I am typing this knowing that I won’t be able to post it tonight. We are now at Mata Mata Rest Camp in the Kgalagadi. We have no cellphone signal and the camp electricity will be switched off at 10pm.  It is now 9:50pm and so I am expecting to finish typing the blog by the light of my laptop only. I can hear the generator in the distance so I am glad they will turn it off.  We are all in bed so we are ready for the lights to go out.

Today we drove from Twee Rivieren up to Mata Mata. We left at 8am as we figured that it would be slightly warmer by that stage (it was 8 degrees C when we left). The Yellower’s (our travel companions – real name protected) weren’t quite ready by 8am so we left ahead of them knowing they would catch us up given our desire to stop to do some birding. By 4kms outside the camp they had caught us up.  The distance between the two camps is about 130 kms and we figured it would take us 4.5 hours – it actually took us 6.5 hours.

About an hour outside of Twee Rivieren we saw 3 cheetah sitting on the ridge purveying the world. We watched them until they started walking and eventually lost them as they went down a hill.  It was a great sighting and meant we had seem 3 times more cheetah than lion (and that ratio is still standing).  Later on the drive we spotted Hyena (the spotted variety) with suckling cubs. They were lying right on the side of the road.  We also managed to add 1 more lifer to our birding list (Fairy Flycatcher – for you Paul) and by the end of the day our bird list stood at 60 in total.  It was a slow start to the day because we had seen most of what we had already seen. However, when most of the family was sleeping, Stephen and I managed to see about 5 or 6 trippers including Rock Kestrel and White-backed Vulture.  At least 90 more for the trip needed and at least another 7 lifers as well.  The only other highlight of the morning game drive was seeing a very large herd of Springbok. Up until this point we had never seen more than 3 Springbok together at once and then we saw this herd of well over a thousand (not kidding).

We arrived at Mata Mata at around 2:30pm. We have two ‘luxury river front’ chalets while the Yellower’s have a family unit. I saw ‘luxury river front’ for a number of reasons. Firstly, luxury to Sanparks means DSTV (which we don’t need). Secondly, because ‘River Front’ is a very broad term for meaning looking out over the dry river bed which looks like it has never flowed in recent ‘known’ history. And the value of ‘river frontage’ when there is no game and no water is pretty limited. I think Sanparks have used the word ‘River’ quite liberally (see photo).

We chilled in the camp in the afternoon and Mr Yellower, Stephen & myself went out for a late afternoon drive.  We did manage to add one new mammal species – a lone Giraffe. Given the vegetation that is a very rare sight in the Kgalagadi. We also saw another two Black Backed Jackals (almost getting tired of seeing them) and the other usual game (being Gemsbok, Springbok & Wildebeest). I can see why the name of park used to be Kalahari Gemsbok Park because the Gemsbok is undoubtedly the equivalent to Impala in the Kruger National Park. There is no animal that comes close in sightings and number to the Gemsbok (even though we saw over 1000 Springbok at once today).

We had our usual braai for dinner and during the braai we heard cat like calling from near the petrol station and so after dinner the boys went to investigate and came back saying they had seen a Civet (or what they thought was one). It had started off on the other side of the fence and then ended up our side of the fence.  We all went investigating and eventually found it in a tree (and it was a Civet). With all the excitement Helen managed to take a heavy fall over a sewerage drain and fortunately did no serious damage except probably a little bruising (though I think she will feel it more tomorrow).

It was off to our chalets to ensure we were all in bed before the power was cut. I am finishing typing now by the light of the laptop screen only. I am also trying to kill mosquitos by the light of the screen. They are about 4 buzzing around my head and it is driving me crazy. I have only managed to kill 1 so far (make that 2 – just killed a noisy, big fat one – squashed against the wall – left it there as a reminder to the others) – another 3 (at least to go). Hopefully they won’t affect my sleep tonight!

Until tomorrow … P, H, S, M & C

Today was our first full day in the Kgalagadi and we all agreed that we were underwhelmed. The landscape is very stark and dry but the game is very sparse and there is very little variety. We were up today to leave when the gates opened at 7:30am (as the sun rose). It was 3 degrees outside and it took about 2 hours to warm up to about 20 degrees. The animals were clearly also cold because they were nowhere to be seen for the first 45 minutes or so of our drive this morning. We headed up the road to Nossob again and after passing 2 waterholes and seeing very little we decided to keep going to the next waterhole. On route there Helen spotted a solitary lioness sitting on the ridge. We decided to pull off and have our coffee/hot chocolate/rusks and see if she was going to do anything. By the time we finished she hadn’t moved at all so we went on the waterhole. There we saw a black backed jackal come to drink and then a Lanner Falcon was doing some interesting flight maneuvers. Those were pretty much the highlights of the morning drive. We did add Red Hartebees to the trip list as well as some more birds (though no lifers). About half way back I might have gotten tired of driving and let someone else (not Stephen because he can’t yet officially drive) drive back.

