the chalet at 6:50 and before we made it to the turnoff for the hiking trail we saw a Cinnamon-breasted Bunting singing from a boulder, a Southern Double-collared Sunbird singing from a treetop, and a Greater Striped Swallow flew over our heads. A Familiar Chat was sitting on the roof of Chalet 8. As we turned off towards the swimming pool, near which the trailhead is located, we saw a Speckled Mousebird in an acacia, two Yellow-throated Petronias were sitting on the swimming-pool fence, an Acacia Pied Barbet flew over, a Red-eyed Bulbul landed in a bush, and a Karoo Prinia was hopping from one tree to another while a Cape Turtle-Dove was calling somewhere in the distance.

As we started walking on the narrow path, four or five White-rumped Swifts and at least two Little Swifts were flying high above our heads. Past the junction where the shorter Imbila Trail peels off from the Black Eagle Trail, we heard pecking first and then caught a Cardinal Woodpecker in the act, soon followed by its mate. We spotted a Yellow-throated Petronia, heard a Cape Robin-Chat, and saw a Cape Bunting singing from a boulder above us. A pair of Bar-throated Apalises landed in a bush briefly, while a pair of Cinnamon-breasted Buntings was seen in a dead tree (the male was singing). A Rock Agama was sunning itself on a rock, while another Cape Robin-Chat was singing for us.

As we walked over a flat rocky section, we saw seven Rock Hyraxes on a rock above us accompanied by a singing Neddicky and African Rock Pipit. As we turned right to climb higher and got to the level of the dassies, Adam took some time to photograph them before they all disappeared as quickly as they appeared. During the photo-shoot, a Red-eyed Bulbul and a Bar-throated Apalis were spotted, while a Bokmakierie was heard singing from an area below us. When we looked behind us, we saw six Mountain Zebras grazing in a high field that one can’t otherwise see from the loops or the main road.

Rock Hyrax



Slogging upwards, a White-necked Raven’s call got our attention and a pair of Southern Double-collared Sunbirds were seen in a bush. A silent Neddicky was sitting in a tree while another, unseen one was singing somewhere close. When we finally got to the top and started our descent to the rest camp, we found a shady spot and had a snack. We could see our chalet below us and a pair of Ostriches beyond it. A Cinnamon-breasted Bunting was calling from a boulder below to the right of us and subsequently flew lower to join his female counterpart and to croon for her. An African Rock Pipit was heard singing, but we couldn’t spot him. We were luckier with another bird species, though, as I discovered a Mountain Wheatear on a boulder and alerted Adam to its presence. As we were walking further downwards, I spotted a huge grasshopper, which Adam duly documented for later identification (it was a Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper Phymateus leprosus). We were back at the chalet shortly after nine and it was already pretty hot.

Toxic Milkweed Grasshopper



We needed to get toast bread at the shop and wanted to check whether the washing machine was occupied, so after a quick stop at home we hopped into the car and dropped off a load of hiking pants and shirts that didn’t need to be dried afterwards. We were told that the bread would be brought from Cradock after 1 PM, so we went back to the laundry room to await the end of the washing cycle with another washing-machine token to do the rest of the dark items (which needed drying). We returned to the chalet to put our hiking clothes on the terrace to dry and then went to the laundry room to throw the finished laundry into the dryer. Forty-five minutes later we picked up the dry items and relaxed until the evening. It was just too hot and we didn’t want to bake in the car.

At 5:30 we set off for the swimming pool as I had brought a swimsuit and wanted to stretch and cool off. Adam accompanied me with a pair of binoculars to occupy himself while I was doing my laps. There was another couple at the swimming pool, sitting in the shallow area with drinks, so I just did ten laps (the pool is probably 10 metres long) and hopped out again. It was still quite refreshing. We walked back home and had a light dinner on the terrace while watching an Eland and a Mountain Zebra being serviced by two Red-billed Oxpeckers and two Pale-winged Starlings. A Grey Tit made an appearance and when Adam heard an African Rock Pipit again up on the hilltop, he found it with his binoculars and then trained the spotting scope on it. Eureka!

