We were up at 5am and heading out the gates at 5:20am. Sunrise was actually 5:30am only – gates actually open at 4:30am in January but I saw no point in driving around in the dark. We decided to drive east toward the Mozambique border. The road is one of the best roads in the KNP for lion sightings and we were not disappointed.
Not far down the road we added buffalo – Big 5 number 3 and shortly after that we added Big 5 number 4 as well. About 10km in and we spotted a male lion walking east in line with the road. Not far down the road we saw a herd of impala and a confusion of wildebeest (yes that is the proper collective noun – you’ve learnt something today … now you’re all Googling it to …). They were very alert and all looking in the one direction and sure enough we then spotted the balance of the pride (females) walking along too. It seems they were on the hunt and some impala or wildebeest for breakfast would have been ideal. We watched them for 15 minutes but no action and the lions seemed to give up and head in the other direction.
The rest of the road yielded a lot of game including two cheetah. We stopped for coffee at the Nwanetsi picnic spot which overlooks the dam and while we were drinking coffee I managed to add another lifer to my list of birds – we saw African Finfoot. After coffee we stopped in at the Sweni bird hide where 2 years ago Helen had almost passed out. Fortunately this time was not a repeat. The bird life has been incredible so far. We saw over 50 birds in one day. Obviously things slow down the longer we stay here but this is probably the best start to a KNP trip I have had when it comes to birding.
We got back to the camp just before 10am in the end and spent the balance of the day in the camp just relaxing – napping, I did some work, Helen read etc. It was pretty hot again but not as hot as yesterday (around 32-33 degrees C today). We went out for a short evening game drive at 4pm and got back before 6pm. We added some birds to the trip list and while there was a reasonable amount of game – it was things we had seen already.
Started the braai (Ostrich steak salad for supper tonight) and while it was burning down, I noticed movement under our car. Shone the torch and out pops a spotted genet which then tamely walks away. We followed it for a bit trying to take a photo. I forgot to say that last night we also had a visit from a honey badger while we were eating and he/she reappeared again tonight while we were eating. Helen tried to get a photo of that too but unfortunately we missed it.
Pretty good day for our 1st full day in the game park. Looking forward to tomorrow!
H & I left for the Kruger National Park today. It is our 3rd year in a row that we have done a Jan/Feb KNP trip – it is becoming a ‘must-do’ holiday for us now. We are not generally given to tradition but this might just be one tradition we have to keep going forward. We left Cape Town on a 10:50am flight to Hoedspruit which is right in the heart of game parks. There is nothing better than getting onto a plane where the majority are foreigners and clearly heading for a ‘safari’. We landed at 1:10pm which was exactly on time. Helen got the luggage (which they simply offload into a shed of sorts) while I picked up the rental car.
It was 37 degrees C when we got into the car and headed to do some shopping in Hoedspruit so that we had food for next 11 days (KNP shops aren’t really great for food). After a quick shop at the very nice Pick n Pay, we followed another tradition and bought KFC for lunch (fastest drive through I have ever had anywhere) and then we headed to the Orpen Gate (about 50 kms away) to enter KNP. We entered the park at about 3:30pm and had another 50 km drive to our camp for tonight.
A few hundred meters from the gate we saw we zebra, wildebeest & impala and we already had the feeling it was going to be a good 11 days. 10kms from the gate we saw our first of the Big 5 – leopard. Not the one you would generally expect to see first but quite nice to tick that off about 15 minutes into the park! It was right on the side of the road and then decided to walk down the road. The only issue was that it did it in front of the car in front of us so we couldn’t always see it. It eventually headed off the road and went and lay down under a bush for an afternoon rest. At that point it was clear it wasn’t going anywhere so we headed off to the camp.
It is incredibly green and the bird life is unbelievable at the moment. We have also seen a lot of game already – wildebees, impala, giraffe, elephant (2nd of Big 5), zebra, kudu and baboon. While no lifers as yet, we have had good sightings of a lot of Birds of Prey already too. We arrived at Satara camp at just after 5pm and checked in for the next 2 nights. It was 34 degrees and very hot still so unpacking was sweaty business!
Braai (chicken wings and lamb chops) for dinner washed down with a beer for me and G&T for H (well actually those technically went down before we ate). Soon off to bed – for some reason being in the game park makes you need to get to sleep early.
