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That's right..the Trailer Trash will heading for the KTP early tomorrow morning.
I have not finished packing yet ..so I had better not dilly dally.
BabyNel and Dreamer have offered to keep you posted on our travels
It is a bit rainy and stormy at the moment...I hope it passes before morning time!

Chat again in about 13 days time !!!!

Thanks all...we are on our way!!!

Oh our wishlists..
Wirlwind ...I have to find him a leopard and apparently I will be in trouble if I don't Wirlwinf better watch out..he gets grumpy with me and I trash his tent !!!!

My wishlist...again that award winning photo of caracal eludes me...as well as a brownie and a Honey Badger !!!

SO's wishlist...that Monty behaves !!!!

Bye !!!!

Trailer Trash has returned..safe and sound but "trashed " It has been a long day...started off a bit frozen in TR this morning but again we survived to tell the tale.
And I will definitely tell the tale...
But I need a bit of time to sort and video etc etc
Thanks for all your well wishes ...I will definitely get the trip report up and running as soon as possible............yawn, yawn yawn !!!!!
Night all !!!!

Al last the 16th dawned and we were ready to leave…
Come on guys let’s get a move on please…



Yes as usual I was chomping at the bit but before long Monty pulled the trailer out of the garage and Trailer Trash started the long journey to the KTP.



Our plan was to overnight at Keimoes where we would meet up with our friends “Tent Trash”. From there we would head off to KTP for 11 glorious nights. We left at 6h10. The temperature was 16°C and it was raining.
Oh well what is a bit of rain …I said.
Our first stop was at Cedar Inn (a petrol station alongside the Clanwilliam Dam)As you can see it was still raining…





We had a break from the rain at Klawer and a bit of sunshine at Van Rhyn’s Dorp.Monty then faced the arduous task off towing the trailer plus all it’s Trash up the Van Rhyn’s Pass. It was rainy and misty but obviously Monty was fully control of the situation.



I kept myself occupied with ticking off birds and taking photographs. We saw our first Pale Chanting Goshawk at 10h05.
We arrived at Calvinia 11h15…again to replenish Monty’s thirst as well as our own.



Wirlwind took over the driving and SO had a nap in the back. Again I kept myself busy with my camera.
Eventually we left the rain behind.The skies were spectacular…………



Another stop at Brandvlei….



A long straight road



With only a bend or two



Finally we crossed the Orange River and arrived at our overnight destination. Tent Trash were there to meet us…they had spent three lovely days at Augrabies.

After checking out the new fridge



and a few sundowners we headed off to the restaurant for dinner.

17th June

We were up bright and breezy…so bright and breezy that the restaurant wasn’t quite open yet. It was pretty chilly 7° C so to warm up a bit I walked around with my camera. I was so eager to hit the road to KTP.



I was pleased to see that the rain had cleared…the day promised to be bright and sunny!
A few obligatory stops in Upington, namely butchery, bakery and bottle store, were in order. Again Monty’s thirst had to be replenished . I was pleased to see that the renovations at Engen were finished. At last a decent loo with a working lock on the door is now in place. Actually there are 3 such commodities in the Ladies ..a vast improvement!
Before long we were taking the traditional photo of the signpost. This time with a Pale Chanting Goshawk perched on top. I must admit he added to our excitement somewhat.



We had parted company with Tent Trash in Upington and the plan was meet up at the famous farm stall 50kms north of Upington. Again more necessary commodities were obtained…biltong and dried sausage.



Waiting for Tent Trash to arrive.

13h00 found us pulling up at the Twee Rivieren gates. At last we had arrived.



But some work faced us before we could head off into the park….



Oh yes Trailer Trash and Tent Trash had to set up their homes for the next 3 days.

17th June - Afternoon drive

The setting up of our homes didn’t take too long and we were ready to leave on our first game drive at 15h40.
It was a pleasant 30° C. It was with great anticipation that we arrived at Samevloeiing..of course we were hoping to spot the famous leopard but instead we had to focus our lenses on the springbok. They really do make a pretty picture though.