A Little Swift, an Alpine Swift and White-rumped Swifts were catching their own dinner above us. When darkness started to set in, we saw a herd of Red Hartebeest in the veld beyond our chalet which consisted of at least 16 adults and four young. A bat flew over the terrace a bit later. Another warm and starry night allowed us to have the sliding door open again.

[Puff Addy]

Day 6 – December 1, 2015 - Part I

Before leaving for our morning drive, a Speckled Pigeon landed on the chimney of Chalet 17 and a Jacobin Cuckoo (a lifer for Adam) flew across the road into an acacia. Before I could see it too, it had flown away.

On the night drive we got some tips on where two elusive bird species, the Blue Korhaan and the Secretarybird, might be seen, so we went straight to the Ubejane Loop and didn’t really start birding until we hit marker 1 at 6:30. A Scaly-feathered Finch welcomed us together with a male Ostrich and a Familiar Chat. A Common Fiscal dived to the ground and then flew off to perch in a dead acacia. A Neddicky appeared to say hello to us.

As we entered the Northern Ground Squirrel Area, we had our eyes on the left to watch out for the baby Yellow Mongoose we had seen a few days earlier and were rewarded with a parent and two babies! While Adam was photographing one of them, I counted seven Springboks and four Cattle Egrets. As we drove on, a pair of Spotted Thick-knees (one sitting and the other standing) were seen on our right. On our left, we saw an African Pipit, a pair of Spike-heeled Larks and a Cape Turtle-Dove, while there were seven Ant-eating Chats on our right.

One of two 'mongoslings' outside its burrow



When we got to an area with acacias, we were happy to see another Red-backed Shrike, a Karoo Prinia, and a singing Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler, while we heard a Chinspot Batis. A Fiscal Flycatcher was perched in a tree as we came to the dam area through a flock of Cape Sparrows and passing a troop of six Vervet Monkeys.

At the dam, we heard an African Hoopoe, Karoo Prinia and Chinspot Batis and saw a Neddicky, an adult Pale Chanting Goshawk in a tall tree, an Ant-eating Chat, and a Familiar Chat. When we rounded the dam for our second stop, the resident pair of Pin-tailed Whydahs flew across the road, there were several African Pipits, and we heard a Dideric Cuckoo above the dam to our left and a Black Cuckoo behind the dam on our right.

After the dam we entered an area with scattered acacias and saw a male Ostrich, a Yellow-bellied Eremomela singing in an acacia tree after being seen pecking around in the soil, a couple of Scaly-feathered Finches, and a troop of nine Chacma Baboons with one piggy-backing.

As the acacias got thicker, we saw a Karoo Prinia and a beautiful Gemsbok grazing close to us (unfortunately in adverse photographic conditions) and heard a Neddicky. A White-backed Mousebird was sunning itself in a dead tree on our right, while a Golden-breasted Bunting was singing in a tree to our left.

When the area became more open again, three Red Hartebeest with two calves crossed the road in front of us and we saw a Common Fiscal, a pair of White-browed Sparrow-Weavers, a Fork-tailed Drongo, and Ant-eating Chats.

We passed the turnoff for the Link Road (3) and the earthen dam and saw a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver next to a tree full of its nests. When we had driven through a drift, we spotted a pair of Rufous-eared Warblers (the male was singing), an Eastern Clapper Lark, four Mountain Zebras, one Springbok, and three Red Hartebeest with one calf. We found a shady spot next to a tree and stopped to have a PB&J each. While we were eating, a Bokmakierie landed in a tree to the left of us and a pair of Ostriches walked across the road.

