Kruger, Kruger and more Kruger

There's a nature reserve on top of the 1450 m Mariepskop that I had tried to get to once before but the road put me off.  Running out of alternatives I tackled it once more and it took nearly an hour to cover the 15 km odd to the gate.  Once there a young lady relieved me of R30 and said there were two look out points, one by the towers and another a bit further down.  I'd seen some towers on the way up so ignored the huge concrete road that was marked Lookout and headed for where I thought the towers were.  After half an hour of the most atrocious road imaginable I gave up and headed back to the concrete.

Naturally enough I was in completely the wrong place, the only way to the top was up the 5 m wide concrete highway built when the armed forces had money to throw around. Not only are there dozens of towers atop Mariepskop but a massive air-force radar installation and in the bad old days a huge base with no less than three, three-story barrack blocks.  The base is now closed and it's debatable whether the radar works, but there was something going round and round.  The view from up there was akin to the top of Sani Pass and the road just as steep in places............

........ and looking the other way - straight into the Blyde Canyon, quite something.

From the bottom it's fairly apparent why the airforce and telecommunication companies chose to set up shop.

Currently in Phalabowa, at the Forever Resort situated 200 m from the gate to Kruger.  Have been going in at least every other day and twice on Sundays - wonderful thing this Wildcard as your R500 allows unlimited access.  A foreign trio at the next counter had to fork out R680 for the day.  Found this little Namaqua dove sitting catching forty winks, thought he was lucky that something didn't catch him.

Noticed that a number of the termite mounds have had recent extensions, perhaps another indication of rising temperatures as they are designed to act like cooling towers to keep the inside temperature constant, and generally the hotter it is, the higher they go.  Perhaps the ladies of the house just wanted some remodeling done.

Always impressive but up close the Ground hornbill's eyelashes may turn the ladies a bit green.

The area around here is mostly mopane scrub and there appears to be a lot more buffalo and elephant than down Orpen way.  Herds are large but difficult to see when more than 5 m from the road.

Among this lot were a couple of Red-billed hornbills foraging on the ground, though they are most often seen picking through elephant dung, obviously not fussy eaters.

This old chap didn't like the song that was playing on the radio and tried very hard to give me the 1000 yard stare - a bit difficult when you've only got one eye.

Went to check out the Hans Merensky hotel and golf course but as there are wild animals running around they won't let you walk the course.  No sooner had I turned off the engine athan this minute Collared sunbird was on the wiper blade and showing off to his reflection.  No aggression, he just seemed really fascinated with himself.

When you're surrounded by thousands of square kilometers of mopane, finding another species creates a lot of excitement, especially when it's as massive as this Ficus sur, the Cape or cluster fig..

Found an idyllic spot  on the Letaba river near Shimuwini where I just parked for an hour and watched Africa going about it's business.  Winter temperatures see the hippos out of the water and sunbathing with the crocs, while impala (inevitably), waterbuck and giraffe put in appearances.

As mentioned ellies are prolific and while they are mostly amiable, this big bull was very excited and who can blame him.  Driving to Sable dam I came across another group rather unexpectedly and had to brake hard. A young female perceived the bakkie as a threat and promptly gave her younger sibling a mighty heave up the ass to get it off the road.  She then turned, glared at me, trumpeted and shook her head.  I expected the hands on hips and a foot stamp to follow just like any other peed off teenager but she seemed satisfied that I wouldn't dare do anything else.

Somewhere north of Letaba was a magnificent example of the world's heaviest flying bird, the Kori bustard. No it's not a spastic it was busy with some housekeeping.

A short while later I was looking right when a large bull entered stage left at a trot.  There was no time to stop but fortunately as I veered right he went left and catastrophe was averted.  When I glanced in the mirror he was shaking his head and I could see the speech bubble above him that said "Asshole!"  He must have been on his way to an important assignment as he was sporting five legs.

Sunday is the only day I read the paper and it was a treat to park at Sable dam and watch the movies while perusing the pages.  First up a gaggle of stripy geese............

..........followed by the (inevitable) impala - in this case two for the price of one.

A couple were parked right at the place that this herd preferred to drink and as they walked past they could not have been more than 2 m from the door.  The big old matriarchs were unconcerned but some of the younger ones gave them hard stares - either brave or stupid.  I was 20 m further back and had a hand firmly clamped around the key and reverse engaged.

These two were having a whale of a time, well an elephant of a time just sounds silly.  The bigger of the two in the foreground was slamming his head into the water and splashing his pal and their wrestling took them deeper and deeper until only the tips of their trunks were visible.  All ended amicably and they eventually strolled off with beautifully polished teeth.

Can never get too much kudu can you?

Some guys have all the luck..............

...............and this old daggerboy with a massive growth on his leg, highly surprised the local carnivores haven't invited him to dinner yet.

Still swaddled

Decided to investigate Klaserie Caravan Park and found there were actually two, one private and the other municipal.  Unfortunately the one with the best sites on a peninsula in the dam with a stunning view belongs to the local municipality and the ablutions were iffy - change of plan.