Yesterday we spent the day in Karoo NP. The temperature was predicted to rise to 39 C so we decided that the best option would be an early morning game drive leaving when the gate opened at 6am and then come back for a late breakfast. Unfortunately because it is so dry, the first 45 minutes of driving basically yield no wildlife as there is no water and no shade for the animals at all. We only saw 1 or 2 birds and the odd springbok or gemsbok. The staff had told us that all the game is concentrated in the 4×4 loops and so we had a plan to drive whatever we could that would still enable us to get back for breakfast at 9am.
We did see a little wild life including a jackal, some birds, kudu, baboon, gemsbok, springbok but not really anything else. Unfortunately we couldn’t get as far into the game area as we wanted because it takes about 3-4 hours to do the best loop (which is apparently where you will find the lion, rhino etc). By the time we got back to the camp the temperature was already in the mid 20s C. The rest of the day was spent watching cricket, chilling by the pool and then our final braai and dinner together.
We usually on the last night share what the highlights of the trip were but we actually did it the previous night already. I’m going to fail to remember them all but here are some of them: – Sani Pass (whole experience including view, drive and drinks/lunch at pub) – Underberg (accommodation and view) – View from our cottage at Golden Gate – Swimming in the river pool at Maliba Lodge – Thunderstorm at Golden Gate – Male lion at Mountain Zebra NP – Company – Diversity of vegetation from barren Karoo to lush Drakensberg – Mountain views in Lesotho
After having breakfast this morning, we headed off home on the N1 back to Cape Town. The traffic was quite heavy and of course you have stupid drivers to contend with as usual. At one point a tanker overtook another truck on a blind rise with double no crossing lines! When we passed the tanker I wanted to get what company they were from so I could report the driver but no stickers or name anywhere to be seen. It was ridiculously stupid and you can see how head-on collisions happen when people drive like that. The good news is that we did all get back safely at around 3pm this afternoon.
Until next time (which will be in about 3 weeks time for H & I) …
We had the whole day on Thursday in Golden Gate NP. S & I went for a short morning birding drive and we finally saw bearded vulture (which was a lifer and the last of birds we were hoping to see in our Drakensburg trip). After breakfast, S & I went into Clarens as we needed to fill the car up and I needed some things from the pharmacy and we headed back to spend the balance of the day admiring the view. H and the some of the others attempted a morning run but at 2400 meters and trying to run up the mountain, H said it was more of walk than a run. She almost stepped on a snake as well – she said she was putting down her foot and noticed it and stepped to the side instead (fortunately).
S, K & I went out later again for an afternoon drive but otherwise we just spent the day relaxing and enjoying the view from the cottage. The only drama in the day came while preparing for dinner. H decided to chop a portion of her finger off. Normally I would be the one to help but there were many good samaritans on hand (Mr M & Mr G) to help out and patch up the finger. I have decided that H should stay away from sharp knives in 2020 though! The only negative about the accommodation in Golden Gate is that the electricity seemed somewhat erratic. It went off in the morning and it took some time to rectify and in the evening the lights were so weak you had to supplement the lights (see pic!).
We left at 6:30am on Friday morning as we had a long (9 hour) drive to Karoo National Park. The route we picked avoided the N1 for as much as possible and did involve us taking a dirt road for about 60 kms. It was pretty bumpy but it did take some time and distance off the route. It also meant we avoided traffic for much of the drive as the roads were less busy. We joined the N1 just before Colesberg and the increase in traffic was noticeable. You also have to deal with trucks which on the back routes you don’t really encounter.
We did make good time and arrived at Beaufort West around 3:15pm. Karoo NP is just south of BW and the restcamp is about 5 km from the gate. We have stayed here once before in 2010 and we really liked it then and our memory wasn’t incorrect. The accommodation is probably the best Sanparks accommodation we have stayed in. The views from the cottage are again beautiful but very different from the Drakensberg views.
We did go for a brief evening drive (even after the 9 hours in the car) and added klipspringer to trip list of animals. It is very dry and hot in the Karoo (it was in high 30s C when we arrived at 3pm). The difference between the green Drakensberg and drought stricken Karoo was again very noticeable. When we got back from the drive we S, K & I went to the bird hide (at the rest camp) and we added another 2 lifers! That now takes me to 19 lifers for the trip and S to 22 lifers (and 111 for the trip).
There was a very tame kudu in the camp and it came to visit last night. It seems it has been fed by people and that really is a shame because it is a wild animal. It clearly was looking for food from us (which we weren’t going to give) but everyone did manage to pet the kudu (which is a lifer for everyone!).
Pasta dinner last night and off to bed relatively early after all the driving.
Yesterday morning we left Maliba Lodge at 10am as we were heading out of Lesotho and to Golden Gate NP. It isn’t a great distance from where we were staying. It took us an hour to get to the border post at Caledonspoort. It was not at all busy and we basically just walked up and handed over our passports and then headed back to the car to drive into SA and did the same thing there again.
We then headed to Clarens where we planned to have an early lunch and do some shopping for supplies. On route we saw a long-crested eagle sitting on the telephone pole which was a lifer for S and taking his tally to 16 for the trip. He added another one later in the day while walking around near our accommodation and I also added one at the rest camp. So we are now on 14 for me and 17 for S for the trip.
Clarens is a quaint little town in the Free State. I was surprised at how English it was given it is in the Free State. We ended up having lunch at the Clarens Brewery (and also had to sample their beers & ciders that they make). We all remarked on how much cheaper Clarens is than Cape Town for food – what we had for lunch would probably have cost us 50% more in Cape Town. We did some shopping for essential supplies we needed for the next few days and some people did gift shopping as well.
We headed to Golden Gate NP with the iconic rock faces you always see advertising the park. I was surprised that the national road to Harrismith actually goes straight through the park. We had to check in at Glen Reenen rest camp but we are actually staying at Highlands Mountain retreat (https://www.sanparks.org/parks/golden_gate/tourism/highlands_mountain_retreat_accommodation.php) which is on the side of a mountain at 2200 meters above sea level looking over the park. The views are incredible and no photo can really do it justice.
Just as we arrived at the rest camp, it started to rain. We grabbed a few items and headed into our chalet and then the mother of all thunderstorms passed over us. The thunder and lightening were a thing to behold against the landscape. At one point it looked like a lightening strike hit straight over the M’s chalet. We checked in via WhatsApp and found them to be (fortunately) all alive still. It turned out later that their appliances weren’t unharmed though as the strike seemingly knocked out a circuit and so they have no power in the kitchen area. Having grown up in Pretoria with regular thunderstorms, I am pretty used to them but their were some shrieks from the rest of our party especially when the storm passed right over us. We were able to watch the storm for most of the night as even when we were having dinner we could still see the intra- cloud lightening in the distance. It was beautiful to watch.
S, K & I went for a short evening drive and saw a number of black backed jackal. We didn’t add to the bird list though we did go to the vulture hide but unfortunately no vulture to be seen there at that point. We did see a secretary bird fly up and roost in the top of the tree for the night though – always interesting to watch them as they seem to fly and balance really awkwardly.
Braai for dinner and off to bed relatively early. The mist had moved in and was quick thick yet strangely dry. Really quite strange and never experienced something like it before.
Sorry for not posting for the last two days but we had no WiFi and international roaming on your cellphone is very expensive so I was limiting data usage to a minimum. We left Oxbow Lodge at around 10am (check out time) as we only had about a 2 hour drive to Maliba Lodge (https://maliba-lodge.com/3-star-river-lodge-2/). Driving in Lesotho is slow going as the speed limit is either 50 or 60 km/h most of the time. There is valid reason for it because you encounter potholes, rock falls, mudslides, speedhumps in random places, goats, sheep, cows and (of course) taxis stopping randomly.
I failed to mention that after the Sani Pass (which is at roughly 2700 meters) we actually got as high as 3400 meters above sea level in Lesotho. Just to put that in perspective, that is the same height as Jungfraujoch in Swizterland! Maliba Lodge was at around 2000 meters above sea level so from Oxbow to Maliba we dropped almost 1500 meters (in a pretty short time). The scenery is fantastic throughout Lesotho. The only thing that spoils things is the litter on the side of the road. It seems people are quite happy to just throw stuff out of the window in the hope someone else will pick up after them.
Maliba Lodge is located inside the Tshelanyane National Park. The bureaucracy to get into the park is a thing to beyond. You have to fill in your name and vehicle details in a book and then get out of the car and go into the office to pay a park fee. That also required a written receipt to be issued with all the parties details on it. Then when you have that another guy with a book copies of those details into his book before you’re allowed to enter. Job creation at it’s best! We eventually got to the lodge at just before 2pm. We had two River Cottages for our party (which were obviously right on the river though bushes and trees obscured our view of the river unless you stood on a chair).
