INCREDIBLE, STUNNING, FANTASTIC, UNBELIEVABLE
I've run out of superlative words to describe our drive this morning.
We both awoke fifteen minutes before our wakeup call at 5:30 and lay in bed talking and giggling. I said: "Let's surprise him, and call out Good Morning, before he says it." This brought on even more giggles.
We were on the road by 6:30, this time equipped with two blankets each and three hot water bottles. It is amazing how cold it is first thing in the morning and how quickly the temperature heats up.
The one animal that had eluded us was the Hyaena. We didn't see the Brown Hyaena and now were looking for the common Spotted Hyaena to complete the Big Eight (the Big Five - Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, and Black Rhino - plus Cheetah, Wild Dog, and Spotted Hyaena). Newton did his 'take off the sunglasses and reach for his binoculars thing', and called out Hyaena. We drove closer. I noticed that the Hyaena was limping. Newton explained that this one had lost part of one leg many years ago and yet had managed to survive. The guides call him Tripod! That set the stage.
We drove down to the Miomba Woods near the airstrip to search for a Sable Antelope herd. This is tsetse fly country and Newton made sure we were heavily sprayed before entering. We added some new birds, the Chaplin's Barbet, only the second sighting this season, the Temminck's Courser, two more stunning Starlings - the Miombo Blue-eared and the Violet-backed.
We came across Roan Antelope and then Newton spotted some Sable off in the distance. We drove closer to the herd as it emerged from the woods into a clearing. Almost all of the herd were darkish brown not black. They were the younger ones. There were many newborns among them. Then we spotted the black male with its impressive horns. We sat for almost an hour watching the big male keep his harem and children in line. He'd go back to push the stragglers ahead and to the front to kept them from straying or getting too far ahead. He chased one of the herd away. He spent some time in the crèche with the little ones. He had a full-time job. The herd was composed of at least 50 of these beautiful animals.
We tore ourselves away to drive closer to some Lichtenstein Antelope Newton had spotted. This is another rare and secretive antelope that we were lucky to see. In fact, we had to add them to the checklist of antelopes that were expected on this trip.
Now for the Piece de Resistance: we noticed some more tiny flocks of Locust Finches flushed up by our vehicle. I managed to get a quick view of the red as they were flying past. We flushed them again and one bird flew way behind us and then for some reason came back and landed just a few feet from our vehicle and disappeared promptly into the grass. Then we spotted a red head popping out from behind a tuft of grass. Glen managed to get several pictures of the male Locust Finch and both Norma, Newton and I got stunning views! This is the bird that in birding guides has a sketch rather than a photo as so few photos have ever been taken of this little monster. Most birders only see them in flight so to see him so close to the vehicle on the ground was extraordinary. Glen told us that only five people in the world have approached the 9,000 mark of birds seen. One of Rockjumper's clients, a Swedish hard-core birder is planning a trip to Southern Africa to target about 20 species he needs to complete his list and the Locust Finch is one of them! As we pulled away from the sighting, we flushed two birds - the male had come back for his mate that was hiding in the grass even closer to us and we couldn't see her. Not even a rustle of grass betrayed her position. On that high note, we continued back to the lodge for lunch. One of the new arrivals asked if we had a good morning. We said it was fantastic. Glen told us at lunch that the same guest had approached him to ask what we had seen, lion? When Glen started to explain, the man's eyes glazed over. Some people don't understand that there is more to Africa than the Big Five. Their loss and thank God we don't have to share a vehicle with them. And thank Heavens we cancelled our balloon ride.
Lunch was delicious, my nap was fantastic and I kept cool with my beautiful Chitenge. Now it is time to get ready for our afternoon/night drive. Who knows what surprises lie in store for us.
I've run out of superlative words to describe our drive this morning.
We both awoke fifteen minutes before our wakeup call at 5:30 and lay in bed talking and giggling. I said: "Let's surprise him, and call out Good Morning, before he says it." This brought on even more giggles.
We were on the road by 6:30, this time equipped with two blankets each and three hot water bottles. It is amazing how cold it is first thing in the morning and how quickly the temperature heats up.
The one animal that had eluded us was the Hyaena. We didn't see the Brown Hyaena and now were looking for the common Spotted Hyaena to complete the Big Eight (the Big Five - Elephant, Cape Buffalo, Lion, Leopard, and Black Rhino - plus Cheetah, Wild Dog, and Spotted Hyaena). Newton did his 'take off the sunglasses and reach for his binoculars thing', and called out Hyaena. We drove closer. I noticed that the Hyaena was limping. Newton explained that this one had lost part of one leg many years ago and yet had managed to survive. The guides call him Tripod! That set the stage.
We drove down to the Miomba Woods near the airstrip to search for a Sable Antelope herd. This is tsetse fly country and Newton made sure we were heavily sprayed before entering. We added some new birds, the Chaplin's Barbet, only the second sighting this season, the Temminck's Courser, two more stunning Starlings - the Miombo Blue-eared and the Violet-backed.
We came across Roan Antelope and then Newton spotted some Sable off in the distance. We drove closer to the herd as it emerged from the woods into a clearing. Almost all of the herd were darkish brown not black. They were the younger ones. There were many newborns among them. Then we spotted the black male with its impressive horns. We sat for almost an hour watching the big male keep his harem and children in line. He'd go back to push the stragglers ahead and to the front to kept them from straying or getting too far ahead. He chased one of the herd away. He spent some time in the crèche with the little ones. He had a full-time job. The herd was composed of at least 50 of these beautiful animals.
We tore ourselves away to drive closer to some Lichtenstein Antelope Newton had spotted. This is another rare and secretive antelope that we were lucky to see. In fact, we had to add them to the checklist of antelopes that were expected on this trip.
Now for the Piece de Resistance: we noticed some more tiny flocks of Locust Finches flushed up by our vehicle. I managed to get a quick view of the red as they were flying past. We flushed them again and one bird flew way behind us and then for some reason came back and landed just a few feet from our vehicle and disappeared promptly into the grass. Then we spotted a red head popping out from behind a tuft of grass. Glen managed to get several pictures of the male Locust Finch and both Norma, Newton and I got stunning views! This is the bird that in birding guides has a sketch rather than a photo as so few photos have ever been taken of this little monster. Most birders only see them in flight so to see him so close to the vehicle on the ground was extraordinary. Glen told us that only five people in the world have approached the 9,000 mark of birds seen. One of Rockjumper's clients, a Swedish hard-core birder is planning a trip to Southern Africa to target about 20 species he needs to complete his list and the Locust Finch is one of them! As we pulled away from the sighting, we flushed two birds - the male had come back for his mate that was hiding in the grass even closer to us and we couldn't see her. Not even a rustle of grass betrayed her position. On that high note, we continued back to the lodge for lunch. One of the new arrivals asked if we had a good morning. We said it was fantastic. Glen told us at lunch that the same guest had approached him to ask what we had seen, lion? When Glen started to explain, the man's eyes glazed over. Some people don't understand that there is more to Africa than the Big Five. Their loss and thank God we don't have to share a vehicle with them. And thank Heavens we cancelled our balloon ride.
Lunch was delicious, my nap was fantastic and I kept cool with my beautiful Chitenge. Now it is time to get ready for our afternoon/night drive. Who knows what surprises lie in store for us.
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