South Africa – Page 3

Trip report. Day 3 in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

We headed out at first light fuelled by caffeine and rusks and headed out Nossob’s Northern Gate. Opposed to scouring the plains we decided to choose a spot by the riverbed and wait to see if anything would emerge. Our patience was rewarded with a distant sighting of a mother cheetah and 4 furry cubs. The cubs were independent and curious, frequently venturing away from their mother’s watchful eye to climb a dead tree branch or play fight with one another. They were the quintessential cubs – very fluffy, very playful and a handful for their mother. We tracked them until they disappeared out of view and into the long grasses of the riverbed.

Over lunch we decided to change our plans and head over to Kalahari Tented Camp a night early, so we packed up the car and off we went. It was a beautiful drive and we were treated to stunning landscapes – rolling dunes and hilltop vistas.

The closer we got to camp the more the landscape opened, treating us to wide vistas with sightings of giraffes ambling across the Auob riverbed, bat eared foxes hunting for insects and from hilltop vantage points in the late afternoon sun we spotted another cheetah mother with 3 cubs on the hills opposite.

Upon arriving at Kalahari Tented Camp at 6pm we set about unpacking and lighting the braai – scouring the riverbed at sunset for hyena (contrary to expectation none emerged during our entire stay). We popped on our thermals (it was -10 degrees) lit a fantastic braai and treated ourselves to the most incredibly tasty meal of boerewors and bbq’d butternut squash with garlic, spices and creamed sweet corn all washed down with cape red (recipe courtesy of fellow forumites). We loved it so much we had exactly the same meal again the following night. After dinner we settled into our (freezing cold) tent, both of us snuggling into the single bed by the window overlooking the riverbed with a hot chocolate and Amarula (again, thanks forumites!!) and fell contently to sleep.

More photos from our trip are available in the Taraji Blue Kalahari photo gallery.

Trip report. Day 2 in Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

We jumped out of bed way before the alarm went off, awoken by the smell of braais and excited by the promise of our first full day in the Kalahari. I quickly showered, brewed some strong black coffee, made some bacon sarnies for lunch and loaded the car with our camera gear, all the while unable to take my eyes off the perimeter fence, hoping to capture a glimpse of something.

Thermals on and fleeces zipped up, we headed out Nossob’s northern gate at first light eager to find big cats and birds of prey. We headed about 25 km to a picnic spot and, in the company of gemsbok, delved into our first ever bag of rusks. We felt instantly at home. In the distance we heard the unmistakable roar of a lion – we waited around to see if they would materialise but their roars became increasingly more distant.

Despite all the advice from forumites and all the pre-reading I conducted prior to the trip, I was still a little shocked at how hard it was to spot wildlife and how rare sightings were. Being used to Kenya and Kruger, I had set my expectations a little too high and on the first morning we’d seen little more than an eagle, springbok and jackal. This didn’t bother me too much though, because I quickly became happy with occasional sightings of tree climbing mice, ground squirrels, meerkats, mongoose, rollers and bee eaters.

After a busy morning driving’ around North Nossob we retired for lunch. I’d retreated into the kitchen to start preparing the food and was about to head out to the braai when I saw my husband frantically arm waving, asking me not to leave the building. I was very confused. We attempted to lip read and I, somehow, interpreted that a porcupine was outside the door… I lay flat on the floor and inched open the door, peering tentatively around it. There, on the patio, was a tiny scops owl. I’d been looking for them ever since we’d arrived and here he was, quite literally on my doorstep. We looked at each other eye to eye, neither one quite understanding nor expecting to see the other. I daren’t breathe or move, I was close enough to almost touch him. It was an incredible encounter.

That afternoon we headed out of Nossob’s Southern gate to explore the nearby loops and waterholes. We were treated to sighting of gangly legged secretary birds hunting, colourful bee eaters frollicking on branches by the roadside and herds of springbok and ostrich. To our delight the roads had also been repaired, so the bone shaking was kept to a minimum which provided for a much better safari experience.

That evening we retired to the hide at Nossob with an Amarula to watch jackals and gemsbok at the waterhole.

More photos from our trip are available in the Taraji Blue Kalahari photo gallery.

Ten Years Flies When You’re Having Fun!

Newly weds Marie and Ali Knock on honeymoon in a hot air balloon

We have recently celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary with a trip back to South Africa – the location of our honeymoon back in 2002. I thought I’d take a trip down memory lane today and relive my first experience of South Africa – and reflect upon it ten years later as an older (and wiser?!) safari -goer.

Lets start with an embarrassing photo of Ali and me on honeymoon, looking like the babies we were back then. This is us on a morning balloon ride over Hazyview in Mpumalanga. It was my first time in a hot air balloon and I was a wicked combination of a nervous wreck and ridiculously excited. Unbeknown to me, the balloon flight was subject to aircraft type controls and before I boarded I was given a boarding pass and informed of the emergency exits (!!!) The dawn flight gave us an incredible birds-eye view of Mpumalanga as we soared over rivers, valleys and hills. The landing was less serene and a lot more bumpy – we attempted to land on the back of a truck (!) .. but the champagne on arrival eased my jitters somewhat 🙂

What a fantastic welcome to Africa!

