South Africa

South Africa 2007 - 1/4
	2007's big holiday was in South Africa - along the Garden Route from Kariega Lodge (near Kenton on Sea) to CapeTown. We've split the holiday into 4 pages so they'll load in quicker. Game Drives at Kariega Lodge Lagoon at Kynsna Whale Watching at Hermanus Cape Town We booked through Karen at Bon Voyage again and once again she found us some great places to stay. First stop was Kariega Lodge - a lovely place and we wondered if we'd been given the right room when we first arrived as our chalet was bigger than Mum and Dad's bungalow!



The photos above were the views from our back door, the balcony, our private pool and our log fire! The sunrise picture was taken from the balcony. When the sunrise is that pretty, getting up early doesn't seem so hard!	Bush Buck	The Bush Buck in the picture on the left was munching quite happily just outside our door. It was one of many different sorts of antelope in the game reserve.
Red Hartebeest	Blesbuck	Eland
Impala
Eland	Kudu	Kudu
Impala	Nyala
Blesbuck
Impala	Impala	Impala
Waterbuck		Blesbuck
Common Reedbuck	Red Hartebeest	Kudu
Red Hartebeest
Common Reedbuck	Red Hartebeest	Impala
Waterbuck		Waterbuck
Impala	Kudu	Eland
Impala	Living alongside the antelope were Zebra and Giraffe. We were lucky to see babies of each species - good time of year to come and see the animals!








	There was the odd one off photo here and there like a Leopard Turtle or a Rock Hyrax (aka Rock Dassie) - both nice to see but not easy to categorise with anything else! I've included a couple of creepy crawlies - the bugs we found on our car, the millipede was about 6-8 inches long. The Buffalo wanted to be friends with the truck so we had to keep our distance. Other animals that we saw but didn't photograph (either because it was too dark or they were too quick) included a Largespotted Genet, a Common Duiker and a Spring Hare. Maybe we'll have more luck next time.



There were plenty of Vervet Monkeys around - not least near our chalet but these two showed how grooming's done! The other creature we saw on our decking round the pool was the long green grass snake below - I think I prefer the monkeys!

The first time we saw them, the Hippos were enjoying the shade so we crept down to the river to have a quick look at them but didn't disturb them for too long.

The next time, they were in the middle of the river and much easier to spot / photograph



	Bush Pigs are very rarely sighted so we were lucky as a couple of them popped out briefly then disappeared straight back into the bush. We were much more lucky with the warthogs who decided to stay around for photos on Day 3.



	We both enjoyed talking to Lisa (our excellent ranger) as we drove around (but still couldn't remember all the names of the birds and animals that we'd seen!) We traded in one of our game drives for a nature walk - it was so peaceful and we didn't see another soul. We did see some great views from Krantz Lookout and the Krantz Trail and loads of lovely wild flowers so plenty of opportunities to take yet more photos.


	The Acacia on the left is one of the Giraffe's favourite food - I think I'd be a bit nervous of the fierce spikes but they seem to manage very well. The Old Man's Beard above grows everywhere - it attaches itself to lichen on the trees. It feels really soft - a bit like stringy cotton wool.





The prickly pear were coming into flower - they were everywhere. That's another plant that looks really fierce and spiky but the animals don't seem to mind them at all.



	The trees were not to be outdone with their colourful blossom.
	Jonathon managed to spot the dung beetle before we stood on him!
We also had the chance to be a bit closer to some butterflies - the warm weather had brought them out of their winter quarters and they were having a good flutter around.
		Back to the game drives ... We were really lucky to spot a Black Backed Jackal a couple of days and even luckier that he decided to sit and have a rest so we could photograph him!

	There were lots of different bird species and we enjoyed seeing them either whilst out on the game drives or on the river cruise. The river was as calm as a mill pond and there were no crocodiles to be seen!! The photo below left is a general view of the game reserve, the one on the right is (obviously) of the river.

Cormorant	African Darter	Egyptian Goose
Egyptian Goose	Fish Eagle	Forktail Drongo
Black Headed Heron	Grey Headed Heron	Pied Kingfisher
Yellowbilled Kite
Brownhooded Kingfisher	Guinea Fowl	Brownhooded Kingfisher
Ostrich	Mousebird	Hoopoe
Knysna Lourie	Sandpiper	Glossy Starling
Black Headed Oriel	Yellowbilled Duck	Francolin
Burchell's Coucal	Crowned Plover	Common Fiscal Shrike
Ostrich	Hoopoe	Blacksmith Plover
Brownhooded Kingfisher	Secretary Bird	Glossy Starling
Hadenda Ibis	Jackal Buzzard	Ostrich
Glossy Starling	Burchell's Coucal	Francolin
Yellowbilled Kite	Weaver	As you can see there were loads of bright colours - we were also lucky enough to see a Pigmy Kingfisher but nowhere near fast enough to photograph it!
Kariega is a relatively small game reserve so the number of big cats has to be limited to give the antelope etc a chance to survive. There were 2 male and 2 female Lions - we were lucky enough to see them all during our stay.






		One of the treats (for me) was to get up close to White Rhino, especially with their baby - I'd only seen them in the distance before.


	I also had the opportunity to take some better photos of the Blue Wildebeest - for some reason I find them really difficult to snap! The one below right was most accommodating and stood and posed for quite a while.


	The stars of the show in the first couple of days were the Elephants, not least as the baby of the herd was only a couple of weeks old. The rest of the family were really protective of the baby but Jonathon managed to get some close up shots!



	It's amazing how they can look a completely different colour depending how the light sits on them

		We had a really good time at Kariega and it was a good introduction to "safari" for Jonathon although, I have to admit, Kariega Lodge was far more civilised than some places I've stayed in the bush! Unfortunately we had to say goodbye and move on but not until we'd enjoyed some lovely sunsets. Next stop Knysna.

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