Archive for April, 2010
Botswana 2010 : Nossob
Having spent seven nights on the wild Botswana side of the Kgalagadi, it was time for us to head to Nossob to restock with provisions and fuel for the next leg of our trip, which was the Mabuasehube area. We were very excited about the Mabua leg as Jon and Hillary had, on their last visit, watched in amazement as a pride of lions trashed their belongings in their campsite. (They say the young lions were probably just being playful, but such a close encounter was an enormous adrenalin rush for them – we hoped to have a similar experience.)
Nossob is a big camp on the South African side of the Nossob River. It’s a relatively short drive from Polentswa (58kms) and the road follows the dry river bed the whole way there. Apart from the amazing birdlife en route we came across our first lion sighting at the Cubitje Quap watering hole – a lone young lioness, who looked a bit battle-scarred but who was obviously hot and hungry and hoping to catch one of the wildebeest taking a drink.
When she plonked herself down in the shade beneath Jon’s car door, we had to wait until she made a half-hearted attempt at stalking the wildebeest before we moved on.
We much prefer the Botswana campsites without any facilities, but I have to admit that it was a treat to have two good long hot showers and to be able to wash our clothes. The campsite was practically full (mainly with pensioners) and we were able to glean some information from others who had just arrived from Mabuasehube. To our dismay, we learnt that there were no lions to be seen there as a sickness had wiped them all out. We were heartened to hear that grass seeds didn’t pose a problem on the road.
Although we hadn’t been overly keen to stay at the busy Nossob campsite, it proved to be very enjoyable after all. We took advantage of the small swimming pool to cool off from the relentless March heat. Even the resident squirrels were hot. They would sprawl out on the ground and then use their front paws to scrape cool sand over their backs.  Their burrows were quite a menace – I almost broke my neck when I stepped into one in the dark.
We found the animal hide overlooking the Nossob watering hole to be amazing. Rob practically took up residence in there and managed to add some wonderful pictures to his bird and animal photo collection. He will blog about the falcons that had us enthralled with their skill at catching other birds. Incidentally, SAN Parks have a web cam trained on the watering hole at Nossob and this can be seen on-line at any time (if it is working).
Although it is fenced off and security is tight, there are many birds and animals in the Nossob campsite itself. We photographed both these owls in the same tree.
The shop at Nossob is expensive but perfect for stocking up with provisions. One can even buy fresh home baked bread rolls (at an exorbitant price) and there is fuel for the vehicles.
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Botswana 2010: Union’s End
April 27th, 2010 | 
Author: Rob
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Posted in Botswana 2010 | 
Show on Map (Geotagged at lat -24.8166542, lng 20.0280762)
I find that one of the special joys of travel is to visit places that I heard about or read about as a relative youngster. I got a great kick, while visiting the UK, to walk down Harley Street and Fleet Street; seeing Buckingham Palace, and specially finding that “Banbury Cross” actually exists. I find that I am seldom disappointed, as the attraction is just in being there rather than in the expectation of finding something outstanding.
And so it was very easy to make the decision to take the 60-odd kilometre drive from Polentswa to visit the point located at 24o 45’ 55.3” South, 19 o 59’ 58.7” East, the point known as Union’s End, the extreme north-westerly point of South Africa.
The drive from Polentswa in the early morning was an absolute treat, with a brief sighting of a leopard no more than ten metres from the car. We watched a group of four bat-eared foxes as they hunted happily in an open field and were treated to the sight of five magnificent lilac-breasted rollers on a single dried tree stump. Then there were the wildebeest, gemsbok and springbok in large herds. And a lone meerkat that played sentry on a tree stump near his home.
Union’s End. Even the name is an anachronism; South Africa ceased to be a “Union” and became a “Republic” on 31 May 1961. But the name has been retained for this, the northernmost point of South Africa; the point where South Africa meets two of its neighbours, Namibia and Botswana, at the same spot. This is also the spot where the Nossob River (or river bed, really – it is dry for the greater part of its existence) crosses from Namibia into the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and wanders its waterless way for 200 kilometres through the park, officially dividing South Africa from Botswana. It gives its name to the Nossob Camp and later, shortly after its confluence with the Auob River (also dry), it contributes to the names of another two camps, Twee Rivieren in South Africa and Two Rivers in Botswana.
