South Africa revisited, Felines and Critters of the Night (1 Viewer)

South Africa, vast, amazing. Arid deserts, lush sub-tropical forests, lowland fynbos, spectacular snow-capped peaks of the Drakensburg, all combine to produce a mouth-watering diversity of both birds and mammals, the country boasting at least 850 species of bird and 300 of mammal.

Being in the fortunate position of having already spent over two years in southern Africa and having seen virtually all the bird species on the sub-continent, this latest escapade of three weeks could allow me focus not only on the regions I enjoy the most, namely the arid semi-deserts of the Karoo and Kalahari, but also turn my attention to mammals in a more dedicated manner, the idea to seek out felines and some of the more elusive night mammals, all of which achieved most successfully. With few exceptions, I did not seek out bird specialities where they required stake outs or specific destinations, but rather chose a route to maximise possibilities to encounter mammals.


In a country that is little short of a sub-continent in itself, the route I planned ultimately clocked up over 8000 km, a fairy hefty total. In order to avoid loosing valuable daylight hours, the two biggest segments of the trip (700 km Cape Town to Pofadder and 1300 km Kgalagadi to Kruger) were done at night.

More or less, this trip could be broken down into three parts:


1. The Western Cape.

A week-long trip, starting in the West Coast National Park before crossing the Cederburg Mountains to reach the Tanqua Karoo and thereafter to the Agulhas Plain and De Hoop. Rounding off this part of the trip, a couple of days in the Cape Town area, then a spectacular pelagic trip into the stormy waters south of the Cape of Good Hope.

Abundant birds including both Cape and Spotted Eagle Owls, Karoo Korhaans and Denham's Bustards, Cape Sugarbirds and, my first new bird of the trip, Damara Canary. Pelagic highlights included two Northern Royal Albatrosses and an abundance of Antarctic Prions.

Mammals included Cape Porcupine, Cape Clawless Otter and early-returning Southern Right Whales, plus Bonteboks, Grey Rhebok and a variety of other antelopes.



2. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

Five days in the fantastic Auob and Nossob Valleys of the Kgalagadi, plus a day exploring the nearby Poffadder region and Augrabies Falls.

Without doubt the highlight of the trip, Kgalagadi was simply one delight after another - no less than seven Cheetahs, two Leopards, four Lions, six African Wild Cats and one Brown Hyena. Also, plenty of other mammals, plus an amazing adundance of raptors, Kori Bustards ten a penny and hornbills and passerines tripping over to perform for the camera.



3. Kruger National Park/Swaziland.

Hardly requiring an introduction, Kruger supports one of the greatest diversities of mammals anywhere in Africa and the birding in second to none. Starting in the north, I first visited the relatively remote Punda Maria and Pafuri, before traversing the park staying at Shingwedzi and Satara en route south. Hitting the Lower Sabie region, the volume of other tourists becomes a little overwhelming, so I then abandoned the park and travelled into Swaziland for a couple of days and later a quick stop in Wakkerstroom.

Numerous highlights, including African Civet and Large-spotted Genet at night, four White Rhinocerous at assorted waterholes and, back to the feline beasties, two more Cheetahs and three Lions. Also White-backed Night Heron, Green-backed Heron, Southern Ground Hornbills and, most welcome, both Mottled and Bohm's Spinetails.


One of the cats for starters....

More, more and thrice more !!

Planning a similar trip at the moment - very opportune.

I'm also planning my second trip to South Africa this October (mostly in search of felines and critters of the night funnily enough!) so I'll read this report with great interest.

Looking forward to hearing more!

Superb leopard shot - looking forward to more

Cheers
Mike

Very nice Jos, you sleeping in the car again?? Look forward to more of your report.

Love the leopard shot. Looking forward to another of your great reports...

Part One, the Western Cape.

