Kgalagadi Jan 2020: Desert, drought and dead eland

[Hads]

Wow - stunning male lion shots. Great photo's all round.

Edited June 12, 2020 by Hads

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @Hads and @adamt123

nossob is usually good for lion, but in one four night stay we only saw them on the last morning 

[Peter Connan]

Lovely sighting! He looks rather down-trodden though, doesn't he?

[Tdgraves]

Do you mean sad, or past his prime @Peter Connan ?

[Tdgraves]

Day 8, Transfer Nossob to Kalahari tented camp, 24/1/20

 

It was 37 degrees on our long transfer, so there was not much to see! There was a stationary car at Chelaka, which is set back from the road, so we thought "worth a look". It was a sleepy lion.

 

7T4A0726a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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Even the picnic sites were quiet, you can usually rely on some birds there. The trees in Kamqua had all died, so it looked really bleak, like a post-apocalyptic landscape. I'm not sure what happened to them. The last time we were here one had died. SANParks have now erected wooden structures to shade picnickers, no such niceties for us, so it was a quick in and out to the loo and onwards!  

 

7T4A0745a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

We checked into KTC. The construction work had finished and so we were able to use the pool for the first time ever - necessary after unloading the car!

[Tdgraves]

Day 8, Evening drive, Kalahari tented camp, 24/1/20

 

What I forgot to say about the transfer, was that the land approx 25 km south of camp was totally dead. Desert, dust, no plants, no animals, barely any birds, dead. Sistas hole was unproductive for our entire stay. You basically had to get to Craig Lockhart before you found anything, which in the mornings meant that the best light had already passed and there was a procession of Ferrari safari vehicles, as there was nothing to slow down or stop for, for mile after mile.

 

It was 39 degrees when we left, which didn't help. When we got to Craig Lockhart, there were two vehicles parked off to the right of the hole. This is a good waterhole for photography as you are able to get alongside the hole quite close and it has the added bonus of being under a large tree, so with plenty of shade. I therefore decided to park there, as the view from where the two cars were already parked would not be great, given they would have picked the best spots and whatever they were looking at would hopefully come for a drink, in which case, we would definitely have the best view.

 

7T4A0761a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

this was what they were looking at and our view was not too shabby! the OH moved into the back seat and we waited....

 

7T4A0787a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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and as predicted, 18 minutes after we arrived, she got up for a drink

 

7T4A0825a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

Which the other vehicles would have really struggled to see, as they were parked to the right and behind the tree she was laying under

 

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She soon had her fill and turned to leave

 

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all the way up the dunes

 

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and we could see that she was a lactating mother.

 

Whilst we were waiting for her to get up, we amused ourselves with the doves in the golden light

 

7T4A0939a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

It was time for the long drive back to camp. Just as were were about to leave the riverbed, we came across some giraffe

 

7T4A0982a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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[Peter Connan]

42 minutes ago, Tdgraves said:

Do you mean sad, or past his prime @Peter Connan ?

 

I guess a bit of both? Very thin compared to the other lions in the report.

[Tdgraves]

probably just the angle, as I was driving. i think he was pretty chunky

[TonyQ]

Excellent lion sightings and photos 

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @TonyQ

[Tdgraves]

Day 8, Morning drive, Kalahari tented camp, 25/1/20

 

I got the tripod out again the night before...

 

7T4A1044 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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Overnight there were lions calling around camp, but no sign of them when we got up. We were awoken by a very loud and horrific noise, which we later discovered was a barn owl calling, whilst sitting on the canvas roof directly above us. Not a wake up call I would like repeating! I had the 7D today. It was 19 degrees when we left and given the condition of the bush, we did not stop for a while. Now I have to warn you, there is cheetah overload in this installment, perhaps I should give @madaboutcheetah a call?

 

J19A2578a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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When we arrived at the 14th waterhole, we were greeted by this site...

 

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There were only a couple of vehicles there already and in fact, the car in front of us moved to try and get a head on shot drinking, so we were able to get even closer.

 

J19A2622a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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It kept changing positions, making us think it was leaving, only to settle down and drink more

 

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a couple of crows kept landing on the cars, looking for handouts

 

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but the didn't distract me for long

 

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I was convinced it was going to jump, so I changed my settings and zoomed back as far as possible, held my breath and hit "fire"

 

J19A3110a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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Got it! and the OH didn't 

 

It still seemed a bit thirsty, so had another drink before wandering off

 

J19A3145a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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What a fabulous sighting! The crows were still trying it on

 

J19A3170a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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We carried on and ended up in Kamqua to have a comfort break before the long drive back

 

J19A3193a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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Low and behold, when we got back to near the 14th, we again found the cheetah, who was on a mission, so I could drive passed, let it walk to us and repeat

 

J19A3266a by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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A long drive (and post), but worth it!

[Soukous]

Cheetah overload indeed, but no complaints from me, I love them.

A wonderful sighting, really well captured. Your experience has paid dividends throughout this trip.

[JayRon]

Great report so far, from one of my favourite parks... And a lot of stunning photos, I really like the lioness at Craig Lockhart and the pictures of the giraffes...Only problem with this report is that it really makes me longing for Africa and Kgalagadi .... 

[madaboutcheetah]

@Tdgraves - Thanks for the alert - I had missed the report until now ....... Sorry you were unwell, but, glad all is okay ......

 

I will have to put the Kgalagadi on my list now ....... For if and when we can travel again one day!!!

 

Question - I'd guess kudu there is not an everyday find?  Lovely images of raptors, Predators and Wow - the Male Lion portraits were amazing!!! 

[Tdgraves]

thanks @madaboutcheetah you are correct about the kudu. Maybe one or two sightings per trip at a guess

you should go - it is great!

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @Soukous and @JayRon 
 

10 hours ago, JayRon said:

Only problem with this report is that it really makes me longing for Africa and Kgalagadi .... 

what’s wrong with that?!?

[Peter Connan]

You NAILED it! Well done!

[Soukous]

2 hours ago, Peter Connan said:

You NAILED it! Well done!

 

spot on.

[JayRon]

On 6/15/2020 at 9:47 AM, Tdgraves said:

Thanks @Soukous and @JayRon 
 

what’s wrong with that?!?

Ha ha.. Normally it wouldn´t  be a problem, but I was suppose to travel to South Africa on the 6tn of july for a 24-day safari to Kruger and Hwange... But as we all know, that is not gonna happen this year 

[Tdgraves]

Sorry to hear that @JayRon when have you rebooked for?

[JayRon]

13 hours ago, Tdgraves said:

Sorry to hear that @JayRon when have you rebooked for?

 

No rebooking yet, I have some problems with my dates.....  But hopefully we will go in july 2021....

[pedro maia]

Great cheetah sighting, Kgalagadi at its best!

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @pedro maia

[wilddog]

Lovely report with some wonderful shots. The long distant male lion with the sunlight catching the kicked up dust was really nice and as for the Cheetah jumping...

superb. 

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @wilddog