But back to Union’s End.
The point where the three countries meet is marked by a small information board, a pole bearing the longitude and latitude of the spot and nothing else. Namibia is fenced off from Botswana and South Africa, but, as the spot lies in the transfrontier park, there is no fence between Botswana and South Africa at this point. The centre of the Nossob, which is the boundary between the two countries, is marked at intervals by cement bollards with “RSA” and “RB” etched on the appropriate sides.
The South African section of the transfrontier park was previously known as the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park and was established way back in 1931. According to the information boards, the earliest activity at Union’s End took place in the mid 1930s. Imagine what the area must have been like those 75-odd years ago! Imagine how difficult it must have been to reach, and yet there was already a problem with poachers. There was a plan to establish a border patrol post here in 1934 in order to control poaching, but insufficient funds were forthcoming and the post never materialized.
The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park was established in 2000 when the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park in RSA was merged with the Gemsbok National Park in Botswana.
Bird of the week – Week 17 : Speckled pigeon
What is a “squab” when it is not a short, fat person or a type of cushion? And what is the difference between a “dove” and a “pigeon”?
Well, a squab is the term used for  a young, unfledged pigeon or dove. It is sometimes applied to other young birds, but usually to pigeons and doves. And in general there is no difference between doves and pigeons; the terms are used interchangeably. There is a tendency for “dove” to be used for the smaller of the Columbidae family and “pigeon” for the larger birds, but even this is not consistent. The bird known until quite recently as a “Feral pigeon”, for example, is now known as a “Rock dove”. Quite confusing really.
The Speckled pigeon is about the same size as the Rock dove (or Feral pigeon), with a length of about 33 cm. Its neck, breast, back and upper-wings are a maroon-brown; it is speckled with white on its neck and spotted with white on its wings. Its head, rump and the rest of its under-parts are grey. The most diagnostic characteristic, though, are its red eye-patches that surround its yellow eyes. The sexes are alike in both plumage and size.
The Speckled pigeon is widespread throughout Africa South of the Sahara and in Southern Africa it is a common resident in most areas, although it is absent from most of Zimbabwe. It prefers mountains, gorges, koppies, and hills, but it is also comfortable in the presence of humans and it is at home in rural or urban buildings. It feeds mainly on the ground, on seeds and green shoots and can often be found on cultivated lands.
Its call is a series of mellow coos, doo, doo, doo, which may be repeated up to twenty times.
The Speckled pigeon is monogamous, its nest a flimsy platform of sticks and grass usually on the ledge of a cliff or building. The clutch usually consists of two white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of about 16 days. Unlike most other birds, doves and pigeons produce “crop milk”, which is secreted by cells lining the crop. Both males and females produce this highly nutritious “milk” to feed to the young. They are thought to live for about 10 years.
The scientific name for the Speckled pigeon is Columba guinea; “columba” being the Latin word for a pigeon or dove and “guinea” being derived from the West African region of Guinea. Hence the pigeon (or dove) from West Africa. Quite simple really!
Botswana 2010 : Polentswa
April 21st, 2010 |
Author: Jane
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Posted in Botswana 2010 | Show on Map (Geotagged at lat -24.9760990, lng 20.3906250)
The road from Kaa Gate to Polentswa takes one through the most magnificent savannah and woodland scenery. With no time pressures and no problems with grass seeds we were able to enjoy the animals that came into view every now and then. As we neared the dry Nossob riverbed we started to see raptors of every description. The Kgalagadi is famous for its raptors and one is always assured of good close up sightings of the magnificent snake eagles, tawny eagles and the many falcons and goshawks.
The many snakes and rats in the area keep these birds well fed. We came across our first snake shortly after crossing the Nossob river.
Once on the South African side of the park, we immediately felt a bit restricted as we could no longer get out of our cars to take photos. When spending time in Botswana, where campsites are unfenced, one tends to forget that there are rules and regulations about getting out of ones vehicle. It takes the deep resounding roar of a lion close by at night to make one realize that these rules are absolutely essential and one should be very careful. The sound of a lion roaring outside one’s tent sends shivers up one’s spine. It truly is one of the classic sounds of the African bushveld.
