Our campsite!
It is a long drive from Barberspan to the Kgalagadi & Delana did all the driving, as I was not feeling too good. We had arranged to stay at Dreghorn, which is a new campsite just outside the small village of Askham about 80 kms from the national park boundary. It is a convenient place to stay with excellent camping facilities. This was also where we were meeting Jaquis, a good friend of ours from Pearly Beach, who was to join us on this next leg of the journey.
Jaquis, with his 24 bottles of wine!
We were to spend two nights here, before continuing into the national park. It was also bubbles day, our annual celebration of the life of Carol, who played such a large part of my life.
Waiting for the football to start.
Notice the heater!
We won! But it wasn't a great game. We stumbled back down the hill & into our beds. It was absolutely freezing!
Pearl spotted Owlet
This individual came
into our camp.
African Hoopoe
Crimson-breasted Gonolek
Familiar Chat, in our washroom!
Kalahari Scrub Robin
The next morning Jaquis & I did a drive around the property. Delana stayed in camp, as she had a zoom meeting concerning a current project she is working on. To be honest, the drive was poor, with little game & few birds. We spent the rest of the day in camp & later on did some packing, as we have another long drive in the morning.
Yet another freezing dawn on 17th July. But we managed to get everything packed away. All we have to do now is get out of the campsite! As one can see Delana drove well & we were on our way! It is approximately 220 kms from here to our next campsite at Mata Mata in the KTFP. The first 80kms is on tar & then it is a further 140 kms driving down the Auob River Valley to the western boundary of the national park, where our camp is situated. The drive took up most of the day, but it was pleasant enough. Plus we saw a few good birds.
Jaquis amusing himself!
Of course this national park is famous for
these cute little creatures!
Meerkat
Tawny Eagle
Immature Gabar Goshawk
Pygmy Falcon
Fawn-coloured Lark
Very much a sandveld speciality.
Our campsite at Mata Mata.
This is where we met up with Rochelle & Peter
who would be joining us for the next few days.
The campsite was packed, so we were all packed very close together. However, fellow campers were friendly & considerate, so it wasn't too bad.
Spotted Eagle Owl
Acacia Pied Barbet
Ashy Tit
Young Sociable Weaver
Mata Mata is a nice camp but it does have two major drawbacks. There is only one road in & out, so you constantly drive the same area. Also being situated on the western boundary of the park means that in the morning one is driving into the sun & in the afternoon when one returns, one is driving once again into the sun. Not great for wildlife viewing or photography. In practice this means when you spot a notable sighting one has to drive passed it & turn around to get the light behind you. So for the next three days we drove the same road. However it did provide some memorable sightings.
Male Lion at dawn.
Black-backed Jackal
Steenbok
Large herds of Springbok feed in the dry river bed.
A lone Gemsbok in the herd.
Kori Bustard is common here.
Secretary Bird drinking.
Bateleur
Black-winged Kite with prey.
Burchell's Sandgrouse
Namaqua Sandgrouse
Cheetah with three cubs.
Taken through the windscreen.
Mum.
She hid her cubs under a bush while she went hunting.
She was alert & watching distant Kudu.
This cub disobeyed mum & followed!
These cubs were young, still having their fluffy backs.
Meanwhile mum was still hunting!
She actually caught a Kudu, but it happened in thick bush,
hence no photos of the kill!
We had a very pleasant four nights stay at Mata Mata, but as each day passed, I began to feel more & more unwell. We left for the long drive north to Nossob in the central area of the park on 21st July.
No comments:
Post a Comment