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loot.co.za

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Home arrow The Sociable Nest arrow Recharging the batteries…. Katja and Edith in KTP November 2009.
Recharging the batteries…. Katja and Edith in KTP November 2009. PDF Print E-mail
Written by Katja Soehngen   
Saturday, 12 December 2009
02.11.09

The start of our trip was a bit chaotic.
It was as usual a looong way to KTP.
We had a wonderful but much too short meet with Charlie and Dodo at the airport.We chatted away as if we only have not seen each other for a little while, you would have never guessed that this was the first time ever that we met....wink
But then it was time to leave again.
The last leg of our journey started.The flight from Cape Town to Upington and  already 40 minutes into the flight the captain told us,that we had to return due to technical problems.
So instead of landing in  Upington, we landed in Cape Town once again, this time surrounded by three fire engines.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2501/4162796194_e3711efc9b_m.jpg Larger View

But thank God the problem was solved soon and we were on our way again.

We picked up the car at the airport, drove to our accommodation, had a nice dinner in a small restaurant and later fell into the bed and were soon fast asleep without any problems.
The next morning started much more relaxed except for the fact that Edith had caught a cold somewhere along the way.
A nice breakfast,some shopping in Upington ( well in fact we had to buy a lot, as we were stocking up on food etc. for nearly 4 weeks) and soon we were on our way to KTP.

We were looking forward to see the new reception. Last year they were still building it and in the meantime it became the new Gate into the park.
We were impressed. It was very new, very modern, airconditioned, but maybe a bit too posh for the Kalahari. Maybe it was just too early to make up our minds and we decided to think about the pros and cons later.neutral

We moved into #25.We never stayed on that side of the Camp before, but the bungalow was huge and very private.
Finally we were back, what a good feeling.
Although Edith was feeling worse and worse, we could not resist to leave for a first afternoon drive.
Unfortunately the road to Rooiputs was still closed and we were told at the reception that this will be the case till the end of 2010….
So after a small stop at Samevloeiing we were on our way through the dunes towards the Aoub riverbed.
We had the feeling that we had left only about 2-3 and not 11 months ago.
We were home again…..big_smile

The first sighting was a Northern Black Korhaan.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2559/4162796202_2ab0480b96_m.jpg Larger View And a little later a small group with young Oryx.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2733/4162796220_d116b32fa8_m.jpg Larger View

We stopped at Houmoed waterhole only to discover that the waterhole was not in function and a sign told us that it was in state of repair.
So we drove up to the lookout point. We already decided that this was our turning point, as it was already a bit late.

On the way back to the main road we suddenly saw a movement a bit further away and were delighted to see that we sighted our first Meerkats. We stopped the engine and slowly they came closer.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2747/4162796226_5d75126bfd_m.jpg Larger View

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2568/4162796230_e715caff90_m.jpg Larger View

The light was fading fast and so we decided to return back to the camp.
We were happy and regarded the sighting of the Meerkats as a good sign.cool

Just after we had passed the t-junction close to Samevloeiing we spotted our first Owls on this trip.

A pair of Spotted Eagle-Owls.
Aren’t they just beautiful?!

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2709/4162796234_6fd3eae466_m.jpg Larger View

Then she turned around.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2614/4162038439_8db98d4f5f_m.jpg Larger View

Another tried to hide from us, without success….

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2516/4162038443_b06670917d_m.jpg Larger View

What a successful afternoon.

We enjoyed a nice dinner back at the camp and observed some Mongooses that were looking for food.
Our outdoor light attracted a lot of Beetles and the Mongoose was eating them like crunchy chips.
A little later we heard a sound that is quite familiar to cat owners.
It was a kind of surprise that a vomiting Mongoose makes the same sounds as a cat throwing up….lol
Later we discovered that she just got rid of the Beetles chitin exoskeletons.

It was a wonderful evening, but the fact that Mosquitoes are nearly eating us alive made us go to bed early.
» 1 Comment
1Comment
at Saturday, 12 December 2009 21:27by Jay
I wonder when on earth they are going to open that Rooiputs road? :-/ You had wonderful sightings on your first day, you are always so lucky with sightings ;-))
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