The Polentswa campsite is on the Botswana side of the park, so once again we had to cross over the Nossob riverbed to get there. It was a typical Botswana camp with a wooden A-frame construction to give one a measure of shade. Our site overlooked a pan and we were not far from the Polentswa watering hole. This proved a wonderful spot for our evening sundowners where we were rewarded by the many animals and birds that came to take their last drink of the day.
On our first evening six black-backed jackals converged from various directions, followed by a herd of hartebeest that gave us a wonderful horn-butting display.
The next day the watering hole proved very rewarding as no less than fourteen secretary birds came to drink. It is always enthralling to see these beautifl big birds in the wild.  To have fourteen of them at once was almost mind-boggling. Unfortunately they were a bit scattered and we weren’t able to photograph them all together. Nevertheless it was an unforgettable treat seeing so many.
There was also a resident tawny eagle at the Polentswa watering hole which we saw on each of our sundowner visits.
Visitors to Polentswa will notice an unmarked grave a few hundred metres from the campsites. We wondered who had been buried here – was it a favourite animal in the Park or perhaps an unlucky visitor who didn’t abide by the rules of staying in their vehicle?  We were later enlightened by Don, a Parks Board officer, who gave us an information leaflet about the grave.
According to the book called “Kalahari Gemsbok National Park” by Gus Mills and Clem Haagner, the grave was that of one Hans Schwabe, a diamond prospector who was passing through the Park on his way to Namibia (then South West Africa) in 1958. He enquired whether there were diamonds in the area and didn’t believe it when he was told that there weren’t any. Schwabe abandoned his car and went in search of diamonds on foot. He left a note in his car saying that there was no water for the car (which was untrue as the radiator was found to be full) and did some illegal prospecting along the way. Game rangers later found his unsteady tracks and saw vultures overhead. It wasn’t long before they came across what was left of his remains. As it was impossible to remove his body, they buried it where they found it and placed a little wooden cross on his grave.
Bird of the week – Week 16 : Red-headed finch
The Red-headed finch is about size of a Cape sparrow; hence quite a small bird at just 14 cm in length, yet quite large as finches go. The sexes are dimorphic in plumage; the male, in particular, is quite distinctive with its bright red head, the rest of its upper parts a rather undistinguished grayish-brown, with faint barring on the rump, its lower belly white and its under tail barred with black, white and brown. The female, though, lacks the red head and is therefore somewhat less distinctive, if not quite qualifying as  nondescript.
The Red-headed finch is a common resident in Southern Africa although its numbers fluctuate greatly with changing conditions. It is found mainly in open grassland with clumps of trees, and it also enjoys farmyards and cultivated fields throughout most of the region with the exception of the high rainfall areas. It is classified as a “near endemic” in the Southern African region because its range stretches into Southern Angola.
It is found in pairs or in small colonies when breeding, but at other times it is gregarious and it may be found in large flocks of up to hundreds of birds. Often associating with other seed-eating birds, the Red-headed finch forages for seeds and insects mainly on the ground and it may be found in large flocks at waterholes, where it drinks frequently.
The Red-headed-finch seldom builds its own nest and commonly nests in the old nests of one of the Ploceus weavers; in Namibia  it seems to favour the Chestnut weaver,  the  Sociable weaver, and the Red-billed buffalo weaver. It sometimes nests in a hole in tree. The nests may be solitary or in small colonies of two or three pairs. The female usually lays between four and six white eggs that hatch after an incubation period of  about 14 days.
Like most of the finches, the Red-headed finch is quite a common cage bird and in captivity it has been known to hybridise with the Cut-throat finch, producing fertile offspring. Its call is a chirping “chep-chep” and it also makes a variety of whirring or buzzing sounds.
Its scientific name is Amadina erythrocephala; the derivation of amadina seems to be something of a mystery and is the subject of some conjecture, but erythrocephala is clearly from the two Greek words “erythros” meaning red and “kephal” meaning head. Well, at least there can be no doubt about the red-head.
