Quiet festive season

Just how I like it, though hope you all had whatever you preferred.

Managed to leave out a few pictures from the Namibia saga, so to round it off, I happened upon three of these fine lookers which are the Namibian subspecies of Red-necked Spurfowl and even though they occur in KZN this was technically a lifer.  Distinctive features are much lighter breast and belly colouration and lots of white on the face. With red skin showing around the face and neck and red legs wondered what they'd look like plucked.

On the way back to the main road from the lodge, I was stopped in my tracks by this imposing plant.  Assume it must be a Hoodia sp. which I've come across in the Karoo - this was the plant that caused all sorts of excitment some years back when some members of a San tribe were awarded a massive payout from a pharmaceutical company after they "stole" specimens to test for it's apparently miraculously effective appetite suppressing qualities - which then proved unfounded.

When in Kruger a while back I praised the termites ability to build skyscraping mounds - well they've got competition.

Back in RSA went off on a wild tern chase to Borokalolo Game Reserve where a lone Gull-billed was supposedly in residence.  Upon arrival I was informed that the bird is best seen early or late when it returns (no pun intended) to the roost.  This was an island some 100 m offshore and picking out a lone Gull-billed Tern from a thousand others would have required a scope the size of SALT - I'll take their word for it. Contented myself with Brown-veined Whites sucking moisture from a mud hole.

The dam along with most others in RSA was down to about 50% but the surounding bush was verdant enough to indicate some rain had fallen.

Found a Peltopherum africanum or Weeping Wattle, a tree I hadn't seen in flower for a long time and it was smothered in yellow, looking like someone had buttered it.

You may recall my mentioning an overnight stay in Parys and that the town looked interesting enough for a return visit, so I booked into a self-catering place on a farm about 10 k's out of town.  Turned out the town wasn't the only interesting place.  A long gloomy passage had nine double rooms off it while the other side consisted of 5 kitchens and two dining rooms.  The rooms all had showers and basins which drained straight through the wall and into the field below while the toilets were all clustered at the furthest end of said passage.  The whole place was overwhelmed by massive antiques including two of these monstrosities - more than one way to do a selfie hey.  The longer I stayed the more convinced I became that it must have started out life a s brothel.

Strolled around the town which was quaint but trying too hard to be Parisian, then meandered along the river which forms the northern boundary.  This bridge used to link the mainland to a large island but developers have put paid to that by constructing an exclusive golf estate on it.  Secondary purpose now is to act as a place to put padlocks and throw away the keys as a sign of undying love.  From the size of some padlocks it ain't going to last too long.

Another place of interest is the Vredefort Dome, the epicentre of a meteor crater formed by a lump of rock the size of table mountain giving the earth a snotklap many millions of years ago.  It was closed!  Not just closed temporarily but permanently.  In 2011, some well meaning benefactors fenced the whole area with pallisade, built a giant Education Centre, on top of the dome, erected a massive gate which was presumably to collect entrance fees from the hordes of visitors and all for nothing. What a dreadful waste.

Hands up all those who thought Stonehenge was on Salisbury Plain - meet the African version.  The hills in the background are part of a semi-circular range that is all the is left of the crater rim.

My return to Boksburg was enlivened by this apparition - "Excuse me sir do you realise someone's parked a 707 in your factory?"

I really don't remember when I last had one of those hysterical laughs that you just can't stop, it was certainly before Jo died then along comes this ad in a Car magazine of all things..........

..........and the punch line "Non-genuine parts work. Technically".  Brilliant, thanks VW.

A recollection suddenly hit me the other night which I think I'll make my motto.  My son, Shay, wanted to try paddle skiing at the age of about 5 or 6 so I took him St Helier Dam and tied a long rope to the board in case he had a problem.  Don't remember what happened exactly but he dropped the paddle and got into a bit of a state.  When I'd got him ashore I sat down with him and told him that I was his dad and would never let anything bad happen and perhaps asked why he reacted like that.  His reply was the classic - "It's because I've never patted a duck on the head".  How do you answer that?

