Sunday 24 November
There isn't mobile phone coverage at Bataleur Bush Camp, so I won't be able to upload this until we get to the next Rest Camp, which will be Punda Maria in a cuple of days time.
Tonight I will sleep in a bed. I hope it is a good experience, I love the tent so much. This is a 'treat' and a different experience. We are staying at one of the Park's 'Bush Camps' for a couple of nights. It's the only way we could get to sleep so deep in the bush, these are remote fenced areas and camping is not allowed in them. We picked this one because it was so small, just 7 cottages, some are much larger and can accommodate as many as 80 people. Bataleur is primarily a bird-watchers hang-out, that's fine with us, we have seen so much game, and it means it is eerily quiet and isolated. We had a winding route here from Shingwedzi, following a river bed which was dry in parts, but with water pools where we saw hippo, crocodile, herons and geese. There doesn't seem to be a lot of game in the area, although we saw giraffe, elephant, kudu and impala.
Last night at Shindwedzi was rather blighted by the insects. Not only did we have the small flies which have been present almost everywhere, but also a plague of flying ants, small and large crusty beetles, and all sorts of other creatures which would probably make an entomologists day, but just made for an uncomfortable evening for me. It was quite a battle getting into bed without taking any of them with us. We had a good drive out from Shingwedzi yesterday. We took the Mphongolo Loop Road to Babalala, it was such different scenery, lush grass in place and tall, towering trees with amazing trunks. Today we met up again with a couple of Americans we have seen several times, they were also a Babalala, they left in a northerly direction and we returned southwards along the Mphongolo road. Less than a kilometre from Babalala they saw an adult Cheetah and 4 cubs. We saw a Goliath Heron and a Fish Eagle. To see the Fish Eagle was wonderful, they are such magnificent birds, but I think the prize was the Goliath Heron. It was so beautiful, it's neck so long and when it flew off it's feathers were almost iridescent.
We enjoyed the stay at Shingdwezi, maybe because everyone was so pleased to see us and all the facilities are in excellent condition having just been restored after the floods last January. We watched a video made by the crew of a helicopter rescue team, as they airlifted people to rescue from trees and the tops of buildings. Looking at the large, deep and almost empty river bed now it is impossible to imagine how it could ever have contained that amount of water.
During the drive here today there was so much evidence of extensive water damage and erosion along the river bed. Vast gulleys dissect the soil and, close to the river, trees hang perilously over the dry banks with roots exposed.
Monday 25 November
It is very quiet here, only 3 of the bungalows occupied. As they all set amongst trees you don't really see anyone else, but we caught a glimpse of another middle-aged-ish couple, necks weighed down with telescopic camera equipment, serious bird-watchers. I talked to one of the Camp employees this morning and learnt that they are all on 'zero-hours' arrangements. They only get paid if there are residents and they have work to do. They are so pleased to see us! After our braai we strolled over to the hide, from where you can see out over a water pool. It was dusk so there weren't so many birds, but we watched as a small herd of elephants with one of the youngest calfs we have seen, came to drink and bathe. Back at the bungalow we had a pleasant evening sitting outside in the covered kitchen/eating area. The insect population was much less and didn't bother us at all. Some tiny bats flitted out of the thatch roof, explaining some of the streaks down the walls, and polished off quite a few. I have no idea which type of bat, but in the dim light they seemed to have a bluish hue.
When we came outside to get coffee and breakfast this morning we had to sweep everywhere and clean all the surfaces. After we had gone to bed the squirrels and any other small animals who might make mouse like droppings had obviously held a party. We had adhered to the warning signs about keeping food in the cupboards because of squirrels, but I had left a sealed plastic container of olives out, that had been nibbled through but they don't seem to have been impressed with the olives. There isn't a monkey or baboon problem here, otherwise the cupboards wouldn't be safe, monkeys would open the doors and baboons might well tear even locked doors open. The damage wreaked by baboons at Maroela when they rampaged through the cooking area outside a caravan and the adjacent tent was awful. They pulled tables and chairs over, smashed crockery and glasses, and upturned any container they could find.
Enjoying the luxury of the bungalow we cooked eggs for breakfast and then took a drive to 2 nearby water spots, a lake and a dam. Both of them are in the area only available to people staying at the Bush Camp, no day visitors, you have to be booked in as a resident. The lake and the dam were both vast and deep, the best stretches of water we have seen anywhere, but we only saw hippos and crocodiles, mid-morning not being a good game viewing time. A startled herd of Impala dashed across the road ahead of us, totally disorganised and running in every direction, suggesting that they had been disturbed by a predator. We turned off the car engine and sat quietly for a time, but we didn't see anything.
We came across 2 Woodland Rangers deep in the bush. They were in camouflage gear and very heavily armed, rifles and lots of ammunition slung around their bodies. We stopped to speak to them. We knew that here in the northern, less visited and more isolated part of the Park poaching has been a problem. They told us that since they have been working up here things are much better, they keep a patrol on the Mozambiquan border, which is how poachers gain access, the western and southern boundaries of the Park are in South Africa and well fortified and guarded. In the north a tiny area abuts the Limpopo river, forming a border with Zimbabwe, but the whole of the western boundary is also the border with Mozambique, through the Lembobo Mountains. I have no idea how the Mozambiquans monitor the National Park their side of the border, or what effect it will have if it ever becomes possible to create the trans-frontier Park envisaged, taking in that part of Mozambique and extending across the Limpopo into Zimbabwe. I am sure it will all be very 'political'.
There are plenty of birds here at the bungalow for us to see and we will probably take another look at the elephants tonight.
No comments:
Post a Comment