Kgalagadi 2016: A Lion A Day Keeps A Doctor Awake

[xelas]

@@bushbaby

 

Welcome to the TR! There will be more photos of camps, cabins and I will also add a photo or two of the pick-up.

 

This one has had a particularly big fridge with a separate container for ice cubs (?). There was a larger metal cool box with a valve to facilitate the excess water (melted ice) to be disposed easily.

The same size plastic box with a lid. There was place for 2 cartoon boxes, 2 pieces of luggage, and several extras. Plus 2 sacks of wood. It was all easy to access ... although climbing up the rear part was not always as fun as when I was younger .

 

Driving experiences ... just read along ! The most interesting part is about to come next.

Edited March 14, 2016 by xelas

[bushbaby]

Looking forward to them @@xelas !

[xelas]

@@bushbaby

Driving a Hilux in Kgalagadi is far less comfortable than driving a Jag in Scotland ; but scratching a side door will not ruin your budget !

A Fortuner would be more comfortable ... and more expensive.

BTW an interesting mix of places you have visited! Gave me some ideas for close-to-my-home trips.

[TonyQ]

A beautiful sunrise followed by a lovely day. (A film maker once told us that he gets the best sunsets by taking them at sunrise )

I really enjoyed the shots at the waterhole, the birds and the sriped mouse.

[xelas]

@@TonyQ

Never heard that one! But will surely remember it! More sunrises in following days!

[Terry]

Wonderful bird photography! Loved the pictures of the Martial Eagle and Crimson Shrike - and all the rest.

 

Great pictures of the gemsbok facing off at the waterhole also. Those horns on their heads are so amazing!

 

Really enjoying following along.

[xelas]

@@Terry

 

Thanks for appreciating Zvezda's work!

[xelas]

6 February – The Dune Was Conquered

 

 

6th of February is a special day for my wife. For many years now we have had the good luck of being able to stay somewhere nice on this day. Yet only few places can come close to the raw beauty of Ghagagab!

 

I woke up early to prepare the obligatory coffee (we have brought our own coffee and that was a great move as I am most definitively not a fan of Nescafe or similar). First task of this day was another sunrise session. This time not the sun but the moon was the subject of interest.

 

The moon before the sunrise

Next was a photo for the family album. Not easy to make a photo with your back towards the camera !

 

A couple and the Sunrise

 

Then the nature gave Zvezda her b'day present; the lion we have heard last night brought his two female companions to the waterhole. a male lion and two females arrived to drink at the waterhole! It was a challenging task to photograph them in the "gegenlicht". The final result is quite acceptable, IMO.

 

Lions at the waterhole

 

After a while they started to leave the waterhole area one by one. The first lioness decided to take the short-cut ... heading almost directly towards the cabin #1. Of course the Canon on that porch was working overtime! As we have lost the sight of the lions when they entered the bush area we have been told by our neighbours about the lions whereabouts. Luckily they have decided to move on and not to camp at the camp otherwise we might be forced to postpone our departure from the camp.

 

Enveloped in golden morning light

His Majesty

Disappearing into the bushes

Contrary to the informations we have received, driving the exit 4x4 sand track was as easy as was driving the entry one. In no time we have reached the Nossob riverbed again. At first we have seen birds only. Some of them have already been in our "photo database" and some others not yet.

 

Lanner Falcon

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Black-shouldered Kite

Fascinating ruby-red eyes

 

 

Then we came to the traffic jam of 2 cars. A cheetah was lying in the shade very close to the road. However, the high bank and the bushes on it prevented a better sighting. I drove 50 m forward where Zvezda has more distant but cleaner line of view. That proved to be a perfect strategy as about 15 min later the cheetah decided to move to a deeper shade passing by our car very close.

 

Cheetah in the Nossob

Walking slowly

Towards the far end ... and shade

After a day of relax the wildlife sightings came back in full force! Both the lions and the cheetah were another memorable big cats moments, yet for me, the highlight of the morning was the ruby eyes of the Black-shouldered Kite!

 

 

(to be continued)

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@xelas

 

The rich, saturated colors of the images made on your wife's birthday are wonderful!

