Among the Dry, Tall Grass

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Geo: -23.5741, 24.104

Once again we woke up early. We drove to Molose waterhole. On the way we saw tracks of two lions that had walked along the track towards the direction we were driving. Unfortunately we didn't see the lions. At the waterhole there were about 100 doves drinking. After about an hour of not seeing anything except the doves we drove back to the campsite and packed up.

Before heading south to the next camp site we once again went back to Molose waterhole. This time there was a steenbok drinking and instead of doves, there were many Sand Grouse. They came down took water under their wings and flew away back to their babies. They flew down in groups and also left in groups. We left the waterhole and drove south.

On the way we saw a lonely springbok. We came to the Tropic of Capricorn and stopped to take photos with the sign. We then arrived at Mabuakelobe Pan. It was huge! We saw five gemsbok that ran as soon as they saw us. We drove around the pan and saw a Kori Bustard and a few ostriches.

We were camping at campsite number two. We drove up to the campsite and were very impressed with it. There was a great view of the wide open pan. We could see the ostriches that had run away from us a few minutes ago. This campsite was also developed and had the same facilities as the other sites. Which was a relief! In the middle of the camp site there was a large tree and sitting on the branches were two Southern Yellow Billed Hornbills. They were just watching us set up our tent. It was nice to see that not all the animals are scared of people! Nearby there was also a little bright green bird - a Swallow Tailed Bee-Eater.

We set up camp and then got back in the car to find more animals. We drove around Mabuakolobe Pan. There wasn't much here except for some springbok. We then drove around Moreswa Pan again. We stopped at the pan near our campsite to stretch our legs and look at animal tracks in the sand. There wasn't any animal visible, just lots of dry grass. We went back to the camp site for a little rest until the temperature cooled down.

Now that it was a bit cooler we had a better chance of seeing more animals. We packed a little cooler box with a few sun downer drinks and snacks then drove around the two pans again. There still wasn't much to see, but the cold drinks went down nicely.

We were nearly back at our campsite when we saw a large herd of springbok. The light was really nice as the sun was starting to set. We decided to park and watch them eat grass. Twenty minutes later the light had changed and was no longer good to take decent photos. We drove about 10 metres and on the other side of the track from the springbok there was a cheetah cub. It was sitting in the grass looking at us.

We were so excited and this made up for the average sightings today. And then another cub bounded over to it and they both ran away together. We did a u-turn and drove in their direction. After a few minutes we still did not find them. Instead we came across an adult cheetah lying in the middle of the track. As we slowly approached it got up and walked towards the pan where the springbok were.

We drove back to the pan and there in the middle where the springbok where there were now two adult cheetahs. They were sitting and looking around. We watched them for a while and decided that they were not doing anything exciting, so we switched on the spotlight and drove back to the campsite. On the way we saw two black-backed jackals, scrub hares and a caracal. That was the first time I'd seen a caracal in the wild.

Paul started the fire as I prepared the food. The kettle was next to the flames, boiling water for my hot water bottle. We then sat around the fire, watched the stars, drank wine and relaxed. After we enjoyed another yummy dinner we decided to do a quick little night drive in the hope of seeing the cheetahs again.

The only thing we saw were lots of spring hare- which are like a small kangaroo. They were another new sighting for me and entertaining to watch. We choose to then call it a night and went back to camp and bed.

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Photos

01 Early Morning
Molose Waterhole- where there were many Cape Turtle Doves drinking and hanging around.

03 In the Tree
Lots of Cape Turtle Doves sitting in this tree beside the waterhole.

04 Tracks
Lots of bird tracks near our tent.

05 Campsite
Our site at the Molose campsite.

06 View
The view from our campsite.

07 More Birds
Then along came the Burchells Sandgrouse to drink at the waterhole.

08 Sandgrouse
Another flock of sandgrouse in the water.

10 Steenbok
A steenbok standing at the water's edge and looking around.

11 Lonely
A lonely springbok near the track.

12 Tropic of Capricorn
Paul and I at the Tropic of Capricorn sign.

13 Off they go!
A small group of gemsbok that ran as soon as they saw us.

14 Kori Bustard
Another sighting of the large bird.

15 Ostriches
Ostriches on the pan.

16 Watch them Run
Then they saw us and ran.

17 Me
I am at our campsite, in the background is the pan and ostriches on it.

18 Green Bird
A Swallow Tailed Bee Eater watching us set up our camp site.

19 Friendly
These two hornbills watched as we set up our tent and didn't disappear- unlike all the other animals.

20 No Name
A bird I could not identify.

21 Walking Along
A Red Crested Koran walking along the track.

22 Looking at each Other
Two springboks looking at each other.

23 Springbok
Three springbok at the Mabuakolobe Pan.