It was somewhat of a relief to be at Talamati Bushveld Camp.We'd left the most southern part of KNP behind having packed in a lot of driving in an attempt to see as much as possible in that game dense area. We still had plenty of time left to pick off the specialties, the rarer creatures, yes the one's most people want to see. Leopard, I'd seen a few spots in a distant tree, Cheetah..no sighting at all and I was warned to not expect to see one either and from Claire's point of view she hadn't had a decent Lion sighting either. Yes, we wanted to see these animals but I was equally keen to see some of the smaller beasts. The various Mongoose species, another Civet in plain view, Honey Badger...definitely Honey Badger , it was top of my list now. Would be nice of course to see Pangolin and Aardvark but the chances were very, very slim even if I did sign up for a night drive.
As you probably know, the National Parks are different to the private reserves, the conservancies, in as much as a) You can't drive off road and b) you have to be in camp when it's dark. The answer is to sign up for a night drive, even a sunset drive. The latter is possibly the best option because each tour lasts 3 hours and the sunset one gives you half light, half dark. On the other hand the nocturnal species are only just coming to life. The night drive on the other hand goes out at 4.30am so they should be in full swing. Trouble is at 4.30 a.m. I am not! Consequently after the initial enquiry I never bothered asking again, not at this camp or any other.
Anyway for the first day at Talamati I declared we'd minimise driving. I was up early and explored the gardens which are quite substantial to see if I could add some new birds to my list.
The Yellow-breasted Apalis was one of the few new species I saw there.
There was a decent sized flock of Black-collared Barbets flitting from tree to tree
A slightly better view and photo opportunity of an Orange-breasted Bush Shrike
and not a lot else really. I ended up amusing myself with the Natal Spurfowl looking for crumbs around the Braii.
We realised we hadn't really catered for breakfast/lunch but that wasn't a problem we'd eat out! So with that in mind today's tour would be the shortish drive to Orpen Camp , another small camp next to one of the entry gates in to KNP.
I should have done my research. There is no restaurant, not even a snack bar ( as there is at Crocodile Bridge) just a shop, and a small one at that. There is though a coffee "stall" and a few tables to sit and drink at. Problems solved. Coffee and some Coconut cookies purchased in the shop.
I have to say the coffee was superb. It's rare to get a coffee that tastes as good as the aroma but this one did. Fabulous.
The minute the cookies are out so are the birds.
The Yellow-billed Hornbill dominated.
The Red-billed one sat further back in the bush next to our table!
The camp site is restricted to residents so I had a short wander around the small area of garden at the gate and at least got one new bird for my effort.
We decided to do a circuit back to camp rather than return on the route we'd taken, a route that had given us nothing in terms of sightings.
We drove along the main tar road stopping to watch some Elephants who were drinking out of the holes they dug in the dry river bed. Clever beasts those Elephants and their trunk comes in handy in these situations!
Further on we saw a bit of Vulture activity as two or three swooped down on an unseen target in the longer grass. I was more interested in getting a shot of the Bateleur in the foreground and it just goes to show what happens when you get tunnel vision. I didn't manage to focus on the Bateleur before it flew but the real opportunity was totally missed. The big Vulture in the background is something of a rarity in the park. I did get to get a shot of one later but nowhere near at this close distance!
Back on the gravel S36 we stopped at a water tank when we saw a Black-backed Jackal, they are not that common.
but left when it did.
Onwards until we arrived back at the Mondzweni waterhole which by now was a veritable feast of animal life.
All a bit distant but sometimes the bigger picture is more impressive.
There was much to watch and admire.
The only reason to leave was the car was getting too hot! Unlike the Elephants we couldn't take a dip!
It's definitely one of the better spots near to Talamati, one you should spend time at if in the area. I think lots of people who stay at Satara miss out on here too.
Anyway, back in camp I had some downtime reviewing my images of the past days, occasionally taking the odd snap of the creatures that came to visit our patio.
You could virtually guarantee if you sat at the dining table it was a signal for the Hornbill to investigate.
