Kgalagadi 2016: A Lion A Day Keeps A Doctor Awake

[xelas]

1 February – It Started With Lions

 

Finally, after two days already in South Africa, it is time to go to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. First stop was Pick’n’Pay. We shake hands with manager, mr.Jeremie, checked the prepared items, paid the bill, rechecked the bill with what was in the carts, and we were on our way in less than 45 minutes.

 

Drive to Kgalagadi was smooth, it is a paved road all the way, straight like only in that part of the world roads can be. I have even saw a table noticing other users of the road that this one is "Officially approved for speed-testing purposes". No surprise as it is not only straight for abut 200 km, also there is almost no traffic on it. Only 1 truck to be overtaken. Arrived at noon (3 hrs driving time for 256 km), waited a while till the papers were sorted out (no extra payment needed as our Wild Card was still valid).

 

Another 4 hours till Nossob camp. Yet this is already safari time, so neither hours nor kilometres are not counted anymore! Instead of, birds of prey were what kept us occupied. First sighting was Martial Eagle.

 

On the tree

In the air

On the ground

 

Next was a BB&WB (aka Big Black&White Bird). My feeble attempt to ID this bird ended with the same mistake as in my previous trip report (see post #2015 of Road trip 2015: The Hunt For Red Dune). Luckily I was given proper instructions this time around.

 

Black-chested Snake Eagle

 

This example was very co-operative. Not often one can take such a close-up shot as below (no cropping but with 745 mm FOV)

 

Close-up and personal

More birds of prey volunteered to pose for us. We did appreciated their willingness as it was early afternoon and the heat was up and all the other creatures were hiding away somewhere (probably in dense shades).

 

Lappet-faced Vulture

 

So, what are the news of the day?

 

And next there were not one but two Bateleurs; they were NOT perched on the same tree!

 

​Adult Bateleur Juvenile Bateleur

 

And at the end of our drive to Nossob camp, a Lanner Falcon

Contemplating

I am giving you "the look"

 

Nossob camp cabins were fully booked. We’ve been allocated cabin #5B; damn, that is the same unit like last year, and the worst one, position wise. It is a west side entrance, no tree to give any shade, and just in front of the doors there are 2 huge garbage cans. They are screened off with a wooden wall but they are there nonetheless. There is a braai but with that location, we have had zero interest to use it.

 

to be continued

Edited February 27, 2016 by xelas

[michael-ibk]

Stunning birds pictures, Bravo! But is that really a Martial you have there? Don't think so, what do the experts say?

[xelas]

Well, I am not sure also ... but have to name it, yes?? I am at lost with those birds. Our photos and bird guide book's pictures just don't match !

Luckily there are many experts out there ... just have to be patient to come back from their week-end trips!

[Galana]

Juvenile and Immature Raptors often confuse. Especially during transit from one state to the other. All your "Martial Eagles" are actually close kin to the Black-chested Snake Eagles below. As with Hom Sap they have their mother's eyes. Check the underwing barring in "In the air" against your guide book pictures.

 

Nice Lappet-faced Vultures. Whenever I see photos like this I am always reminded of Disneys "Jungle Book" and the fab four vultures. "What ya wanna do?"

[xelas]

Thanks, @@Galana! So I have inadvertently (aka clueless birder) posted 5 photos of the same bird ?! Oh, well, I hope there is one Black-chested Snake Eagle lover out there!!

 

Now I am asking myself, is there a Martial Eagle in our photo bank?? I surely hope that there will be at least one!!

[dlo]

Well @@xelas you haven't lost any of your fantastic photography abilities! I swear there is a conspiracy to turn me into a birder with all these fantastic reports lately but I will resist

 

 

[Galana]

Every photo of your BCSEs is different so shows various fieldmarks which help others. (Might turn some into birders!! )

[xelas]

@@dlo

 

I will forward your kind words to my wife! As for becoming a birder, don't worry, I have been "lured" by them from 2008 ... and still able to stay at the level of "clueless birder"!

