A day in the Kalahari, or Kgalagadi if you are a local
A few photos to give you a flavour, but Internet access so poor we won't attempt any more at moment, to be filled in at a later date (now done). Just to say we had an absolutely very full and brilliant day.
An early start - six-thirty rise for seven fifteen exit. This is because where we are staying is sixty kilometres outside of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and we want to arrive there as early as possible - all the cabins in the park itself were booked out for our dates.
At least the road is tarmac.
We have our first sighting of a Secretary Bird. Look at those smart 'trousers'
At least the road is tarmac.
We have our first sighting of a Secretary Bird. Look at those smart 'trousers'
We have to stop and complete some formalities at the gate. There is even passport control. As the Trans-frontier name suggests the park melds into Botswansa, and Twee Riverien where the Park Office is, is on the border, although our guide tells us we won't actually be in Botswana??
Eric studies the formalities.
When we enter the camp our driver has to let down the tyre pressures to avoid damaging the gravel roads in the park - normal tyre pressures cause corrugations to form in the gravel apparently. They do come around with a vehicle that 'grades' the road every few days - this involves a vehicle towing something that looks a bit like a chain harrow, but instead of the chains there are tyres attached horizontally so that they drag along the ground flattening the surface off.
While we are waiting for the driver to do this we notice another vehicle doing the same. It looks like a VW Camper with a caravan body on the back, but still retaining the original VW engine bay door. Very strange sight.
Eric studies the formalities.
When we enter the camp our driver has to let down the tyre pressures to avoid damaging the gravel roads in the park - normal tyre pressures cause corrugations to form in the gravel apparently. They do come around with a vehicle that 'grades' the road every few days - this involves a vehicle towing something that looks a bit like a chain harrow, but instead of the chains there are tyres attached horizontally so that they drag along the ground flattening the surface off.
While we are waiting for the driver to do this we notice another vehicle doing the same. It looks like a VW Camper with a caravan body on the back, but still retaining the original VW engine bay door. Very strange sight.
Lots of species seen today during the morning, afternoon and evening drives.
We are not allowed to alight from the bus except at the picnic/toilet stops.
Eric checks out the main camp area, where we are allowed to wander about.
Eric checks out the main camp area, where we are allowed to wander about.
He finds the sightings noticeboard and studies it carefully to find out what we may see today. Some Leopard would be good on our evening drive, but probably unlikely says our guide.
There are two different driving routes that we going to use in the park. The first day we go on the Nossob road. This is the main route through to Botswana and relatively busy.At the first water hole
we see Namaqua Sand Grouse and Burchell's Sand Grouse.
and a bright yellow Canary (very blurred photo but gives you an idea exactly how bright it was).
Some very smart looking Gemsbok.
Springbok.
A Kori bustard.
Pale Chanting Goshawk - a very beautiful name for a very delicate looking bird of prey. Hence a few pictures.
On the ground.
In the air
and in the tree (almost, well there's another one sitting in the tree as well).
Ostrich, and what's that? - Wildebeest!
Hordes of wildebeest? Well perhaps not, but quite a few. They are very brindled around the shoulders. 
A habitat shot with some of that famous Kalahari red sand in the background.
Bird of prey - We remember someone mentioning a Lanner Falcon, which this looks like it might be, will have to confirm this.
Some Crowned Lapwing.
and ...Lions, some sunning themselves and some getting some shade. The main male lion was sitting on the front of the dune with the wind blowing his mane.
The rest of the pride were at the back of the dune behind the bushes.
This little chap was quite comfortable in the bush in front of the lions - they obviously didn't need a light snack
Cheetahs
A Secretary Bird
We cruise past a sitting Jackal
and he/she decides to make a run for it.
Yet another Secretary Bird. You can really see the pantaloons on this one.
A Swallow-tailed Bee-eater with it's irridescent colours.
African Hoopoe.
Burchell's Sand Grouse.
Scaly-headed Finch.
And that was just the morning!
Lunch is back at the Twee Riverein Camp.
This is the restaurant. Only problem is - it's not open lunchtime at the moment. So we have choose sandwiches from a kiosk around the back.
While we eat we are entertained by Cape Sparrow and Glossy Starling.
The starling is showing beautifully in the sunlight.
Back in the van for the afternoon foray.
First sighting is Yellow Mongoose.
Then a new species for us - some Hartebeest. Great horns.
Some real, wild, non-habituated Meerkats. A family group relaxing. They are just as cute as the ones we saw up close.
Northern Black Korhaan - a good piccie.
Another very stylish bird - Crimson-breasted Shrike.
That's not all that's crimson - wowsers.
We return again to the camp ready for our evening drive. We have a large open-sided bus and only eight of us on it, so plenty of room.
The Park Guide driving the bus stopped to show us a Verreaux's Eagle Owl, it was nesting on top of a Sociable Weaver Nest, and had a chick.
The back of this Kori Bustard was so wonderfully patterned it looked like a work of art.
A little further on the Guide stops the truck again to point out another Owl, a Spotted Eagle Owl. It was tucked down in a small cave on the cliffs.
A Pygmy Falcon sitting in the evening night. The tree it was sitting on had a Sociable Weaver Nest in it. Apparently Pygmy Falcon often use the other birds' nests as a nest for themselves as well.
An immature Pale Chanting Goshawk - not quite as delicate looking as the adult.
Here it is in flight.
Sun is on its way down.
What night animals will we see? Will the photos do them justice.
A Bat-earred Fox listening for food.
A Spring Hare hopping quickly away from the spotlight.
African Wild Cat
an another Bat-Eeared Fox - looking at us this time rather than listening for its food.
Return to the camp, pick up our supper - more sandwiches - toasted for some, and eat them on the bus on the way back to our accommodation. Ready to fall into bed, but first we have to extract a beetle, an earwig and a millipede. Plus eject a rather fearsome and scary looking creature crawling across the floor. It had a body in two segments and jointed legs, a sort of nondescript beige colour and dull not shiny. As it was just about to crawl under the bed the usual thought of photographing it for identification went out of the window, or rather it was rapidly shooed out of the door and some distance away. Later investigation from memory suggests it may have been what is called a Camel Spider, or more accurately it may have been something in the Solifuge order in the Class Arachnida. So they are closely related to spiders and scorpions but in fact are neither. Apparently they eat other invertebrates or even things up to the size of small rodents. Since there is no photo we'll never know for sure. But they do live in the desert, not sure if that includes the Kgalagadi.