The runners (barring O due to her back issue) decided to run down (down being the operative word) to the beach this am and then I had to go and pick them up so they didn’t have to run up again. When I found them near the end of the road, there was a lot of complaining how the ‘down’ run was actually not down at all and that there was lots of up. Also complaining about the humidity. One can avoid that sort of complaining by not running at all – just saying.

After breakfast, we had decided to do some proper 4×4 on sand and head north to Lake Sibaya. It is designated an IBA (Important Bird Area) and is the largest fresh water lake in South Africa. What makes it additionally fascinating is that the fish that inhabit the lake are actually salt water fish but have adapted to live in the lake even though it is fresh water. When the lake is full, it causes a fresh water spring to form on the beach nearby. It is part of the iSimangaliso Wetland Park which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The birding sites said up to 20000 herons can sometimes be seen on the lake at one time. We had high expectations of the day ahead.

The road within meters from the lodge quickly became a single track very sandy road and B and I (the drivers) decided to let down the tyres of our vehicles to ensure we had adequate traction. This was the first time for the Landy doing proper 4×4 and so it took me awhile to find the right settings and get it into Sand mode. Once I got that sorted, it was clear to me how well the Landy would do in sand and that it was highly unlikely I would be getting stuck any time. The bigger issue was the narrowness of the road as we drove through the forest. The car is now thoroughly scratched in one both sides and the roof. I long since learnt that if you want to 4×4 then you should expect the car to be scratched.

Unfortunately it was very windy and slightly overcast so the birds were just not easily to be found. At one point on our drive, we stopped and H had a swallow next to her trying to fly into the wind and it was basically stationary next to her window in the air (which made for easy identification). We had hoped for lunch at a picnic spot listed on the map we had from KZN Wildlife but it turns out that the picnic might have been wishful thinking. We finally just made our own picnic spot on the side of the lake. H says that she had a workout of her core muscles trying to stay in her seat and was complaining how tired she was when we got back. B & I enjoyed the drive though we were all thoroughly disappointed with the birding as we hardly saw anything new at all. We did see 1 lifer for most of the others (wasn’t for me) and my trip list is now at 213 so that is now a new record for any road trip.

The afternoon was spent catching up with emails and just relaxing and then we went to the Leatherbacks restaurant that is part of the Sodwana Bay Lodge for dinner (in order to enjoy some fish). The owner was described as Mr Personality by H. A managed to get him engaged in somewhat of a conversation but it was more like two word answers to anything A asked. It became more and more amusing talking to him as the evening progressed.

After dinner A decided to download the BirdLasser app so he could record his Green Twinspot as his first lifer. Needless to say he offered to show us a photo of the bird as well. I am now leaving a gap between him and the rest of us as I sign off todays blog!

Until tomorrow …

P, H, B (the Toyota managed to not get stuck in the sand today), S, O & A