The kite, scrub-robin, cheetah, falcon, lions — all lovely.

The Moon before sunrise, with a planet, is such fine photography.

The technical aspects all carefully tuned to yield an outstanding image of a special moment in time.

Likewise the joint portrait, which has an especially appealing quality.

Thank you!

Tom K.

[bettel]

That is a good B'day gift to see lions and a cheetah within a few hours! I think it is actually the best gift ever

[xelas]

@@Tom Kellie

If only I would have half of your skill of using the words to describe the emotions!

 

@@bettel

It does compete for that title, for sure !

[Morkel Erasmus]

Fully on board and caught up with your wonderful TR now, @@xelas!

Amazing how green it was only a short while after we left it bone dry and desolate in mid January.

 

Loved your photos of the lions at Nossob hide with golden light and reflections!

[xyz99]

What an amazing b-day! Can't decide on favorites: the lions parade? The cheetah? The happy couple at sunrise? It's all good...and I can't wait for more

[Alexander33]

I have to agree that the sunrises and that Crimson-breasted Shrike photo are lovely.

 

That cheetah looks a tad thin to me. Was it a juvenile or was it needing its next meal soon -- or maybe it was just the angle of the shot and all is fine?

[deano]

@@xelas - KTP looks amazing and I imagine that almost any visitor would love it. Add in the animals that we all love and it looks even better. The colors in the land and the sky are so vivid. Really nice for you to have lions on a special day and I like the atmospheric image you got in the available light and I expect that looking at it will always remind you of the exact timing of that sighting. Great stuff. Doing a nice job of tempting me for 2017 (as are all the other trip reports on here right now) but a self drive appeals to me.

 

kind regards

 

deano.

[xelas]

@@Morkel Erasmus

What an honour, Morkel, having also you on board! Thank you for your generous compliment.

I have seen a couple of YouTube videos from January ... and the difference is really stunning .

One thing I was happy not to have ... was a thermometer on the dashboard !

 

@@xyz99

No big cats can compete with The Happy Couple at the Sunrise !

 

@@Alexander33

I have no idea about the status of the cheetah. Also others were quite slender looking cats, specially in comparison with lions.

There were plenty of food for them, yet not every hunt is successful for them.

 

@@deano

The longer you will follow this report the higher the KTP will climb on your "next visit" list .

[cheetah80]

Wow more amazing sightings - so great to get such nice photos of the black-shouldered kite with those stunning eyes. And the cats were very cooperative too!

[xelas]

@@cheetah80

This time the cats were truly obliging ... apart of the leopard . On the second thought also the leopard was cooperative ... in luring us to come back again !

[TonyQ]

@@xelas

What a way to spend a special day. Beautifulphotos -but the eyes on the falcon are a real highlight!

[xelas]

@@TonyQ

Indeed a special day within a special day.

Tony, as I am working hard to improve on my birding knowledge: the ruby eyed bird is an Elanus (kite) and not a Falco (falcon) !

[xelas]

(continued)

 

 

Our next wilderness camp booked was Bitterpan. Yes, the one with the dreaded Dune to conquer on the way in. The long 4x4 trail that leads to and from the Bitterpan camp spooked me away last year. And it was not much better even this year! I have looked for any excuse not to drive there, my fear of being unable to drive over, or even worse, to be embarrassed to the point of needed to wait for a tow truck ... nightmares in broad daylight.

Option 1: staying 1 day longer in Gharagab ... failed by asking the camp manager about 15 minutes too late. Option 2: staying at Nossob ... fully booked. Thus it was Bitterpan, after all. Refuelling the car, having a lunch and adding more water in the cab, we were escorted to the exit gate by a ranger. At least they would know when we have started our journey. And we were not alone, there were one more car driving in front of us. A quick driving strategy was done: staying behind one dune and watch how the other car will tackle the more complicated parts, and of course, The Dune.

 

Trail started to be similar to the one to Gharagab; pretty flat, good visibility, sand not too soft.