A week-long loop starting and finishing in Cape Town, incorporating the West Coast National Park, the remote expanses of the Tanqua Karoo, the fertile Agulhus Plain and excellent De Hoop nature reserve, along with localities around Cape Town itself, plus a super pelagic trip into the waters south of the Cape of Good Hope.

A trip to this region in the heart of their winter is always going to be a gamble with the weather and this trip was no exception - as South Africans shivered and complained of exceptionally heavy rain, stormy seas, flooding and even snow, I managed to wind through the region with only one day adversely impacted by the weather.



6 July. Airborn Again.

Waving farewell to a Vilnius basking under a sweltering summer sun, off to the airport I went, destination one Istanbul for a transfer onto a Turkish Airlines night flight to Cape Town.

A couple of coffees in Istanbul, Alpine Swifts hurtling around minarets to a setting sun, three Pygmy Cormorants doing a fly-over. At 1 a.m., onto the plane I clambered, a welcome return to African soil awaiting.



7 July. West Coast National Park.

A brief stop to deposit a few passengers in Johannesburg, one Cape Wagtail the first bird to welcome me, then a hop of couple of hours to Cape Town, touchdown just after midday local time. Picked up a hire care - an alarmingly small Fiat - and hit the road, destination the beautiful West Coast National Park. Sacred Ibis and Hadeda on the outskirts of Cape Town, a squadron of White Pelicans taking a low-level fly-by as I ventured onto the N7 northbound.

A little more than an hour or so later, we arrived - low rolling hills of strandveld, for now basking under a warm sun. A key locality for Caracal, I did have high hopes of encountering one of these sleek cats, the plan being to spend a couple of days here. Almost immediately encountered Angulate Tortoises grazing the verges, then the first Southern Black Korhaans, the males real stunners. Ostriches strutting, Karoo Scrub-Robins and Cape Robin-Chats emerging from dense thickets, a Layard's Tit-Babbler popping out for a few moments, all too soon I was getting back into the delights of birding in South Africa.

Not the easiest locality to find mammals, the dense vegetation limits giving ample cover, but as the sun edged towards the horizon, Steenboks began to appear in clearings, along with a Common Duiker, the first Bonteboks of the trip and oodles of Cape Francolins and Southern Black Korhaans. For sunset, a rather early 6.00 p.m., we settled to watch the area around the Abrahamskraal waterhole. African Spoonbills, Cape Shoveler, Black Crakes and an African Rail amongst the waterbirds, noisy Cape Weavers in the emergent vegetation and Southern Double-collared Sunbirds buzzing in the strandveld behind, all very nice.

As daylight faded, and the korhaaans echoed their calls across the vlei, it was time to depart to find somewhere to stay. Bumping into a herd of Eland on the way, found a campsite in the neighbouring Langebaan, a Spotted Thick-knee rather unhappy to be dislodged as I erected my tent in the now darkness. Fish and chips in the town, most tasty indeed, then to sleep.

8 July. West Coast National Park, Veldriff & Lambert's Bay.

Rubbish weather day! Woke at dawn to a drizzle rolling in from the south Atlantic, a wind kicking in to suggest little was going to change. And it did not, a major cold front was sweeping in, the rain gradually becoming heavier and the odds of picking up a Caracal dimishing with every minute that passed.

Over in the West Coast National Park, Elands and Red Hartebeest huddled in a look of dejection, while any passerines brave enough to pop out of the depths of the strandveld got blown half way to the next hilltop! Bokmakieries and Pied Starlings added pleasant distraction, a quick return to the Abrahamskraal waterhole added most of the birds of the day before, plus Purple Swamphens, Levaillant's Cisticola and soggy Black-shouldered Kites on ghostly snags on the hillside.

Being a bit of a wussy when it comes to rain, I decided upon a rapid change of plans for these first few days, the idea now being to zip up the remainder of the west coast this day, then cross over the Cederburgs to drop into the arid lands of the Karoo, almost certainly a destination that would be dry. Before departing however, I braved the rain a little to venture out to the Geelbek hide - a scamper across saltmarsh, then a dive into the relative shelter of the hide overlooking the bay. Cape Longclaws and more Levaillant's Cisticolas on the saltmarsh, plus an assortment of waders, including a notable Common Redshank - in terms of status, this was probably the best bird of the morning, the species being a vagrant to South Africa, generally only one or two seen per year, almost exclusively in the southern summer. African Marsh Harriers battled the conditions, ranks of distant flamingoes lurked in the murk.

Having chucked a dripping tent into the back of the car, we then continued up the coast, the next stop being the excellent estuary and adjacent saltpans at Veldriff. With the weather showing distinct hints of improvement, it was actually a very pleasant couple of hours here, first birding from the road where it traverses the pans, then moving round to the Riviera riverfront, watching from both the birdhide and a small quayside further up channel. I didn't bother entering the actual saltwarks, but the birding was absolutely top class nethertheless - plenty of waders, including a good number of the iconic Chestnut-banded Plovers, plus the usual assortment of Three-banded, Kittlitz's and White-fronted Plovers, all accompanied by dapper Avocets, noisy Black-winged Stilts and unseasonal Curlew Sandpiper, Curlew and Greenshank. More impressive however were all the other waterbirds present - both Greater and Lesser Flamingoes in abundance, African Spoonbills paddling the shallows, rafts and rafts of Black-necked Grebes and, dotting posts across the water, three species of cormorant and African Anhinga too. Plus White Pelicans floating just metres off, thousands of Red-knobbed Coots, a Purple Heron rising from saltmarsh and an assortment of ducks including Southern African Shelduck and Cape Teal ...you could almost forget the weather was pretty dodgy!

Adjacent strandveld added a Small Grey Mongoose, along with Southern Double-collared Sunbirds, a couple of Fiscal Flycatchers and Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk, while the journey north notched up the first Blue Cranes of the trip, plus Mountain Wheatear, a Goliath Heron and pair of African Fish Eagles at Eland's Bay.

The previously white car was looking like it had already done the Paris-Dakar, a delightful cocktail of red sand and mud caking the car from top to bottom, the coastal dirt road a slippery sludge in places.

A few kilometres along, we reached Lambert's Bay, the planned culmination of my route in this direction - on a small island barely a hundred metres or so off the coast lies a most impressive seabird colony, Cape Gannets by their thousand all crammed together, together with White-breasted, Cape and Crowned Cormorants, oodles of Swift Terns and even a few African Penguins thrown in for good measure. Normally a most pleasant birding experience, the island can be assessed by a small causeway, a path then leading to a hide right in the midst of the breeding horders. We arrived however to a distinctively closed looking causeway, something I have not encountered on any previous visits. The reason soon became clear, the full force of the South Atlantic was pummelling the causeway, waves whipping over into the adjacent small harbour. Spying the gateway was not actually locked, and there was no sign saying we couldn't, we decided to brave the free shower that the ocean was offering and darted along the causeway to reach the island. Municipal workers on the island greeted us, but seeing we had come a long way decided not to kick us off - Cape Gannets galore, a buzz of Swift Terns to and fro, Cape Fur Seals bobbing in the very active surf, the island was a treat as usual, albeit far stormier than I have ever encountered it before.

With still a couple of hours left till dusk, and the weather now quite a tad brighter, I then returned to the strandveld a little to the north - four Ostrich ambling along and a nice little selection of passerines in the coastal scrub - one Cape Penduline Tit, one Chestnut-vented Tit-Babbler, two Cape Clapper Larks, quite a few Karoo Scrub-Robins and a general assortment including Cape Robin-Chats, Karoo Prinias, Bokmakieries and White-throated Canaries. As dusk appraoched, eastward I turned, a short shopping trip into Clanwilliam, then south to Citrusdal and from there, up and over the Cederburg.

What a drive, torrential rain on a winding dirt road in the dark, one minute rocky, one minute slippery. As rain finally began to subside, so dense fog set in. Amazingly, managed to notch up both a single Spotted Eagle Owl and, sitting on the road, a dripping wet Cape Eagle Owl. Poorly seen, but one Cape Porcupine also scurried across the road and, nearing our destination, a couple of mice that turned out to be Namaqua Rock Mice.

Finally arriving at the edge of the Karoo, we pulled into the primitive picnic site at Skitterykloof well after midnight, a glance upwards revealing a star-studded sky, the mountains an effective barrier to the rain. Caught one Namaqua Rock Mouse, put my tent up and went to sleep.


Photographs, a rainy day's selection...

9 July. Tanqua Karoo (Skitterykloof, Eierkop and the P2250)

Skitterykloof

Dawn on the boulder-strewn hillside of Skitterykloof, key locality for Cinnamon-breasted Warbler. Strenuous activities required to clamber up the steep slopes, damp from an overnight mist. Scattered aloes and thickets of acacia a backdrop, plenty of birds active, starting with Layard's Tit-Babblers and Dusky Sunbirds in the valley bottom, progressing to Malachite and Southern Double-collared Sunbirds as I clambered up the rocks. Aiming for low cliffs at the top of the slope, a locality that has given me both the warbler and Ground Woodpeckers in the past, I paused to watch White-naped Ravens croaking their way by, stopped to admire a Mountain Wheatear and almost toppled off a boulder when I surprised a Red Rock Rabbit near the top of the slope, another darting off a little further along.

Tweny minutes after reaching the clifftop, having slowly followed the ridge up the gully, a brief glimpse of a mouse-like bird darting across the rocks and into a hollow. Cinnimon-breasted Warbler, it just had to be. And indeed it was, a moment later, it reappeared some 50 metres or so away, now scurrying up the rockface itself, a classic little bird and quite kind enough to even stop a few moments to allow a little closer scrutiny.

And with that, back down the slope I went, time for coffee and breakfast under the acacias of the picnic site, Cape Buntings and White-throated Canaries scrounging for scraps, Hadedas making an awful din to spoil the serenity of the valley.



Eierkop

The vast Karoo, plains of endless semi-desert, stunted vegetation and open skies, simply magic. Just 20 km south of Skitterkloof however are two small rocky knolls, one each side of the road. Essentually bare rock with an assortment of aloes clinging to their sides, the eastern hill is Eierkop, a fine place to spot and clamber to the top for stunning views over the plains all around. A dawn arrival is also usually rewarded with Karoo Korhaans calling, but my arrival some two or three hours later saw no such things. Still, not too bad - Spike-heeled Larks on the approach track, Namaqua Warblers around the base, a stunning male Black Harrier quartering nearby and quite a number of gaudy Malachite Sunbirds on the hill itself.



The P2250

If ever there was an unassuming road, then this is it - a remote gravel road going from nowhere to nowhere, the nearest towns scores of kilometres away. For birds however, it is second to none, the Karoo plains stretching from horizon to horizon supporting all the key birds of the area. Even before arriving at the P2250, Karoo and Tractrac Chats begin to appear in increasing numbers, the latters real smart birds. Also a variety of other passerines, including Spike-heeled and Karoo Larks, plus Pale Chanting Goshawks and, a welcome mammal addition, two Bat-eared Foxes trotting along.

At the junction of the P2250, the sun now pushing temperatures to a respectable 22 C, a Peregrine Falcon sat upon a roadside post and all too soon, further goodies began to reveal themselves. A stroll along a shallow drainage course produced, in addition to yet more Tractrac Chats, one of the specials that I was seeking - the dainty Karoo Eremomelas. Exceptionally mobile, frequently upping and flitting dozens of metres, aided by wind whipping their tails, the three birds gave me a good run-around before finally settling to offer good views. Also good numbers of Red-capped Larks here, plus a few Karoo Larks and one or two Namaqua Warblers. Some kilometres along, Tractrac and Karoo Chats all the way, a small roadside pool offered temporary home to three stunning Cape Teals, along with a Three-banded Plover and, in the adjacent thickets, a bustling colony of Cape Sparrows.

By now late afternoon, we then turned down a remote side track and began to look for a suitable camp location. Ended up at dry river bed, occasional pools suggesting recent rain. Greater Kestrel adjacent, a Black-backed Jackal emerging from vegetation just yonder. After a coffee and a hastily concocted meal consisting of instant noodles, bread and mandarins, the lure of sunset got us moving again. Deciding to simply camp wherever we ended up, we awaited dark and then set off on a slow trawl of the area, dreams of Aardvark floating in my imagination. Not a particularly uncommon mammal here, I saw plenty of termite hills tunnelled open by them, but the mystical beast remained just that, mystical! I was not complaining too much however, two Cape Porcupines ambling alongside the road were most welcome, my first ever good views of this splendid animal. Also encountered a Cape Fox and another Black-backed Jackal, as well as two Spotted Eagle Owls.

Another star-studded night, the mercury dipping to just 4 C, camp for the night was a lay-by under a stategically placed acacia.

Great stuff Jos, more please!

John

Farnboro John said:

Great stuff Jos, more please!

John

Click to expand...

Coming soon, I am in the final phase of sorting and processing photographs - back to writing the report then :t: Sorry for delay...

One to keep you occupied...

A slightly dopey looking King of Beasts - had Clarence just taken his glasses off?

Looking forward to this!

John

Hi Jos,

looking forward to the rest. Was the Leopard photo taken in KTP? If so, let me know where it was and I might be able to identify the individual

Cheers

Martyn

Hi Jos,

After I was in KTP in November 2010, I posted a few shots of a Leopard I saw just south of Unions End on the Sanparks forum. Dr Matthew Schurch of Cape Town University contacted me and asked to use my photos in a guide to the identification of Leopards in KTP which he was producing as part of his research.

It turned out that "my" Leopard was Kanna, so named as she frequents the Kannaguass Waterhole north to Unions End.

Link to my trip report:-

http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=187220&page=2

Dr Schurch sent me a copy of the guide when he finished it. I've looked through it and think I have a match for your Leopard. I believe it is a female called Langklaas which is remarkably the daughter of Kanna!

I assume if I am correct, that you photographed your Leopard towards the northern end of the Nossob River?

I've managed to find a downloadable version of the guide:-

http://www.ast.uct.ac.za/~schurch/leopards/KTP Leopard Identification Guide 2012-08-01.pdf

I think I have a correct match, but I'm welcome to other opinions.

Kanna is 1.25 and Langklaas is 1.26

Cheers
Martyn

Apologies all for the delay, finally finished processing all the images, time to get this thread back on track!

10 July. Tanqua Karoo (the P2250 and further east).


Jeepers, cold at dawn! A think fog too, not something that was going to help me find Karoo Korhaans or indeed much else. Having parked the car by a remote track and wandered off into the pea soup, I spent the first hour of the day watching larks flit off into the gloom just before getting close enough to actually see what they were! Some pretty impressive termite mounts hollowed out by Aarkvarks though, even better when a Bat-eared Fox was peeping out of one.

Being upon a featureless expanse of semi-desert cloaked in fog, problem one of the day was actually refinding the car! Having meandered aimlessly for quite a while, presuming the car was 'just ahead', it began to dawn upon me that I had in reality no real idea of where I was! Random ambles onward, Tractrac Chats appearing here and there, a couple of Karoo Scrub-Robins scurrying out from cover and then I stumbled upon the track. Hmm, car to the left or right? I stabbed a guess at right, 15 minutes later so emerged the car from the gloom!

