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Kruger National Park day 2 2014

Greetings from Kruger National Park day 2, 2014.

Sunrise over Nwanedzi River Kruger National Park South Africa

Sunrise over the Nwanedzi River

Safari, which in Swahili means journey, also means getting up before the sun for the best time to view wildlife.  Joan is always up by 3am and gives me about another hour of sleep before waking me with morning coffee.  So although I don’t like to wake up so early I do love being spoiled.

Black, & White cranes flying over Nwanedzi River Kruger National Park South Africa

We pause on the bridge over the Nwanedzi River to watch the Black and White Cranes and look for other wildlife as well.

Hippo in Nwanedzi River Kruger National Park South Africa

Luck of the draw is seeing a Hippo out of the water, which is rare during the day, and watching it plod across a sandbar from the bridge to submerge with others of its kind.

Kudus crossing road Kruger National Park South Africa

Kudus

Animals are most often far from the road and viewed only through binoculars but sometimes we get to see them them right on the road and even have to follow them until they decide the grass is greener on the other side.

Buffalos in mud pool Kruger National Park South Africa

Or in the case of the buffalo, soaking in a nice mud pool.

Elephant bones along Letaba River Kruger National Park South Africa

But it’s not always an easy life for wildlife and evidence like the remains of this elephant are occasionally seen.

SANParks & South African flags above Letaba camp Kruger National Park South Africa

So ends day two of safari at Kruger National Park South Africa as we head back to Letaba camp, but there is more to come.

2014 South Africa diversity Ecotour, South Africa , 12 Comments

Wildlife in the volcanic crater at Pilanesberg Game Reserve

After landing in Johannesburg and spending the morning shopping Joan and I headed towards Pilanesberg Game Reserve and camped at Roodeplaat Dam for the first night.

Kliffspringers Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

Kliffspringers

As we drove through Pilanesberg Game Reserve on our way to camp we saw almost all the animals except for predators.

Mankwe Dam Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

This unique reserve is located in the crater of a long extinct volcano from some 1300 million years ago which  produced a rare alkaline rock type.  The diverse landscape includes rocky outcrops, open grasslands, wooded valleys, thickets and a large central lake called the Mankwe Dam.

Baboons on grill Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

We set up camp next to the fence in hopes of seeing wildlife but the large hole in the fence meant animals in camp.  A baboon opened a neighbors cooler as easy as you and I helped itself to a nice bag of fruit before being chased off.  In fact after returning to camp from the next day’s morning drive the bath towel I’d left to dry on the tent was gone but turned out it was in the tent.  How could that be?  Our neighbors came over to say they’d seen a baboon in my tent and scared it away then put the towel in it and rezipped it.  Those bloody baboons are smart.

Impala Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

Impalas

That evening we watched the impala browse under a big light at the edge of camp and a Scrub Hare hung out near the BBQ grill.

Sunrise Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

Morning light on boulders & moon Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

Next morning’s game drive began at sunrise with the first light bringing a glow on the bouldery cliffs.

Zebras Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

Blue Wildebeests Pilanesberg Game Reserve South Africa

Blue Wildebeests

Plus lots of wildlife with youngsters which are always delightful to see.

Lioness and elephants Pilanesberg Game Reserve South AfricaYet the absolute highlight of the day was seeing five lions by one of the dams just lazing around.  They must not have been very hungry as a lot of other animals were in the visual vicinity including a small heard of elephants.

Masked Weaver, Red Bishop & Fish Eagle Pilanesberg Game Reserve South AfricaMasked Weaver, Red Bishop and Fish Eagle

You must stay in your vehicle except for the hides which are great places to quietly sit and enjoy a variety of birds.

Bicolored verbena, Wild Scabiosa, Waterberg Lobelia & Wild canibas Pilanesberg Game Reserve South AfricaBicolored Verbena, Wild Scabiosa, Waterberg Lobelia and Wild Cannibis

The reserve has more to show than just animals with many colored flowers scattered about.