Luckily there are some expert birders out there, to help me out of my pitfalls, may the Force be with them!

Edited February 27, 2016 by xelas

[bettel]

So I have inadvertently (aka clueless birder) posted 5 photos of the same bird ?! Oh, well, I hope there is one Black-chested Snake Eagle lover out there!!

 

Some of us are posting hundreds photos of same cats, so there is nothing wrong with posting 5 (and even 10) pictures of the same bird . Your (and Zvezda's) photos are amazing!

[dlo]

@@dlo

 

I will forward your kind words to my wife! As for becoming a birder, don't worry, I have been "lured" by them from 2008 ... and still able to stay at the level of "clueless birder"!

Luckily there are some expert birders out there, to help me out of my pitfalls, may the Force be with them!

 

 

My apologies I had forgotten that we were smart enough husbands to give the cameras to our wives! I am as clueless as you but while I won't become a birder my appreciation has grown considerably.

[twaffle]

Loving this.

[Pennyanne]

@@xelas Really enjoying reading this and fantastic photos too. Looking forward to the next installment especially since we're going to Kgalagadi in April.

[Treepol]

KTP has certainly lived up to its reputation for raptors!

 

I like the 'chatting vulture' shot.

[xyz99]

I am a little bit late to this party, but I am enjoying it tremendously! What a great start....all those birds...can't wait to see and read more.

 

I am intrigued by the Toyota Hilux 2.5D Double Cab equipped with a fridge and a cooler box. Wow! How big is this car? How was it to drive such a monster?

[xelas]

@@twaffle , @@xyz99

 

Welcome onboard! Honoured to have your attention!

[xelas]

@@xyz99

 

The Hilux is big! But driving it is easy. And comfortable. Zvezda felt in love with the car on our first trip to Namibia. I don't think she will ever accept anything smaller .

 

Disclaimer: I do sell trucks for living, and my company forced me to get a trailer and semitrailer driving license, and on occasion I do need to drive one of those monsters.

So my views might be a bit opinionated.

[xelas]

(continued)

 

After a quick shower we exited again, towards Rooikop and Marie Sa Gat (southbound). Just before the turn off to the loop drive a car was parked, and not more than three meters from the edge of the road, 3 lionesses were snoozing. First proper lion sighting for us, as those made in last year were quite distant ones. Although they did have their early afternoon siesta, there were some nice photo options.

 

Lioness

Are you looking at me?

Her Majesty

Are you still looking at me?

Three sisters

 

As ladies didn’t show any interest to move, we drove to Marie Se Gat. On return the lionesses were still there, in the process of wakening up.

 

I am still so sleepy

Time to get prettied up

Too much sun gave me a headache

 

The sun started to drop down. The dunes on the far side of the Nossob riverbed started to get their proper red colour while the riverbed itself was deep green.

 

Nossob riverbed after the rains

 

 

Returning to the camp, there was a car parked close to the entrance, with a big lens pointed toward the waterhole. A magnificent male in a company of a female! Wow, we should return earlier!

 

 

 

Zvezda hurried to hide, and after sorting out the paperwork I have joined her. She was happily snapping away and when she showed me one photo I have noticed that only JPEG’s are recorded. Darn!! I was sure that all settings were verified and correct. The shooting assistant (aka Alex) have been given a couple of “looks”. I am lucky also to be a driver otherwise Zvezda might fired me on spot (or on the braai)!! Photos were done but not much post processing nor cropping will be possible. I have done my best back home however once again the RAW showed it is a superior format to JPEG!

 

 

 

Back to the cabin which stand right to its reputation – inside was like in the infrared sauna! Oh well, only 2 nights to survive, and maybe extra sweating will be helpful?! It was a constant walk between the shower and the bed. There was a storm with many lightnings later that night, and some rain. Staying outside and observing the show was much more enjoyable then sweating in the bed. Or the storm was not close enough or the position of the cabin was not right or I was just too sleepy, anyway, no lightning photos were captured.

[Galana]

Excellent in the extreme. The shot of the Nossob Valley is really eye catching and some of those Cat poses have great composition.