 

Soon my driving strategy started to change; the other car must have been driven by one even more unexperienced driver then me, or they have really enjoyed driving slowly and absorbing the scenery. When we stopped at Klein Stofpan waterhole I have asked the driver if he would object me going ahead of him. No problems here. Driving was smoother now, yet I was on alert for when I will see The Dune. Maybe after the next one? No, too small. This one?? Not likely. Ha, this one has a bit steeper ascent. Easy peasy job. And so, driving over the rollercoaster of gentle dunes, we have arrived at Bitterpan!! OK, here we are. But where is the dreaded dune?! Or better, which one it was?? Who cares, now that we have finally arrived at Bitterpan, and I can proudly boast that I have conquered The Dune in the first attempt (and even not knowing that I have done it). It took me 90 minutes to drive 53 kilometres.

It was very hot in Bitterpan, and the white pan does not help much in the midday heat.

 

Bitterpan has a different layout then other wilderness camps. The cabins are located on the walkway, two each side of the communal area that consists of an open space with a braai, and a kitchen with 2 sets of cookers and fridges. As there were only 2 fridges for 4 cabins, having your food marked somehow is not a bad idea.

 

 

Cabins are on the small size; just enough place for one bed each side. The toilet and the shower (one for each cabin) are on the other side of the cabin, across the walkway. Not far but not very user-friendly.

 

 

Our neighbours were birders so they drove out for the afternoon birding. And so we followed them. Not so much for the birds as for the fact there was an A/C in the car! The loop road is about 16 km long, and as soon as the camp is out of sight, you feel like being kilometres away from civilisation. Both scary and terrific feeling!

 

It was too hot for mammals but not for birds. most numerous were Northern Black Korhans. The males have a very specific way how to land, and that gave them the nickname "dive bombers"! Ladies were more graceful, and they also tend to stay closer to the trail.

 

Northern Black Korhan, female

Same yet a little different

Another species well adapted to high temperatures and arid places is agama. We have been lucky to spot one at very close distance.

 

Ground Agama (Agama aculeata) - full length

Interesting spiny back

Left profile

There were more korhans, and one medium size brown colour ground dwelling very shy bird.

 

Lark ??

 

Back at the camp we have an interesting conversation about birding in South Africa, and I have added our experiences from Costa Rica. Another braai for the dinner. Now braai with a beer, and dinner with a G&T becomes a routine. Who would say so, eh?! And finally there were some clouds so Zvezda got the chance to experiment with sunset photography more.

 

[xyz99]

Agama - wow, that's beautiful! Haven't seen anything like this before.

And Zvezda's sunsets - another wow! I love them all, but I think the 3rd one is my favorite.

Edited March 15, 2016 by xyz99

[Peter Connan]

Another set of beautiful photos! May this trip report never end!

 

About sand driving, I have learnt two things:

The first is that weight is the enemy. Your vehicle was relatively light as 4x4's go.

Secondly, and even more importantly, is tire pressures.

 

Last year in September I went to an area about 200km south of the Kgalagadi with some friends especially to drive some dunes. At the start of the first day we deflated our tires, and drove a circular route through the dunes. Arriving back at the first dune we re-inflated the tires (from 0.4 bar to 1.8 bar) in preparation for hitting the hard roads back to our campsite.

 

Just for a lark, I tried driving up the first dune (which had actually been quite easy in the morning). I did not even really get on to the dune properly...

 

I believe the people who struggle with the dunes in the Kgalagadi do so mainly because they do not want to deflate their tires.

[xelas]

@@xyz99

Interesting, as #3 is also Zvezda's favourite. And I was arguing against including it in the set. Luckily, in our family, husband always has a last word! "Yes, darling!"

 

 

@@Peter Connan

That might be the case. Two to three dunes were a bit taller, and the trail was really corrugated in the last part. Without a proper momentum there is where traction is lost.

0.4 bars?! I would think I have a flat tire !

 

 

As for the report, we have arrived at the mid point of our trip, and our report; a short break (for commercials) and on Saturday we will continue with Part 2 !

Edited March 16, 2016 by xelas

[cheetah80]

Wonderful photos of that Agama!

 

Like @@Peter Connan suggests, it is imperative to deflate your tires for such terrains. It makes a lot of difference!!