Everyone basically chilled for the first afternoon except for a short walk for some and a swim in the river pool for some. Yesterday morning S & I went for a birding walk while some of the others went for a morning run (more like a trail run and involved crossing rivers). S & I did add another lifer while on our walk and that takes our tally up to 13 for me and 15 for S on this trip (he has now seen 2 on this trip that I had already seen). It has been a very successful trip and we have basically seen everything we hoped to see in this area except for the bearded vulture which we would really like to still see. I have now crossed the 450 lifer mark (I am at 454) and so to see 13 lifers in a trip now is really hard and really impressive to do.
Yesterday afternoon everyone in the party, except S, C, K & I, decided to go for a hike up the mountain to a waterfall. They were about gone for 2 hours when it became very overcast and then the heavens just opened and it bucketed down. There was some thunder and lightening as well and I hoped they were heading back soon because you really shouldn’t be out hiking in that sort of weather. Fortunately they did make it back shortly after that (in one piece but pretty wet).
Late afternoon Mr G brought out his drone (parting gift from the job he just left after 20+ years) and he gave H & S a chance to fly it. Some of us were somewhat concerned about H crashing it into the lodge or trees. Fortunately neither of them did crash it!
We had a braai for dinner and given all the exercise everyone had done, we decided that we were unlikely to see the new year in together. Most people were asleep by midnight though I was still up and saw and heard some fireworks over the Lesotho mountains.
I will post either later tonight or tomorrow morning on today’s activities and hopefully that will get us back on track again. I have included some photos below from Lesotho and the Sani Pass as I couldn’t post them when I did the Sani Pass blog.
Until later …
P, S (for birding walk yesterday am), H, C & K
Sani Pass Road – hard to differentiate road from the river!
Today was the real point of the whole trip. We wanted to do the Sani Pass before they tarred the road – which they are in the process of doing. As it turned out, they have only done phase 1 so far which was up to about a few hundred meters from the hotel. Phase 2 is in under construction and is basically from our hotel to the SA border post. As it was Sunday and in the Christmas holiday period, no construction is currently taking place and the road was very rutted and muddy. It tested our driving skills before we even got to the SA border post.
On the way up to the border post we did add another lifer – Gurney’s Sugarbird which we saw on a protea. The border post was quick and easy and then we were in our car again heading up the main part of the pass. The border post is at 1940 meters and the top of the Sani Pass is over 2700 meters. Straight past the border post it was evident that Low4 was going to be necessary. The road was very rocky and pretty steep. It was a really enjoyable drive up – not only because I enjoyed doing the drive but also because we were the last of the 3 cars and we could watch everyone else bumping up and down and seeing especially how Mr M’s car was adjusting to the terrain, using traction control, spitting out stones and wheel spinning.
On top of the challenging 4×4 drive up the Sani Pass (you can only do it in a 4×4 though remarkably we passed some taxis coming down from the Lesotho side) it was a very scenic drive up. We stopped a few times going up to take photos, admire the view and (of course) to do some birding. In the end S & I added 7 lifers today alone! That is probably the best day for adding lifers since we started birding (excluding the first few days when everything is a lifer). We added all but one of the specials for the Sani Pass and we are pretty sure we saw that one too (Bearded Vulture) but it was while we were driving and we can’t be 100% sure so I won’t claim it yet (hopefully we will get to see one before the end of the trip).
When we got to the top we did passport control for Lesotho (which again was a non-event) and then we headed to Sani Pass Chalets which houses the highest pub in Africa. After admiring the view a bit more and doing some birding, we went in and had an early lunch. It started raining shortly after that and we were thankful that the rain didn’t start while we were driving up the pass. It would have made it much more treacherous than it was already. By the time we finished eating and drinking, the mist was also rolling in and we were very thankful that we didn’t have mist when we came up either. That would have made it extremely difficult and stressful and we wouldn’t have been able to see the fantastic view either.
We had about 120 km to get to our lodge for the night (Oxbow Lodge) which is basically on the north of Lesotho. The speed limit in Lesotho is never more than 80 km/h and most of the time it is 60 km/h. It took us over 2 hours to get to the lodge especially as the roads are bend after bend and at some points pothole after pothole. You also have to be alert to the cars that just stop on the road and the occupants standing in the road.
We are the only people staying at Oxbow Lodge tonight. It is fairly basic with no electricity. They do (fortunately) have a generator that they turn on from 3pm-10pm and then again at 7am in the morning. They haven’t heard of the internet and so WiFi is clearly non-existent. I have a cellphone signal on my work phone so I am just posting this using that and then heading to bed. Sorry – no pics today because of the lack of signal but I will try tomorrow when we get to our next lodge.
