The little patch of garden in front of the Boksburg cottage is surprisingly popular, considering the number of cats! One of the most common species is the laughing dove which is also one of the smallest of the family. Very cute looking but the males get really aggressive in the breeding season.
The Afrikaans name for the Cape robin-chat is Janfrederik which is a remarkably good rendition of one of it's calls. Unfortunately hastily snapping a shot through the lounge window doesn't do it much justice, but the striking resemblance to the English robin is obvious, though these are much larger birds.
Went for a walk in the Klipriviersberg Park and was amused to see that dassies had taken up residence in the adjacent suburb of Kibler Park......nothing like a cozy storm-water drain.
Got back to Kloof in time for the second round of floods, which caused further havoc and misery and was having a lie down one afternoon when I noticed a bright green stick lying in the drive. Closer inspection turned it into the pretty and harmless variegated bush snake, which took off at the speed of light as soon as it became aware of my presence.
The Turner's garden is an indigenous delight and I always find something special, this being a white version of the normally orange wild dagga Leonotis leonuris.
Finally had to say farewell to dear old Durbs and toddled up to Mtunzini with the new bakkie proving to be as capable as the old. Rather a sad day saying goodbye to the old girl, we'd been through a lot together. Had the camp to myself but this family of red duiker kept me company.
On a walk through the mangroves I'd stopped to check on a bird when I felt something nudging my back-pack. This poor old one armed bandit was obviously trying his luck and though I did feel sorry for him, I never feed them on principle.
Next stop was Richards Bay Caravan Park and while there I spent a couple of evenings with Willem and Wilma van der Walt - thanks to both of you. On a previous visit Wilma had pointed out Livindstone's turaco in her garden and this time around I finally managed to get a picture.....though not a great one. These birds are increasing their range as when I started giuiding we only came across them in the far north of Natal. About 20 years ago they arrived in St. Lucia and have now made it to Richard's Bay about 300 km further south. Though the call is very similar to the Knysna turaco the elongated crest is a dead give away.
The objects in the foreground are dolosse (singular dolos) and the man generally credited with inventing them was a South African, Eric Merrifield. They are interlocking concrete blocks that weigh up to 80 tons and are extremely good at dissipating waves so are used extensively for coastal management. The ones that form the breakwaters at the entrance to Richard's Bay harbour have been put to a novel use........
..........many of them now sport plaques in memory of loved ones, mostly of people who enjoyed fishing here I would imagine.
The area around the caravan park was mostly coastal dune forest and was usually a hive of activity. This allowed for some wonderful opportunities for really good shots. such as this female collared sunbird feeding on an erythrina.
Mind you this African dusky flycatcher has a real dose of the cutes with it's "sitting fat" pose......
.............and after a rainy night who wouldn't have a bad hair day? It's a red-faced barbet by the way.,,,,,
.....though this immaculate red-capped robin-chat didn't have a feather out of place.
Next stop was like going home, I know so many of the staff and they always make me feel special and give me a really good rate to boot. One glaring difference though is how quiet it is now that the old boy Baba has been "sold". Take that in any way you feel comfortable with but I miss his nocturnal visits and the sound of trees being felled.
To add a little piquancy to the mix though a number of black rhino have been released into the forest, which I only discovered after I'd come across very clear evidence of rhino on a forest trail and wondered what on earth a white rhino was doing there. What a spectacular exit that could have been!
Even though the nabooms or candelabra trees (Euphorbia ingens) look more like cacti, they are classified as trees and most of them are currently full of fruit. As the latex is extremely toxic I would have assumed the fruit was inedible, but a number of dark-capped bulbuls were swallowing them whole.
There is a lot of clearing going on which concerns me as in some places it looks more like a park than a reserve. The official explanation is that it's to reverse bush encroachment, but I tend to think it's so that the animals are more easily seen.
I'm sure I've said it before but Africa always has a few surprises, even in the middle of winter when most things are dry, up pop a bunch of kalanchoes K. rotundifolia with their bright red flowers and succulent green leaves.
With all the rain it's been a while since I witnessed the rising of a full moon, an awesome sight.
Richard Boon has written up the paper describing the new species of berchemia and is currently waiting for Braam van Wyk to read it and authorize publication. However even though Braam is officially retired, he's busier than ever so we still don't have an official title. Had to revisit the tree that piqued my interest in the species a few years back and still think it is stunning with it's highly distinctive bark.
Then took a stroll along the track where I met Baba on my last visit and lo and behold some of the family were just ahead of me and had left very fresh signs of their presence. Discretion overcame valour and I turned rather promptly and headed back to the vehicle.
Not more than 200 m from there I came across this leopard spoor which was fortunately a lot older!
I then took a drive down to the Hluhluwe River and disturbed this little emerald-spotted wood dove, who then obligingly flew into a tree.
The track along the river was being patrolled by grey-rumped swallows who every now and then landed to inspect nesting sites as they dig tunnels into suitable ground. Trying to get a picture of them during these fleeting moments nearly proved almost impossible and this was the best I could do.
An early drive took me past Dinizulu Dam on a perfectly calm day - extra special.
