Tag: birds

South Africa Safari 2025 Day 13 – The day of the Tsessebe.

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“Oh it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spend it with you
oh such a perfect day you just keep me hangin on
you just keep me hangin on” …

….That’s what you do Mother Nature…..and then you deliver, time and time again. ……half way through this perfect day we both burst into song….after all, the birds, wildlife, trees and plants aren’t going to tell us to shut up are they. It was a lovely bright day with temperatures back to around 26 Celsius.

We had a slow start to the day…both showered and hair washed, clean cloths and just a small pot each of yogurt for breakfast, supplies need replenishing. John made rolls for lunch while battling to keep the vervet monkeys off the food and out of the kitchen…if it wasn’t the monkeys it was the glossy starlings and the squirrels….quite a sight to see John “sshhhing” them away…one monkey distracted him while another sneaked in behind …eventually he succeeded. I had in the meantime been sorting out the dirty washing ready to go to the laundry.

Our house keeper arrived just as we were leaving. I asked her where the laundry was and she pointed but then she said she would do it for me. I asked how much and she said anything I wanted to give her…so I said 150 Rands ( £6) and she beamed from ear to ear…I gave her the detergent and she said she’d bring it all back tomorrow morning…bless her. When we got back at lunchtime she had decorated our beds with the towels and leaves and pods and she had put a glass on a doily full of flowers next to our beds….Josephine you are a lovely lady.

With the washing taken care of it meant we could go out game spotting much earlier. We went out of the back gate and headed along the river side….wow…it was prolific for game…within 10 minutes we had driven 2 kms and seen 8 different species……our first sight was a squirrel just as we left the camps gate. We saw loads of waterbuck, giraffe, elephants, small groups of dagger boys – old male buffalo, zebra, kudu, hippos, and of course we soon counted 99+ impala….for an area which has a reputation of being devoid of wildlife it was our most prolific day game viewing so far this holiday.

We spent along time looking up a tree with 2 other vehicles who informed us there was a leopard sleeping up the tree……if it was it was buried deep in the foliage of the tree …as you know leopards can sleep for along time and we decided to leave her to it.

We retraced our route back to camp. On the way back we came across a magnificent specimen of a bull Nyala…a very handsome male…he seemed to be on his own with no harem.

On arrival at the camp it was once again a hive of activity…bus and mini bus loads full of school children and locals. It was “heritage day” earlier in the week and we think the park drops the conservation daily fee for locals during the week. As we drove through camp I stopped and commented how beautiful a lady looked in traditional clothing, she wanted us to take her photo which we obligingly did…

We stopped at our chalet for a quick loo break before heading out of the front gate….lo and behold on the opposite bank of the river were two tsessebe antelope.

The tsessebe has a strange name which is fitting for its rather strange look. It is larger and somewhat different in appearance than the other two animals of the same genus (blesbok and bontebok). Both sexes carry horns which are more splayed, and a black (rather than a white) blaze marks the face. The tsessebes upper parts are dark reddish-brown with a distinct purplish sheen and paler belly. They have a characteristic shoulder hump which is higher than its rump. The tsessebe is reportedly the fasted of all antelope and it can reach speeds of up to 90 km. It is a grazer and is often the first to arrive on areas after a burn as they specifically like fresh growth and shoots.

As we watched these rarely seen beauties another car stopped and asked us what we were looking at. We told them and they drove straight on, obviously neither appreciating the rare sighting or the beauty of this magnificent creature.

We continued out to the S53 where we had seen the lions yesterday. On the way we saw a lot of white backed vultures, elephant, zebra and a lone wildebeest. The S53 was no longer lion ridden, there was no sigm of them. Not far from where they had been, a group of Chacma baboons happily sauntered across the track. The thick undergrowth and vegetation makes spotting a challenge and photo opportunities near on impossible…

On our way back to camp we spied a very elegant martial eagle in a tree close to the road.

We watched aline of zebra cross the dry river bed and disappear into the bush. Stopping back at the tsessebe we decided to eat our lunch. Back in camp it was time for a rest.

