Ngala South Africa
On the animal front, the head high grass has been making game viewing a little trying at times. It has also made things a little harder for the usually highly efficient wild dogs. The 18 strong pack has been missing terrified impala fairly regularly as most of the time they cannot see what they are chasing. In some areas they have resorted to trotting along as if on pogo sticks, their heads peeping up out of the grass periodically as they scan the surrounds for potential quarry. No doubt the impala are most grateful for the thick sward.
There seem to be a plethora of male leopards around at the moment. Two testosterone charged males were seen the other day in quite close proximity with scratches and other assorted wounds baring testimony to a territorial battle. These young males are trying to assert themselves as they attain adulthood.
Other highlights of the week have included, three 300-strong herds of buffalo doing their best to control the grass explosion in the south of the reserve; wave upon wave of red billed queleas surging across the skies; a juvenile great spotted cuckoo being fed by a flock of Burchell's starlings(the young cuckoo was already bigger than his hosts).
Spectator?
A recent morning drive had not been as successful as a guide would like to offer to one�s guests. Pleasant enough sightings of zebra, giraffe, wildebeest and impala had ensured that the early start had not been a complete waste of time.
En route home, we stopped to watch a mature male giraffe browsing on an Acacia nigrescens some 7-odd metres off the road. Assuming he would turn his not-altogether-unattractive rear end on us & go lumbering off through the thicket, we were surprised when he turned instead to face us, his gentle eyes looking from one member of the vehicle to the next. More surprisingly, he took first one step & then two & then proceeded until he was within a metre & a half from the Land Rover of amazed onlookers.
The only sound was the swishing of his fly-swatter tail as each guest, ranger & tracker absorbed the tranquillity of the moment � locked in his gentle stare. The awed silence persisted as he slowly ambled past us to the road & made a graceful exit from the centre stage.
I have often wondered whether it is in fact more truthful to assume that the animals are viewing us rather than us viewing them ... Now we know.
Nosy Neighbour
I�m ashamed to admit that my new neighbour has become aware of my insatiable desire to monitor her every move. I rush home every morning to watch her scuttling to and fro. An intensely house-proud single mother, I see her leave, only to watch her return, delighted with the quarry she has procured.
�She� is a species of Thread-Waisted Wasp and her home is a small hole at the bottom of my front step. I am alerted to her arrival by her incessant humming as she goes about her chores � flying off determinedly, only to return a short while later bearing a fat green caterpillar carried in her fore-legs. The caterpillar, now paralysed, is laid to one side whilst she busies herself, digging through the surface sand until she locates the well-concealed entrance holed-up by a small stone, which she easily removes. A quick visit to the �kids�, she nips inside before conducting yet another spring-clean and, finally, enters the hole backwards, dragging the debilitated caterpillar with her.
When the �kids� hatch from the eggs she has neatly laid inside the tunnel, they will spend the first few days of their short lives feeding on this caterpillar and perhaps a few others before digging their way to the surface and assuming their own allotted place in the greater scheme of things.
As she carefully replaces the stone, checking it obsessively before covering it with a thin layer of sand, I can�t help but marvel at the whole process. Not so marvel-ous if you�re a caterpillar though ...
Quelea mayhem
The noise is completely deafening. It is most impressive in the early morning as the birds wake and continue the business of building their nests in preparation for breeding. Tens of thousands of red billed queleas rouse and start chirruping at each other from the knobthorn thicket the colony has chosen to produce the next generation. The little birds have chosen this spot for the safety of the trees and also the six foot sward of thickly seeded grass that has sprung up on the gabbro derived soils. Clouds of birds swish with incredible collective synchrony as though they have rehearsed every move a hundred times. From inflorescence to heavy seed filled inflorescence they swoosh. Culms bend and sway under the weight of the little birds as they pluck protein the rich seeds, nattering excitedly to each other.
The colony has attracted the inevitable bevy of raptors. Tawny eagles seem to be the most abundant predator. They sit not really knowing where to start as great squadrons of queleas shoot by. Whalberg�s eagles look equally as gleeful and confused. A rarely seen lanner falcon, far more used to grabbing fast moving prey, has also been spotted swooping in and plucking the odd straggler from the melee. A now fat resident gabar goshawk has also made the most of the good times. We continue to watch with interest.
The coming of life
The long awaited rains have come in surplus at Ngala and have transformed it into a lush green paradise with running rivers and streams, marshy vleis and scattered pans.
As well as the vegetation growth and insect explosion the frog and toad populations have boomed in this amphibian paradise turning the nights into an orchestral masterpiece. The terrapins and tortoises are out of aestivation and are as common on roadsides as pedestrians on a London side walk. Met with mixed reactions, there have been some impressive snakes seen including two huge Egyptian cobras, big black mambas, an almost resident African rock python at Clara dam, boomslangs and more. Above all the increased birdlife has been the most interesting and surprising with sightings of birds seldom or never seen here including many black storks, African jacanas, little grebes, African spoonbills, a malachite kingfisher, painted snipes, African and Corn crakes, dozens of white winged widows and hundreds of harlequin quails.