We got back around midday by which time the temperature had risen to 25 degrees (even so Michael was still wearing his Cossack head covering when we got back – that’s him coming back from dropping off the permit at the gate). Michael and Helen headed for their beds (Michael was so exhausted from all the hard work he has done that he even skipped lunch). I believe our travel companions (let’s call them the Pinkers today), also tried out their beds. At 3:30pm we headed out for another drive and we decided to try the road to Mata Mata instead.  Helen and Chloe elected to stay in the camp rather so it was just the me and the Boys and the Pinkers in their own vehicle.  We (unfortunately) again did not see much.  The highlights were probably the Pygmy Falcon right on the side of the road, the Gemsbok with one horn facing forward and the other facing back and a Steenbok that was pooing. When a Steenbok pooing becomes a highlight you can really tell how sparse the game is. It was even a quiet day on the birding front though we are up to 46 trippers and 2 lifers (so far).

Mrs Pinker was so enthralled with the game life that we learnt this evening that she had given up and was reading You magazine (which she claimed she never bought herself but was ‘given’ by someone else). If you don’t bird then I am not sure what the attraction of the Kgalagadi is (at the moment). We are hoping that because we are right in the south, as we move further north we will get a better experience. The board showing animal sightings has giraffe and suricate on it so you know that you’re going to have tough spotting. And by late evening, the only sighting of lion for the day was the one we saw.

This evening we again had the mandatory braai, some good discussion around the dinner table (and Mr Pinker doing some impersonations) and now it is 9:48pm and everyone (except me) is already in bed. We are hoping for a better game sighting day tomorrow.

(PS: the beast is handling the gravel roads here with ease – she is taking it in her stride)

Yes, it is my birthday today. And the best place for me to spend my birthday is in a National Park somewhere in Africa.  This year we managed to cover 2 national parks in one day.  We started off in the Augrabies National Park and end up in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. I warned you that we might not have mobile phone coverage to be able to post a blog but as you can see we do.

I was woken up at some unearthly hour that no one on their birthday should be woken up at. My dear, beloved wife decided to go for a run before the birds started singing and so turned on the light to find her running gear. About a hour later the sun came up and I got up out of bed to do some birding with Stephen. We added a few trippers to our list.  After the morning birding in the camp and the afternoon game drive we are up to 35 species for the trip including 2 lifers (Burchell’s Courser & Scaly-feathered Finch – given for you Paul).

We packed up and headed out of Augrabies National Park heading for the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. We were booked into the Twee Rivieren Rest Camp which is right at the gate of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Google Maps said it would take us 7 hours 50 minutes to do the 440 kms to the Park, our GPS (or SPG as my father-in-law calls it) said it would take even longer. It turned out that both were wrong. The road used to be untarred but now is tarred (though at stages it is as bumpy as a gravel road). We made exceptionally good time. And there is really not a lot to see between Augrabies and the Kgalagadi. We had to drive back through Kakamas and then to Upington and then from Upington to the gate you only pass 1 town and that was Askham and that was actually 1 km off the road.  We went in to Askham to refuel the Beast and incredibly it had 2 petrol stations to chose from. I think the main economic activity of Askham is refueling 4×4’s and their jerry cans.

As it was a Sunday Michael suggested the we listen to a sermon. The wonders of modern technology allowed us to download one from sermoncentral.com and so we killed off some time of the trip listening to sermon. The preacher (Philip Ryken) quoted Voltaire (the philosopher) who during his lifetime made the bold prediction that in 50 years Christianity would be dead and no one would even have heard of it.  The irony was that after Voltaire’s death, his house was purchased by the Geneva Bible Society who used it as a base to distribute Bibles.  A prediction that must still be haunting Voltaire today (well after his death). God does have a sense of humour!

We arrived at the gate of Kgalagadi just before 1pm. At the gate you have SA immigration as well as Botswana immigration. If you plan to exit into another country you have to do immigration at the gate. So we are currently stateless as we have exited South Africa but have as yet not entered another country. The formalities did not take long and we picked up our keys (including our travel companion’s key) and headed up to our hut (which is a 2 bedroom one with an extra 2 beds in the lounge). Our travel companions (let’s call them the Bluers today), arrived about 20 minutes after us as they had gone to have a quick view of the Falls during daylight hours before they left.