Our spotting count for the day was …we don’t include the sunset drive spots because it’s too difficult to record bouncing up and down all the time.. 99+ impala, 65 elephant, 6 squirrel, 13 warthog, 58 zebra, 63 waterbuck, 13 kudu, 21 giraffe, 6 yellow-billed stork, 48 buffalo, 2 yellow billed hornbill, 2 quail, 8 spur-fowl, 37 hippo, 1 grey lourie, 1 nyala, 1 African fish eagle, 21 Chacma baboons, 2 saddle-billed stork, 4 tsessebe, 3 vervet monkeys, 1 wildebeest, 9 WBV, 1 lilac breasted roller, 1 martial eagle……what a prolific game drive!

We wandered across to the carpark for the sunset drive at 4.15pm. I was immediately pounced upon by some colourfully dressed ladies who wanted their photos taken with the white, blonde lady….i was grateful when another couple joined us and shifted the photographic lime lite to them. It was a strange experience.

When the small 10 seater Safari vehicle arrived we quickly jumped on. While the driver did his paper work another group of local visitors jumped on the vehicle to have their photos taken on a Safari vehicle with the white people…it was all a bit overwhelming and surreal. We were glad when the driver returned along with 2 more guests who sat on the row of seats infront of us. Delight introduced himself, reminded us of the Safari vehicle game drive etiquette and informed us that the extra two people were also game rangers/ guides from one of the local 5* reserves. Great we had 3 guides instead of just one. We set of for out 3 hour drive with high hopes.

Delight followed the same route we had been in the morning. We saw some lovely sights along the river banks . Including 2 more tsessebe. He stopped several times to talk about both lion and impala scat- poo!! We went to where the leopard had been seen but the remaining car said it had already left the tree and disappeared into the undergrowth. We did however catch sight of a fish eagle.

On our return trip a large eagle owl was seen in the twilight.

We went some time before sighting a Scops owl at the edge of the road. It flew into a tree and we watched it for a while.

A couple of adorable bush babies were seen leaping around the bushes. Quite close to camp we saw a raging bush fire but Delight assured us it was a controlled burn. The Parks board does have areas they burn from time to time. They keep it under control by putting in firebreaks. It is so the earth regenerates and it allows seeds to germinate and fresh growth quickly appears. This is the time of year they do this, just before the rains begin.

On returning to camp we tipped Delight and thanked him for a very enjoyable 3 hour drive. We decided as it was 7.45pm we would eat in the restaurant. We both had pies, I had chicken, John had venison. Thankfully they had vegetables which were delightful, a mixture of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, mange-toot, courgette, peppers and corn….i think it was frozen but it was very welcomed. Our meal cost less than £15 for us both. We returned to our chalet happy and tired….an excellent day in the bush….oh what a perfect day…

South Africa Safari 2025 Day 12 The Day of The Lion

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Wow…what a night…the wind really came up..the ill-fitting door banged into its frame every few seconds, along with a lot of other bangs. At day break it was evident what the other bangs were…within our wire mesh enclosed veranda the chairs and bin had been blown around, a tree in front of our chalet had lost a large branch and section of its trunk, several people were chatting to Park staff about the damage to their chalet/huts, bin had flown everywhere leaving only their lids anchored to the ground…to put some it up there was a right mess everywhere…we were extremely grateful that both our car and our hut had escaped damage.

The wind had dropped considerably by morning and although it was a cold day, 18 degrees Celsius, we were ready for more game viewing. After our, now usual two yogurts for, breakfast John loaded the car. Bless him he has dome all the fetching and carrying…..even when he’s on holiday his packhorse duties continue….

Off we went, we were moving on to Shingwedzi Camp, taking the main tar road north. We hadn’t expected to see a great deal because of the dry run we had had from Satara to Letaba….we were pleasantly surprised…Mother Nature likes to keep life interesting. John decided he was going to anticipate Giraffe as the first spot of the morning and I selected elephant…. We were both wrong!!! Just outside the Letaba camp gates 30 seconds after leaving was a largish troop of banded mongoose.

