Return to Mokala

Have taken to reading some of the old blogs and in one of them I visited a desperately dry Mokala Game Reseve near Kimberly.  As the whole country has been doused, I thought it might be a good time to return.  I broke the trip with an overnight stop at Eillat Farm between Ventersberg and Winberg in the Freestate.  A charming sandstone cottage awaited me, though I later discovered that it is in a GPS dead zone so was unable to do an Atlas card for the many birds encountered.

Not sure of the vintage of the stately farm house as I completely forgot to ask my young and charming hosts Karl and Crystelle.  I was so taken with the place that I booked in for the return trip.

A lot of the farms between here and Bloemfontein were smothered in sunflowers, van Gogh would have been in his element.

Decided to spoil myself so had booked a self-catering unit at Lilydale which in a former life was a swanky hunting lodge.  The chalets are built on a ridge overlooking the Riet River............

......and are well appointed...........

...........though perhaps a little OTT in some aspects!

Unfortunately as with all the parks, the cracks are beginning to appear, as the money for maintenance always seems to be diverted elsewhere.  Some things were just niggles like the loose tap fixtures but others were glaring such as the state of the roads.  A late afternoon drive produced interest in the form of Burchell's sandgrouse, both Mrs,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

.................and Mr, plus a lot more grass than previously..............

............which the animals were making the most of, including eland, ........

......................gemsbok and a large herd of buffalo which were a bit far off to get a decent picture.

The following morning it, it was an early start to explore the rest of the 196 sq. km. park.  It's the newest National Park and was only established in 2007 when Vaalbos, which was north of Kimberly, was lost to a successful land claim.

First up was a greater kestrel, still rather scruffy from the overnight rain.  In general though there was a  noticeable lack of birdlife, perhaps the rain made them stop a while longer in their beds.

A little further along a wonderful surprise was sprung in the form of a completely unexpected pair of Pygmy falcons.  These tiny raptors share quarters with sociable weavers, which I hadn't remembered are also resident.  They don't prey on their hosts as they're insectivorous and their nest cavity within the complex can be identified by the white ring of faeces around the entrance.

Nearby a common tsessebe grazed nonchalantly while a glossy Cape starling snaffled insects that were disturbed by it's movements.

Another surprise a (not very) white rhino at a waterhole, shame about the horns though.

This has to be one of the prettiest animals on the planet, the gemsbok Oryx gazella, though some prefer oryx as gemsbok is the German name for the chamois which is a goat!

The birding improved considerably at Stofdam Hide, if fact it was hectic.  Bulbuls here have a red ring around the eye and hence are called red-eyed bulbuls!

Shaft-tailed whydahs have so much tail that it's difficult to get all of them into a shot.  This one also had the wind to contend with and he was giving lady friend an unintended lashing.

There were so many of of them around and they really are rather splendid so here's another picture.

Amongst so much grandeur a black-throated canary didn't stand out much.

A tiny red-billed firefinch posed pretty perfectly.......

...........but as is often the case in the avian world his partner was a trifle dowdy.

The same was true for the black-faced waxbill.........

.................and the red-headed finch.

However, in the case of the scaly-feathered weavers they are both similar, but I'll let you hazard a guess!

The reserve is named after the dominant tree species in the park the mokala or camel thorn Vachelia erioloba which bears large sickle shaped pods that are high in protein and much favoured by herbivores.

Lilydale has a large facility that used to house a lounge, dining room and bar but is now just used as reception, a small shop and a couple of offices.  

There are two and four bed units spaced out on either side of the main building........

,,,,,,,and the whole complex overlooks the river.

There wasn't a great deal of activity around the camp but I did find a small family of black-throated prinias that make up for in noise what they lack in size.

A nearby lookout provides a slightly raised platform overlooking a large pan which had unfortunately dried up but the huge, completely flat  plain was impressive.