Kgalagadi January 2023: Clouds and cats and everything in between

[Zim Girl]

Great sequence of the jackal hunting the doves.  Fantastic selection of raptor pictures - love the photo-bombing butterfly in some of them.

[Tdgraves]

2 minutes ago, Zim Girl said:

Great sequence of the jackal hunting the doves.  Fantastic selection of raptor pictures - love the photo-bombing butterfly in some of them.

And hornets!  It’s usually a good hole for both and you can park very close, although others declined to do so (who knows why).

[xelas]

It is so nice to see that the quality of sightings in KTP has improved over the years! A lot of special sightings so far, I am sure more will come our way. Great job, @Tdgraves!

[Tdgraves]

Thanks Alex

[Tdgraves]

Day 6: Nossob evening drive

 

Firstly, when we got back in the morning, we saw some people under a tree in camp, so we went to investigate and found three Southern white-faced owls, which were really cute

 

7T4A3113 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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Some birds around our room

 

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By the afternoon drive, as storm was coming in and so it was very quiet and also a bit cooler. We went South and didn't see very much so I tried to get a decent photo of the rainbow, but wasn't very successful

 

7T4A3166 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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So it's not always action packed here....

 

[kittykat23uk]

What a great report so far! Really takes me back to our time there. It's definitely a park I'd like to explore in more depth. 

[Tdgraves]

You should do it @kittykat23uk especially as your last trip left a sour taste - this park should not leave that impression!!

[kittykat23uk]

Well I've just had my desert fix in Namibia, although was surprised not to see meerkats there. At least by the time we got to kgalagadi last time we had managed to get a different and much more enjoyable guide! But yes, I'd love to see more of the park. 

[Tdgraves]

Day 7: Nossob morning drive, 19/1/23

 

It was a mere 22 degrees when we left and very cloudy. There was intermittent light rain. We went North, as far as Kousant. Our first sighting was a lioness walking towards us. This made me realise that holding the ID with the long lens in anything other than a stationary sighting is very difficult.

 

D14I2036 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

More support required!!

 

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She soon crossed and was scouting the riverbed

 

D14I2046 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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We had a brief and distant glimpse of an African wild cat on the riverbed, who saw her coming.

 

We soon found more fresh lion spoor going North and followed it for ages. It seemed to stop at a waterhole and we didn't thoroughly check for prints leaving the hole, so we merrily carried on. When we turned around to head back towards camp, we realised our folly, as they had parked up very close to that hole, on the verge.

 

D14I2065 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

A mature male and two sub-adult males in the rain

 

D14I2070 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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There was getting a bit of a traffic jam and unusually for KTP, people were becoming impatient, so we moved on

 

D14I2267 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

We soon found the female again

 

D14I2272 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

She was sat in the verge, but as the road was quite low from endless grading, it gave the impression of her looking down onto us.

 

D14I2322 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

She was actively looking for prey, but nothing was very close

 

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She moved off and as we were getting hungry, we decided to go back to camp. As we started the car, the vehicle behind pressed their horn. We assumed it was accidental, but upon looking they were waving at us. We reversed to speak to them to discover that they had been sat at the sighting for about an hour with their headlights on and the battery was flat. Could we leave a message at camp for rescue? Well, it transpired that they had a new battery and an express charger packed in the back of their vehicle (they were South African, not tourists), so we and another vehicle that had now appeared acted as lookouts while he quickly got out the car and jump started his! Much better than waiting for hours for SANParks to come!

 

D14I2614 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

Time for breakfast

[Tdgraves]

Day 7: Nossob evening drive, 19/1/23

 

It warmed up as the day progressed and the cloud dissipated a bit. It got up to 34 degrees and we drove North as far as Kwang and back. It was very quiet, a couple of birds from the OH

 

7T4A3376 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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I forgot one from in camp on our first night....

 

7T4A2515 by tdgraves, on Flickr

[Tdgraves]

Day 8: Nossob morning drive, 20/9/23

 

It was a cool 19 degrees and it climbed up to 34 by the end of the drive when the clouds burnt off, I had the 5D again. We went as far North as Polentswa and it was pretty quiet.

 

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Most of the action was at the Polentswa waterhole

 

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and then nearer to camp, the wildebeest provided some entertainment

 

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time for breakfast

[Tdgraves]

Day 8: Nossob, Evening drive

 

Firstly a couple of birds in camp

 

7T4A3717 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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and some other camp residents

 

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7T4A3736 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

It was only 27 degrees and there was distant thunder, so the drive was again very quiet up to Kwang and back

 

7T4A3769 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

7T4A3802 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

we even had our first ever Kalahari sand storm

 

[Tdgraves]

Day 9: Nossob morning drive, 21/1/23

 

It was cloudy and only 21 degrees as we set out today. I had the 1D and we went North. We had planned a short drive as today was a camp change day and so we had to get back and check out of the room before 10 am. However, it was a lot shorter than we had anticipated. About 4 km North of Cubitje Quap we saw a male lion steadfastly walking down the riverbed back towards the waterhole and camp. So we decided to turn around and wait. It took about 40 minutes, but he did arrive and as anticipated came to the waterhole/

 

D14I2826 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

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He didn't actually go to the hole, but sat under a tree on the opposite side of the road, waiting to see who would come to the hole to see if he could catch them

 

D14I2889 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

we did a drive by and then retreated to give us an angle onto the hole, in case he did hunt

 

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visitors to the hole...

 

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The larger game seemed to sense he was there...

 

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he was looking interested though..

 

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He decided to go for it

 

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but he had to far to go

 

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and gave up

 

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and it was time for us to pack up

[Peter Connan]

Wonderful sightings, truly magnificent photography!

 

So many wonderful photos it's hard to pick any stand-outs, but I have to try. The panicking doves, both from the Lanners and the Jackals, and of course the one where the jackal actually connected. That incredibly brave Goshawk. The Wildies splashing at the waterholes, the Springbuck with his leg draped over the other's head, and of course the mating Shrikes!

 

Wow.

[Tdgraves]

Thanks Peter. Best is probably yet to come…

[TonyQ]

A very handsome lion there, and great photos 

[Peter Connan]

I'll stay tuned then!

 

😁

[Athene]

I agree, great pictures  @Tdgraves,  thanks for writing this trip report, temperatures in January are not as high as I expected, we have been to the Kgalagadi in August when it was very cold and I would like to return when it is a bit warmer but not too hot, have you ever been in March?

[Tdgraves]

@Atheneno, only jan and sept. This January was a bit cooler due to the cold front that came through. 40+ degrees daily would be more usual…

[Tdgraves]

Day 9: Transfer to Kalahari Tented Camp

 

It had crept up to 37 degrees when we left and still cloudy.

 

D14I3205 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

D14I3209 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

We stopped at every water hole en route, but there was not much before we got to the picnic site to have our brunch. However, there was a car just beyond the turn off to the picnic site, so we went there first, and found a mother and 3 cubs

 

D14I3225 by tdgraves, on Flickr

 

which were very difficult to photograph

 

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until one broke for cover

 

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There were a few birds at the picnic site, but not as many as we are used to

 

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There were some ostriches in the dunes, but again, surprisingly difficult to photograph

 

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On the way up the Auob valley, we could see a flat pride of lions near to Craig Lockhart, so we knew where everyone would be later on.....time to check in

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Tdgraves
factually incorrect

[shazdwn]

So many gorgeous shots, can't wait for the rest 

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @shazdwn

[Towlersonsafari]

again wonderful photos in a wonderful place @Tdgraves

[TonyQ]

Beautiful Cheetah and of course lovely birds!

[Tdgraves]

Thanks @Towlersonsafariand @TonyQ