We continued on our way and guess what our next spot was? ……An elephant, in fact two….much to Johns annoyance as that put me at 4:1 up…..yes I did gloat…we are very competitive 🤣🤣🤣🤣 However just a short while after this we did see a giraffe.

In fact we saw pockets of wildlife for most of the trip. The landscape was once again different. Lots of quite thick dry bushes right up to the roadside. Quite often a movement would take us by surprise…..a large herd of elephant were right next to the road and we only noticed them at the last minute.

We stopped for various sightings along the way., although the photography was not easy through the more dense bush.

After a couple of hours the landscape changed again and we were back to anthills….we came to the conclusion that as the anthills were in very dry areas this was why we didn’t see much wildlife around them…..it didn’t stop us from looking.

Today could quite easily been called The Day of the Waterbuck. As we continued north and the landscape changed again saw some lovely small herds.

What seemed to be a dried rivermectin had some quite big pockets of water in it. These areas were love oasis and we saw a far denser population of impalas, zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck and elephant around them.

About 109 kms- 3.5 hours drive with stops for wildlife sightings, we arrived at Shingwedzi camp. We booked in and were allocated chalet A6, which was near reception, the shop and the restaurant. Unfortunately there was no room on the sunset drive so we booked for the following night.

Our chalet was very pleasant…a little old style but spacious with a kitchen on its veranda, the fridge was inside …everything seemed to work although we certainly didn’t need the air conditioner…..infact I had put on the nice scarf John had bought be and he had kept the car window closed for much of the trip. The temperature had risen to 20 degrees for about an hour before dropping back to 17/18 degrees. We rested up in the chalet for a couple of hours.

At 4.pm we headed out of the camps back gate to drive down to the dam along the riverside. We hadn’t gone far when a vehicle infront of us blocked the road giving a Safari vehicle instructions to somewhere. The Safari vehicle sped off I. The direction we had come from so we pulled alongside the car in front and asked him if he had any info…he kindly told us he had seen 20 lions at the side of the S53 river loop. He told us how to get there and said it was about 10 minutes away. We spun the car around and headed after the Safari vehicle. 10 minutes was an understatement…after 20 minutes we were wondering if we’d been sent on a wild goose chase… we stopped to view a large herd of buffalo.

Where there’s buffalo there are often lions. It is a lions choice of food because they are big and will feed a full pride of lions. In fact lions have been known to follow a herd of buffalo for a month or until the buffalo wander out of the lions territory into another lions territory. The lions will hunt them every few days, The size of the pride determines how often they need to make a kill, the bigger the pride the more mouths they need to feed, the more often they need to hunt.

So we continued up the tar in the direction the Safari vehicle had gone. It was by now out of sight and our rather ancient Kruger map didn’t have the S53 marked on it. We don’t speed in Kruger the speed limit on the tar roads is 50km and on the dirt 40km. We usually do 45km on the tar as it’s a speed you can still spot at. Thankfully we kept to our self regulated speed because not long after the buffalo a policewoman was stood at the side of the road with a speed camera, an armed ranger guarded her and the vehicle was well hidden in the bush…..we passed without incident…however the car behind which had been haring down on us was stopped….a lesson to be learnt always stick to the speed limit or you can be fined, removed from the park and refused entry again….its really not worth speeding not just for the sake of the animals.

Just after the speed cop was a right turning yeah!!! The S53 a 2km loop. After about 1 km we came across the Safari vehicle and 3 other cars and a motorhome…under the bushes to 5he right were a large pride of lions sleeping. They were spread around under a variety of bushes, so everyone could get a view. A lovely sight…there were some adolescent cubs and lots of lionesses…we counted 11 in total.

The Safari vehicle didn’t watch for long before moving off, which meant we could get closer.

It’s always such a wonderful sight seeing the big cats in their totally natural environment. They all had big rounded bellies, so they had obviously eaten recently.