You may have met this grand lady before, Dusty, who is gracious enough to spend time with me now and then

Marievale is not too far away so drove out there one morning after overnight rain.  As they spend most of their time foraging in the grass, the coucal's were soaked.  This one came out into the open to dry off a bit and was soon joined by baby Burchell's begging for breakfast.

Though the Whiskered Terns were in their breeding finery, this one didn't look at all happy with life.  Maybe he never patted a duck on the head!

A lot of the surrounding fields were flooded which attracted the waders including a few of these.  One of very few species that have different names for males and females, though when they're here it's difficult to tell Ruffs from Reeves.  On their northern breeding grounds the males grow a fancy ring of feathers around their necks from whence the name.

Plenty of flowers as well including this pretty Dwarf Hibiscus, Hibiscus pusillus which comes in yellow or mauve ...........

............ Yellow Grass Aloe (a lot of thought went into that one) Aloe kraussii............

..........and the Plough-breaker, Erythrina zeyheri, named for the massive underground stem that remains protected from fire or frost.

An unusual visitor to these parts was present at the same flooded areas that I photographed the ruffs, but wasn't very obliging as it took off as soon as I had this shot - a Black Heron.

And of course a grassland wouldn't be complete without these show-offs, Long-tailed Widows.  American or Canadian visitors were always fascinated by these majestic birds as they don't have any long tailed species on their continent.

Went off, this time on a wild sandgrouse chase, to try and track down the only one of our locals I haven't yet had the pleasure of meeting - the Yellow-throated. However they were off on their Christmas hols so went to Pilanesberg Game Reserve instead.  A tree, who's name is lost in the mists of alcohol, covered in little white berries was a magnet for Grey Go-away Birds.  My sister feeds a pair in her garden and one of them takes food from her hand.  Very comical but the bane of any hunter's existence as they often scare off prey by giving their raucous calls at inopportune moments.

I found an obliging Melodious Lark a while ago and remarked that it's call was a lot nicer than it's cousin.  Let me introduce the Monotonous Lark and boy is he ever. At this time of year they call virtually the whole day and, if there is a moon, all night as well.  According to the wise men they say "For syrup is sweet" but after listening to them the the whole night you start inventing far less savoury things, such as "F... off and die".

The Pilanesberg NR is situated in the caldera of an extinct volcano and is surrounded by a ring of hills 27 km in diameter.  Far better known is the Sun City complex on the outer fringes, which I didn't bother to visit as fortunately, I got the gambling bug out of my system many years ago when we used to drive through after work on a Friday and leave just before dawn - if the money lasted that long.

Was pleasantly surprised to see not one but six of these prehistoric beasts in just over 3 hours, this one rising from a dust bath which by the sounds of things was most enjoyable.

As luck would have it just before leaving a fellow parked by the side of the road waved frantically and pointed out mom and two cubs, the latter snoozing under a bush - absolutely magnificent.  And no I don't know what the collar was all about - sorry.

Hard to believe I've been here a month already and off down to Durban tomorrow.  My sister's delghtful garden is gradually regaining it's glory after the ravages of drought and though it's noisy compared to the Beast it doesn't take long to acclimatise.

A nomad in Namibia

Left Aldam and headed for Parys on the banks of the Vaal River.  The Dimalachite Resort is about 10 k's from town and as I was only over-nighting I didn't even unhitch so never got to explore what looks like a very quaint town.  I shall return.  Dimalachite?  Their logo features a pair of matching kingfishers so go figure.

Extremely hot weather required something chilly - ah these are a few of my favoutie things..........

............while watching a Little Egret catching it's supper.

Ever come across a fully clothed  toilet?  With matching curtains nogal.