Wirlwind’s pic

Wirlwind’s pic

We did not sit at Samevloeiing for long..time was short and I was quite anxious to see the Auob riverbed. We were in radio contact with Tent Trash and we explained to them that mostly sightings are far and few between on this stretch of dune road..mostly just sightings of Northern Black Korhaan’s and Ostriches.

Well… we went around a bend in the road and came across a few gemsbok in the road. Nothing too special you might think but there were two baby gemsbok in the midst of the adults. I expected them to take one look at us and run but they didn’t…unfortunately the light was not in our favour…but it was such a special sighting. I don’t think I have seen baby gemsbok so close to the side of the road.

my pic

my pic

my pic

And a quick drink…

my pic

before tackling the long journey into the dunes.

Wirlwind’s pic

We went on to spot a few red hartebeest in the distance and then 2 steenbokkies put in an appearance.

Wirlwind's pic

Just before we got to the end of the dune road we came across a juvenile Black- Headed Heron sauntering across the dunes.

my pic

my pic

We drove as far as Munro waterhole and Crowned Lapwings, Black Crows, Fork-Tailed Drongos and Marico Flycatchers were in abundance. We were having a wonderful time helping Tent Trash brush up on their birding skills. At last a bird of note though…..a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl

Wirlwind’s pic

The journey back produced some brief and distant sightings of a slender mongoose and a few suricates..hell bent on getting home in time so there were no photographic opportunities at all. The dune stretch of road was devoid of life… we did not even see one korhaan or ostrich. Just shows..one can never predict what one will see in the KTP.
A quick stop at Samevloeiing revealed nothing at all…..but that did not dampen our spirits. We headed off to camp greatly looking forward to our first braai in the Kalahari. It got rather chilly after the sun had set but a jacket and a braai of note was all that was needed to ward off the cold.

18 June - Morning Drive.

Trailer Trash and Tent Trash were up bright and early and ready to leave by 7h30. It was 3° C. There is one advantage to those cold crisp mornings...one is forced to move quickly in order to warm up.
Our first stop was at Samevloeiing but all was quiet. We then tackled the dune road. We saw some gemsbok and steenbokkies in the distance. Three jackals hurried past us but posing for photographs was not on their agenda. I was beginning to get a bit frustrated...my fingers were itching to take a photograph. Still no Korhaans ( or is the plural Korhane or Korhens ??? ) and Ostriches. At last we came across two Red Hartebeest that were half interested in posing for us.

my pic

At last the dune road came to an end. I must admit after the sightings along the dune road the day before I was bit disappointed in this drive. I was just beginning to whine about that fact when my eye caught the following….

my pic

There was a flurry of yelling, stopping and grabbing of cameras. These delightful meerkats were sunning themselves not too far from the road and they hadn’t quite thawed out yet so they were quite happy to pose for us.

Wirlwind’s pic

I am sure these two were whispering about us !

my pic

I am not quite sure what was up with the ground squirrel

my pic

He looked quite anxious about something or other and mostly he was looking at something behind the meerkats. When we left the sighting I noticed that there were some yellow mongooses behind the bushes…had they had a skirmish with the squirrel?

View My Video

We continue with our journey and pointed out the various birds to Tent Trash that were following behind us. Radios do come in handy. The next minute Tent Trash yelled at us to stop. What had we missed?

I couldn’t believe that we had missed this beautiful row of Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters

my pic

I have always wanted the opportunity to photograph bee-eaters sitting a row. I couldn’t help but wish that they were facing me and possibly a bit closer….oh well. They were very busy little birds indeed, preening themselves and each other. Of course there had to be one naughty one that did not want his hair comb that morning.

my pic

As we pulled off Tent Trash watched them fly off one by one .

My gripes about a quiet dune road were forgotten about as we continued towards Houmoed.