What joy. After watching for about 15 minutes we decided to complete the loop and head on back along the tar as we had no idea how long it would take us and it was already quite dark even though it was only just after 5pm.

We got back to camp at 5.45pm. Our days wildlife count was 99+ impala, 1 squirrel, 11 banded mongoose, 24 Guinea fowl, 7 yellow billed hornbill, 1 red billed hornbill, 1 crested barbet, 63 waterbuck, 19 elephant, 5 kudu, 13 giraffe, 29 wildebeest, 1 grey heron, 1 white stork, 2 nyala, 2 yellow billed stork, 36 zebra, 36 buffalo, 8 spurrfowl, 11 lion, 3 Chacma baboons, 16 Malibu storks…..extremely good for what we thought was going to be a pretty dry day for wildlife viewing.

We decided to eat in the restaurant because it seemed chilly outside and it was still a little windy…I don’t like braiis in the wind as I am frightened a spark may be caught on the chalets thatched roofs. We both decided to have T-bone steaks because it came with vegetables…we seem to have missed out on vegetables for quite a few days….unfortunatly when it arrived we were told they hadn’t got any vegetables so it just came with chips…..hey ho we tried.

We had a couple of games of cards and retired to bed early…….no need for the aircon tonight.

South Africa Safari 2025 Day 11 The day of the Ant Hills

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We had a slow start to the day, I’d had to take an antihistamine which knocks me for six and it takes a good long sleep for my brain to catch up with my body. It’s not unusual when we are away, my delicate skin doesn’t like detergents, at home we use one for babies🤣🤣 consequently after about a week I end up itching like a baboon🤣🤣🤣hence the necessity for anti histamines….anyway that aside we have also been doing a lot of driving so we decided to take it easy.

John made lunch and elevenses – rolls..I had marmite in one and cheese and marmite in another, he opted for just cheese. We had a couple of yogurt before we set off at around 10.30 am.

We headed down the tar to the Phalaborwa gate, as we wouldn’t be doing this route at any other time. It was a slow day for game. The plains are dry with nothing to eat for grazing wildlife. This area has always been strewn with huge anthills.

Time hasn’t changed this they were everywhere old and new, large and small standing out like the Egyptian pyramids as far as the eye could see, to the horizon and probably beyond.

These termite mounds are called Macrotermes mounds or heuweltjies as the locals call them ( means little hills in Afrikaans). They are inhabited by termites which build an underground network of tunnels and nests The mounds are made of a combination of soil, termite saliva and dung. The extensive tunnels and alleyways are used to control the temperature inside the mound. The heat is pushed up through the chimney type structure. Termite mounds usually last longer than the colonies of termites themselves. The disused mounds are often used by other species of animals. The warthog is particularly partial to digging a hole in the mound and reversing in blocking the entrance with its head so it can still look out. We always keep an eye out for the elusive aardvark and the, never seen by us, pangolin, both of whom enjoy feasting on termites.

After initially sighting a pair of giraffe and some Waterbuck we clocked up a lot of kilometres before seeing anything other than ant hills.

Eventually we came across a herd of huge tuskers at a water tower quickly followed by several giraffe.

At the gate we asked security if we could use the toilet. We parked inside the park gate and walked back to the loos the other side…wow it was mayhem…coaches trying to get in, cars queuing to get in, vehicles queueing to get out….we’ve never seen an entry gate like it…there were dozens of security checking vehicles, police organising the traffic, a few very shady characters loitering around….how things change over time, this used to be a very quiet sleepy gate with little or no traffic. We quickly used the loo and returned to the car.

We took the dirt road back, with the hope of seeing a little more. We did see a few impala, two zebra and another herd of elephant. Not long after this sighting a car coming towards us flashed us so we stopped….the lady looked like an honorary ranger and if she wasn’t one she should have been…her enthusiasm in sharing her recent sighting was infectious………”Take the next left track, then take the right one then 5 kms further there are two mating lions at the side of the road…it’s quite along way 36 kms further but this road is dead” she gushed at us….we said thank you and decided to follow her instructions…..about 15 kms further on another car stopped us the young man and his lady informed us “there are two mating male lions in about 15 kms”, we thanked them and continued…when we were well out of sight of these kind youngsters we had to chuckle with each other “ I don’t think we’ve ever seen two mating male lions”🤣. Our information was very correct to the exact kilometre we came across and lion and lioness mating…. I must admit the lion was a handsome fella with a lovely mane.

