When the mice can’t play....... KTP June 2018

[Mel]

Lions again… What was the head count on your trip?

[Lisbeth]

It's not the lions that are missing in the KTP

[GavinW]

The lions come out to play


The lioness and her two cubs walked along road towards Rooiputs for a fair distance.
We were the only vehicle following them.








After a while she suddenly changed her mind and they set they turned around and headed off in the direction of Kij Kij.
I haven’t ever really seen lions changing their minds in that manner before

They stayed on the Botswana two track road, with the cubs in a playful mood.













I started getting frustrated and wanted to go ahead of them and meet them on the other side, so I decided to set off to do just that.

Mistake.

The cross over to the other road was much further on than I anticipated, so after a while, Debbie persuaded me in no uncertain terms to turn around.
By the time we got back to the lions, they had crossed over to the SANParks side of the road, and we had missed them doing so.

I was NOT popular.


However, luckily the sighting wasn’t over yet, and we still got to see a lot of them before the sighting was over














After a while the trio moved up onto the dune to the west and settled down for the day

[Richprins]

Astounding stuff, Gavin!

[Mel]

[Lisbeth]

Lovely lion family and great photos

[GavinW]

June the 13th continues to deliver

The lions were settled right up on the top of the dune, and by now the whole of Twee Rivieren were trying to spot them, so we decided to carry on up towards Melkvlei for coffee and a comfort break.

Or so we thought

About 5 kilometres before the picnic spot we spotted two cheetahs up on a dune.
We waited for a while, and after a while they moved down into the valley, close enough for a few proof pictures








As normal, on this trip, our sighting was short lived before they decided to go back up onto the top of the dunes, to use the elevation to get a better view of their surroundings.





We followed them as they moved along the dunes before they settled down under a far away bush for the day

We eventually made Melkvlei for our coffee and spotted some future thorns in the sand nearby





Our trip back to Rooiputs was uneventful and we spent a good time setting up camp





After all the PT , we decided to relax in camp for the afternoon, before going out for a short evening drive
The highlight of the trip was this red necked falcon, one of my favourite birds, posing beautifully for us








Otherwise these gemsbok looked amazing in the setting sun






And the sunset that night, as always was picture perfect

[Lisbeth]

Beautiful afternoon/evening photos

[GavinW]

June 14: A day that started with a whimper and ended with a (little) bang


The one thing you are almost always guaranteed in the Kgalagadi is stunning sunrises and sunsets. Our second morning at Rooiputs did not disappoint







As usual, after parking at the bottom of the access road to Rooiputs waiting for “gate opening time” to arrive, we decided to head up to Kij Kij and Melkvlei.
Our plan was to do that, and then go down to Twee Rivieren via the Lower Dune Road

It was a very quiet drive, with hardly any animals about.
We had a two second glimpse of a honey badger just before Kij Kij, but it was far away and soon over the dune.
They don’t hang around

We drove past a deserted Kij Kij and saw this bataleur eagle on the way up to Melkvlei




After having had some coffee at the picnic spot we turned around and returned to Kij Kij

At the waterhole a few cars were parked on the side of the road.
There was a lion sitting up on the dunes just south of the waterhole. We were told that he had just been drinking at the waterhole, and had now gone up the dune and was settling down for the day.
We had been at the waterhole too early


After waiting a while to see if he was going to move, we decided to carry on over the Dune Road as was our plan
An ostrich family was out on the road




And this secretary bird waited just long enough for us to get some pictures of it before it flew away.







Otherwise our trip to Twee Rivieren provided us with sightings of some general game








As well as a Kori bustard, which was not walking away from us for a change




We returned to Rooiputs and after a break from the car we decided to return to Kij Kij to see if His Royal highness would move.
Well he had, and was nowhere to be seen.
We decided to carry on a bit before turning back

This tree is about 500m past Kij Kij, and I quite like the picture it presented





On closer inspection the tawny eagle in the tree had a kill and was bathed in glorious sunlight











We watched it for a good 10 minutes whilst it had supper before it decided to fly off




We turned around, and you can imagine our surprise when we got to the waterhole at Kij Kij to see this:




We must have missed him walking again!
But now we had him all to ourselves










After a long drink the lion went and lay down in the nearby grass, and with the light fading, we needed to head back to camp for the evening.

[Lisbeth]

Great sequence of the Tawny

A thirsty lion. It shows that he has had a good meal some time during the night or early morning

The dune road is not exactly famous for great sightings