Not far down the road we came across a few stopped cars . All eyes were on this Red-necked Falcon having his breakfast. I think breakfast was a yellow canary.

my pic

my pic

This pretty raptor was causing quite a traffic jam so after we had taken our photos we decided to move on…only to come across another traffic jam just before Munro

This was the cause …

my pic

We could barely see the head of a second lion/lioness.
We just knew that they were not going anywhere in a hurry so again we did not linger and moved on. All was quiet at Munro waterhole …
Soon I was yelling… Stop…. Cheetah ! I first saw a collared cheetah walking along the riverbed but we soon realised that there were three more following. Great excitement from Tent Trash..Cheetah was on the wishlist. One by one they walked past us..we decided to turn around and follow them. We thought they may be heading to Munro for a drink. The collared cheetah stopped at a tree and had a good nail scratching session.. The other cheetahs followed suite. Then the collared one just flopped down in the shade of a tree and again all 3 followed. The light was really bad but just a pic or two as proof.

Wirlwind’s pic

my pic

View My Video

Once the cheetahs had lain down they were hardly visible at all. We continued our journey….there were a few hunger pangs that needed to be sorted.
There certainly were a lot of birds around. Secretary Birds, Kori Bustards and Black Crows were popping up all over the place. Of course the usual Crowned Lapwings were running around as well…so difficult to catch them on camera.

my pic

I spotted a huge raptor in the distance. He was sitting with his back to us and very well hidden in the tree. I eventually decided that it was a Martial Eagle. I took note of where he was and I was hoping that I would get a better view of him on our way back.

We stopped at Auchterlonie for our breakfast…there was a rather chilly wind blowing…so we didn’t dilly dally too much. The drive back to TR was pretty uneventful.
The Martial was still in the area but he had caught a Pale Chanting Goshawk. Unfortunately he was really far away and on the ground in the shade of the tree. We could definitely see it was a Martial though. Our second kill of the day !
The cheetahs had moved up the dune to a rocky outcrop and they were really well camouflaged. The lions were still in the same position.
Not a sign of the bee-eaters or meerkats. Again we saw gemsbok on the dune road. I also spotted a whistling rat but by the time we had reversed it had disappeared down a hole.
Instead we photographed this critter…

Wirlwind's pic

And again Samevloeiing was devoid of animals.

Back in camp and after brunch everybody does what they do best…some have a little nap and others go a-stalking!!!
I walked around the camp with my camera on the look out for anything unusual…and I was rewarded with this Orange River White Eye… it is not even on the Kgalagadi Bird List

my pic

We left on our afternoon drive at 15h30…it was a pleasant enough afternoon. Lovely blue skies with only a hint of clouds. So where were all the animals????
We did have a lovely sighting of 3 Verreaux’s Eagle Owls. I saw a cobra in the distance sunning itself in a shrub as well as 2 slender mongooses chasing each other at Houmoed. We saw meerkats in the distance but just none of these sightings produced any photographic opportunities. The cheetah as well as the lions had disappeared...a very sad state of affairs indeed.
On our return journey through the dunes we came across 2 sleepy jackals …I was not sure whether they were waking up for the evening or settling down for the evening. One of them gave us a wonderful view of his teeth…I couldn’t help but think of Little Red Riding Hood.

my pic

Eventually we spotted a Northern Black Korhaan …but again no photo opportunity.
We spent the last half hour or so sitting at Samevloeiing…..well just nothing and I mean nothing put in an appearance!
I just had to take a photo of something though…..

my pic

Again the Trash gathered around the fire for a wonderful braai…and some Trash fade before others. I think I must have been the last of the Trash to retire for the night. I remember trying to stifle my laughter when walking back from the ablution blocks…no it was not roaring lions that I was listening to but various pitches of snoring and snorting and such like. I remember looking at the clear skies and the twinkling stars and thinking this is the life !! A few digs in SO’s ribs removed him from the Twee Rivieren Orchestra and soon I fell fast asleep.

BUT…before I knew it I was awake. A huge clap of thunder put paid to my beauty sleep and with it the heavens opened. Before long I could hear… drip drip drip…and SO grumbling that he was getting wet. Well there was not much I could do except put my head under my pillow and go into meerkat mode. My side of the tunnel was perfectly dry …….

