A rarity in the shape of a golden pipit was located near Mopani camp in Kruger, so I hit the road arriving almost unannounced in Whiteriver, which caused a certain amount of of angst in chez Maralyn, and as she wasn't available to accompany me immediately, I went in search of another bird that was apparently lurking at Mazithi Dam. It wasn't, so Janet (a good friend of Maralyn's who had accompanied me on the venture) and I retired to Tshokwane for a consolation buffalo pie and chips. The normal hangers-on were in attendance including this very tame greater blue-eared starling who was having a quiet preen in a nearby tree. So why is it not a Cape glossy, the dark patch behind the eye and a blue belly are the visual cues and the call is totally different.
At the low-level bridge near Skukuza a little egret was fishing and showing off the aigrette (or neck plumes) which were so popular with continental ladies for their hats, that the birds were driven to extinction there many years ago. Not sure if the population has ever recovered.
Nearby, on top of a tree a juvenile martial eagle was sitting and surveying it's realm imperiously.
A couple of days later we arrived at Mopane and though we searched diligently in the area where the pipit was last reported, there was no sign of the creature. Some lovely bristle grasses glowing in the morning sun were a minor compensation............
................but a visit to a nearby pan turned up gold in the form of a lesser moorhen. Had only ever seen this species once before and that was back in 2004 when Umhlanga Ponds were in their prime. The differences? Most obvious would be size if a common moorhen was around for comparative purposes, but the plumage is much paler and the beak is mostly yellow as opposed to red with a yellow tip.
The specials kept coming, with next up being a group of Temminck's coursers with their reddish caps and bold black eye-stripe.....
......plus this old daggaboy whose absence of tail would suggest a close encounter with lions.
But the birds kept stealing the show, a magnificent paradise whydah complete with bustle....
............and flocks of chestnut-backed sparrow-larks that included a male who remained still for long enough to get a reasonable photograph.
It may be that I've never noticed them before, as they are neither particularly inspiring or obvious, but it certainly was the first time I'd ever snapped the flowers of the ubiquitous mopane (Colophospermum mopane).
Lurking in the shade of one of them something I'd only seen on a couple of previous occasions a dusky lark, who unfortunately proved extremely camera shy, but you get the drift.
To cap what had been a stupendous couple of days, we once again visited Mazithi Dam and this time were met by not one...............
Getting back to Dundee was rather an anti-climax so a bit of history was necessary as an antidote. In 1838, as a response to the massacre of Piet Retief and his men at Dingane's kraal a small force of 470 boers sallied forth into Zululand bent on revenge. The accounts I've read infer that the position that they chose to engage with the 10 000 plus Zulu army was purely fortuitous but I prefer to think that their wily leader, Andries Pretorius, knew exactly what he was doing when he formed the 64 ox-wagons into a D-shaped laager on the banks of the Ncome River. When it was all over about 3000 warriors lost their lives and the tainted river was renamed after their spilled blood, while the boers suffered three minor casualties. The monument to this battle features 64 full scale cast-iron replicas of the ox-wagons, drawn up around the spot.
Not really a fair fight with spears against guns and pitifully few of their spears even reached the laager let alone did any damage and, when a single lucky cannon shot took out 16 of the 19 Zulu commanders, most of their troops lost heart and fled. Nevertheless the astonishing courage shown by the men armed only with leather shields and spears is celebrated in a massive museum on the opposite bank of the river.
I then took part in the annual "Old farts movie club" which happened at various venues along the KZN coast. Originally consisting of four couples whose menfolk shared a great love of vintage race cars, they had been getting together regularly over many years so that the men could talk cars and their womenfolk could try and instil some culture into proceedings by (forcing) them to watch some favourite movies. I was most honoured to take the place of a deceased member, Maralyn's husband Howard. What followed were six memorable nights of magnificent food, wine, laughter and movies starting in Salt Rock where a couple of dolphins were spotted on an early foray.........
.............followed by two in Umhlanga..........
...........and finally Leisure Bay near Port Edward, where blues of every conceivable hue formed an idyllic backdrop. While some of the films were riveting...............
.....................others couldn't compare to a spectacular sunset.
Two of the couples entered into the spirit of things by bringing their magnificent steeds along in the form of a 50's era Morgan +4..............
.............and an XK150 Jaguar - both of whose lines competed with the gorgeous ladies present.
To round of a lovely trip we were invited to the Smart's for lunch and treated to a close up of these weird plants, Ceropegia meyerii or Meyer's ceropegia. The flower is about 60 mm long with the petals fused to form a cage at the top and recent work suggests that they may be insectivorous.
Our final night was at the Turner's now completed cottage in Kloof, which is available as a self-catering establishment with amazing views and a massive indigenous garden. This magical mural was done by a graffiti artist who only used aerosol spray cans. Anyone interested, give me a shout.
Returning to Dundee, it was very noticeable how much rain had fallen by the now waist high grass and a storm that swept in the afternoon of my arrival brought hail but mercifully light, unlike parts of Newcastle which were shattered by stones the size of golf balls.
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