Time for coffee. Then, like magic, the fog began to lift, the sun climbing to burn off remnants in low valleys. The lark shapes morphed into distinct species, Red-capped Larks the vast buk, but also quite a number of Spike-heeled Larks and, better still, over the next half hour or so, Karoo Lark, Cape Clapper Lark and Large-billed Lark. A Pale Chanting Goshawk winged over, flocks of Namaqua Sandgrouse filled the skies with their liquid bubbling calls, a glorious sunny day was beginning.

Some way off, a whole bunch of small holes caught my attention, a colony of some small critters no doubt, but presuming the occupants to be nocturnal, I did not really expect to find life on the surface. However, as we sat there and basked in the morning sun, a curious little sound seemed to be emanating from all around, a quiet high-pitched whistle. And then I spotted them, poking up from burrows, right little cute things, Brant's Whistling Rats. A slightest move in their direction sent them diving back into the holes, but by sitting quietly, bar the occasional slurp of coffee, I eventually managed to get a few coming up quite close, pictures duly achieved.


The basic plan for the day was a slow drive eastward along the length of the P2250, then veer south along the base of the Roggeveld escarpment. Excellent birding most of the way, Capped Wheatear, Karoo Eremomela and a flock of Grey-backed Sparrowlarks amongst the early highlights and Pale-winged Starlings, White-naped Raven and Southern Ant-eating Chat a little later on. One of the best stops however was aside a temporal watercourse some kilometres along the P2250 - not only were there at least 300 Cape Sparrows in a very active colony, but also a flock of 30 or so Black-headed Canaries just adjacent. And in their midst, very nice indeed, two male Damara Canaries, my first new bird of the trip!

Sixty kilometres further, as the Karoo began to give way to the Roggeveld escarpment, another stop produced more nice birds - Fairy Flycatchers in a vegetated gully, Cape Grassbird in a damp area of rank stuff and an assorted collection of Malachite and Southern Double-collared Sunbirds on a hillside. Familiar Chat, Karoo Prinia, White-backed Mousebird and Namaqua Dove rounded off the action.

Dangerously low on petrol (there are no stations in the Karoo!), we then began to head south, fully expecting to find a fuel station at Matjiesfontain, some 90 km south on the main N1 highway. With the needle sitting on absolute zero for the last few kilometres, I was feeling rather pleased when we finally rolled into Matjiesfontain. It was rather less pleasureable to discover this was a mere village with no fuel whatsoever! Tailgatting trucks and free-wheeling down hills, the next 50 km were spent with full expectation of not making it, but by some miracle we did indeed arrive at Touws Rivier without gonking out, the petrol station a most welcome sight.

With a full tank, we then continued our journey, destination for the night, the pleasant town of Swellendam. With tent up and Olive Thrushes hopping on the grass, all too soon it was getting dark. Time to 'splash out' for a change, pizza in town this evening.




11 July. Agulhas Plain & De Hoop.


A tad wet and wild at dawn, low cloud hugging the hills to the north of Swellendam. Fully confident that conditions would improve, I decided to delay my planned exploration of the Agulhas Plain by a couple of hours and instead head up to Grootvadersbosch, a patch of semi-tropical forest high on the slopes. A diabolical road in the rain, the car's progression from white to deep chocolate-red was just about complete by the time we arrived, even the roof managing to get a nice coating!


The intelligent half of our pair decided a book in the car was the preferable option to a trampse through the dripping foliage of Grootvadersbosch, but off I went, donning waterproof trousers and coat. Wasn't actually too bad, the rain had already finished and quite a number of birds were popping out to shake themselves off - Sombre Greenbuls and Cape White-eyes in abundance, Cape Batis too. Typical of tropical forests, time would need to be out in to guarantee many of the specials of this habitat (Narina Trogons et al), but in the mere hour or so I gave it, I notched up quite a nice collection - as well as Greater Double-collared Sunbirds and Bar-throated Apalis in reasonable numbers, there were also several Blue-mantled Crested Flycatchers, one Yellow-throated Woodland-Warbler, an African Goshawk and an Olive Woodpecker. Bushbuck and Large Grey Mongoose were also encountered, the latter on the road just below the reserve.