The next few days we did a combination of morning and afternoon game drives in Kruger. It was my first time on safari and I was beside myself with excitement. Before we’d even stepped foot in Kruger we’d had a hippo visit our balcony in the dead of the night and I’d been endlessly amused by the signs around our lodge freeing the management from any liability of the on-site crocodiles and loss of body parts or any deaths that might occur.

Upon entering Kruger National Park at dawn the next day we were welcomed by a herd of giraffe on the horizon – it immediately reminded me of Jurassic Park. That day we were treated to sightings of cheetah, lion, elephants, monkeys and hyena. The latter became my absolute favourite…

Ed The Hyena And His Stick

..Late afternoon we stumbled across a hyena den, the mother was absent and the cubs were incredibly curious. One wee fellow (which I named Ed) amused himself for 30 minutes with a single stick – trying desperatly to enter the den with it in his mouth but blocking his own entrance time and time again. Thankfully my giggles did not deter or distract him from his efforts and my heart went out to the wee guy.

However, it wasn’t long after that ‘Ed’ realised he had an audience – a prospect much more interesting than his stick. He ambled over to us, the glorious golden light of late afternoon casting an angelic light around him. He jumped up to place his paws on the back of the vehicle for a closer look – we were almost nose to nose. I kept having to remind myself this was a vicious wild animal, not the cute and cuddly teddy-bear he was pretending to be.

Whilst on our very first safari together an endless source of amusement for us was the playful vervet monkeys which were everywhere. Any attempt to enjoy a picnic and keep your food to yourself was futile. Your attentions would be temporarily diverted as one monkey would distract you and meanwhile another thieving paw would be rooting in your bag for tasty treats. As safari newbies we lost many items of our lunch – bananas, yoghurt and juice – and were lucky to retain our cameras.

Our time in Kruger was the start of a new obsession for me – I’d discovered a new world, one full of incredible wildlife, heart stopping sunsets and the most generous and friendly people I had ever met. I knew we’d be coming back!

Cheetahs Go For Olympic Gold in the 100m run ..62mph in 3 seconds!

Cheetahs are incredible athletes. They achieve by far the fastest land speed of any living animal—between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph) in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft),. They have the ability to accelerate to over 100 km/h (62 mph) in three seconds. That gives our Olympians something to aspire too.

On our recent trip to the Kalahari we were lucky enough to see a cheetah chase a kill a wildebeest and see her sprint in full glory. We’d spotted her at first light walking along a riverbank – she was clearly on the prowl. We stayed with her for an hour or so and then decided to take a gamble and leave her, driving off in the direction she was heading to see if there were any large herds of prey which she might decide to hunt.

We stumbled a cross a herd of wildebeest and stopped there to wait and see if she’d appear. 45 minutes later her silhouette appeared on the river bank – she paused briefly before sprinting down the riverbank, reaching full speed as she arrived at the herd – sending them into blind panic. She locked onto one wildebeest and begun the chase. The cheetah’s speed was no match for the beest and she quickly caught and strangled it – not before she’d chased it right into the direction of our car, narrowly missing us. It was an unbelievable opportunity to see the sprint – to literally feel her speed as she sped by the car, her tail hitting the car door. They really are incredible athletes and very, very beautiful animals.

Further images of cheetahs are available in our Taraji Blue Kalahari Photo Collection.

Man, do I miss the elephants

I adored our recent trip to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park in South Africa – I loved the landscape, the solitude and the sense of adventure and survival it offered. I knew it’d be hard work to obtain animal sightings and I was prepared for the sparseness of the environment. I’d set my expectations of locating big cats at a low level and I was happy to spend the day exploring the magnificent landscape and admiring the bird-life.

However, what I did not foresee was such an incredible and powerful longing for elephants. My heart ached with the desire to see that familiar grey bulk emerging on the horizon. My eyes started to play tricks on me and I convinced myself I could spot them at the end of a long day tracking. I’d spend the evening watching the waterholes, imagining a herd coming to drink right outside our dune cabin and I even dreamt of them at night.

The last time we’d seen elephants was 6 months ago in Kruger National Park and we’d almost become accustomed to seeing them several times daily on our drives in Northern Kruger. I don’t want to say that we’d taken them for granted – far from it – but we found a strange comfort in seeing them regularly and spending hours with them, observing their behaviour and almost feeling like we knew them personally. I missed that. I missed their reliability, their slow pace and gentle amble, the gentle crunching noise they make when munching on grasses and I missed observing their emotions.

Elephants are truly the most incredible creatures and we need to do everything we can to protect them for generations to come.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: