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I think it was sometime in July this year that I got a bee in my bonnet( another one! ) about going to Namaqualand National Park. We had not travelled that road for many years and that was basically just driving through en route to Nambia. Anyway when I checked the bookings I was lucky enough to find accommodation for that long weekend. I thought it was a bit late for the flowers but decided to go anyway. All the other weekends in August were fully booked.
We got there pretty late in the afternoon because we had to stop along the way to feed our new hobby - Geocaching. We managed to find 4 caches on the way but I cannot talk too much about that because they were not in Sanparks.
We saw many beautiful sights along the way but by the time we got to the park the flowers were already closing ....but the new chalets really made up for that. They were just too awesome for words. The view from the chalets is spectacular.

Our chalet: no2

and chalet no 3

There are only 4 chalets and are situated so that you do not feel like you are on top of each other. There is a super kitchen equipped with a stove and microwave and fridge. It was well stocked with everything that you should need.There was an outdoor braai area as well as an indoor braai

What I really enjoyed was the enclosed balcony. Here one could sit and view the surrounds even if it is windy or cold.
One side of the balcony

and the other side

There was a dining area in between.
A bedroom with 2 single beds and a most useful dressing table.

The lounge area also had a sleeper couch that would probably sleep 2 adults.
The view from the balcony

The chalet was tastefully decorated with beautifully framed pictures on the walls. A couple of indoor plants added to the decor.
Best of all I loved the visitors book


We could not fault this chalet at all...I had 3 nights of this bliss!

Thanx Michele for drawing our attention to this National Park.
What a very nice cottage.
The indoor braai is so cool. And the view from the balcony is lovely.
Any more pics?

At long last I had my sighting of a caracal ...albeit it on the bedroom wall. It was a beautiful pic !!!

@ Katydownunder
Yes I do have a few more pics....will try to continue over the weekend.

A bit more about the park...

Animals
These must be the most skittish animals that I have seen in a long time. Everything just took one look at us and fled. I have never seen so many animals' backsides as I saw that weekend. A few photos that I did manage to get....

Oops, sorry , Tinypic does not seem to be working ...I will try again later !

Let's try again

Red Hartebeest
Dassie
Steenbok
Springbok.
We also saw bat-eared foxes, meerkat, yellow mongoose and a black springbok but these we were unable to catch on camera.
We went on our own little night drive (5km route known as Skilpad). We saw many rabbits /hares ??? They had the hugest ears out!
Apparently the park will be introducing rhino and zebra.

Birds

The birds were even more skittish. There were many LBJ's that did not still for me to even look at through the bins...never mind a photo. We saw quite few pairs of Ludwigs bustards, a couple of sandgrouse and malachite sunbirds. Two herons, a Pale Chating goshawk and hordes and hordes of pied crows. There were quite a few korhaans around and we heard an owl hooting just after sunset.


A few bits and bobs to follow tomorrow

Oops ..tomorrow took a long time coming....
Some interesting little creatures
A well camouflaged lizard.
Pretty caterpillar
I must admit one has to be very careful when attempting to take photos of flowers. Luckily I had the strap of my camera around my neck...because this little creature scared the living daylights out of me
And some scenery and flowers






Unfortunately for me the weather was not very condusive to taking pics of the flowers. It was mostly overcast and rather windy. We still had a glorious weekend though. We spent most of our weekend driving around the little dorpies ( villages). We had one little disaster though...a puncture ! That is not normally a problem unless your spare is flat...our spare was flat. This happened 10 kms outside Kammieskroon. Eventually we flagged down a motorist on his way to Richtersveld...he had a compressor so we soon on our way. This flat spare almost caused a huge domestic but for once I made the right decision to keep quiet...before long we were back at camp and all was forgotten. If that had happened on one of those dirts roads that we had been exploring we would probably still be sitting there.
We will definitely go back to NNP

the tree is beautifull, and with a nest... (but I don't know the name...) and caterpillar, and flowers and... Thanks

The tree is a quiver tree (Aloe dichotoma)

Hey Michele, you must be a Ludwig's bustard magnet.

Hey BB, bet that irritates you! Nevermind you will see a Ludwig's one day. How do you think I feel about your baby hartebees!

Thanks everybody for your comments ... I trust you have all booked your stay there....you won't be sorry. Just remember to check your spare. Better still ..beg, borrow or steal a compressor to take along