Road Hogs
Kariega Game Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa
December 07, 2013
We are both very sad that this morning is our last game drive and that we are ending our time in Africa today. It has been an amazing trip and wish that we had more time to explore this beautiful country.
The Vervet Monkey was kind enough to show its face today on the deck while we were having tea. Typically they are all over the place, but today was our first opportunity to see one.
We headed out with David and six other guests at 6:00. David did not make many stops along the way because we were heading to the new property and it was quite a distance. There will be a new tented camp opening at this site next year and they are going to remove the fence between the two properties to allow animals to wander more freely Morning on the River.
We did make an exception and stopped to see the White Rhino and her baby while en route. They were both laying down together away from the path when we arrived. Our Brazilian/German group mate was determined to "wake" them by hollering to them. I don't think I have ever seen anyone do that before on a drive. Her efforts paid off, they both rose and we had a good view of them.
There were a few other brief stops to see two new birds: a Longtailed Widow and a Malachite Kingfisher. David also pointed out an African Goshawk flying high above us calling out a territory call to another Goshawk perched in the trees beyond the path. It was pretty neat!
The new property has a beautiful pasture area in a valley. We were rewarded with seeing Blesbok babies. They are very pale in colour and look very cuddly Babies. It was too bad that we did not get to see them up close. Springbok live in this area, it is the only part of the entire property where you can find them. They have not started having their babies yet.
One our way down to the pasture was a journey of seven giraffe that calmly sauntered down the roadway in front of us, then stopped beside our vehicle to stare at all of us. It feels like they are looking into your soul when they stare at you! On our return from the grazing area we saw two young males and one young female play fighting. They swing their long necks and hit their opponents on the neck, shoulders and back. It is a really neat thing to witness!
In the pasture area we also saw lots of Zebras with some babies, Wildebeest with babies and Blesbok with babies. We took a short break on a hill that overlooked this beautiful scene with all of these animals Guess who's Coming for Breakfast. It was very serene and beautiful.
As we headed back to camp we saw a Rufous-naped Lark on the ground, an African Darter flying overhead, and in the marsh area we saw: a Common Waxbill with a small red beak, a Common Sandpiper that is brown speckled, and a Moorhen.
The Sweet Thorn Acacia is an interesting tree and is seen all over the property. It has small green leaves and huge thorns. The leaves and sweet and tasty for giraffe (they do not eat the thorns) and elephants (they eat everything, including the thorns). This tree is so interesting because it can release a tannin when it is being attacked, which makes the leaves taste bitter, so the animal moves on. The trees can also release pheromones to warn other trees, so that they will immediately release tannins. However, giraffes have outsmarted the trees and move upwind, making this warning system ineffective Animals on the Plains.
As we were getting close to the camp, Dave said "Did you see that snake?", stopped the vehicle and leapt out to try to find it. Thankfully I had not seen the snake and he did not find it. We had previously learned that Dave loves snakes and has been a reptile curator. He also has a pet snake, a Puff Adder, the most poisonous snake in the world, named Mrs Pufferly or something to that effect.
We saw a very small and then a larger Leopard Tortoise along the side of the roadway. David said that you should not pick up a tortoise because they typically pee as a defense mechanism. Unfortunately, this also dehydrates them and could cause it to die if it is not able to make the "long" journey to water on time.
Many animals and birds shared the flower lined roadway (such a nice time to be here with so many flowers blooming) with us today Who You Lookin At. We had some Guinea Fowl and Spurfowl trot along in front of us, a massive Nyala male calmly walked across the path, a journey of seven Giraffe casually sauntered ahead of us, and two female Impalas skipped along the path for a long time before darting off into the trees. But, the funniest/saddest was a mother Warthog and her four babies. She was laying in the road along Bushman's River. She leapt up and scampered up the bank on the other side of the roadway with one baby. The other three hesitated momentarily so they did not see that she disappeared into the bushes on the other side of the path. So, they tore straight ahead at full speed up the road for a one or two hundred metres. Uh oh! Hopefully Mommy will be able to hear their cries and find them after we were gone, otherwise Wayne is going to have to adopt more warties!
We packed up our things, quickly showered and joined the group for our last breakfast Don't Run Babies. It is a beautiful calm and sunny day, so Dave is planning on taking the group to the beach later this morning. I hope the wind does not whip up for them.
Dave reviewed my list of birds and noted that I have missed recording 23 of them to top my list out at 75. So, here are some of the ones that I had seen over the past few days and may have not mentioned: Southern Boubou, Ludwigs Bustard, Cape and Reed Comorant, Black Cuckoo, Cinnamon Dove, African Black Duck, Cattle, Great White and Little Egret, Rednecked Francolin or Spurfowl, Black Crowned Night and Grey Heron, Redbilled Wood Hoopoe, Sacred Ibis, White Fronted Plover, Ethiopian Snipe, Redwing Starling (lives in the ceiling of the main lodge), Grey Sunbird, Whiterumped Swift, Whiskered Teal, and the Longtailed Widow. I know I have seen a lot of birds at other lodges, but 75 has to be the most by a long shot!
We said our good-byes to the group and David. He was a fantastic guy and was incredibly knowledgeable. His mother is a biologist, so he has been literally been studying birds and animals his entire life. Dave is also very interested in history and current events, so he shared a lot with us about his country and the people here. During our week here we have learned a lot about South Africa and will pay close attention to the current affairs during the coming months and years. It will be interesting to see what direction the country takes with the passing of Mandela.
Mike picked us up and returned us to Port Elizabeth airport. We flew to Johannesburg and arrived after 3:00. We had to spend a lot of time here until our midnight flight.
We were heading down an escalator when we met up with an elderly woman and her son(?). He hopped on and when down, but she remained at the top. He called back that she was afraid. So I encouraged her to join me and I took her hand. We rode all the way to the bottom holding hands until she safely stepped off! She was so adorable!
We tried to change our seats at the KLM desk to window seats for our overnight flight, but were unsuccessful. We went through security and decided to pay the fee to go to the KLM lounge to relax and use the wifi, but we were told that it was going to be too busy and they would not accept paying customers until after 7:30, it was only 4:00 now. UGH! So, we found some seats and tried to keep ourselves amused. I read my book and wrote the blog. Bill ate Monkey Nuts, did some Christmas shopping and played a card game on the computer.
After a couple of hours had passed, Bill went back to the KLM lounge to plead our case and they decided we could come earlier as long as we settled in and stayed out of the way before this evening's flight to Paris. The lounge was now filled with people and we found seats along the wall and hunkered in. It was nice to use the wifi, recharge our devices, have some beverages and snacks until we went to our gate at 11:00.