We decided to head out for a game drive at 3pm (after letting down our tyres – helps you handle the bumpy gravel roads better). You have to collect your permit and sign out and when you get back you have to return your permit again. That way they know you are out and if you haven’t returned in time they can come out looking for you. The road network is pretty basic. There are two roads from Twee Rivieren Camp – one to Nossob Camp and the other to Mata Mata.  We looked at the board and all the sightings were on the Nossob Road so we headed up there. The bird life is incredible and we were soon stopping every few minutes to identify another bird. We are a little rusty having not birded for awhile and so are getting back into the swing still. Fortunately there was enough to entertain the Bluers who were traveling behind us. They cleverly brought a walkie talkie set along so we could communicate. We did see Gemsbok (they are beautiful buck and also incidentally make great biltong), Springbok, Wildebees and Suricate (made famous by the UK TV adverts Comparethemarket.com, comparethemeerkat.com – anyone in or from the UK will know what I mean – for the rest of you search YouTube and you will see what I mean very quickly).  We also saw loads of birds including a Pygmy Falcon which caught something and returned to it’s tree and proceed to eat it. As we started heading back we also saw Black Backed-Jackal (actually 2 separate sightings). The number of carcasses lying around is also remarkable and hopefully augurs well for the rest of the time in the park.

We got back just before 6pm (gates close then) and got a braai going. As we started the braai the moon rose and it was staggering beautiful.  It is a SuperMoon tonight in the Southern Hemisphere. Not surprising because it is my birthday. I expect planetary alignment on my birthday. It was incredible to see it rise. If the connection allows me I will try to post a picture before I post the blog tonight. If not, go onto Instagram and search for #templetravels and you should be able to see a photo (and others from the trip). Our family has increased it’s use of Social Media for this trip by hashtagging on Instagram as well.

It is now 10:45pm and we have some guy strumming on his guitar in the camp site below. Quiet time is meant to be from 9:30pm. If he doesn’t quit his strumming soon I may just point that out to him! Until tomorrow.

Last night at 1:30am we were woken up by party revelers returning to their rooms at the Blue Nartjie (www.nartjie.co.za/‎).  Besides that interruption to our sleep we had a good nights rest. When we woke up this morning at 7:30am it was 6 degrees outside but it felt much colder.  We had booked breakfast for 8am and enjoyed the simple breakfast of coffee & bacon and eggs. While having breakfast our friends who are traveling with us joined us, also wandered in. You didn’t hear about them last night because they left Cape Town so late they only arrived after midnight. Being good friends we got their key from them which was probably a good thing as I couldn’t imagine the owner still being awake at that point. I don’t have permission to mention them by name so I will just call them the Browner’s (for want of a better name).

We agreed to leave when we were ready and given we finished our breakfast about 45 minutes before them and our car was already packed, we hit the road at 9am.  We were continuing to make our way north to Augrabies National Park. The road is marked out by three things:
1. Road works
2. Nothing but the occasional bush
3. Road works

One thing is for sure is that they are spending money on upgrading roads in the Northern Cape. But there really is nothing to see. You leave Calvinia and drive for about 150 kms before hitting the next town (Brandvlei) and then another 150 kms before you hit Kenhardt. I am starting to see some validity to Michael’s question about why anyone would be born here. On this stretch of 300 km of road, Helen was fast asleep for 299 kms while the rest of us discussed the world’s banking system (including a quick lesson on the gold standard), the flood (Noah’s one), the fall of mankind (Adam & Eve’s one), the Covenants (God’s ones), bridge building, farming (including the biggest improvement in efficiency in farming in the last 400 years) and a few other minor subjects. Helen is now way behind in the conversations stakes. Helen was involved in the conversation about who is better looking – Stephen or Michael. Apparently Michael asked the question to Stephen’s girlfriend recently and she hesitated long enough to convince Michael that if he wasn’t 3 years younger than her, it would be him dating her and not Stephen.  (Any comments on that Brian & Sharon? You’ll have to ask you know who because she doesn’t subscribe to the blog.)

We did stop twice at petrol stations. Once because Chloe needed to empty her tank and once because we needed to fill up the Beast. The Beast is what American’s call a gas guzzler. So far she has drunk 12.5 liters per 100 kilometers. I thought that was bad until a random stranger wandered up to me while I was waiting for all the family to empty their tanks and told me his car (with a minor technical problem) was doing 20 liters per 100 kilometers. When you drive a 4×4 and you’re heading north from Calvinia you are suddenly a friend of every other person with a 4×4 as well.

We also passed through Keimoes (where you meet the Orange River for the first time and cross it twice) and then onto to Kakamas (where I was reliability informed they have the best dance place in the area – people even come from Upington on a Saturday night to langarm there). From Kakamas it is only a short 20 minutes until you get to the Augrabies National Park and after checking in we headed to our accommodation which turned out to be exactly the same one we had the last time we stayed here. The Browner’s arrived about an hour and 30 minutes after us (after stopping for some sightseeing in Keimoes and Kakamas we believe). Mr Browner (again we believe) took their new car up to 185 km/h on a stretch of road today to see how fast it could go. While there were some very straight sections of the road, I am a law abiding citizen and would never consider driving over 170 km/h on any section of that road.