Not quite so confiding the Land Monitor hid in a tree trunk
before deciding it was safe to scurry off further down the camp.
Sadly we didn't have a return visit by the Genet, perhaps because the steaks I cooked didn't smell as appealing as sausage, or maybe it was just that I hadn't given in to those beautiful eyes and fed it the night before.
Still, no guilty conscience that night anyway.
TBC
As you probably know, the National Parks are different to the private reserves, the conservancies, in as much as a) You can't drive off road and b) you have to be in camp when it's dark. The answer is to sign up for a night drive, even a sunset drive. The latter is possibly the best option because each tour lasts 3 hours and the sunset one gives you half light, half dark. On the other hand the nocturnal species are only just coming to life. The night drive on the other hand goes out at 4.30am so they should be in full swing. Trouble is at 4.30 a.m. I am not! Consequently after the initial enquiry I never bothered asking again, not at this camp or any other.
Anyway for the first day at Talamati I declared we'd minimise driving. I was up early and explored the gardens which are quite substantial to see if I could add some new birds to my list.
The Yellow-breasted Apalis was one of the few new species I saw there.
There was a decent sized flock of Black-collared Barbets flitting from tree to tree
A slightly better view and photo opportunity of an Orange-breasted Bush Shrike
and not a lot else really. I ended up amusing myself with the Natal Spurfowl looking for crumbs around the Braii.
We realised we hadn't really catered for breakfast/lunch but that wasn't a problem we'd eat out! So with that in mind today's tour would be the shortish drive to Orpen Camp , another small camp next to one of the entry gates in to KNP.
I should have done my research. There is no restaurant, not even a snack bar ( as there is at Crocodile Bridge) just a shop, and a small one at that. There is though a coffee "stall" and a few tables to sit and drink at. Problems solved. Coffee and some Coconut cookies purchased in the shop.
I have to say the coffee was superb. It's rare to get a coffee that tastes as good as the aroma but this one did. Fabulous.
The minute the cookies are out so are the birds.
The Yellow-billed Hornbill dominated.
The Red-billed one sat further back in the bush next to our table!
The camp site is restricted to residents so I had a short wander around the small area of garden at the gate and at least got one new bird for my effort.
We decided to do a circuit back to camp rather than return on the route we'd taken, a route that had given us nothing in terms of sightings.
We drove along the main tar road stopping to watch some Elephants who were drinking out of the holes they dug in the dry river bed. Clever beasts those Elephants and their trunk comes in handy in these situations!
Further on we saw a bit of Vulture activity as two or three swooped down on an unseen target in the longer grass. I was more interested in getting a shot of the Bateleur in the foreground and it just goes to show what happens when you get tunnel vision. I didn't manage to focus on the Bateleur before it flew but the real opportunity was totally missed. The big Vulture in the background is something of a rarity in the park. I did get to get a shot of one later but nowhere near at this close distance!
Back on the gravel S36 we stopped at a water tank when we saw a Black-backed Jackal, they are not that common.
but left when it did.
Onwards until we arrived back at the Mondzweni waterhole which by now was a veritable feast of animal life.
All a bit distant but sometimes the bigger picture is more impressive.
There was much to watch and admire.
The only reason to leave was the car was getting too hot! Unlike the Elephants we couldn't take a dip!
It's definitely one of the better spots near to Talamati, one you should spend time at if in the area. I think lots of people who stay at Satara miss out on here too.
Anyway, back in camp I had some downtime reviewing my images of the past days, occasionally taking the odd snap of the creatures that came to visit our patio.
You could virtually guarantee if you sat at the dining table it was a signal for the Hornbill to investigate.
Not quite so confiding the Land Monitor hid in a tree trunk
before deciding it was safe to scurry off further down the camp.
Sadly we didn't have a return visit by the Genet, perhaps because the steaks I cooked didn't smell as appealing as sausage, or maybe it was just that I hadn't given in to those beautiful eyes and fed it the night before.
Still, no guilty conscience that night anyway.
TBC
No comments:
Post a Comment