19th Morning Drive

The rain had abated by the morning and I was pleased to hear that Tent Trash had remained dry in their tunnels. This was a special morning…it was Wirlwind’s birthday. There were plenty of birthday wishes flying around but no birthday presents. I bet Wirlwind was wondering where his presents were !!!!
We left camp at 7h30 and headed straight for Samevloeiing. I was hoping the leopard would pop in to wish Wirlwind a Happy Birthday but that was not to be. I am beginning to wonder if there is a leopard at Samevloeiing. It was very quiet at Samevloeiing so we continued over the dune road. We found two sleepy jackals in the road….the one made no effort to budge at all.

my pic

Just before Houmoed some bright colours caught my eye. I must admit the following sighting just made my day.
Again a perfect row of Bee-eaters...this time much closer to the road and all facing us. Wirlwind and I had a wonderful time snapping away.

Wirlwind’s pic.

These were probably the same group of bee-eaters that we had seen the previous day. It was quite windy and they were swinging backwards and forwards on the branch.
Next up was this “rare bird”. He was posing so beautifully that we just had to take his photograph

Wirlwind's pic

We arrived at Auchterlonie where we had planned to have a skottel breakfast to celebrate Wirlwind’s birthday. But first things first..presents had to be given.

my pic

And oh my word..Tent Trash certainly know how to skottel. Bacon, eggs, tomatoes, mushrooms…:thumbs_up:

Our drive back was rather quiet. We came across two yellow mongooses…they seemed quite terrified of us and for once we managed to get some good pics of them.

Wirlwind's pic

@ BB..definitely a winter thing for these birdies. They obviuosly huddled up together to keep warm..clever little things!
@ Ajayb


I think it was more like the shop didn't sell sellotape. They sell presents and wrapping paper but no sellotape. I actually thought Tent Trash were quite innovative there.

A note on the photographs. Wirlwind and I on many occassions have exactly the same photos so my plan of action for the reports is to select Wirlwind's photos for one game drive and then mine for the next. If there are some photos the other person didn't get I then add them.

19th - Afternoon Drive

Thank goodness the sun was shining when we got back to camp. There was a wet bed that had to be sorted. We were not the only people that had sheets and duvets out drying in the sun...it seemed wet beds were the order of the day. SO kept himself busy making sure that he would not get wet again and I got my housekeeping chores out of the way. Well I tried to ..of course the chores would go a lot quicker if I could keep my mind on the task at hand instead of stalking every bird that came to visit.

Familiar Chat my pic

House Sparrow my pic

Finally the prawn cocktail was made…birthdays require special starters… The bed was dry and made up and we were ready to hit the road for our afternoon drive.
Our plan was to drive to Houmoed and then back to Samevloeiing where we would just sit and relax until almost gate closing time. Well this must rate as one of quietest drives yet.
My notebook reveals the following:
Yellow Canary
Capped Wheatear
Northern Black Korhaan
Kori Bustard
Crowned Lapwing... and obviously they were all too far away for any kind of photographs because my camera reveals nothing as well!
We got back to Samevloeiing, made ourselves comfortable and waited for the leopard that I was sure was going to come and wish Wirlwind a Happy Birthday.
Well a gemsbok came to the party…

Wirlwind’s pic.

Cape Turtle Doves came for a drink...

my pic

Some Laughing Doves came for a drink..

my pic

And some Namaqua sandgrouse came for a drink.

Wirlwind's pic

Obviously the leopard got lost.

Soon it was time to leave and head back to camp. I did not like the look of the clouds that were brewing. It did make for a lovely photo but did it mean more rain ???

my pic

We had a wonderful braai and even though our sightings had been somewhat disappointing at times we were still having a wonderful time. I think we all made it into our tunnels just in time …again the thunderstorm hit us. At least it drowned out the sounds of the Twee Rivieren Orchestra. The rain was not as bad as the night before and I didnt hear any ominous "drip drip" sounds. Whatever SO had done to keep his side of the tunnel dry he had obviously done very well.

This is what the Samevloeing leopard in the tree looks like Caracal.

Thanks all and I am glad that you all feel that a quiet day in KTP is better than a quiet day anywhere else
How about a quiet wet day ????

