DECEPTION VALLEY DRIVE
Deception Valley is a fossil river valley that testifies to a wetter era when it flowed like a giant river 16,000 years ago. The area is studded with numerous pans that developed over time as water evaporated and salts accumulated attracting animals.
We were awakened at 5:30 and on the road by 6:00. We bundled ourselves into our blankets, ponchos, and together with our hot water bottles set off. On the way, we had another two separate sightings of honey badgers one spotted by Norma right beside the vehicle. We also saw a springbok doing the spring walk for which it is named - boing, boing, boing. Unfortunately, no sign of a brown hyena - yet. We enjoyed the scenery before arriving at a pan in the Valley where we had breakfast. We saw both springbok and kudu babies and many other species of antelope. We also got a good look at a couple of button quail on the drive. We had caught a glimpse of one yesterday - in fact, we almost ran over it on our mad dash to the wild dog sighting. This quail is only about the size of our smaller sparrows but definitely a quail. The drive back to the lodge was otherwise uneventful - but hot, hot, hot. What a difference a couple of hours make in the temperature.
Lunch was served at 11:00 - again we enjoyed a selection of five different salads and home-made bread. Again, we ate more than we should have.
We are following the same plan as yesterday - nap time (1.5 hours this time), blog updating, swim, shower, tea, and another afternoon drive this time concentrating on finding a brown hyena. Here's hoping.
Deception Valley is a fossil river valley that testifies to a wetter era when it flowed like a giant river 16,000 years ago. The area is studded with numerous pans that developed over time as water evaporated and salts accumulated attracting animals.
We were awakened at 5:30 and on the road by 6:00. We bundled ourselves into our blankets, ponchos, and together with our hot water bottles set off. On the way, we had another two separate sightings of honey badgers one spotted by Norma right beside the vehicle. We also saw a springbok doing the spring walk for which it is named - boing, boing, boing. Unfortunately, no sign of a brown hyena - yet. We enjoyed the scenery before arriving at a pan in the Valley where we had breakfast. We saw both springbok and kudu babies and many other species of antelope. We also got a good look at a couple of button quail on the drive. We had caught a glimpse of one yesterday - in fact, we almost ran over it on our mad dash to the wild dog sighting. This quail is only about the size of our smaller sparrows but definitely a quail. The drive back to the lodge was otherwise uneventful - but hot, hot, hot. What a difference a couple of hours make in the temperature.
Lunch was served at 11:00 - again we enjoyed a selection of five different salads and home-made bread. Again, we ate more than we should have.
We are following the same plan as yesterday - nap time (1.5 hours this time), blog updating, swim, shower, tea, and another afternoon drive this time concentrating on finding a brown hyena. Here's hoping.
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