Happy bird day

I was woken in the middle of the night by a massive thunder clap as a lightning storm crossed over the hills. Rain followed and the smell off the hot earth was like chocolate sauce. When I woke again at sunrise it was such a beautiful day, I decided to stay put and explore on foot rather than car.

Red Sands, where I am staying, is a large private nature reserve. It has about a dozen different species of buck as well as zebra and no predators so you’re able to walk about without the fear of being someone’s meal. It’s situated in the Kuruman Hills which are part of the Ghaap plateau which is over 1000m above sea level. Its Dolomite foundation is one of the reasons why there are such abundant and clean springs in this area.

I picked up a map at reception and headed off to find the trails. These ended up being very well marked and in excellent condition so I felt confident it was fine to go alone. The tracks were on the rich red dirt that covers this area, and walking gave me a chance to appreciate the incredible diversity of plant life. I’d made a throw away comment yesterday that it was mostly thorn trees but I now know that was nonsense and there is a myriad of of small bushes, grasses and flowers as well as the acacias.

I came across a lot of spoor (tracks) but no animals for the first few km, but then suddenly disturbed a small herd of zebra and I don’t know who got a bigger fright, me or them! They dashed through the bush and it was so thick I couldn’t see them. Later I encountered some Springbok and another darker buck I didn’t recognize.

About 4km in there was a hide next to a waterhole. I had my binoculars with me so spent an hour gorging myself on the quite astonishing assortment of birds that came to visit. It was quite ridiculous really. I don’t have a good camera but I’ve made a little composite picture for you to get an idea of what I mean. Many birds I still can’t identify but some are so over the top with their colours, top knots and tails that it’s easy! Grant and I got to the stage that we get more excited by the birds when we are on a game drive than we do the animals. Drives our kids nuts.

The walking took up the whole morning and I returned sweaty and in need of a beer.

The afternoon has been filled with identifying the birds, reading more of the Moffat story and planning the next two days which are going to be very busy and involve a lot of driving.

Tomorrow is my day with the Rev Mighty Keagile who is the priest for the Moffat Mission. He lives in Vryburg which is about 1.5hours drive away and doesn’t own a car so I am going to pick him up in the morning. He has quite an itinerary planned as well as a tour of the Moffat Mission. I’m looking forward to it though not the driving as these roads really are hard work!

Tuesday is the Wonderwerk Caves and then back to Kimberley and Johannesburg.

Glad to have had a day off. Thank you all for your comments on the posts so far - I get enormous pleasure knowing you’re on the journey with me. I think there will be plenty to share with you tomorrow!Læs mere