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Kgalagadi Sept 2018: long drives and at long last a leopard!


Tdgraves

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Day 14, Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, 28/9/18

 

Given the weather on arrival, we were worried that this may be off of the itinerary, but the storm had passed. We were greeted by a sunbird in the B&B garden

 

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Despite arriving quite early, the gardens were busy and we got one of the last spots in the car park. The clouds were quite thick, but luckily, they always seemed to part at the last moment. Once up the slope, the crowds thinned out a lot. It had been a very long time since we were in Cape Town and probably had not been back to Kirstenbosch since our first visit in 1998!!

 

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and the main reason for coming - the birds...

 

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We had a very overpriced sandwich in the restaurant (cost nearly as much as the burgers the night before, with no alcohol!). The plan was then that we visited Strandfontein, but with only printed instructions and no GPS, we got lost. The OH got very stressed about us driving around the Cape Flats and so we gave up and went to Somerset West and our next (very underwhelming) B&B and dinner at our friends' new house.

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Day 15, Lunch at Vergelegen and then home

 

As a treat to say thank you to our friends for putting us up so many times in the past and as a way of getting a decent South African restaurant experience, I had booked lunch at Camphors on the Vergelegen wine estate, a short drive from where we were staying. The food (and wine) was spectacular and with the exchange rate, fantastic value. To top it off, we were the only people in for lunch, so received a very personal service. As we had checked out of the B&B, we had time to walk around the gardens (not yet at their best) and the small museum prior to lunch. We even found a couple of new birds...

 

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It was a stunning day and we ate outside on the terrace. A fabulous way to end the trip. It was just a short drive to the airport and back home. Until the next time....

 

:D

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What a wonderful end to your trip, @Tdgraves. I enjoyed your TR and think you had a fantastic trip and good variety added to the Kgalagadi by closing with lovely flowers and colorful birds. Thank you!

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The doves and jackal action shots are wild!  Love the whistling rat and Bateleur family.  The pearl spotted owl with its meal was a nice find by your neighbors.  Lots of luck with the leopard at long last, and those young meerkats are adorable.  How far away from the two colonies them were you?

 

This report is chock full of cats, including your kittens!

 

What a bonus with the second round of flowers.  Just gorgeous!  Sunbirds too. 

 

Your stressful start gave way to a fabulous trip.

 

You mention how hard it is to get bookings in Sept.  Does that mean you encountered more people & vehicles than other times of the year, such as the a-hole in the minibus?

 

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Thanks @Ritsgaai and @Atravelynn

 

it is busier in September, what we really noticed this time was more vehicles around Nossob, as they have added units and campsites

 

the meerkat colonies were right next to the road, but of course the meerkats themselves are mobile!

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Another thoroughly enjoyable TR @Tdgraves, and finished with plenty of stunning colour from the flowers and birds at Kirstenbosch.

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Wow post 127 has some stunning pics @Tdgraves. Is that the Kind protea in the post as well?

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Kirstenbosch always delivers! Magnificent photos.

 

Thanks for another beautiful trip report.

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Dave Williams

Some outstanding photography in this report, Cheetah amongst the best I have seen, the Wildcat and the Lion trotting down the road are firm favourites too. Your trip included some of the one I had to cancel last year so I'm thinking of rebooking next year, just can't decide when is the best month to go although much depends on grabbing accommodation as soon as it's available...providing that it still is!

Which month do you recommend?

 

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18 hours ago, Tdgraves said:

Thanks @Ritsgaai and @Atravelynn

 

it is busier in September, what we really noticed this time was more vehicles around Nossob, as they have added units and campsites --Thanks.  You mentioned there was a second rain so the flowers were out.  But isn't Sept normally when you would expect to see the wild flowers in South Africa?  I thought Aug-Sept was the normal time.  Since you go so often I figure you're a good one to ask.

 

the meerkat colonies were right next to the road, but of course the meerkats themselves are mobile!  nice find

 

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Kirstenbosch in September, with all those flowers, looks even more inviting then in February. Kgalagadi ... any month of the year!!

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@Dave Williams I have only been in September and January and enjoyed both, but September was less hot. No good for this year though. Will report back in January 2020 after my next trip!

 

@Atravelynn you are correct that the flowers are aug-sept depending on the rains, but usually aug rather than sept. we have never gone just for the flowers and I was not aware that they can go twice....

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The flora is an added bonus to your report, thank you.

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Lovely photos from Kirstenbosh to cap off a great report - again. You had great sightings in KTP,  and captured many fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing!

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The_Norwegian

What an absolutely amazing tripreport, and amazing pictures! Very well done, what a great trip :-) 

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  • 4 years later...
Dave Williams

What happened to the photos? I came back for another read!!

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33 minutes ago, Dave Williams said:

What happened to the photos? I came back for another read!!

I think this was pre-new website hosting, someone else maybe @michael-ibkhad the same issue…I have a few others you could look at instead

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