Before we entered the Southern Ground Squirrel Area, we saw a singing Karoo Scrub Robin. Then came five Ground Squirrels and seven Ant-eating Chats and three Mountain Zebras, one of which was dust-bathing. An African Pipit and a male Ostrich were duly noted and then we encountered a pair of Spotted Thick-knees who crossed the road right in front of us from the left and found some shelter from the sun under a low acacia shrub. They have really long, slim yellow legs and as they were walking without being puffed-up, they looked really elegant.

Spotted Thick-knees in the 'shade'



At the next drift, we saw two Grey-headed Sparrows and at the dam before marker 4 we could add Black-headed Heron to the list of species for the day, with three Ant-eating Chats, a pair of Rufous-eared Warblers and a Fork-tailed Drongo for company.

As we drove slowly homewards on the main road, we ticked off a Pied Starling in a tree, a Brown-hooded Kingfisher and a Fiscal Flycatcher on a wire, several Barn Swallows, an adult Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk on a pole, and a Familiar Chat in an acacia. Two Egyptian Geese flew low past us. Closer to home we saw a Yellow Mongoose standing on its hind legs and three Mountain Zebras at the waterhole before we crossed the Wilgerboom River. Just as we were turning left into the rest camp, we saw five Red Hartebeest on our right.

Since our arrival on Thursday we had been putting the ‘Housekeeping Not Required’ sign on the door, but we needed fresh towels and the tiles needed mopping (we were always bringing sand from the driveway into the chalet), so shortly after 10, a young woman arrived to tidy up. We sat on the terrace while she was working inside and added a Malachite Sunbird and a pair of Bar-throated Apalises to our chalet list and saw a Karoo Prinia and a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver.

[Puff Addy]

Day 6 – December 1, 2015 - Part II

The heat had a fatiguing effect on us to which we succumbed and after lunch we were observing the clouds that had started to appear and were growing bigger in the sky and noticed that the wind had picked up. We were wondering whether we would get a convective thunderstorm as it hadn’t rained since our arrival and when Adam was checking us in, he overheard the receptionist saying that it hadn’t rained for a week.

After 4 PM it wasn’t raining yet and therefore we decided to go to the lookout point on the Kranskop Loop to do some landscape photos with a dramatic sky in the background. We didn’t pay much attention to birds and other animals on our drive up, but we did notice the pair of African Stonechats from our earlier loop drive some 1.2 km before our destination.

We could get out of the car and the strong wind was warm but very welcome. It was a bit cooler up there than in the rest camp which we could see, including our chalet. Two Chacma Baboons were sitting to our right on top of a hill. We saw a pair of Ostriches as we began our descent and a White-necked Raven was kiting in the wind at the level of the ridge. A Common Fiscal was perched in an acacia tree and at another lookout we saw a Rock Kestrel kiting, and further on two more. A Bokmakierie flew across the road as we neared the ‘francolin’ viewpoint.

The Rooiplaat area from the Kranskop Road





As we continued down a paved part of the steep descent, a female Mountain Wheatear was standing on the curb before it flew uphill again and two Pied Crows were circling upwards.

We stopped at the shop for beer and as we were driving home, we saw a dark grey snake crossing the road. It was at least a meter long and was pale underneath. We had our beer and toast on the porch before five drops of rain forced us to retire inside. We then ventured out again when we saw 23 Red Hartebeest with five calves in the distance.

Later, Adam went outside in the dark with his headlamp to investigate the wildlife in the vicinity of our chalet and came back to report that he thought he had seen the back end of a Red Rock Rabbit!

[Puff Addy]

It was indeed, Lisbeth.

Here is a photo of the Kranskop Loop lookout in 2014 under very similar circumstances:

[Richprins]

[Puff Addy]

Day 7 – December 2, 2015

Before we even left for the morning drive, Adam spotted the same rabbit munching on grass amidst the rocks near the corner of our chalet and it was indeed a Red Rock Rabbit (later identified as Hewitt’s, a species split from Smith's). He spent some time photographing it and the rabbit was very co-operative. It was really cute with its long, translucent ears and reddish tail. It also had a scar on its right side that suggested a predator had once tried to have it for dinner.