Giraffe & zebra Pilanesberg Game Reserve South AfricaThe next day we took an extended ride on some of the many roads and saw more wildlife.  The photo opps are endless as you can tell by this post.

Elephant Pilanesberg Game Reserve South AfricaComing around a curve this big boy greeted us and then kept walking so Joan started backing up but he just kept coming.

Elephant in side mirror Pilanesberg Game Reserve South AfricaWe finally did a quick turn around and he almost chased us out of the park.

About Pilanesberg

Pilanesberg Game Reserve is two hours west from Johannesburg or Pretoria.  The park exists within the transition zone between the dry Kalahari and wetter Lowveld vegetation, commonly referred to as “Bushveld”.  The Manyane Camp where we stayed is a little run down and definitely needs fence repairs.  The Bakgatla camp looks a bit cleaner with a new Visitor Center.  Sun City is located adjacent to the reserve with an entertainment center, golf course, water world and casino which we did not see.  My major complaint was the water tasted like mud.

Wildlife seen

giraffe, kudu, klipspringer, rhino, zebra, hippo, waterbuck, red hartebeest, tsessebe, springbok, warthog, elephant, impala, lion, baboon, vervet monkey, ostrich, whitebreasted cormorant, grey heron, cattle egret, whitefaced whistling duck, egyptian goose, yellowbilled duck, secretary bird, black-shouldered kite, fish eagle, natal francolin, helmeted guineafowl, crowned plover, blacksmith plover, cape turtle dove, grey go away bird, Burchell’s coucal, lilacbreasted roller, forktailed drongo, paradise flycatcher, crimsonbreasted shrike, cape glossy starling, redbilled oxpecker, southern masked weaver, red bishop, longtailed widow, and paradise wydah.

2014 South Africa diversity Ecotour, South Africa , , , 38 Comments

Wildlife and Geology at Camdeboo National Park South Africa

Black Wildebeest Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Black Wildebeest on the plains

After a long day on the road with stops at Ganora and the Owl House we pulled in to Camdeboo National Park.  We were directed to our campsite at Nqweba and I asked about the overlook I’d read about for sunset.  The woman at the reception desk didn’t seem to know what I was talking about so after studying the map we headed for the highest point past the Toposcope lookout to the end of the road.  And saw some wildlife along the way.

Nqweba Dam Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Nqweba Dam

Graaff-Reinet from Camdeboo National Park South Africa

Graff-Reinet

The Valley Road wound it’s way through spectacular and changing vegetation as we climbed upwards.  Plus provided expansive views of the Nqweba Dam and 200-year old town of Graff-Reinet below.

Valley of Desolation Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet Sout Africa

Valley of Desolation

Dolerite cliffs above Valley of Desolation Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

A short trail took us to a vast view of the plains of the Great Karoo known as the Valley of Desolation just beyond the tall columns of eroded dolerite formed hundreds of millions of years ago by volcanism and erosion.

Sunset over Valley of Desolation Camdeboo National Par Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Sunset Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet Sout Africa

The only bummer was having to leave before the sunset showed its finest.  The gate closed at 7:30 pm in February so we had to rush back down the road and get back to camp before that gate closed at 8:00.

Dutch Reform Church Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Dutch Reform Church Graff-Reinet

This took us through Graff-Reinet, which the almost 48,000 acre (19,405 hectare) park surrounds.

Springbok Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Springbok

Even though it was overcast the next morning we went out looking for wildlife and were not disappointed.  12 miles (20 km) of gravel roads offered ample opportunities for a regular passenger vehicle and more if we’d been driving a 4×4.

Nqweba Dam Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Red-billed Teals & Blacksmith Plovers on Nqweba Dam Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Red-billed Teals and Blacksmith Plovers

Several short side roads end at the Nqweba Dam where we saw numerous shore birds.

