The rain did clear overnight as predicted. H and I planned to head north to Mopani and the idea was to try and do as much birding as we could possibly do including covering off a few dams and waterholes (for waterbirds) and some river frontage (in hope of seeing an owl or two). We did see another black backed jackal on the way but no other predators again today.
The birding was more successful with another lifer for me – Purple Indigobird – and a number for H (taking her over 90 for the trip and well into the 400s now). The trip list is now 208 which is a new record for a Kruger trip and whatever it ends up at will definitely be the new total to beat for any future KNP trips.
We did have some good sightings of elephant, a lot of zebra and wildebeest, a large herd of buffalo and the other usual things. We had breakfast at Mopani and H had a lifer land on the banister in front of her (Mocking Cliff Chat) before we headed back down to south to Letaba. By the time we got back it was almost 1pm and the temperature was 35 degrees and it was pretty humid following the rains from yesterday.
We ditched an evening drive and instead did a late afternoon birding walk around the camp but unfortunately still have not seen any of the elusive owls. We did a braai for dinner and were surprised that in our whole circle it seems it was only us doing a braai. There are vervet monkeys in the camp and they are pretty brazen in trying to steal food and will even try and take the vegetables you’re cooking in the braai out of the fire so you have to watch them carefully. I was doing that but our neighbours weren’t as successful in keeping them away in that they left their fridge unprotected and had it raided by the monkeys while they weren’t there. I chased them off and put some chairs in front of the fridge and salvaged what I could of what they have stolen. Haven’t seen the neighbours since (they must have gone to eat at restaurant) but they’re probably wondering why there are chairs piled in front of their fridge now!
Definitely no photos coming tonight as the cell signal seems to have worsened today (if that is possible!). Hopefully this blog will send! One realizes how reliant we are on proper signal these days to keep in touch. I had to speak to someone this afternoon and I had to tell them to call me with a ‘proper’ call and not a WhatsApp call because the signal is so bad. They had to figure out how to do that! What makes it more fristrating is that it looks like you have good signal (3-4 bars on the cellphone) but in fact you don’t really. Between the state of the accommodation, the brazen monkeys and the cell signal – Letaba has gone down in our view and we probably won’t stay here again in the near future.
Until tomorrow … P & H