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Thank you so much for the kind comments, folks...knew you'd like these...

Many more coming...just shout if y'all get bored with cheetah piccies, m'kay?


Day 4: Mata-Mata


Mom was drinking some, then watching the springboks...




We enjoyed watching what they were up to. The 2 youngsters were quite energetic.










This one decided it was time to chase the doves...






Sizing each other up...





...to be continued...

Again, thank you all so much...

Much more to come, and not just this sighting...this is CHEETAH FEST, after all


Day 4: Mata-Mata



The cubs were being boisterous, and I love it when they're like that...

Stalking your sibling 101





What's over there?






Take some time to smell the flowers...






Hey, a tree! (I presume this is the same cub who checked out his own reflection in Tobieo's window at the same waterhole a week later )









...again...to be continued...

...get some more ...

Thanks once again, folks...this sighting is far from over...but I will rush it along and skip the temptation to post as many photos as possible...


Day 4: Mata-Mata

So the cubs continued their antics, and I continued to photograph them...















Then, the whole mood of the sighting changed...Mom got a serious itch in her butt to start moving in a stalking pose... ...would we see a hunting attempt????







.................get some ..........................

Thank you once again folks...glad to be able to provide some eye candy for you


Day 4: Mata-Mata

So Gertie (mom) used the vehicles, stalked over to the main road and disappeared behind the small dune on the Namibian side of the road (location: Craig Lockhart).

The cubs got in one more boisterous sequence before following after her.





What followed can only be described as a photographic disaster and one of the most exciting, yet frustrating at the same time, sightings I have ever had.

The springbok herd that we knew Gertie had been eye-balling the whole morning was further South, just a few hundred meters or so. She had slinked away behind the small dune, so we had no idea where she would come over the dune, and in which direction the antelopes would scatter once they detect her. Add to that the fact that I had to try and shoot out of the driver window of my SUV, and I had some key choices to make.

I decided to gamble on the chance that the antelopes would get a fright and scatter North, with her following. They were facing pretty much both ways if you compared members of the herd. I had to turn around my SUV and park alongside the riverbed so I could follow the fast action with my lens.

And then it happened. She appeared over the dune...behind my SUV...aiming South! I had made the wrong choice.

Within seconds she had started sprinting, came right past our rear-end and chased the herd downriver. I had to reverse all the way to see this...







She had taken down a young fawn in the middle of the riverbed . After making sure it was dead, she dragged it into the shade on the far end of the riverbed. She was now about 1km from the cubs...

I went back to where they were sitting next to the road on top of the dune she used to stalk the herd.



When we left her she had started to call them using that high-pitched squeal that cheetahs utter. When I reached the cubs they were wondering where she was, and were also calling.





Soon, they heard her calls, and rushed to get to their breakfast nook for the day...







By now the sighting was becoming crowded...it was also at this point that catydownunder appeared, and I quickly filled them in on the details of the sighting. SO was also feeling a little woozy again, so we decided to make our way back to Mata-Mata slowly. Nothing we see now was going to top this sighting...and the light would get harsh for photos soon.

On the way back - not 2km from Craig Lockhart - look what we saw in a shady patch...



Cheetah Fest continues! This one was also watching some springbok attentively...but after a while lied down and we couldn't see it anymore. We decided to head back to camp.

One last sighting for the morning - a Secretary Bird. I shot this through some very long grass and liked the 'feel' of the shot.



We got back to camp, and enjoyed lazing around the rest of the day - having a swim was necessary in this heat!

Rest assured, that although this was probably the best cheetah sighting of the trip, it wasn't the only one and it wasn't the only epic one....much more Cheetah Fest goodness to come...

So get some more


Who knows what this afternoon's drive will bring?
I can tell you it was more kitties...but not cheetahs...

I will keep on thanking you all for the very kind words

By the way...the call of the Kgalagadi was too strong...(plus the sightings thread here on the Forum wasn't helping)...and instead of waiting it out until our intended trip in November next year, the SO and I decided that we would come now too. Just booked a quick trip for end of November THIS year, and we'll be lugging the 2 kiddies along (both under 2 years old ), so hold thumbs that it goes well

In this heat with the kids we opted for accomodation with Air-Conditioning though

Let's carry one...


Day 4: Mata-Mata

SO was feeling a bit worse in the afternoon, so I went on game drive with another gentleman we'd met in the camp. His SO also preferred to watch the Mata-Mata waterhole, so off we went.

First up - a giraffe!



I love this scene as he descends from the dune...




The cheetahs were still under the tree where they'd begun feeding on the kill, and they were stuffed and out for the count...



A Swallow-Tailed Bee-Eater came to say hi at Dalkeith...



And at the Dalkeith waterhole we found this elegant lady. She had been spotted carrying uber-small cubs along the riverbed around here in the morning (remember, we turned back to camp after the cheetah sighting ).

She was thirsty - the cubs needed nourishment...











After she'd slaked her thirst, she went and lied down under a nearby tree.



We pushed on towards 14th borehole...

Thanks guys...