Camdeboo-National-Park-Map

Park history

The Karoo Nature reserve was established in 1979 when the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the World Wildlife Fund recognized the urgency for conservation measures in the Karoo biome and listed this action as a world conservation priority.  Then in 2005 Camdeboo National Park was proclaimed as South Africa’s 22nd National Park under the management of South African National Parks.

However before this status the area was used by early, middle and later stone age people.  Khoisan hunters and herders left evidence of their occupation in the form of rock paintings in the eastern section of the park.  The Inqua tribe occupied the area during the mid 1600s grazing their vast herds of cattle and fat-tailed sheep.

White farmers settled the Camdeboo Plains in 1770 introducing merino sheep and angora goats, as well as exotic plants. Over the years overgrazing and the effects of introduced exotic plants have resulted in soil erosion replacing much of the natural grasses and brush.

The vision for the future is ultimately to link the Camdeboo National Park with the Mountain Zebra National Park to protect a huge diversity of plant and animal species including the endangered Cape Mountain Zebra.

Black Wildebeest Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Black Wildebeest

Flora & Fauna

The Karoo is an arid, semi-desert landscape.  The plant composition is unstable and influenced by the variation in rainfall however is also highly resilient and able to recover rapidly after droughts, insect outbreaks and overgrazing.  336 plant species have been discovered to date.

Because of the variation in elevation three distinct life zones exist.   Shrubland is located on sandstone dominated uplands above 4265 feet (1300 m).  Lower down is dominated by succulent thickets and dwarf shrubland is restricted to the bottomlands.

Gabar Goshawk Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Gabar Goshawk

Pale Chanting Goshawk Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Pale Chanting Goshawks

At least 225 bird species have been recorded in the park along with 43 mammal species.

Dolerite cliffs above Valley of Desolation Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Geology

Beginning at least 500 million years ago mountain building and subsequent rivers deposited sediments followed by faulting and erosion that revealed the dolerite columns.

Trail Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Activities & Services

Trails & Walks

The Crag Lizard Trail (45 minutes) starts at the Valley parking area and extends for about 1 mile (1.5 km) via the Valley viewpoints. It is marked with the Crag Lizard logo.

The Eerstefontein Day Walk starts and ends at the Spandaukop gate. There are three route options of 3 miles (5km), 6.8 miles 11km, and 8.7 miles (14km) with rest spots at Eerstefontein and Agtersfontein.

The Gideon Scheepers Trail is an hour long walk, starting at the Gideon Scheepers Monument, which commemorates a historic figure, and ending at Barbergat on the R63 to Murraysburg.

Blissbok at Sunset Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Blissbok

Camdeboo National Park’s accommodation is situated on the floodplains of the Nqweba Dam and accessed via the Lakeview Gate on the N9 towards Middleburg.

Lakeview Tented Camp
Four rustic furnished tents provide a relaxed nature experience. Each tent sleeps two people and has a braai unit, fridge, table and 2 chairs. Bedding and towels are provided. There is a communal kitchen equipped with stove plates, cooking & eating utensils and microwave. Tents are booked as individual units but there is also a communal braai area for group use. Communal showers and toilets are provided.

Nqweba Campsite
Fifteen caravan or tent sites are situated beneath thorn trees on a gravel substrate. Each site has a braai unit and powerpoint. A communal kitchen provides deep freeze, stove top and microwave facilities while the communal ablutions have showers, toilets and a universally accessible unit.

Camdeboo National Park also encircles the town of Graaff-Reinet, which has a variety of accommodation options including hotels, guest houses and a caravan park.

Vervet Monkey Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

Although the park is very close to Graff-Reinet it feels like the middle of nowhere.  We had the campground almost to ourselves.  Well, except for this Vervet monkey who was keeping watch over the place.

Don't throw rocks sign Camdeboo National Park Eastern Cape Graaff-Reinet South Africa

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Lijit

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