Sloshing back to the car, it was then time to resume my planned itinerary on the Agulhas Plain, namely a slow meander through the rich farmlands of the Overberg heading towards De Hoop Nature Reserve. Though much of the area is essentually a monoculture of sheep pastures and wheat, the area is surprisingly good for birds, an abundance of cranes, bustards and korhaans all occurring, alongside many larks and other birds. Studding the area, adding splashes of colour and variety of habitat, remnants of fynbos occupy occasional slopes.

With the skies now blue and the sun warm, the birding was simply superb - from Buffeljagsriver to Malagas, it was birds galore all the way! Amongst the big birds, flocks of Blue Cranes every few kilometres, two pairs of Denham's Bustards, one pair of Karoo Korhaans, also one Martial Eagle, three Cape Vultures, abundant Spur-winged Geese, many Helmeted Guineafowl and, mostly farmed, Ostrich everywhere! It is however for the smaller passerines that the Overburg is frequently famed - and today was no exception: Capped Wheatears, Sickle-winged Chats, Stonechats, Pied Starlings and Red-winged Starlings, Fiscal Flycatchers, various cisticolas, numerous sparrows, weavers and canaries and, in abundance, larks and pipits. In these last two groups, sifting through the numerous Red-capped Larks and African Pipits, added extras were soon found - Large-billed Lark and Agulhas Long-billed Lark, along with Long-billed Pipit and Plain-backed Pipit.

Also Jackal Buzzards, Alpine Swifts, Crowned Lapwings and Red-faced Mousebirds, plus plenty of Yellow Mongooses and, I assume a reintroduction, a solitary Black Wildebeest. At Malgas, I took the river ferry, a unique man-powered crossing, the car slowly winched across by friendly locals strapping a whip around a cable and pulling. Slow, but engaging.

And from there, it was a short drive down to the gates of De Hoop Nature Reserve, more Blue Cranes en route and both Cape Sugarbirds and a Cape Mountain Zebra on arrival to welcome us. De Hoop is a magical place, extensive fynbos surrounding a 14 km long bird-rich vlei and stretching down to the sand dunes and beaches of the Indian Ocean. And choc'a'bloc with birds and big mammals, Ostriches and Bonteboks rarely out of sight, herds of Eland and roving bands of Baboons also common. Arriving late afternoon, my first port of call was the campsite onhte edge of the vlei - a small gasp when I saw the water, absolutely deeming with birds, never before have I seen quite so many birds on this vlei, there were literally tens of thousands of ducks and coots, dozens of White Pelicans and scores of herons, egrets and ibises. Oo wow I would have some fun the next day, I thought.

For the evening however, I had other plans - with the tent up, and a wary eye to Baboons gathering, we set off on a small hike along the vlei, the sun beginning to set over the water. A Cape Serotine Bat came out for a fliutter, Spotted Eagle Owls began to call on the opposite bank, but the target I sought would be in the water. I actually rated my chances as pretty low, but we had been walking for less than 20 minutes when I spotted a ripple in the water. And there it was, one Cape Clawless Otter swimming directly towards us. One Cape Clawless Otter with one gimormous fish! Directly onto the bank it swam, climbing out onto a rock right beneath us, we perched on a low cliff gawping down. A crunching of fish for the next quarter hour and more, then suddenly more Cape Clawless Otters - three swimming across the vlei together, first visiting a large sand island, then veering across towards us to spy onhte fish-chomping individual below us. A splendid end to the day.

Assorted snaps from these days...

Hi Jos, loving the report. Out of curiosity, did you have a spare fuel can (meaning did nearly running out even include topping up with one)? Just trying to guage this for our forthcoming trip.

ahh De Hoop. I love that place! It will be interesting to compare the species between the seasons from my January trip. I also had several fantastic views of Cape Clawless Otter there.