Who could this be at 5 o'clock in the morning?



Oh, it's you!



Look at that lovely red tail



When we left at 5:59, we heard a Black Cuckoo singing close by. In the reception parking area a white Honda SUV was standing in the road and we found out from the female driver that she had just been looking at a Jacobin Cuckoo on a wire. Oh, well. Two Hadeda Ibises were flying over and a Neddicky gave us its trademark raspberry as we passed through the camp gate at 6:04.

It was a much cooler morning and with all four car windows open, we were both wearing our fleeces. What a change from the previous two days. It was quite cloudy when we began our ascent through the boulder area, encountering a Familiar Chat, a Red Hartebeest running in front of us on the road until it found a path on the left, and two Red-winged Starlings. Leaving the boulder area we saw a Red-eyed Bulbul and a pair of Pale-winged Starlings.

When we got to the false plateau, we stopped because there was a dark green Defender in front of us with people making photos. When they left, we saw they were photographing Mountain Zebras, including, sadly, one limping youngster. As we entered the acacia area, we temporarily renamed it Common Fiscal Territory, as apart from three representatives of this species we only saw three female Kudu and one young male browsing on our right and two adult male Kudu doing the same further on to our left.

The Defender turned right onto the Rooiplaat Loop and we stayed straight to do the Kranskop Loop counter-clockwise. An African Pipit was singing in a small acacia, while a Long-billed Lark was first heard and then seen. Three Cape Turtle-Doves were foraging in the road, while five Mountain Zebra were grazing on the left. A female African Stonechat and a Familiar Chat were seen before the turn-around viewpoint on our right where we saw two young African Stonechats.

We got to the lookout point we had visited the day before and heard an African Rock Pipit, a Cape Bunting somewhere above us and a Black Cuckoo from somewhere below. When we drove on, we stopped quite quickly because we had spotted a female Buff-streaked Chat.

As we started our descent on a paved section of the road, we stopped several times to add a pair of Familiar Chats, a pair of Greater Striped Swallows, a calling Cape Longclaw on a rock, a male African Stonechat, and a Rock Kestrel to our list for the day. Back on the gravel road, descending less steeply, we stopped to observe and record a Grey-backed Cisticola on our left, until it flew off, and then spotted two male and one female Buff-streaked Chat, one Karoo Scrub Robin and that aforementioned Grey-backed Cisticola a bit higher up the slope on our right, all around one bush. Two Bokmakieries flew across the road in front of us.

The descent got a bit steeper, with undulations in the gravel road acting as speed bumps, and we stopped at a pull-off to admire the view before continuing. The road levelled off a little and we recorded a singing Bokmakierie and saw another raspberry-giving Neddicky. We were alerted to calls coming from the slopes below and scratched our heads as to what they could be until Adam guessed that since we couldn’t see them, they were on the ground, and if they were ground birds then they might be Grey-winged Francolins. We recorded them and later confirmed that Adam’s identification was correct.

As we continued our descent towards the Wilgerboom, five Speckled Mousebirds and a pair of Greater Striped Swallows were spotted. A pair of Cape Buntings, a Bokmakierie and a Yellow-throated Petronia welcomed us at the river itself. We stopped the car in the river and saw several Greater Striped Swallows scooping mud for their nests, heard a Neddicky, a Karoo Prinia and an African Rock Pipit, and spotted a chase between a Yellow Bishop and a Fiscal Flycatcher.

Upon leaving the river, three Red-eyed Bulbuls flew over the road and near the Laaste Kloof we counted 10 Mountain Zebras. One Bokmakierie was seen as Adam was photographing a Mountain Zebra grazing near the road. At the reedy Langkloof, we observed a pair of Southern Masked Weavers and Greater Striped Swallows and saw a pair of Olive Thrushes, one of which had a bill full of food. A pair of Cape Buntings flew into the thicket as we left the drift.