This trip was one of the luckiest I've had. Wait till you see what's still coming...


Before I continue - here are some pics I took of a cute little Ground Squirrel youngster in Mata-Mata that morning after we returned from the epic cheetah sighting...

I love how they use their tails to provide them with shade.











...to be continued...

Thanks folks - this guy was very photogenic indeed.
I always come back from a KTP trip regretting the fact that I didn't spend more time with the squirrels than I did. This trip was no different.

Let's carry on where we left off with the drinking lioness...

Day 4: Mata-Mata

We moved onwards to 14th borehole...and guess what we saw?

More lions!

Three young males were sprawled out like lions love to be...



If you can only see 2 here, it's because #3 was lying behind the waterhole



I thought this was the best view we were going to get of them...but no, the one behind the waterhole decided to get up and step into my viewfinder...what was he going to do??







He picked out a nice patch of grass...flopped down...and proceeded to be a vegetarian for a while!!



I know domestic dogs and cats eat grass to assist with an upset tummy, but I had never seen a wild feline do so...





The others were still lying around, minding their own business...



After chowing down for a while on this patch, the young male got up and walked even closer to our position. He was in great shape and I hope him and his brothers are around in 3 weeks when I will be patrolling the area again





He picked out another patch, and ate some more...



I love being able to photograph unique behaviour like this...seeing something new and recording it to show to those who weren't able to share the moment with me. According to my memory we were the only vehicle at this sighting!

It didn't seem to taste nice, though...



We decided to start heading back...

The afternoon was not over yet!! Watch this space...

Thanks again, folks.

Hurrying this along, so let's go...


Day 4: Mata-Mata

Hard to believe we're still on the same day, huh? Started off with an amazing cheetah sighting, and ended with lions upon lions upon lions. As we headed back towards Mata-Mata we turned into the Dalkeith loop again to see if our lady lion was still lying around. She wasn't. She'd just gotten up and was moving up the ridge towards the road.





We anticipated her direction of movement, and drove around to the top road, and waited for her...





Once in the road, she walked slowly side-by-side with our vehicle for about 1km





We hoped the cubs were nearby, but they weren't...
And time was running out...we only spent a few more minutes with her before having to push on

For the photographers among you - these last shots were all taken at ISO-3200 to ISO-5000, and NOT with my D3s which always performs well in low light, but with the "entry level" D7000, an amazing little camera that is as much value as you're going to get in that price range. These images will print large beautifully...shooting at high ISO requires you to expose correctly - rather overexpose slightly and darken later than underexpose, as this shows up noise more easily.







Sadly, we had to leave the young mother...and made it back to camp just in time...

What an amazing day!!
SO was feeling better - and in good time because the following day we would be packing up VERY early and heading over to Nossob. What will tomorrow hold in store???

Go get some more and I will continue tomorrow...

thank you Salva

take note that few things compare to the sheer quality of the photos from a full frame sensor...I would always shoot with my D3s first if I had the choice...the D800 is a magnificent camera and it seems the D600 is not far behind. In essence the D7000 has the same sensor but in the 1.5x crop APS-C/FX format...so image quality should be the same...if you rather want fps than megapixels, the D7000 is a cheaper option too...though the buffer is small...only 10 images which means after a burst of 10 shots you will have to wait for the photos to be written to the card - it's not a spray-and-pray camera, with the D7000 you still need to carefully select and time your shots.

hope this helps?

Thank you all for the kind compliments...


Day 5: Mata-Mata to Nossob

So on this morning we woke up early and got everything in the Nissan. We had a long drive to Nossob and I wanted to be out at first light for the photos, kapeesh?

This guy had been hanging around the gate of Mata-Mata for 2 days...come to think of it, he's been here for years, don't you agree? There's always this lone Wildebeest too scared to move too far from the gate of the camp...with good reason perhaps...

He was rolling in the dust and prancing around in a silly manner like only these dumbfounded bovine animals can do...





Some springbok past Sitzas...





Gotta love that early morning Kalahari light!!

This Goshawk was sitting in a shrub by the roadside. Juvenile Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk, I believe twitchers??









Well, the goshawk flew away without giving me any real "keepers", and we moved on. I'm glad we did, cause guess what we found next????

CHEETAHS!!!

It's a Cheetah Fest, remember??

Day 5: Mata-Mata to Nossob

There they were, lying on a dune...the same mother and 2 cubs from yesterday - Gertie.

Cheetahs love the dunes in the Kalahari as it gives them a great vantage point from which to scan for potential prey and for potential threats from other predators.









The cubs were in no mood to just lounge around...this one started harassing mom...



And just as she got rid of him, the other came bounding in...





The cubs tackled each other with Gertie actually not paying them any attention. If anything she looked...bored...









...more cheetah pics to come...
...get some and relax...

I appreciate all the wonderful comments and feedback.

Are you ready for some more??


Day 5: Mata-Mata to Nossob

So the cheetah youngsters kept playing - and Gertie was even yawning with boredom now!







At last, mom got up and started playing with them a bit, chasing them down the dune...







