Mouse is of course Anastasia Wahl (Anne), the mother of my friend Angela in the UAE. I arrived in Vanderblik Park on the 31st July, just after dropping Robin & Anne off at the airport. The next morning we went to Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, near Heidelberg.
Suikerbostrand, looking out of the reserve.
Notice the pollution from a nearby coal fuelled power station!
Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve is a nice example of the rocky/highveld grassland biome, which is scarce in this region due to human development of all kinds & the ever growing cities of Johannesburg & Pretoria. It is 11,595 hectares in extent & varies in altitude between 1,545 m & 1,917 m.
It was a cold, crisp winter morning & we arrived early. We arrived at the Kareekloof Entrance Gate & embarked on the tourist drive of 67 kilometers. Mouse proved to be a big nature lover & her knowledge of birds & mammals was quite impressive. She was excellent company & we had a wonderful day together.
Mouse on the veld!
Eland.
The scarce Mountain Reedbuck.
Springbok
Game was scarce but we did managed to spot Red Hartebeest, Blesbok, Eland, Springbok & best of all Mountain Reedbuck. This is a scarce species & not one I encounter very often.
Anne on the Cheetah Trail.
Red eyed Bulbul, here at the most
eastern end of its range.
Cape Rock Thrush
Cape Robin
African Stonechat
Brubru.
We enjoyed various stops along the way & walked the 4.5 Kilometer Cheetah Trail, which gave us nice views of the farm & valley below.
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