Another paved section of the road for a steeper descent was breezed through and back on the gravel we saw a Yellow-throated Petronia calling from a dead acacia and flying off, a Common Fiscal, and a Cape Robin-Chat. The Bakana Mountain Cottage turnoff yielded five Red-winged Starlings and a pair of Pied Starlings to the sounds of a Karoo Prinia.

We turned off to the Weltevrede picnic spot at marker 11 and could hear a Red-chested Cuckoo before we made it through the gate. Last year we heard and saw one in the huge eucalyptus tree and guess where it was calling from now? What we didn’t count on was hearing a Black Cuckoo calling from the same tree. We only saw it fleetingly before it flew off, but did see its white tail spots. The same tree was also occupied by a Speckled Pigeon, a Red-eyed Dove and a Cape Turtle-Dove that took turns accompanying the never-tiring Red-chested Cuckoo.

We walked around the picnic area and saw seven Helmeted Guineafowl, a Pied Starling, two Speckled Mousebirds, a pair of Karoo Prinias, a Yellow-throated Petronia, and a Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler. High above our heads, we saw a mixed flock containing at least three Alpine Swifts, one Little Swift and a number of White-rumped Swifts. Two Southern Double-collared Sunbirds were heard singing and Adam saw one, and there was also a Golden-breasted Bunting singing in a tree. A Southern Masked Weaver was spotted in the vicinity of a nest near the rock pool.

When we left the picnic area, we heard a Black Cuckoo again and to our surprise saw two at once (one was probably the one that had flown from the eucalyptus) briefly, with one flying into a position very close to us. We stopped the car and delighted at the sight of this singing (if you can call it a song) bird until another vehicle came from the opposite direction and we had to move aside. An African Hoopoe was calling and so was a Hadeda Ibis in flight.

We turned right at marker 11 and continued towards the Doornhoek Dam pull-over with the sight of a soaring sub-adult African Fish Eagle. At the pull-over, we could note three Red-knobbed Coots, two Egyptian Geese, a White-breasted Cormorant perched on a tree, a Reed Cormorant flying low above the water, an African Darter in a dead tree preening behind its neck, and a Yellow-billed Duck. We moved a bit further to the dam pull-off and added another White-breasted Cormorant (this one was hunting, while the other was still perched), a Cape Wagtail, a Little Grebe, a Pearl-breasted Swallow, a pair of Greater Striped Swallows with mud, and a Speckled Mousebird.

On the road back to the rest camp, we saw a Common Fiscal, one singing Neddicky and an Alpine Swift flying over the road and heard a Chinspot Batis. Two Red Hartebeest were seen just before marker 15.

Back at home, Red-faced Mousebirds and a Long-billed Crombec were added to the chalet list as was a Dideric Cuckoo as a heard bird.

We had a nice nap after lunch and in the afternoon I went to swim my ten laps and Adam walked the short loop around the swimming-pool area. On his own, he got to see a Common Waxbill, a Common Fiscal, a Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler, Red-eyed Bulbuls and a pair of Karoo Scrub Robins, while together we spotted an adult Jackal Buzzard, a pair of Southern Double-collared Sunbirds, a Barn Swallow, a Bar-throated Apalis family, and a pair of Red-winged Starlings.

We sat on the terrace and got to see the resident Four-striped Mouse in a tree and a pair of White-browed Sparrow-Weavers and Southern Boubous came to see what was happening. The wind had picked up and clouds had formed around the highest mountains surrounding us, but there was still no rain.