P, S (for doing most of the driving in Lesotho today after the Sani Pass), H, C & K
Today was a long driving day. We left MZ at 7:30am after pumping up our tyres (we drop the tyre pressure for 4×4 routes and gravel) and refueling – which was a very slow process not because the pump was slow but more so the process of the operator. Filling up 2 cars simultaneously was beyond his ability or seemingly thought process. When I suggested it as an approach it slowed down things further. Fortunately K decided to test her window washing skills which when I sent a pic to her father he replied with “has she been photoshopped in?”
We had an 8 hour drive ahead of us as we left the Eastern Cape (and Karoo) and headed to Kwazulu-Natal. The route took us through small Eastern Cape towns of Cradock, Tarkastad, Queenstown, Cala, Elliot, Lady Frere, Maclear and then into KZN taking us through Mount Fletcher, Matatiele, Cedarville, Underberg and then finally to Himeville.
The road is interesting for a number of things. Firstly, the route went from drought stricken Karoo to lush KZN cattle farm land. The contrast was remarkable in one day. Secondly, you have to play dodge-em with goats, sheep & cattle. They just seem to be wandering all over the road. On one occasion I had to slow down from 100km/h to basically a stopped position otherwise we would have had a sheep attached to the front of the Beast. Mrs G told me they encountered a sheep lying down in the middle of the road. It took 8 hours of vigilant driving.
Thirdly, the towns are mini-traffic jams. We don’t know if it was simply because it was Saturday and end of month or always like this. But as we hit Lady Frere we had our first taste of it. Despite there only being one small section of the centre of town there was a traffic jam (even Google maps had it marked in red!). That is because it seems you can simply park or stop wherever you want, whenever you want. You wonder what is going on and just when you think it is time to depress the hooter (honk horn for the Americans reading the blog), someone would open a door and climb slowly out and then have a conversation with the driver and do that for a minute or so and then finally close the door and amble off. That wouldn’t necessarily mean that the car would drive off at that point – sometimes it would remain stationary for another few minutes and then suddenly pull off at a very slow rate. Take this and repeat through multiple towns and that was part of the driving experience today.
Fourthly, the speed limits and signposting were a non-stop amazement to me. At one point we hit the town and it never marked the speed limit down from 100 km/h but the sudden appearance of a speed hump made for a very quick slow down. No signpost of a speed hump to be seen at all. At one point, there were two speed humps a few meters apart and the 40 km/h sign and warning about the speed bump were between the two speed bumps! It was also not uncommon to have speed signposting of 60 then about 100 meters on, 80 then a further 100 meters on back to 60 again. That also repeated itself multiple times through the day.
We stopped for lunch at Maclear. The only option being KFC. It was a newly built one (or so it seemed). Fully electronic ordering and delivery process. Fully manually operated by people that clearly didn’t know they had an automated process. After you placed your order you would expect that the order would appear to those making them up (which I am sure it did) but you actually had to give your slip to the lady at the counter who then shouted out the order through the hatch instead. Unfortunately we lost 5 minutes as we didn’t understand this process thinking that the automated system was doing it’s job. We did all eventually get our food though at least.
We arrived at Himeville and more importantly our hotel which is the Premier Sani Pass (https://www.premierhotels.co.za/hotels/kwazulu-natal/sani-pass/) at around 4:40pm. The views from the rooms are incredible as they stretch over the Southern Drakensberg. It was heavily overcast (having rained a little on route) but just when H & Mrs M went out for a run, the heavens truly opened and it bucketed down. They came back relatively quickly though was still totally drenched. The picture above is the view from our balcony of our room.
The hotel is a resort with golf course, putt putt, indoor and outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, soccer pitch etc etc. Lots of things to do. It does make us want to come back at some point and just spend a few days relaxing here. We had the buffet dinner which was pretty impressive including oxtail, lamb chops, turkey, stir fry of your choice, make your own pizza and most importantly for me – pap & tomato sous (something I love but hardly ever eat it as it isn’t getting made at home). There were a lot of other things but I didn’t bother to waste my effort on salads and soup and the like. When we left after dinner they were doing after dinner bingo (by popular demand it seems!) and Mrs G kindly pointed out the full days activities which we had missed (see pic!). Everyone was really torn about staying for the bingo but the call of our beds won the contest.
Finally, but not unimportant, we added another lifer today while driving (how impressive is that) and the birding tally to 57.
Tomorrow is Sani Pass day and after driving for 8 hours today I want to get to bed now (H is already asleep as I type this).
Until tomorrow!
