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A short update to say that we had a great couple of weeks back in the Kalahari at Twee Rivirien, Nossob and Grootkolk camps.
One undoubted highlight in terms of wildlife was seeing 2 leopards mating, the first leopards we’ve seen in 4 visits to this park. Apparently the female only comes in to season 2-3 days a year so the male has to make the most of it….. I know the feeling!
We saw lions nearly everyday, often very close, but sadly always doing what lions do, sleeping. According to our mammal guide they are only active for 2-4 hours in 24, that reminds me of some of my old work colleagues! The variety and quantity of birds of prey was breathtaking, and the sight of over 2000 Springbok grazing on new grass shoots after the rains north of Nossob will remain in our memory for a long time.
We met a lovely South African couple, Nancy & Ken, who proved an invaluable source of information regarding the next stage of our trip, the Eastern Cape, Garden route, Western Cape, Cape Town and wineries area. They also produced some real wine, just as Angela and I were weighing up the choice between Orange River (mentioned in dispatches before) Rose and unleaded petrol. Finally they made the fatal mistake of inviting us to stay at their home in Durbanville, near Cape Town and ideally placed for tours of the wine regions.
Grootkolk was a luxury unfenced chalet camp at the top end of the park near the Namibian border overlooking a waterhole and noted for its predators. We saw a large male lion drinking at the waterhole on the first night. After that the nightly thunderstorms put off the predators so our hopes of seeing more leopards and some cheetahs were dashed. More unwelcome guests were scorpions (apparently they like stormy weather) and a Cape Cobra just beside our braai area; it reared at Angela in the torchlight but fortunately moved off in to the scrub.
At Grootkolk we met Isaac and Liesel, farmers from Vryburg, whose enthusiasm for this park was infectious, and whose knowledge of what to see and do in Botswana was invaluable. Thanks also to them for a piece of beef biltong the size of Manhattan.
As mentioned above the next stage of our trip is the Cape area, famous for coastal scenery, mountains and wineries. This will be a relief for those of you that were beginning to think that we’d moved permanently to the Upington/Kgalagadi Park area to take photos of birds of prey and antelope. The slight downside on the timing front is that whilst we will be missing the wild flower season and the whale watching season, we won’t be missing the peak South African holiday season!
I hate to mention the C word (children) but the little darlings have finished school now for what appears to be a 45 week holiday, I can hardly wait!We have been warned that the Cape area will be busy, which will be a shock after having most campsites to ourselves over the past month.
The Discovery drove well on this trip although we had a split in one tyre and a thorn in the spare just after we changed it! We've just discovered in Upington that our Goodyear Wrangler tyres are rarer than good news from Iraq, there are none in South Africa!
We are now heading south east to Mountain Zebra National Park and Addo Elephant Park near Port Elizabeth.
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