A Southern Boubou in the wind

[Toko]

They come under "rock-hare" and "rock-rabbit", Lis and obviously the internationally prefered name is "rock hare", but locals will refuse to use it



The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals: 2nd Edition

[Toko]

'Rock-hares/rabbits' do not dig burrows and have small litters (such as 'hares') but they have altricial young (such as 'rabbits') and their ears and hindlimbs are in length intermediate, I think's that why they are so splendid, they have the best of boths

We should really find an expert to do a chapter on the family in our books


I wonder what the rabbit-like one will look like

[Puff Addy]

In the meantime, here's how Day 7 ended:

[Puff Addy]

Day 8 – December 3, 2015 - Part I

As every morning at right around 4:37 (really!), we were woken up by a crooning White-browed Sparrow-Weaver. We left the chalet at 5:54 and before we got to the gate we saw a Pied Starling. The gate was still closed when we arrived, but opened automatically when its time said it was six o’clock. Just before we turned right at marker 15, we saw a Golden-breasted Bunting.

We started up through the boulder section and soon came upon a pair of African Firefinches (a lifer for me as Adam saw the species at Addo on our 2014 trip) hopping around an acacia. While we were watching them, we heard the call of a Black Cuckoo.

As we continued upwards, we heard a Karoo Prinia and saw at least five Rock Hyraxes sunning themselves on a boulder. As we left the paved road and entered the gravel at the beginning of the false plateau, we saw 10 Red Hartebeest with four calves and a pair of Long-billed Larks (the male was singing).

At the ‘francolin spot’ we saw three Mountain Zebras and heard a Neddicky as we continued through some acacias and open areas. A White-necked Raven was perched in the top of an acacia to our left. We saw our first Common Fiscal and a Fork-tailed Drongo before we turned right to get to the Rooiplaat Loop at marker 9.

There were three Mountain Zebras and a lone Black Wildebeest to our right and 15 Springboks close and two Blesboks further away on our left. We heard an Eastern Clapper Lark and a Cloud Cisticola and their call and song would provide a ‘soundtrack’ to the entire Rooiplaat Loop. A pair of Cape Sparrows was spotted before we turned right together with an African Pipit and before we reached the actual beginning of the Rooiplaat Loop, we could add another three Mountain Zebras with one young, a Blesbok, three Black Wildebeest, and a Rock Kestrel flying over the road.

We veered left to do the loop clockwise and saw 14 Black Wildebeest to our right. Closer to the edge of the road we spotted a Sickle-winged Chat, a pair of Cape Sparrows, and an African Pipit running across the road and preening when it got to the other side. In the ‘sea of rocks’, we discovered two Crowned Lapwings, a singing Long-billed Lark, and a couple of pipits that were too far away to identify, a.k.a. skip-its!

We stopped at a pull-off on our right and saw an Eastern Clapper Lark, 12 Black Wildebeest and a Blesbok. Before we began a short descent towards a waterhole below on our left, we spotted six Mountain Zebras. We switched off the car at a convenient place to view the waterhole and noted a Grey Heron, two Mountain Zebras, 64 Black Wildebeest (in multiple herds), four Springboks and seven Blesboks with two calves. As we drove on, there were 12 more Black Wildebeest across the road on our right.

Rooiplaat waterhole



It was surprisingly quiet as we moved along, picking up a Common Fiscal, a Plain-backed Pipit and two Pied Crows and seeing four Mountain Zebras, five Black Wildebeest, a Springbok and six Blesboks on our left, while there were four Black Wildebeest on our right. Another Common Fiscal showed itself in an acacia and the inactivity resumed until we heard yet another Cloud Cisticola overhead on the northernmost part of the loop. A male Ostrich was seen as were six Mountain Zebras (including one youngster) on our left and five on our right.

We saw another Eastern Clapper Lark as we were scanning some 29 Black Wildebeest and seven Springboks in the distance on our left, while a Cloud Cisticola was singing to our right. Fourteen more Black Wildebeest and a lone Blesbok appeared in a depression to our left together with one Mountain Zebra in the distance. The Cloud Cisticola we had heard singing earlier flew across the road and landed in the grass to our left – each leg holding one blade of grass. A silent Cape Longclaw was perched on top of a stubby bush by the roadside, and a Pied Crow flew over.

