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Given the icy Cape weather at the moment, I think it is a good time to do a mini report on a day visit to West Coast National Park! (To remind myself that Spring has in fact sprung!) I’ll try to keep the words to a minimum.

Met a very active Bokmakerie who sat still just long enough for a pic!(Mark’s)



One of 4 Black Harrier sightings - pic just for evidence!( They always seem to catch us unawares - lovely to watch them gliding just above the ground while hunting, then they disappear suddenly behind a ridge )



One of many tortoises seen!



And yes, some predator has a taste for baby tortoises! We found these 2 along the Abrahamskraal road. (Shoe on left for scale)



We stopped to help them across the road, to find that both shells were empty, one shell had obviously been involintarily vacated quite recently!

On to Tsaarsbank, and the wreck!



The info board in the appropriate place!



(Information Board is titled 'Rocky Shores' )

The park has been busy upgrading facilities - new bins and braai places!



Into the Postberg section - a francolin amongst the flowers!



And more flowers!



And more .......

Hope this adds a bit of colour to your day!








And at Plankiesbank, it seemed as if the top of every rock was occupied!







And the tiniest furball seen - a striped field mouse eating an orange daisy!





A pic showing a sprinkling of blue flowers too!






Another installment still to come!

Baffers,anne-marie and annalie - thanx for the replies and turning the page! Here goes....

ON THE ROCKS!!!

A view of Langebaan and the lagoon from the lookout point.



An interesting succulent growing in a crack in a big boulder.



The flowers even thought that potholes in a boulder needed cheering up!



And...... we were watched by this scaly lizard.



On our way out - a huge eland herd among the flowers!



We saw lots of animals this trip - springbok, bontebok, wildebeest, eland, an awesome kudu bull just too far off for a decent pic, zebra, gemsbok, steenbok and a tawny blur crossing the road? It was so fast, so we really do not know what it was! And........ 11 bat eared foxes!!! But, also just too far off for decent pix!

As we were about to leave the Postberg section, we witnessed a distressing incident. An adult springbok ram was charging and ramming a springbok lamb(perhaps a few hours old) The lamb would stay on the ground and get charged by the ram, or when he/she could not take it any longer, would get up and again be charged at! No other springboks came to its aid. We wondered where the mom was. The lamb just seemed to get weaker and weaker, and we did not want to see the outcome, so we left, hoping against hope that the mom would appear in time. We have witnessed many kills, and although hard to watch, they can be justified. This incident felt like mother nature was out of control. Has anybody else witnessed a similar incident, and is there an explanation for this behaviour?

We stopped off again at Abrahamskraal - I think we definitely have to stay over at the cottage in the future, it looks so inviting!.



And our last sighting - 2 fluffballs!



Until next time.......