Game Drive #8: Friday, October 15th, 5:45am-8:30am
It was so cold this morning that I was wearing jeans, T-shirt, woolly
sweater, lined raincoat, two blankets, and a poncho draped over all
that, by the end of the drive! It drizzled a little now and then, but
the moist air felt and smelled lovely. The dry season is just coming
to an end, and the rainy summer is on its way. -Go-Away bird (its call sounds like it's saying that!)
-2 lionesses full from finishing off their kill last night (much
clearer view in the daylight!)
-hammerkop bird
-brubru (bird)
-striped kingfisher
-a baby monkey sitting on a branch
-little bee-eater (green & yellow bird)
-white-fronted bee-eater
-lizard buzzard (also called lizard hawk)
-black collared barbet (bird)
-black-backed puffback (bird)
-Jameson's firefinch
-longbilled crombec
-crested francolin
-red-billed buffalo weaver
-magpie shrike (impressively long black tail)
-chin-spotted batis (bird)
-civet tracks
-Brazilian poppies (yellow flower growing in the sand)
-more nyala, impala, African fish eagle, hippos (9 or so), waterbuck,
cape buffalo, African hoopoe, zebras, wildebeest, yellow-billed
hornbill, fork-tailed drongos, starlings, elephants (with 3 babies),
guinea fowl, cape turtledoves, hooded vulture (on a buffalo skull),
bushbuck, kudu, saddlebilled stork. So this morning alone we saw 15 new species of birds that we had never
seen before. This being the final game drive, I have now made the tally for the
whole four days, and our sightings amount to: - 5 species of reptiles
- 23 species of mammals (including 9 kinds of antelope, 3 types of big
cats, and the Big Five many times each)
-60 different types of birds!!! A highly successful safari to say the least. Who needs sunshine? None
of our photos will have blue sky, but they'll be full of God's fine
African creatures!!! Hope to post some photos (or a link to an album) in a few days. For
now, packing up and heading home: 2 bumpy hours in a van, one small
plane flight, then a ten-hour overnight flight north over the whole of
Africa, the Mediterranean & southern Europe back to Zurich, only to
arrive in the same time zone...no jet lag, but a wistfulness for the
friendly, expert hospitality and varied fauna of South Africa.
sweater, lined raincoat, two blankets, and a poncho draped over all
that, by the end of the drive! It drizzled a little now and then, but
the moist air felt and smelled lovely. The dry season is just coming
to an end, and the rainy summer is on its way. -Go-Away bird (its call sounds like it's saying that!)
-2 lionesses full from finishing off their kill last night (much
clearer view in the daylight!)
-hammerkop bird
-brubru (bird)
-striped kingfisher
-a baby monkey sitting on a branch
-little bee-eater (green & yellow bird)
-white-fronted bee-eater
-lizard buzzard (also called lizard hawk)
-black collared barbet (bird)
-black-backed puffback (bird)
-Jameson's firefinch
-longbilled crombec
-crested francolin
-red-billed buffalo weaver
-magpie shrike (impressively long black tail)
-chin-spotted batis (bird)
-civet tracks
-Brazilian poppies (yellow flower growing in the sand)
-more nyala, impala, African fish eagle, hippos (9 or so), waterbuck,
cape buffalo, African hoopoe, zebras, wildebeest, yellow-billed
hornbill, fork-tailed drongos, starlings, elephants (with 3 babies),
guinea fowl, cape turtledoves, hooded vulture (on a buffalo skull),
bushbuck, kudu, saddlebilled stork. So this morning alone we saw 15 new species of birds that we had never
seen before. This being the final game drive, I have now made the tally for the
whole four days, and our sightings amount to: - 5 species of reptiles
- 23 species of mammals (including 9 kinds of antelope, 3 types of big
cats, and the Big Five many times each)
-60 different types of birds!!! A highly successful safari to say the least. Who needs sunshine? None
of our photos will have blue sky, but they'll be full of God's fine
African creatures!!! Hope to post some photos (or a link to an album) in a few days. For
now, packing up and heading home: 2 bumpy hours in a van, one small
plane flight, then a ten-hour overnight flight north over the whole of
Africa, the Mediterranean & southern Europe back to Zurich, only to
arrive in the same time zone...no jet lag, but a wistfulness for the
friendly, expert hospitality and varied fauna of South Africa.
posted by 30seconds.blogs.com @ 3:38 AM
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