Frost, Fires & Family Time

[PRWIN]

Some great shots of the cubs, Me very , Knowing our luck we wont see them when we are there

[Pumbaa]

Very special cheetah, encounter, PJL

Love the one on the small hill and the three with the mountain in the Background and for sure that light in the end - WoW

[Mel]

Oh my Those are totally extraordinary photos of the cheetahs! I've always wanted to have a shot of one sitting elevated on some rock or anthill like yours.
Did you by any Chance enquire how it is that they were out and about without their mum and whether the eventually re-united again?

[PJL]

Thank you Lis, Alf, RP, Dewi, PRWIN, Pumbaa & Mel for all your comments

Did you by any Chance enquire how it is that they were out and about without their mum and whether the eventually re-united again?

At this stage we were more interested in finding out who they belonged to... it turned out that the park staff only found out about these 4 a few weeks back. Their mom is relatively young and had kept them so well hidden that they hadn't been seen until just recently.
We felt even more privileged to see them

[PJL]

The morning of our second day dawned clear and cold. We were keen to see if the lions or cheetah might still be around up on Rooiplaat so we were up early and drove in that direction fully wrapped up in winter woolies until the car heater finally helped take the edge off the chill



On Rooiplaat there was no sign of any cats, but where the lions had been the night before we could see the tails of at least 20 jackals gorging themselves on the eland leftovers.

The nice thing about being out early in the park is that many of the herd animals can be found close to the road. The black wildebeest really are strange looking animals



We also had some nice sightings of blesbok and springbok in the morning light







We dropped down the link road towards Ubejane loop with a plan to explore one of the 4x4 trails. Heading round Ubejane we came across a handsome gemsbok and inquisitive kudu





Right at the end of the loop there was a nice size herd of buffalo. It was great to see a few youngsters in the mix, and also plenty of ox-peckers in tow.





The Juriesdam 4x4 route wasn't far from the exit of Ubejane so we decided to head up that way. The initial ascent is quite steep, but once you get out on top it's easy going, but there wasn't much on the horizon apart from a couple of distant eland



We knew of a ground squirrel den area from our previous visit and sure enough as we arrived a head popped out to say hello



It was just a youngster and seemed to have a babysitter nearby. The rest of the clan could be seen scurrying around in the distance, but it was nice to see these ones so close.





Dropping back down from the plateau we startled some gemsbok, but fortunately this big kudu bull stayed for a quick pic



Many animals seemed to be skittish on this loop. Approaching the dam we startled a big herd of eland, and they dashed off taking some zebra with them



As we came out the 4x4 loop and back onto the main road we could see one of the guides and his group walking down a hillside from a cheetah tracking trip. The cheetah wasn't visible, but that was ok... we had seen a few already
Along the main road there were plenty of vervets around... some of them showing off





The telephone lines next to the main road are often a good spot for seeing brown hooded kingfishers



We trundled back to camp to relax and kick off our first braai of the trip

TBC

[Alf]

Yeah we also noticed some animals being shy there. Some of them being afraid of humans or even aliens

We have only seen the buffalo once and no predator yet for us

But we never stay longer than 2 nights

[Richprins]

Marvellous!

Heater on a game drive...

Those kudu and gemsbok look very shaggy...your animals are different in the Colony, I must say, Peej!

[Lisbeth]

The black wildebeest really are strange looking animals

The behind of a horse and the front of a .......

Lovely pic of the springbok in the middle of the high grass with beautiful light

I love the squirrel baby

[Mel]

I actually like the black wildebeest better than the blue ones. Somehow the first have a bit more character... at least if you can trust their appearance compared to the latter

Blesbok are beautiful and I always aim at getting them on a plain with some mountains in the Background and some typical SA light

And some very adorable little squirrel

Visiting Mountain Zebra in July is not my idea of fun. At least not in the Mornings and the evenings

[PJL]

Yeah we also noticed some animals being shy there. Some of them being afraid of humans or even aliens

We have only seen the buffalo once and no predator yet for us

But we never stay longer than 2 nights

Alf
I hope next time you get to see some predators. I think it's just a bit of luck really

Marvellous!

Heater on a game drive...

Those kudu and gemsbok look very shaggy...your animals are different in the Colony, I must say, Peej!

That heater was essential RP
I have to agree about the differences in animal looks. Perhaps there's different or lusher vegetation here

The black wildebeest really are strange looking animals

The behind of a horse and the front of a .......

Lovely pic of the springbok in the middle of the high grass with beautiful light

I love the squirrel baby

Thanks Lis... yes those wildies are something else. Fun to see of course

I actually like the black wildebeest better than the blue ones. Somehow the first have a bit more character... at least if you can trust their appearance compared to the latter

Blesbok are beautiful and I always aim at getting them on a plain with some mountains in the Background and some typical SA light

And some very adorable little squirrel

Visiting Mountain Zebra in July is not my idea of fun. At least not in the Mornings and the evenings

OK, I'll concede they have more character, but I wouldn't trust either of them in the slightest
I thought you'd be used to some cooler weather? The winter months definitely produce better sightings of the more nocturnal species