They inspected this tree together...





...and after that they moved deeper into the dunes and out of sight.


We moved on... ...schedule to adhere to, you know?

It was a lovely morning in the Kalahari. The dunes were red and the clouds were puffy.







Somewhere between 13th Borehole and Urikaruus I spotted a strange-looking bird.
It looked like a Kori Bustard, but smaller (at least from afar).
It walked like a Kori Bustard...
But it wasn't a Kori Bustard...
It was the much rarer LUDWIG'S BUSTARD!!

A first sighting for me...





There were 2 or 3 of them milling about...





We carried on.
On the hill just before the Urikaruus turnoff I spotted something lying under a tree...Spotted Hyenas!



They were out for the count - probably attended a hyena bachelor party the previous night

Next to Kamqua there was a Bat-Eared Fox den! With cute little babies inside! But mommy was sheltering them very firmly and not one of them really peeked out of the hole...



We decided to take a 'body break' at the Kamqua picnic spot before crossing over the upper dune road.

And guess what we saw there????
I'll give you a hint...the title of the TR refers to them...

Glad you're all still having a ball at the Cheetah Fest 2011!


Day 5: Mata-Mata to Nossob

So, as I said, we opted to stop at Kamqua first before crossing the dune road...

And then we saw them...CHEETAHS...again

This was a mother and 4 cubs. We'd heard about them at Twee Rivieren (at that stage she was still hunting around Monro so they had walked quite a bit in a few days). They were relaxing under a tree.



We opted to go to the toilets first...wrong choice. As soon as we stopped and got out at Kamqua the family of cheetahs got up and crossed the road! We drove back to get them climbing the calcrete ridge and disappearing from site.



(mom was collared)











One last look back...



We went back to Kamqua for the necessary 'duties' and then hit the upper dune road.

The drive to Nossob would get very interesting...and not because of sightings...because of car trouble!

Watch this space...

Carrying on...

Day 5: Mata-Mata to Nossob

So after crossing the upper dune road and hitting the Nossob river...we drove about 10km in the Nossob when I heard a disturbing sound and felt a strange wobble...

We had snagged a rock on the dune road and it cut the tyre, and didn't feel it deflating with the corrugations...and now it was good and properly burst!

I had to unpack everything and get out the spare tyre - which was quite a bit 'thinner'...4 days to go driving on this thing? Eish...

Another problem - I had a jack but couldn't get the car lifted in the thick sand - I needed some sort of support for the jack! Luckily after about 20 minutes another car came from behind, and the people were kind enough to help. We used a bag of hardwood to support the jack in the thick sand, and got the tyre changed.



That's me by the way

Here's the LO sitting around watching us work. Don't worry - we had her under a watchful eye. Notice the baggage on the side of the road - had to unpack everything to get to the spare...



We made it to Nossob, and thanks to the very supportive mechanic and good timing (he was going to Upington the following day) I was able to start the process of procuring a new tyre. I would not want to leave the park without a proper tyre.

The idea would be to get the new tyre to Twee Rivieren via the Nossob mechanic and then fit it at TR before leaving at the end of the week.

We settled into our spacious chalet (#10) and had a bit of a rest after the excitement of having to change a tyre in lion country...

That afternoon we took a very short drive to Marie-se-gat and only found a jackal, some gemsbok and some nice-looking Kudus...





We had a nice braai under the Nossob night sky.

Afterwards I played around with some night sky photography (Nossob works best of the main camps for this due to its size and remoteness). Obviously I had to wait for the generators to be shut down...







Sleep was good that night!
I was planning to head north towards Kwang and Bedinkt the next morning.
What would be in store??

Plenty, it would seem! Get some ready...

Indeed it was a troubling experience at the time, but looking back these moments makes one smile...life would be so dull without all this unexpected excitement and crisis-management.


To answer the question about how many cheetahs we saw...many cheetahs were 'repeat sightings' (like Gertie and her cubs). All-in-all we saw 13 individual cheetahs, most of them more than once .


Day 6: Nossob

So I'd made up my mind already the previous night that I would head north, towards Kwang and Bedinkt. SO and LO were staying at home and lying in for a bit this morning, so I was all alone with my thin spare wheel haha

I was first out of the gate, and I was soooo glad about that, because just before the lookout point en route to Cubtje Quap I came around a slight bend and a Steenbok shot like a rocket across the road...followed immediately by a CHEETAH!!!

The steenbok got away, and suddenly I saw there were 2 cheetahs...I told you this was Cheetah Fest 2011, didn't I? This was incidentally also my first cheetah sighting ever north of Nossob.









I just love how the light was playing with the Nossob river landscape in these images...and of course the fact that there were cheetahs in the landscape



And then they started walking towards me! By now the folks in the queue behind me at Nossob gate had caught up and there were about 4 vehicles watching this magical first-light sighting.







(I like this one a lot in monochrome too - check this out!)









And with that the first of these 2 males crossed the road behind me. Then the other one started approaching.

Stay tuned for lots more kittie shots (and not just cheetahs!) from this morning...