There's this blasted sparrow, 4 am regular as clockwork he opens his beak. While he appears to be convinced that his virtuoso performance is worthy of Pavarotti, my opinion is rather more jaded - someone suffering from a strangulated hernia rising from the couch more like.
Have perhaps mentioned in previous posts that there's not a lot to do in Boksburg which makes visits to surrounding areas almost compulsory. Not too far off near the little dump of Nigel lie the Marievale wetlands. Surrounded by mine dumps and farmlands it's a minor miracle that they still exist and continue to attract multitudes of avian visitors. As water levels were high most of the dabblers were absent and waders few and far between though there were others worth looking at. Below is a part of a group of over 30 glossy ibises (or is it ibi?) picking up tit-bits from the next door farmers maize field - never seen so many in one place at one time before.
As with my visit around this time last year the grass aloes were numerous though rather understated compared to their more garish cousins.
My namesake the yellow-crowned Bishop was strutting his stuff but wouldn't sit still long enough for a decent shot, still remarkably pretty - like me?
Initially thought that this was an ant-eating chat but the white vent just visible here, pointed to it being the dark form of mountain chat..............
...................which was confirmed when it's mate pitched up.
Continuing with my new regimen required an hour's stroll every day and tiring of the suburbs I was driven onto the abandoned mine property nearby which boasts the grandly named Cinderella dam. The dam itself is very much of the before Cinderella variety as the municipality once allowed a lot of raw sewage to escape into it, though it is slowly coming right. I found a number of walks around and near it though kept a wary eye out for shafts and sink holes - only one shaft actually and it was covered and fenced. Discovered a patch of these which didn't ring any bells so assumed they were garden escapees which my sister confirmed - soap-wort, ghastly name but apparently it was used to make soap in the days of yore.
Had a mail from Gina who lived next door to us in Forest Hills and as she now lives in Jo'burg she suggested a walk. As my knowledge of the area is sketchy I asked if she could think of a place and she suggested Klipriveirsberg nature reserve in Mondeor south of the city. What a revelation, I lived for six years in Brackenhurst a chip and a putt away and had never heard of it. It's a hilly area of 640 hectares run by Johannesburg city parks and is really rather special and quite popular. Gina dragged me off up something akin to Kilimanjaro and I eventually had to say sorry but I can't talk and climb.
Somewhere near the top some gorgeous gladiolas allowed some respite as I had to take a picture.
On an adjacent hillside were small herds of zebra and blesbok and on the way back down we came across these unusual ipomea crassipes, or leafy flowered ipomea of all things.
Another favourite is Suikerbosrand near Heidelberg and as I was there rather late in the day the birds were a bit scarce but I did run into a massive herd of eland. They were on a slope above the road and I got out for a better look and started a stampede. It sounded like something out of an old western movie as at least a hundred of them galloped across the road and down into the valley - only just visible as a bunch of black dots between the bushy patch and the hill below.
Once safely down the valley they stopped running, an impressive sight indeed.
As my brother-in-law remarked I now have a beautiful, 20 year-old in my life and she's a real goer! Can't say that's ever happened before but we've been having a lot of fun together. Spent a lot of time removing what looked like 20 years of road dirt and sorting a few minor niggles, and of course the authorities really love making you jump through endless hoops to get it registered in your name. After three visits to the local traffic department, I finally managed to get all the paperwork right, only to have the machine go on the blink when they were printing the registration paper. Of course being late afternoon there was nothing to be done but return again the next day - they did have the decency to apologise though.
Two months have flown by and it was time to collect the Beast and head off. I really want to ride the passes around Sabie so have booked into Forever Badplaas, a massive complex with every imaginable type of accommodation and after a couple of attempts eventually settled on this site tucked away in the shade. It's really tough making decisions when you haven't got a lady telling you what to do.
Unlike Boksburg where trees, tiles and tall walls conspire to hide the sky, I was sipping a sun-downer on the stoep on my second night, when I when I noticed a full moon creeping into the sky. This was a blue moon as it was the second of the month and in some parts of the world it was a blue blood moon as there was also an eclipse which unfortunately occurred at 2 pm our time.
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