A bit of jet setting

Some of the smaller visitors to the campsite in Pretoriouskop included a mob of about 30 dwarf mongoose, who make up for their lack of size by sticking together and looking out for one another through continuous communication.  Nevertheless it is amazing that something as small and defenseless as this survives the rigours of Africa.

The main tree species in this area is the aptly named silver cluster leaf Terminalia sericea which form a very elegant backdrop and quite extensive forests.

The nearby and rather unfortunately named Shitlhave Dam is a magnet for elephant and these youngsters were enjoying a romp even though is was a wintry day.

Apologies, through the windscreen shots are never good but it is rare indeed for a slender mongoose to sit still long enough for any sort of picture. The primary identification feature is the black tip to the tail.

An early drive found a mom spotted hyena, several aunts and a brace of newborns basking in the sunshine outside their den......

......and a couple of old boys engaged in a friendly greeting - absolutely no rough stuff what,what.

So what do you do all day when you've been forced into retirement, pretty much what I do - very little and just wait for the local pride to finish you off.  There's an idea!

Still haven't found out why coqui francolin go into stealth mode when crossing an open area such as a road.  They positively creep along when surely the best strategy would be to get across as quickly as possible.

The southern area of Kruger around Berg-en-dal (Hill and dale) is one of the few hilly parts of the reserve, but the highest point in this picture is Legogote, which is outside the reserve and about 20 km from White River.

Not quite sure how, but this old girl seems to have made a bit of a hash putting her bra on.

Always a pleasure to see a graceful kudu and this superb bull was picking up fruit fallen from a torch-wood tree Balanites maughami, and delicately nibbling the husks off.

This misshapen mass is a closer view of the aforementioned Legogote hiding in the mid-day mist

A sudden rush of blood to the head saw me galloping overseas for a quick visit to family and a few friends.  Airports fascinate me so the couple of hours spent at OR Tambo before take-off were no hardship.  The UFO in the sky is the reflection of a light in the window, in case you were wondering.

An absolute novelty was flying over Africa during the day, here looking down at the coast somewhere close to Addis Abbaba - apologies for the dirty window pane but they wouldn't let me out to clean it.

Approaching the Arabian peninsula the dust haze was very apparent shortly before sunset.

First stop was Dubai for three nights with my dearest Sally in her magnificent apartment, blissfully air-conditioned to offset the 44 degree heat.  That dust haze is particularly noticeable from the third floor roof area.

She has fairly recently moved into this very eco-friendly complex which feature gardens the queen would be proud of and climate-controlled domes under which residents can rent small plots of to grow their own vegetables and herbs.

A multitude of date palms produce huge bunches of dates which are carefully bagged to prevent them dropping on the ground and harvested and sold when ripe.

I also got to meet Cheandro who's got to be the biggest pet anyone could own, really enjoys a roll on the small patch of grass near his stable and follows Sally around like a dog.

England swings so they say and after 10 years in Wimbledon my son, Shay and his lovely lady Lauren were keen to show me around. However a quick visit to Basingstoke to catch up with Karen, a friend I hadn't seen for 30 years was first on the cards. I spent a night in a very swish hotel which was close to a common so had a chance to have a wander between showers and what do you know - real poppies.......

........a song thrush, who was more interested in breakfast than singing...

......and a rather smart wood pigeon.

Back in London, I was royally spoiled with some home concocted delights and more cooked breakfasts than I've had in the last 5 years.  A couple of highlights were a visit to Barnes wildlife sanctuary, a stunning surprise in the heart of the city.  It featured a pair of European "ag shames" or otters, which are critically endangered and much smaller than our local variety......

.... some exotics including the weirdly named smew with a footballer's hairstyle.....

....the quite astounding wood duck of north America............

............and red-breasted geese among others.

However large wetland areas are a magnet for dozens of local species as well, including their rather smart lapwings.  The nice thing about Britain is that they only have one of each species generally.

Finally visits to the Natural History Museum to see the Wildlife of the Year photographic exhibition and the Science Museum housed in this spectacular building rounded off a whirlwind but fascinating trip.  Many thanks to all who enriched it so wondrously.