On the way to Hoedspruit on the R40 one passes a sign not seen too often in any part of the world.  Bit of an exaggeration as there are fences both sides and the next warning was downgraded to a warthog.

Did come across this old fellow whose flapping ears were like white flags - most unusual.  How do I know it's a fellow, well if you can't see the obvious, check the tops of the horns - if - like me - they're bald, bingo.

Also along this stretch the Red-billed buffalo weavers believe the Eskom pylons make great nest sites.

There are five short hikes along the river from various parts of the resort and here's an example of the views available.

Conspicuous at the moment is the Flame thorn A. ataxacantha, a most unusual acacia in that it is a climber and the young seed pods are a startling red - particularly with the sun behind them.

Amazing where rainbows can pop up, this fountain is at the entrance to the resort and as you drive by the spectrum starts at the top and moves downwards.

Also very noticeable are the wild cotton  bolls which burst and spew black pea-sized seeds encased in cotton-wool balls. Gossypium herbaceum is part of the hibiscus family and was extensively cultivated in the past but has since been replaced by cultivars.

Blydepoort dam supplies water to a number of farms in the Blyde valley where mangos, paw paws and citrus are grown.  Guess it had to be one of the wives who decided to liven up the fence line with poinsettias, but my dear, the colour clashes diabolically with the oranges.

There's a couple of little villages that are more like far flung suburbs of Hoedpruit but I was particularly taken with Kampersrus.  A lot of the gardens have retained the indigenous trees but there is obviously some friction as a sign on one fence read - "Kampersrus is not full of hypocrites, there's plenty of room for more."

About 10 km from Swadini in the miiddle of nowhere essentially is the 24 Degrees South Centre that contains among other things classic car and bike showrooms.  If this Bugatti is the real deal, the guy who owns the collection must be seriously wealthy................

..........................and a sight to get any petrol-head's pulse going, a 12 cylinder Ferrari 350 with - count them SIX side-draught carbs.  My journeyman from a former life would have an orgasm, as the sound of just two of them, fitted to the occasional Alpha Romeo that came though our bay, could get him starry eyed..  Fond memories Malcolm thanks for all you taught me.
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Just a reminder as to how imposing the escarpment is...............

...........................and some lucky sod has a house parked just below one of the massive cliffs, he must be able to see the lights of Maputo on a clear night.

Had to see the canyon from the water so booked a trip on the ferry and on my way there found this beautiful Klipspringer parked very daintily on a klip, en pointe nogal.

Could not have picked it better as my company was a posse of pretty Dutch maidens - view what view?

Managed to get between the selfie shots long enough to get this.............

................and once we were out on the main part the surface turned into a mirror - stunning.

Have mentioned the tufa falls before but this one which drops directly into the dam is the second highest in the world.  Nicknamed the Crying Man Falls, for the constant stream that pours from one of the "eyes", I thought it looked more like a gorilla.

Three Rondavels from a different perspective.  On the way back I quizzed the guide about the magical buildings I had found and featured in the last blog.  Turns out that they were all built by an Australian TV crew and then used as a base to film the local versions Survivor and Fear factor among others.  Still seems a crazy waste though.

Had to do the touristy bit as there had been reports of an Egyptian vulture in the area and I knew they had a vulture restaurant so went to the Hoedspruit Endangered Species Centre and found and ag shame.  And it really was as there were two of them one, as you can see very laid back, but the other really didn't want to be there.  Not sure if it was for my benefit but the restless one stopped it's patrolling and very deliberately did a forward somersault, which kind of made it sadder.

Though they mainly concentrate on cheetah there are a number of other species including a small herd of what I consider to be most elegant antelope - the Sable.

Among the dozens of normal cheetah there is a very occasional throwback which results in the King - though this one is a lady.  Sad to say they won't release them as of course there are any number flaming idiots willing to pay a fortune to kill them.

Winter, whats that.  The only obvious signs are the aloes, the Marlothii's being particularly striking.

Have I said how spectacular the escarpment is around here?

Currently in flower too is the Natal wild pear Dombeya cymosa, this species inevitably being the last tree to flower just before winter while it's cousin D. rotundifolia is usually the first to flower after winter.

Came across this tiny fellow sitting at the very top of a dead tree, about 10 m up and could not make up my mind which one of the five Indigobirds he could be.  A ridiculous name as only one of them displays a blue sheen in the right light, what was wrong with Widowbirds?  Decided to try a shot and see what happened when I downloaded it.  It's all about whether the beaks and feet are white or pink and after cropping, one foot which I couldn't see using binocular became visible clutching the tip of the branch.  White and white means Purple indigobird and one I haven't seen for a very long time.  Well done Sherlock.

The last time I included a picture of  Traveller's joy Clematis brachiata, I mentioned that the jury was out as to whether the flowers or the seeds were the most attractive.  My mind is made up, a lot of trees upon which this creeper has made it's home are now covered with what, at a distance, looks like snow.