Kgalagadi 2016: A Lion A Day Keeps A Doctor Awake

[dlo]

Great shots everywhere but like others have said that agama is really really good. As usual another good report @@xelas.

[TonyQ]

Another vote for the beautiful Agama and the amazing sunsets (Zvezda does not need to get her sunsets at sunrise )

Edited March 16, 2016 by TonyQ

[Alexander33]

Whew, you made it over The Dune. And a good thing, too. Stunning sunsets.

 

I can't believe you are only halfway through your trip. All the better for us! I'm savoring this report like a good novel.

[Safaridude]

@@xelas

 

That agama is fantastic!

[xyz99]

@@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!"

 

 

You are a smart husband

[Uh_oh busted]

I hope we are as lucky on our trip. We will be celebrating our 40 wedding anniversary and my birthday the following week!

[Africalover]

Love Kgalagadi - been there and Mabuasehube in 2012. Absolutely outstanding TR. and I wish my photoskills were like yours.

[xelas]

@@Uh_oh busted

I am sure you will have great sightings! And, happy b'day and congratulations for the anniversary!

 

@@Africalover

Thanks for kind words. It is much easier to make good photos with such perfect models :-))

[wildlifepainter]

Alex, what a fabulous trip report so far! Stories are great and the photos stunning! Just returned from the Kgalagadi myself and enjoyed your trip report while waiting to catch my connection in Johannesburg. Keep it coming as I suffer from KTP withdrawal.

 

Wanted to update you on the Swiss lady. We talked to her briefly a little south of Mata Mata while a service truck was trying to get her truck going. We had a bit of a problem communicating with her as we only know English but she was not in distress and didn't need any help from us. We proceeded on to Kieliekrankie and camp manager Willem wanted to know if we had seen her. It seems she had had about 3 days of truck problems at that point in her vacation and was not too happy. The service truck delivered her to KK a couple of hours later and they promised to deliver her a new truck in the morning at Willem's insistance. She told us she just wanted to "take her old truck out and shoot it". We did pass the flatbed truck bringing her new one later the next morning and we did see her out and about for a few more days.

[Kitsafari]

No foo fighter for me too, please.

 

Love that first photo of the male lion and his female companions at the waterhole (what a fantastic birthday present too). the colours reminded me so much of the 1960s photos developed from film, with the fading brownish tone. very moody.

 

Just like the others - that agama is stunning! i've seen agama 2 or 3x but they were always the same turquoise-ish colouration while yours is just so colourful!

 

Beautiful birds! and i can't even remember a quarter of the names but I still can admire them. and wonderful sunsets. the third and 4th are my favourites.

[xelas]

@@wildlifepainter

What better way to end a trip then by start reading a treip report! I am glad you have chosen ours.

That lady is one "tough nail". So not only the fridge but also the car? I really hope her troubles will end with a new car.

And that she has been compensated by seeing many cheetahs.

 

@@Kitsafari

Yes, that is! An old Agfa negative would have such colours!! Agama was in his breeding colours. As for the birds, same here; apart of a couple of big ones and colourful ones, all other falls in the "tiny skittish brown bird" category :=))

[pedro maia]

Hola @@pedro maia ! Glad that also you have found my TR! Bem-vindo!

 

Couldn´t miss it, your TR´s are always very interesting, the pictures are superb and as I think I told you KTP was one of the destinations I considered for this year, it wasn´t meant to be but I hope I´ll go there one day.

[xelas]

@@duenelle

Almost missed to welcome you!

[xelas]

The commercials are over (i.e. I am back from my business trip to Torino), and you have replenished your popcorn, beer and Jameson's stock, so it is time to continue with Part 2 of our wilderness adventures in Kgalagadi!

Hopefully we have not lost too much of the audience ... whoever remained with us, we thank you for your patience !