Next day it was off to Boksburg just up the road and some serious PT moving everything from Beast to cottage.  Even had my own personal car guard - thanks Pete.  Later put the Beast to bed in a huge warehouse and as access was dodgy we really impressed them with my oversized R/C toy.  Very shortly thereafter and I boarded a plane for Windhoek for my birthday birding treat.  Collected a bakkie, over-nighted at a B&B then headed for Ondangwa, about 600 km north.  About 30 k's from Tsumeb, think middleof nowhere, I came across this sign for the Jungle Gym Junction and wondered why venture capitalists weren't bashing down the doors.  Have to commend their optimism.

Was a little sceptical when the directions led me to a kraal 35 k's from Ondangwa but Ongula Lodge turned out to be a special cultural experience.  Financed by some lady from Windhoek it's is run as a community project and is superbly furnished with repurposed 200 L barrels.  The headboard, sides of the tables and cupboard all feature  the tops while the veranda of the main building is roofed with the flattened sides.  If you happen to clout the headboard when turning over, you think you're in the middle of a Jamaican steel drum band.

And there in the distance, huge Borassis Palms which transported me straight back to Etosha where Jo first met them and loved their stately appearance.

There's a central bar, lounge, dining area and five huts surrounded by meticulously hoed and raked sand. The dinner was a delight, with the courses being introduced by Chef Nandi, I guessed he wouldn't be too chuffed to be told that he shared a name with Shaka's mother.  All ingredients were local and inevitably included mopani worms, fortunately dried and served with a dip which are manageable as they really don't have much taste at all.  The fresh, gooey ones are heave inducing. The other thing used extensively is mahongo or millet, which was gritty and quite challenging for ancient gnashers.

There is a huge flood plain surrounding Ondangwa which extends over 200 km west and is fairly densely populated, so the road is liberally smothered with 60kph zones.  Massive pain but the locals just ignore them which probably contributes to Namibia having the highest accident rate in the world.  Once near Ruacana   though, the numbers drop.  The whole area was extremely dry as there has also been a drought for the last two years and birds were virtually non-existant.  Saw a single raptor in seven days and though there were plenty of dead animals not one vulture probably all been converted into muti.  The Cunene River valley suddenly appears and reminded me of the Zambezi valley on a smaller scale.  A large hydro-electric project is fed by the Ruacana Dam, just a few hundred metres upstream from the falls, which are dry for most of the year as the water is diverted through the generators.

My destination, Kunene River Lodge required negotiating some farly rough dirt road but I really thought I'd been promoted to royalty when confronted with this.

The first wildlife came in the form of this handsome couple, Orange-headed Agamas.  Males are highly territorial and maintain their patch with a lot of bobbing and gaping.

I was having a lie-down when a heavenly duet started which I took to be Heuglin's Robins, but hang on a sec they're an east coast species.  Grab bins and almost on my veranda a pair of Rufous-tailed Palm-thrush.  Not particularly spectacular but this is virtually the only place in southern Africa where you can see them - first lifer.

Next morning a trundle down river brought home exactly how quiet everything was, my list of possibles diminished fast.

However a shady tributary turned up Bare-cheeked Babbler, second lifer and..........

..........Grey-headed Kingfisher, not a lifer but one of those seen so rarely they seem like one.

I investigated a chittering noise, that I hoped would reveal something exotic - it turned out to be an ag shame.  The Tree Squirrels here are much smaller and are probably a different species, cute though.

Meals are mostly served on the deck but the umbrellas didn't supply a great deal of shade though there were other tables under the trees.  Boat rides or inflatables were available and owner Peter Morgan is a birder so does take people out to show them the other two mega-rarities on offer, Cinderella Waxbill and Angola Cave Chat.  The first record of the latter only occurred in 2012 but the drought appears to have driven both of them to more salubrious climes.  Spent a number of hours chasing the local variety of coucal and though I spotted it a couple of times I couldn't make out it's distinguishing feature the White-brow.  The superb Latin name Centropus superciliosis makes it sound extremely upper crust and it was obliging enough to eventually offer a glimpse.