 

I would not worry about ""Zvezda might fired me on spot (or on the braai)!!"" Most wives can get angry at times. It is when 'they' heat up an iron on the Braai that I would be concerned.

[Towlersonsafari]

some lovely shots of languorous lions @@xelas

[xyz99]

We never considered a self-drive in Africa (yet)...but reading about your amazing trip, it doesn't sound so bad. My main concerns: will we see animals? Our eyes are not "formed" to see them...and cooking. Actually, I should've listed cooking first. You need to tell us more about what you ate and how you prepared your food. I got the "protein" part, but what about vegetables (preferably fresh), fruits, milk, etc...I need details on these, please.

 

Love the "Her Majesty" lioness...and Zvezda's sunsets

[deano]

@@xelas - enjoying this along with my Jamesons tonight. Thank you. The lioness pose in post #67 (still so sleepy) is unique and I really like the Nossob river bed image. Great colors.

 

kind regards

 

deano.

[xelas]

@@xyz99

 

About self-driving I am not a proper person to give you impartial advice ... as I am a hard core slef-driving enthusiast (to the limit of deciding to self drive on our next trip, in Sri Lanka).

 

However, spotting the wildlife is easy. Big birds of prey are usually on top of the trees, or on dead branches. Small birds, if not very colourful, I just skip (to the horor of all proper birders out there).

In Etosha and in Kgalagadi (the only two parks we have visited in Africa) there are not many roads. One eyes adapts quite quickly to the "anomalies" in the nature order. Zvezda is much better spotter for distant subjects,

and I can catch the bird if it flies or is of bright colour. If all that fails, there is always someone parked along the road, and she/he will gladly share with you what is the reason for that. That is true specially for Kgalagadi where there are

only 2 proper game drive roads.

 

Cooking ... hahaha ... you are asking me for advices?! Ready for some rice&can diet ?! But once one came prepared it is easy job. True is braai is the most useful tool, and meat the most eaten food. With proper logistic one can

have much more varied menu than we have had ... but we are learning all the time! Myself I have loved the thick soups Zvezda cooked, using meat and sweet potatoe and carrots etc plus curry. Braaing meat was also much easier and more enjoyable affair than back home ... maybe because of the G&T?! We have skipped on fresh salad (not often on our table also back home) but we did have tomatoes, both as side dish and as salad.

Others will add their more expert advices. Yet bottom line: cooking is easy ... and funny. Just don't overdue it ... on your first attempt.

Two very important advices: bring with you 1 very sharp knife and 1 non-stickig (teflon) pan.

Milk we did not use, but with the fridge we have had, we could.

One more important piece of advice: do not buy all of your food at the beginning of the trip. We have shared 1/3 of our meat, and all the rice, because we have bought too much. Due to logistical reasons, we have had to discard all the bread (who cooked itself in the big black plastic container) and half of our vegetables (which has drowned in the cooler box when the ice in the bag has melted).

In Kgalagadi shops at all three main camps have decent selection of food so even if the prices were 25-30% higher than outside the park, re-stocking would be less expensive, in our case.

 

How the proper "camping cooking" will go, you will need to ask me after our May 2017 Namibia camping trip!!

 

Self-driving and self-cooking is much more enjoyable than waiting for the dinner at Dolomite Camp !

[xelas]

@@deano

 

We have had a bottle of Jameson with us ... but leave it with our hosts! Thus G&T was our "safari drink"!

Glad you like the riverbed photos as more of them are in the pipeline !

[cheetah80]

Such great sightings already! The birds of prey have been very cooperative. Love the close shots of the beautiful Lanner Falcon.

 

I am glad you are enjoying the cooking part more than last time We love cooking when self-driving - except when it's windy. then it's a royal pain! We also tend to buy way too much stuff but at the end of the trip we usually collect everything and donate it to either camp staff or else to someone along the way who looks like they might need it. It's always a great way to end a trip to bring a smile on someone's face!

[Zim Girl]

Great start to this report - that series of sunset pictures were just beautiful.