Cloud Cisticola - extreme crop



On our right we spotted 16 Blesboks and eight Black Wildebeests, and two Common Fiscals were perched together in an acacia tree. As we approached the Link Road turn-off (7), a couple of Blesboks and several Black Wildebeest were on our right and a few Mountain Zebras were crossing the road.

After the junction we saw four more Mountain Zebras, 11 Blesboks with five young, 15 Black Wildebeest and a male Ostrich on our left, and further on four Mountain Zebras were taking turns dust-bathing. Of course they wouldn’t do it for us when we got close enough to photograph them doing it. On our right, we saw 22 Black Wildebeest and two Blesboks, and a Cape Bunting landed in an acacia tree.

Almost at the completion of the loop, we met three Mountain Zebras, one of which showed its displeasure at being photographed by snorting at us. An Eastern Clapper Lark was seen and heard on our left together with an African Pipit and a tail-less Sickle-winged Chat. Seventeen Black Wildebeest and four Mountain Zebra rounded out the count for the 13-km long Rooiplaat Loop.

'Nostril-damus'



When we started our descent to the false plateau, we saw a Common Fiscal in a tree under which three Mountain Zebras were shading themselves. After the look-out on our left, we spotted a Bokmakierie and a Familiar Chat and heard a Neddicky. As we entered the paved section for the steep descent at the end of the false plateau, a Steppe Buzzard was perched in a flowering roadside acacia near two singing Bokmakieries. As we neared the boulders, two Rock Kestrels were tussling in the air above us. Five Rock Hyraxes were on the same boulder as earlier in the morning.

Before we completed our descent to marker 15, we saw a Pied Starling, a pair of Pale-winged Starlings, two female Kudus and a pair of Ostriches. After we had passed through the rest-camp gate, we heard a Dideric Cuckoo calling at the drift on the way to the reception building. We stopped there to submit our indemnity forms and pay for the night drive later in the evening.

At home, we looked at the morning’s photos and got a visit from the pair of Southern Boubous that liked to come to the terrace. We decided to walk to the rest-camp restaurant for lunch and on the way encountered a Long-billed Crombec shortly before the reception building. We were the only lunching people and each had a chicken fillet with barbeque sauce, a side salad with French dressing, and a small Windhoek.

We of course observed the birds while we were eating. There was a shelf-style Rock Martin nest located right next to another nest with a tunnel, which we thought belonged to Greater Striped Swallows. White-rumped Swifts were flying high and low and close to the building. A Bar-throated Apalis was hopping from one tree to another, and a Rock Agama with a blue head and front legs was running back and forth on top of a wall. A Neddicky was foraging in the grass and a pair of Pied Starlings was taking turns bringing food to a nest. A Speckled Pigeon, a Fiscal Flycatcher, a pair of Red-eyed Bulbuls, a pair of Cape White-eyes, a Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler, a pair of Amethyst Sunbirds, and a White-browed Sparrow-Weaver all put in an appearance during our lunch.

Walking home in the heat, we saw two Karoo Prinias chasing each other loudly, a Red-eyed Bulbul sitting in a tree, a Familiar Chat in front of Chalet 5, and a male Chinspot Batis perched in an acacia in front of Chalet 6. A Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler was between chalets 8 and 9, a male Malachite Sunbird flew over Chalet 14, a Fiscal Flycatcher was to the left of Chalet 17, and a Cape White-eye was in a tree over the same chalet.

Cumulonimbus clouds had started to form and the rain began at 1:35, but by 1:50 the first shower was over. A male Malachite Sunbird landed in an acacia and then drank the water that was dripping from our chalet’s leaky gutter while hovering! Speckled Mousebirds just used the puddle under the gutter to do the same. At 2:45 another shower began and by 2:55 it was all over.

Adam went outside to investigate and found a singing Sombre Greenbul, and we both saw a Cape Robin-Chat having a bath in another puddle in front of our chalet.