Ngala Trackers and Rangers
Great sightings despite (or because of?) rain
The rain, mist and sleet have not been entirely unproductive. The wild dogs have been sighted daily for the last week and a half such that guests no longer believe us when we tell them how lucky they are to see these extremely endangered hounds.
A cheetah was watched in awe, tearing after a terrified impala. Unfortunately the speedy cat narrowly missed probably because impala ducked into a fog patch. The rain has caused an explosion of grass growth. This, combined with the damp conditions, has brought a number of seldom seen birds. White winged widows (one record prior to this year), harlequin quails, fan-tailed cisticolas and kurrichane buttonquails have abounded in the long wet grasslands. Two sightings of painted snipe have also delighted birding guests peering out from under their ponchos. We have even had our first record of a corn crake!
Until next time we will be trying not to drown as the Timbavati moves into day 21 of uninterrupted flow.
Canine Chaos
We rounded the corner 100 metres from camp to find their patchy tan-white-and-black forms lightly trotting away from us. �Wild Dogs!� The eyes of the guests, who knew about the second-most endangered carnivore in Africa, lit up.
We followed them at their easy gait, watched them enter the Mopane woodland, and then circled around ahead to wait for them to emerge onto a large clearing. Our hearts stopped as we saw a large herd of impalas on the clearings feeding alongside a troop of baboons. All eyes were fixed on the edge of the thick Mopane woodland. The treeline exploded as the 15 Wild Dogs raced into the clearings. Impalas snorted and kicked their heels as they zig-zagged away from the danger; baboons barked and hurtled in a beeline for the safety of the Mopane trees. Unusually, the pack of hunters seemed overwhelmed and tried to chase all in sight - their lack of focus proved to be their downfall, as they regrouped in the clearing empty-handed. Slowly, we started breathing again...
Timbavati Flood
The Timbavati River is dry for most of the year. It is a wide river stretching over 60m in some areas. The recent deluge in the lowveld has transformed the Timbavati and its tributaries. The river came down in flood two weeks ago. It flowed 1.5 metres deep bank to bank making it utterly unfordable. Its smaller tributaries also broke their banks in some areas and filled the waterholes to over flowing. And so from a landscape of dust and desolation, devoid of grazing and water, Ngala has turned into a lush green swathe dotted with pans and wallows. The grass is almost too tall to look over. It has sent up inflorescences on long culms to pick up and send pollen off on the wind. Unusual birds for Ngala have been spotted (white winged windows and harlequin quails) and the herds of buffalo have dispersed to smaller groups to take full advantage of the abundant grazing and water. We eagerly await more as the clouds build.
Battle of the Wahlberg's
Heading home after game drive at night can be a fairly quiet affair. Not so on this particular evening! The spotlight caught the flurry of movement as a large shape launched itself from the branches of a Combretum in the East & landed in a heap on the other side of the road.
The shape was in fact two Wahlbergs� Eagles locked in battle � their talons clenched, tumbling around the ground: biting, scratching - neither of them prepared to capitulate. The sounds of their shrieking cut through the night air & gave the effect of a wild, angry banshee. Coupled with their thrashing about in the underbrush, the eerie sounds were their only give-away as we sat speechless in the dark and cold night air.
The next morning, the only evidence of the great battle was the tell-tale scuff-marks in the sand, littered by an occasional feather ...
Ngala's Gold Medal Winner
Just a few minutes into our morning safari a female cheetah was spotted just ahead of us. We hadn�t even seen her yet when we noticed a heard of impala feeding very close by. Seconds later, we saw her. She was trotting straight at the impala, her face blank and her eyes bright in total concentration just like an olympic sprinter poised in the starting blocks.
At that moment, I felt like the sprinter. With everybody hushed and holding my breath all I could here was the blood pumping through my eardrums as my heart rate shot through the roof. The start gun in this case was the ear piercing blast of an impala alarm call. I still close my eyes and see the rest in slow motion. The impala took off in every direction, one straight towards us followed by the sprinting predator now turned Ducati superbike leaning over like Valantino Rossi in the last tight bend towards the finishing line. The finishing line in this case was right behind us and she got the gold medal: a young female impala!
::::
Vacationtechnician personalized luxury adventure travel transports you to the most exquisite wilderness and chill out retreats on Earth. Conserving rare biodiversity through low volume tourism; our aim is your indulgence -at no one's expense. Plan now to be assured a rejuvenating escape at a restful pace -to an unspoiled gem in the purest sense.