Had found these on another stroll down stream but again only caught glimpses as the seemed to prefer Angola.  On leaving Kunene though I came across a flock of them and one was obliging enough to land nearby.  Like all Bee-eaters the Madagascar or Olive sports a brilliant plumage.  This guy seems to prefer a different diet though.

Second last night was spent at Huab Lodge, the most expensive but because it's "eco" and only has solar power, no aircons.  Mild 41 degree heat saw me in the pool for most of my stay.  Was here to meet Hartlaub's Spurfowl and catch up with Rockrunner but no such luck.

The surrounding koppies were pretty but for the most part deathly quiet.  As the only guest I was once again spoiled with a magnificent fillet dinner but a pre-breakfast stroll didn't turn up much at all.

Ended up at the hot spring for a qucik skinny dip in the 38 degree hot pool but had to leap into the adjacent cold one to cool off..  The lodge caters for 16 guests so not sure what happens when they're full as the hot pool wont take more than three or four adults, time slots perhaps.

Vrystaat

There I was chatting to Jane and she happened to mention the super moon.  Closest it's been in 69 years - seem to remember there's something about that number, it's on the tip of my tongue........... Was just staggering to the bathroom and boom there it was in all it's glory.  Can you see how big it was?

The following morning it was time to move on to the fair city of Bloemfontein, actually 20 k's north of it to the Riviera - and you thought it was on the Med.  It was there I learned that the biggest joke on the planet had been elected POTUS.  Reckon they deserve him.

Bloemfontein has spread around Naval Hill but it is still a 190 ha game reserve, albeit without much game.

What it does have is a planetarium (closed for renovations) and a dirty great statue of Nelson.

Have to assume that this is his satellite dish.

Lots of pretty little Wahlenbergia's, the local version of blue-bells in flower, not sure of the species..

Speaking of satellite dishes, sometimes 'n boer moet net a plan maak.  I'd had all sorts of problems getting hooked up on the first site I tried so planned to move to one slightly higher up.  I hitched up using the Beast's magic mover's but when I tried to reverse the bugger wouldn't budge.  One of the drive wheels refused to disengage, not matter what.  Fortunately the owner, Jacques, knew where the local Caravan & Camping workshop was so I shot into town.  They were unable to come to my assistance but very kindly told me how to back it off manually, which involves twiddling a knob for about 10 minutes - something I now have a lot of experience in!  When I finally got to the new site I still couldn't get the signal so had to call in the cavalry in the form of Jacques who had offered to help.  After about an hour of mucking about still no luck so we gave up and had a couple of brandies instead.  He promised to return next morning with enough cable to connect to an existing dish on one of the cottages, but I fiddled around a bit before he got there and this was the result.  Nearly took it down again after watching the Boks at Twickenham.

Went out next morning to find this beauty had popped open, believe it to be Ammocharis but not sure which species.

Next stop was a place Jo and I had enjoyed before, Aldam Resort overlooking the Allemanskraal Dam, massive 100 site camp, just how I like it - empty.

Camp scroungers include, would you believe WHITE-BROWED Sparrow-weavers, though they don't weave at all well, there nests are merely untidy bundles of grass, the inside is quite neat though.

The men's ablutions have been claimed by a pair of Greater-striped Swallows - not so much because they have smaller stripes then their Lesser-striped cousins, but are physically greater in stature.  A thunder storm soon after I arrived saw them collecting mud for the upside-down igloos they build under the eaves.  Having been in the Cape for so long I wasn't prepared for the ferocity of Highveld storms and one of those monumental flash-bangs had me leaping out of bed and slamming windows.