We did go out for a late afternoon drive in the National Park itself. There is not a lot of wildlife but some beautiful landscapes and quite good birding generally. Helen decided to go with the Browner’s and Chloe decided to stay in the camp so that left me and two sons. As I am a law abiding citizen I would never let them drive without a license but if I did I would let Stephen drive out to where we would turn around and Michael drive back again (because I am a fair Dad). We got back at about 6:15pm (ahead of the Browner’s who were taking photos of the sunset). We never saw anything spectacular on the drive except a giraffe on the mountain with the sun setting behind it.We also saw Springbok and Zebra and our bird list is now up to 17 species for the trip (no lifers though).

The mandatory braai for supper followed by a quick walk and view of the Augrabies Falls which are now lit up by flood light at night from 8-10pm. They are really impressive at night maybe more so than during the day.  I googled how long tomorrow’s drive is and while it says it is only 448 kms, Google tells me that it will take 7 hours 50 minutes to get there (we think because a significant section is on gravel road). Time will tell.  If you don’t hear from us for the next few days it is because we are without any mobile phone signal. Even the last 2 days have been challenging posting the blog. So don’t panic, it will just be a temporary interlude if you don’t hear from me tomorrow pm.

Today we left for a 2 week and 2 day road trip from Cape Town heading North and into Namibia and back again. We did one of these trips in 2008. It was one of our top 5 holidays and so it is only appropriate that 5 years later we are repeating it with a few slight differences.  It was also the trip that I first started writing trip updates (in those dark days it was sent out via email).  The first email went out to 9 people (and incredibly all 9 are still subscribers to the blog 5 years later). It was also the first time we started birding (and now we are over 400 lifers already).

We left at 1pm today as the children still had school. Our school has decided to have a full last day since some parents complained that the last day was a waste of time and ‘uneducational’.  Yes .. isn’t that precisely the point of the last day of school? You pitch up, have some fun, mess around, have assembly and go home.  I did that for 12 years (4 times a year) and it didn’t seem to affect my progress through life.  Unfortunately it meant that we hit the traffic from people who finished school at 11am but at least we got away before 4pm which is what we would have had to do if we kept our kids in school the whole day.  They missed interhouse drama and they were all devastated to have to skip that (they have their father’s strong dramatic talent).

The weather was deteriorating by the minute in Cape Town and we managed to get the car packed up (including our new Swedish roof box which can hold more than the our car’s boot) before the storm struck. About 30 minutes outside CT and Helen was hungry so we stopped for our first unhealthy meal of sausage rolls and we continued up North into the wheat & citrus farming areas of Malmesbury, Citrusdal & Clanwilliam. The traffic thinned considerably the further north we headed. And the passengers were falling like flies to. For about an hour it was just me, Lucy (the lady stuck in the Satnav) and the Beast (our Toyota Landcruiser – which is nothing other than a Beast especially when fully laden like it is now).

Stephen came back to life first followed shortly afterwards by Michael. We then got engrossed in a discussion about airlines that probably killed another hour of the journey. It is amazing how much you can discover in a few seconds about airlines from the internet even while you are driving through places you didn’t know existed. If you would like to know the biggest airline in the world by passengers carried, miles flown, number of aircraft – ask us or Google it yourself. By this stage we were in need of another pitstop. Toliets were the main destination but I went for the biltong shop next door. The young man behind the counter could clearly not speak English and so despite me trying to converse in English with him I switched into my Afrikaans (which I only bring out for road trips to Namibia). I managed to get my kg of biltong though (and there sign saying the best biltong in SA was probably correct).

We hit Van Rhyn’s Pass just as the sun began to set and got some great views and photos. Down the other side we hit numerous sections of road works with only one way traffic in operation. It afforded Helen to take a whole sheath of photos some of which I am sure are already on Instagram, Facebook and other social media sites. We arrived in Calvinia in the Northern Cape at just before 6pm. We are staying at the Blou Nartjie Guest House. Basic but very comfortable. I am reliably told that it is the best accommodation in Calvinia. Dinner was a relaxed (read slow) affair involving large portions of meat and chips. They kindly brought a finger bowl with the 4 lamb chops Stephen and I had both ordered so I knew we were encouraged to eat with our hands and get all the meat off the bone.  I obliged.

We did go past some interesting places today like Nieuwoudville. At the point we passed that place Michael said “Why would anyone be born here?”  And then followed that with “I am glad other people want to farm because I don’t”.  He made at least one further comment which I had to censor out of the blog. Politically correct he may not be, funny he may be.

While today was not really a birding day (hard to see birds at 120 km/h), we did start the list and have knocked off 4 so far including the country’s national bird – the blue crane.  Not a bad start but I am hoping for at least 150 different species by the end of the trip and secretly are hoping for closer to 200. Also hoping to add at least 20 lifers. Just under 500 kms done. Many more to come.