20th June

An early morning was in order ..we had to pack up our little abodes and move onto Nossob. It wasn’t raining when we got up and it was a race to try and get packed up before it rained again. We didn’t quite make it and the heavens opened just before we had finished …wet canvas being closed up on top of a dry bed..not a good combination but there was absolutely nothing we could do about it.
We left Twee Rivieren at 8h25. It was 13.1° C and Tent Trash led the way.
It rained all the way to Samevloeiing. I was just thinking that the weather was only fit for ducks when we pulled up at Samevloeiing to find a pair of Shelducks paddling in the water.

my pic

A very wet and bedraggled jackal stopped by for a quick drink.
And a wet Monty….

pic by Tent Trash.

We didn’t stay for long..we had quite a way to go.
It rained on and off while driving over the dune road into the Auob riverbed.

View My Video

There was not much to be seen besides a few bedraggled birds.

A female Korhaan.. SO’s pic.
And a very grumpy PCG

my pic

The rain abated somewhat over the lower dune road but still there was not much to see apart from the usual steenbokkies and Kori Bustards. We did spot a jackal nibbling on some old bones…one would think there was nothing left on these sun bleached bones.

View My Video

Soon the sun was shining again which cheered me up somewhat. I didn’t fancy putting up our tents in the rain. But unfortunately it was short lived. By the time we got to Melkvlei it was raining again….

Tent Trash's Pic

Thanks again everybody...
@ p@m...my SO is always the last to get cold ..so when he has a jacket and longs on then you know it is really really cold !!!!
..and now to continue with our wet day in Africa!!!!

20th Continued

Soon after leaving Melkvlei we came across the first of the many bat eared foxes that we were to see on this trip. They were looking wet and miserable.

my pic

The weather could not make up it’s mind as to whether it was going to rain or not.
Sometimes it looked quite promising….

my pic

We came across quite a large herd of gemsbok together with red hartebeest … although they looked quite wet they did not seem to be too upset and miserable.

my pic

As we approached Kaspersdraai the sun started shining and I was hopeful that the rain would come to end. I was disappointed to see that there was not much water at Kaspersdraai...it is one of my favourite waterholes. After scanning the surrounds and seeing nothing we moved on. Not long after leaving Kaspersdraai we came across a huge traffic jam. Eventually we worked out that everybody was watching 3 or maybe 4 cheetah. They were so far away and really obscured by bushes and such like that a photo was impossible. It was not easy to maneuver Monty and the trailer and people were starting to misbehave so we decided to move on…a lot less stressful that way !
We did see a fair amount of raptors along this stretch but really nothing that we could get decent photos of. There were many vultures around…

my pic

Just after driving into Marie se Draai we came across the famous vulture nest and there was somebody home.

my pic

I must admit there was not much else to see in Marie se Draai. Not one cat track...be it big or small was to be seen.
Just before coming to the end of the loop we saw another bunch of White-backed as well Lappet –faced Vultures. No matter which way I tried to take this photo the grass got in my way.

my pic

my pic

my pic

As you can see it had clouded over again and rain was imminent. We left the vultures behind. It was of paramount importance to get to Nossob and set up camp before the rain arrived. Of course as we had expected the bed had a few wet parches on it. I soon sorted that out…I took the bedding off to the laundry and used my hair-dryer to dry out the wet patches. The rain arrived but we had just got everything sorted in time. Because there was no time to go out on another drive I went for a quick walk around the camp….as I was walking past the tree just behind the shop I heard an owl. I was thrilled when I spotted 2 White-faced Scops Owls. I rushed back to tell Tent Trash…they were desperate to see owls. We went rushing back with binos and a spotlight… and we were able to have a good look at them. Just then I spotted another owl in the tree behind us…this time a tiny Scops owl but before we could get a good look at it it flew away. With that the rain came down so we rushed back to our tents. Now what ????
Well there was only one thing to do and that was to make ourselves comfortable in our dining room until the rain had passed over.

Tent trash's pic

Thankfully it did and we were able to braai….but the rain hit us again that night.
Not long after the lights went out I heard lions roaring….yes it was definitely lions ..not an orchestra ! I was thrilled ..the Nossob lions were back !!!