Old haunts

Well here we are in Kruger for a final time this leg and starting with one of the unfortunately, increasingly rare sightings of a raptor - and if they are rare here, imagine what it's like elsewhere.  Being winter this brown eagle is fairly easily identified as a Tawny because all the confusingly similar species have departed to supposedly fairer climes to the north.

Apologies for the haze but could only get this shot through the windscreen. Most will recognize this a a Hamerkop nest but it is interesting for several reasons.  Firstly its size.  A tree which contained a nest in the grounds of Pretoria zoo was blown over many years a go and the erstwhile staff were able to weigh the material that made up the structure, which was just over 300 kg.  This example was (as with most nests) at least a metre from base to roof and contains a side tunnel which gives access to the mud-lined hollow chamber concealed in it's bowels.  The chamber is constructed as material is being built up around and eventually over it.  The top story is frequently annexed by Egyptian geese and bees have been known to take over the chamber.  All this from a couple of birds that weigh about half a kilogram.

A little further along at the Biyamithi weir, a pair of woolly-necked storks were busily preening themselves and each other, while......

........on the other side of the river a southern yellow-billed hornbill had just finished uttering it's wuk,wuk,wuk call and was looking rather pleased with itself.

The beauty of Kruger is that you never know what's going to happen next.  My camera is not capable of capturing shots of the amazing colours exhibited on the wings of a lilac-breasted roller as it swoops down to nab prey, so I had to be satisfied with the end result.

Lunch was enjoyed at Skukuza, looking out on the Crocodile River towards the old railway bridge.  Apparently there are plans to refurbish some old sleeper coaches and park them on the bridge for a different over-night experience.

Heading towards Phabeni gate I noticed this lady making her way across the road behind me and found a novel use for the wing mirror.

I actually missed the turn-off to Phabeni and ended up at Paul Kruger Gate so turned around in in one of those sublimely serendipitous moments found this little lady not more than half a kilometer away.  May be mistaken, but assumed a she, based purely on size, not that it matters with such a stunning animal.

There was some sort of scent that caught her attention and she spent quite a while sniffing around until some imbecile pulled up right next to her for a selfie and she was gone in a flash.  People!

Shitlhave Dam on the way to the gate had it's fair share of interest in the form a graceful black stork also putting recalcitrant feathers to rights....

.....a massive herd of buffalo wallowing and drinking....

....and ox-pecker encrusted hippo that had decided that the water was a touch too nippy.

As friends had requested a house-sitter in Kloof, the Beast and I headed for Bonamanzi for a few nights before the trek to Durban. On settling into my favourite campsite I noticed that the surrounding forest was awash with butterflies which I eventually identified as African common whites.  (Feel free to correct me Steve - I used your book!)

Seems they just had one thing in mind!  Talk about Fly United.

Took a stroll one morning in an area I hadn't been in before and came across this very interesting tree which I didn't recognize and failed miserably to key out.  Resolving to ask Richard Boon I took pictures......

......particularly of the very unusual bark, which appeared to be covered with lichen.  Happened to have dinner with the guru who was visiting from Oz and was informed that this is a new species of Berchemia which had been wrongly identified as Brown Ivory in the first edition of Trees of KZN.  He is currently working with Braam van Wyk on describing the species - may soon have a B. boonii.

Then it was off to Pongola Nature Reserve where a citrine wagtail had migrated in the wrong direction and ended up on the shores of Jozini Dam.  This is a very rare occurrence and only the 9th record of the bird in southern Africa.

On the drive back to Bonamanzi, noticed this spectacular display at the entrance to one of the many reserves in the area.......

.....while the roadside was liberally sprinkled with common soap aloe A. maculata.

Arriving in Kloof it was almost compulsory to take the path from the Turner's garden down the the edge of Molweni Gorge and sit for a while navel-gazing in the sun.

Directly opposite, the Uve Falls drop about 30 m before linking up with the Molweni River.

Returning I found this Blue spikethorn in copious flower.  Had to do some digging as it has had a couple of name changes and is now known as Gymnosporia glaucophylla - quite a mouthful!

Dainty little flowers though.

At last a butterfly that actually remained stationary for more than a millisecond, but then the commodors are normally quite obliging, this being the garden variety.

It's not often one sees a sunset from this part of Forest Hills so felt obliged to take this on my way out one evening.

As Krantzkloof Reserve covers around 560 ha a couple of visits are required, this time to the Uve Road section immediately above the falls shown previously.

Here a number of Indian hemp-leaved hibiscus H. cannabinus (unsurprisingly) were in flower and don't bother smoking the leaves they just look like the real thing.

Another of my favourites, Traveller's joy Clematis braciata with its fluffy seed pods glowing in the early sunlight......

............and a final look back along this magnificent geological feature and while writing this a dozen or more vervet monkeys are wreaking havoc my caravan awning which they have turned into a trampoline.

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.