P, K (for washing the windows), H (for staying awake the whole 8 hour drive today – at one point all the other 3 were asleep), S & C
We were up early and heading out at 6:30am for a morning game drive. We decided to do a longer 4×4 route which turned out to be a lot easier than yesterday’s route. It was rocky in places but was not particularly difficult. We added a few birds for the trip and also added Eland. We did stop for morning coffee at a view point though they did warn you to alight at your own risk.
We were stopped at a waterhole – one of two that actually have water in it – when one of C’s school friends (incredibly they are also staying in the park) pulled up and asked whether we had seen the lion kill! We said no, they told us that a pride had killed a buffalo on the road and told us where to go. We headed off a top speed and sure enough found it. When we arrived none of the pride were eating and we saw a few lionesses and one male lion (and of course the dead buffalo). The females almost immediately headed off up the mountain side and the male was asleep in the shade. None of them eating the buffalo though.
We went back on two other occasions later in the day and while the male was still there, they were still not eating the buffalo. The staff at the camp say that all the cars are disturbing them and that is why they aren’t eating. We will go back tomorrow am to see what has happened over night. It was a great sighting though especially since a few people in our party had yet to see a lion in the wild.
We headed back to camp for breakfast. The chalets have DSTV and so I settled in to watch a masterful SA bowling performance against England, some slept and some went for a walk. Around lunchtime the G’s went to the other waterhole and we joined them shortly afterwards (we being me, S & K). We ticked off a number of new birds for the trip and we are now at 47 after the first 2 days.
Late afternoon we did another game drive and again passed the dam and this time added a lifer to our lists after seeing the African Black Duck. We completed a loop which took us up the ridge of the mountains and to about 2000 meters above sea level. The views over the valleys were amazing. A photo doesn’t really it justice.
Back to the camp for a braai. By the time we were ready to eat though it was pretty cold outside (it never got above 23 degrees C today) and so we all squeezed inside to eat dinner together instead. We really didn’t expect it to be this cold especially since yesterday was in the mid 30s.
Until tomorrow …
P, S, K (because they came out with me midday for a game drive), H & C
After an early breakfast at Matjiesfontein with my in-laws, we were on the road just after 8am heading toward Cradock and Mountain Zebra National Park. That is where we were meeting up with the rest of our group – the Ms and Gs. Unfortunately the Ws (family that joined the last two road trips) have left for the darker, wetter world of England.
The route from Matjiesfontein takes you to Beaufort West then to Aberdeen, Graaff Reinet and then on to Mountain Zebra NP. It was a 6 hour car journey. Traffic was still pretty light most of the way. We made a stop in Beaufort West to re-fuel and then a minor detour into Aberdeen so Helen could revisit the street and house where her Mom grew up and finally a stop in Graaff Reinet for lunch at Steers. We arrived at the gate of the national park at just before 3pm and the Ms pulled in behind us while we were doing the paperwork. They came from Knysna and so their timing was impeccable.
It was noticeable how dry the landscape is at the moment. The whole Karoo is in a severe drought and the whole landscape is very arid. It was also pretty warm at 36 degrees C when we arrived. We unpacked and had a afternoon rest. Some slept, some watched cricket (they have DSTV in the cottages). At 5pm we decided to head out on one of the 4×4 drives. There are 3 4×4 routes in the park – two of them are rated 3 in difficulty and the other is a 5 in difficulty. We picked one of the 3 in difficulty. As we were deflating our tyres slightly at the reception area, the G’s arrived (they had come all the way from Cape Town – an 9 hour drive). They said they would aim to catch up after they had checked in.
The road took us straight up the side of a mountain. A short way in I realised that I needed to engage 4x4Low range in order to get up the steep and rocky incline. Once I did that the Beast powered her way to the top without any issues. B’s Subaru also made it to the top without any issue. We did figure that given the rocky nature we should deflate the tyres a bit more and so S braved the lions & cheetahs (there are in the park) to do that for us. Due to the lack of water, the game is pretty sparse though we did see kudu, gemsbok, springbok, mountain zebra, wildebeest, mongoose, ground squirrel, red hartebeest, baboon, vervet monkey & black-backed jackal.
On the birding front, while I haven’t tallied the list yet for the trip, we did see a lifer today (Cape Long-billed lark) which now takes my tally to 439. We are hoping to add substantially to our list this trip as we are going places we have not gone before and there are birds you can only see in this area.
We got back just before the gates closed at 7pm, started the mandatory braai and we all ate together before heading off to bed.