Edited March 19, 2016 by xelas

[xyz99]

Still here, waiting

[xelas]

7 February – Wow, What A Camp! (*)

 

(*) Kielikrankie Wilderness Camp

 

 

It cooled down nicely over the night. I have feared that it will be another hot night, as midday temperatures must have gone above 40 degrees Celsius the previous day. Instead, we have had to use the blankets! Here I will add some of my comment about Bitterpan camp. Although it is a long and sometimes difficult drive, both in and out, and there is not that much wildlife around, we found it surprisingly interesting. It does not have the "wow" effect of some other wilderness camps, and its cabins are on the smaller size. Yet a large communal area allows for closer interaction with other visitors, and similar to !Xaus Lodge, which is also located close to a pan, these locations have a certain "energy" or "vibe" that is different then at other camps. For us, one night was good enough.

 

As there was no action at the waterhole. A small herd of gemsboks arrived and as it was very nice light, Zvezda could not resist to take another photo of them.

 

Gemsboks in the "golden hour" light

A lonely brown bird on the nearby dead tree, and several weavers working frenetically on the ground.

 

Lesser Grey Shrike, juv.

Scaly-feathered Finch

Southern Grey-headed Sparrow

Working frenetically

Ant-eating Chat

 

We packed ourselves and started to our next destination already in the morning. As our next stop was Kielikrankie Wilderness camp we were happy to use the much shorter exit road towards Upper Dune Road. We have enjoyed the company of Northern Black Koreans and Burchnell's Sandgrouses along the way.

 

Dive bomber

Northern Black Korhaan, male

Burchnell's Sandgrouse, him and her

Both on the way in and on the way out we have passed close to smaller pans. Due to recent rains they were very muddy.

 

Egyptian Goose browsing a pan

And towards the end of this year 4x4 sand trail driving, more sandgrouse.

 

Burchnell's Sandgrouse, fem.

Burchnell's Sandgrouse, male

​Another bird gives us "the look"

 

 

Exit road reaches Upper Dune Road at Moravet waterhole. A big one yet empty of wildlife. About 30 minutes driving on a recently graded road and we have reached the Auob riverbed, our "playground" for the second half of the visit to Kgalagadi.

 

​Adobe riverbed from Upper Dune Road

 

Distances from the junction between Auob Road and Upper Dune Road

 

 

[xelas]

"We have enjoyed the company of Northern Black Koreans ..." not really in the company of those guys, just darn auto-correct having fun with my text !

[Towlersonsafari]

love the sandgrouse pictures!

[wildlifepainter]

I can't believe how much greener it was when you were there. We were maybe 2 weeks behind you and it was really eaten down and what was left was pretty brown. We even had a couple of short storms.

 

Love your description of the trip to Bitterpan. We did the Leeudril 4x4 Loop and I thought it was pretty scary. I suspect it's probably easier after the rains. Funny you saw lots of lions and we saw very few this year.

[xelas]

@@wildlifepainter

Not seeing many lions?! You see how the Mother Nature is unpredictable. A couple of weeks between Morkel Erasmus, mine and your trips to Kgalagadi, and each has had a different experience.

That is what makes us re-visiting same parks ... and you are in the same boat, yes ?!

[michael-ibk]

Alex, had great fun catching up with this again. Zvezda excelled again with her photos, but don´t sell yourself too short - you´re doing a wonderful job taking us along on your adventure, and you surely have some stellar photos as well. Love the Agama and the landscape shots especially, but also the smaller critters and all the wonderful bird photos of course. Really hope to get such a good view of the Kite! And how cool you had the lions AND Cheetah for Zvezda´s birthday! Fantastic stuff!

[xelas]

@@michael-ibk

Oh, thank You!! I should say it is easy to add text to such great photos ... but in reality it is not so easy.

Anyway, glad that you all enjoy this trip report. It really gave us fuel to continue.

[Marks]

Really striking agama on the previous page - brilliant colors.

Also like your Egyptian goose shot - a somewhat overlooked species.

[wildlifepainter]

Yes Alex we booked our camp reservations for next year as we were leaving the park. We saw fewer lions this year but other things including 2 leopard, caracal, wild cat, brownies and cape cobra. I just wish my photos were half as good as Zvezda's!

[deano]

@@xelas - amazing sunsets and I always appreciate the images of the landscape in every trip report on Safaritalk. I have to agree with the comments about the agama and the sandgrouse. Fantastic colors and details.

 

kind regards

 

deano.