This was taken just before the crowds started arriving for the weekend, the spit of land on the left was a popular launch site and quite a number of people camped there as well.  On Sunday evening I did the sun-downer thing and indulged in one of my favourite past-times, watching other people work.  There was a massive storm front moving in and most of the crowd were packed and ready to leave when the heavens opened.  There's always one - though in this case four.  I'd watched them take the flysheet off the tent and assumed the rest would follow shortly but the two men were involved with what-ever and the ladies just stood and watched.  Even when the first drops started to fall there was no action but when the full torrent hit they were galvanized - into getting their boat out of the water!  A couple of huge gusts flattened the tent and the last I saw was the ladies, still in their bikinis, hauling sopping bedding out of the carnage

While atlassing some of the pentad outside the resort I stumbled upon a group of one of my all time favourites.  As a child I had an aviary and used to trap some of the local seed-eaters to stock it.  My friends all thought me mad to have such dull creatures, but just look at that face.  Here they're known as Baardmannetjies (bearded men) which I think suits a lot better than Scaley-feathered Finches.

As with most dams in RSA, after two years of drought this one is only half full but never-the-less covers a massive area.  The Freestate area in general is looking a lot greener than the rest of the country I've been through recently.

The nearby Willem Pretorious NR beckoned and one of the first things on show was another of my favourites, Sable Antelope.  Not quite sure what had grabbed their attention though as there are no predators in the reserve.

At one of the look-out points it's evident how flat most of the countryside around here is.

I saw a small bird fly into a tree and stopping to try and find it noticed a large bird.  A Brown Snake-eagle, several hundred kilometers out of it's normal range, which resulted in a Provincial Rarity Form landing in my in-box as soon as I submitted an atlas card.  And not more than a half a kilometer further along the road..............

.......... a File snake lying so still I thought it was dead.  It then slid under the bakkie and I had to get out to make sure I didn't run over it - missed opportunity there Mr Eagle.  No they are not venomous and this is only the third I've ever seen, so a real treat.

As mentioned most of the surrounding area is flat but there are a few hills in the reserve and most of them contain the ruins of iron age dwellings and kraals made purely from stone.  One of the few remaining corbelled huts has been restored and either they were very small or slept sitting upright.  I could barely get my head through the door.

Found this old fellow - they get darker with age - slowly walking back from the dam but it was so far away I couldn't make out what the white collar was all about.  Could be natural I suppose.

The camp filled up over the weekend and to escape the crush I took sun-downers to the edge of the dam and just sat remembering how Jo used to rave about Africanf sunsets.

In the last blog was a picture of a rather splendid poppy and currently in the Freestate our local, but not quite as gaudy versions are plentiful.  Papaver aculeatum or the (extremely original) Orange Poppy is only about 50 mm in diameter but still quite eye-catching.

Once you've sorted all the bright and colourful birds, it's time to tackle the Little Brown Jobs.  One that gave me an enormous headache is the Melodious Lark and I eventually renamed it the Malodious Lark.  I recall a least three trips to various parts of the country with Jo in tow to places where I was assured there were dozens, but never found one.  After Jo died I went to Kruger on a fruitless chase for a Madagascar Cuckoo and overnighted twice at Chelmsford, where I was bound to find them.  Two more trips to the highveld failed and finally, Niall Perrins gave me GPS co-ordinates for a stake-out near Pretoria.  On arriving at the place I could hear the bird, but it was a black speck in the sky doing a display flight.  20 minutes of neck craning finally saw it drop - straight into the grass.  Though I chased it for another half-hour I never got more than a glimpse.  Driving through a huge expanse of grassland the other morning I caught sight of a chubby little budgie sitting on a fence and no sooner had I locked bins on it, it's beak opened and off it went on a display.  That was immediately followed by a call just behind my right ear and backing up slowly - bingo!  And he just sat, singing his heart out not 5 m away.  Not very Melodious by the way but a lot better than his cousin the Monotonous Lark.  Finally a hesitant tick went to a big, fat firm one - better than a lifer actually.

Also around were Ant-eating Chats and this one positively demanded that his portrait be taken. Pretty dull until they fly and the white on the wings, which you can see a vestige of here, becomes visible, but top marks for posture, my old RSM would be proud.