A MAMMAL DAY IN THE KALAHARI TWO MORE ROCKJUMPER FIRSTS
After a quick breakfast - delicious pancakes - we set out on our first game drive here. Before we left, Glen had spotted two honey badgers from the main lodge. We set out to get closer to them but not before wrapping ourselves in blankets and huge ponchos to ward off the cold. This was in addition to the four layers of clothing I had on top and two on the bottom. We were also given a hot water bottle each. Glen gave me his - age has its privileges! We passed by two of the camp staff on our way out and you should have seen them laughing at us.
We saw the honey badgers which are quite a rare sighting as they are nocturnal animals and can be quite vicious when cornered and provoked. They were too far away and partly hidden in the grasses for me to get a good picture. We also had good views of bat-eared foxes - in the total drive, we managed four sightings!
Then TK got a call that a leopard had been sighted and did we want to go! Silly question. We took off to the leopard sighting - surprisingly, the roads here are quite smooth - no washboard effect so far. On the way, we spotted two jackals and another honey badger! We looked for a bit and decided to come back to observe them more closely after we saw the leopard. What a sighting it was. The young male was only 20 feet from our vehicle - it sat, it lay down, it walked around, giving us the full treatment. He seemed very relaxed. At one point it looked like he was eyeing prey and going to go into hunting mode. After allowing us to admire him for quite awhile, he decided enough was enough and walked into the dense brush. Glen told us that that was one of the best sightings he has ever experienced.
We drove back to the honey badger-jackal sighting and were fortunate to find them. Jackals follow badgers to steal the food they unearth. This time the badger was not hidden by grasses and was extremely close to us. Got some great pictures. Glen said that this was another first for Rockjumper - a sighting of a leopard and a honey badger within five minutes of each other. Both animals are nocturnal and not easy to find during the day. We offered to go on other Rockjumper tours as good luck charms. If we manage to see a brown hyena, Glen might seriously take us up on our offer.
We continued our drive and stopped for tea where we shed the blankets, ponchos and most of the layers we had on. We saw some brown hyena scat so they are around and we still may have a chance to see one.
Then it was back to the lodge for brunch at 10:30 when the temperature had risen so much that animals and birds were taking the shade and not moving. The brunch was a full breakfast if you wanted one and a selection of delicious salads and home-made cheese bread. We opted for the latter. The woman chef was there to explain each salad - a Houma cheese and a Vietnamese salad and a green salad were the ones I remember. While eating lunch, a small family of Kudu arrived at the small water feature a few feet away from the main lodge and therefore, us.
We came back to our hot room and decided to try out the Kikoi - the African air-conditioner. They are cloths which you wet and place over your body about the size of a sarong. And do they ever work. After a two-hour nap, we decided to hit the pool. The water stays cold because of the cold nights but was it ever refreshing. It cooled us right down. We are now back in our room covered in our Kikoi and enjoying the cool sensation they provide.
We will have a spot of tea later and set off on an hour game drive. I don't see any point in leaving at the scheduled time of 5:00 as it is so very hot. Thanks to our private vehicle, we don't have to leave until 5:30. Then it will be back for Sundowner, dinner, and another night under the stars.
By the way, I think my IPad might go into shut-down mode because it is so hot. I have it sitting on my Kikoi as I work on the blog in hopes that it will experience the cooling effect that it has on me.
After a quick breakfast - delicious pancakes - we set out on our first game drive here. Before we left, Glen had spotted two honey badgers from the main lodge. We set out to get closer to them but not before wrapping ourselves in blankets and huge ponchos to ward off the cold. This was in addition to the four layers of clothing I had on top and two on the bottom. We were also given a hot water bottle each. Glen gave me his - age has its privileges! We passed by two of the camp staff on our way out and you should have seen them laughing at us.
We saw the honey badgers which are quite a rare sighting as they are nocturnal animals and can be quite vicious when cornered and provoked. They were too far away and partly hidden in the grasses for me to get a good picture. We also had good views of bat-eared foxes - in the total drive, we managed four sightings!
Then TK got a call that a leopard had been sighted and did we want to go! Silly question. We took off to the leopard sighting - surprisingly, the roads here are quite smooth - no washboard effect so far. On the way, we spotted two jackals and another honey badger! We looked for a bit and decided to come back to observe them more closely after we saw the leopard. What a sighting it was. The young male was only 20 feet from our vehicle - it sat, it lay down, it walked around, giving us the full treatment. He seemed very relaxed. At one point it looked like he was eyeing prey and going to go into hunting mode. After allowing us to admire him for quite awhile, he decided enough was enough and walked into the dense brush. Glen told us that that was one of the best sightings he has ever experienced.
We drove back to the honey badger-jackal sighting and were fortunate to find them. Jackals follow badgers to steal the food they unearth. This time the badger was not hidden by grasses and was extremely close to us. Got some great pictures. Glen said that this was another first for Rockjumper - a sighting of a leopard and a honey badger within five minutes of each other. Both animals are nocturnal and not easy to find during the day. We offered to go on other Rockjumper tours as good luck charms. If we manage to see a brown hyena, Glen might seriously take us up on our offer.
We continued our drive and stopped for tea where we shed the blankets, ponchos and most of the layers we had on. We saw some brown hyena scat so they are around and we still may have a chance to see one.
Then it was back to the lodge for brunch at 10:30 when the temperature had risen so much that animals and birds were taking the shade and not moving. The brunch was a full breakfast if you wanted one and a selection of delicious salads and home-made cheese bread. We opted for the latter. The woman chef was there to explain each salad - a Houma cheese and a Vietnamese salad and a green salad were the ones I remember. While eating lunch, a small family of Kudu arrived at the small water feature a few feet away from the main lodge and therefore, us.
We came back to our hot room and decided to try out the Kikoi - the African air-conditioner. They are cloths which you wet and place over your body about the size of a sarong. And do they ever work. After a two-hour nap, we decided to hit the pool. The water stays cold because of the cold nights but was it ever refreshing. It cooled us right down. We are now back in our room covered in our Kikoi and enjoying the cool sensation they provide.
We will have a spot of tea later and set off on an hour game drive. I don't see any point in leaving at the scheduled time of 5:00 as it is so very hot. Thanks to our private vehicle, we don't have to leave until 5:30. Then it will be back for Sundowner, dinner, and another night under the stars.
By the way, I think my IPad might go into shut-down mode because it is so hot. I have it sitting on my Kikoi as I work on the blog in hopes that it will experience the cooling effect that it has on me.
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