Just before reaching the lions the river is very visible. On the opposite bank was the body of a dead hippo and literally dozens of different raptors feasting. It was a strange sight. I had read a face book post a couple of days ago with a picture of a hippo floating down the river with a crocodile feasting on it. I had presumed it was photoshopped, but seeing the sight ourselves, it was probably the same hippo.

We continued our drive around another gravel loop where the young couple had said they had seen 7 lionesses, but we were not that fortunate.

We returned to camp on the tar road enjoying seeing some more wildlife in particular along the riverside and on the bridge.

Our number count for today was considerably lower than on previous days…99+ impala but it took us until 5.30 pm to reach this number, 1 squirrel, 18 waterbuck, 4 crocodile, 3 lilac breasted roller, 1 grey heron, 36 elephant, 8 giraffe, 5 zebra, 11 kudu, 1 yellow billed hornbill, 2 red billed hornbill, 2 spoonbill, 2 quail, 5 Spurfowl, 1 steenbok, 1 terrapin, 2 lion, 31 Chacma baboon, 30 WBV, 3 warthog, 4 guinea fowl, ……. It was still a day full of wonderful sightings even if it wasn’t as prolific as previous days.

We finished our viewing by driving on to a nearby bridge and photographing the sunset and its reflection.

We ate in the restaurant before retiring to our chalet for a game of cards and bed.

South African Safari 2025 Day 10 – The day of the Waterbuck

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After a restless nights sleep, which involved plenty of exercise in the form of getting in and out of bed to turn on and off the air conditioning, we prepared for our journey up to Letaba. The weather was very different to yesterdays….yesterday at 11 am it was 36 degrees Celsius where as today it was only 24 degrees Celsius. Letaba camp is about 90km north of Satara. We haven’t been up this high for probably 10 years….basically because the game has been scarce and sightings were few and far between. However we had been unable to book into Satara ( our preferred area due to prolific game) for longer, as it was full. So being flexible we decided to carry on up the park. John has never been to Punda Marie neither has he stayed in Shingwedzi. It must be about 20 years since I’ve stayed in the later…although for many years prior to this Shingwedzi was my favourite camp and I knew most the staff by name. We decided to stay 2 nights in Letaba before stopping in Shingwedzi for 3 nights….I couldn’t be persuaded to stay in Punda Marie, but have agreed to drive up there so John can have a look at the area. Many years ago I had booked Punda Marie, my son was a youngster and they provided me with a mattress for him on the floor…..the mattress was so old and stained that I wouldn’t even have let my dog sleep on it…disgusting..and it has put me off staying there ever since…I am certain 30+ years later it is absolutely fine but my memories remain vivid so for us it’s a no-no.

Back to the present…we had a meagre breakfast of 2 yogurts each and set off up the tar. The terrain is very different here…wide open flat spaces of nothingness. Our first half an hour was extremely enjoyable with 99+ zebra and wilderness traversing the plains.

After this our sightings became few and far between. We saw a few families of elephants in the almost dried up waterholes the road passes by. A couple of these waterholes had a flurry of mixed sightings. One in particular had zebra, Wildebeest, kudu and impala all streaming in longlines down to and then away from the water. A lovely view.

Some of the little streams of water had waterbuck on the shallow banks.

The Waterbuck is a large antelope, it has reddish brown course fur with white around its nose and eyes and a white collar around its neck. It also has a very distinctive “follow-me” white circle on its rump…many say this looks like a toilet seat or even a target 🤣. Like many antelope the waterbuck male has horns where as the slightly smaller female does not. The waterbuck is a very strong swimmer, it uses its hollow bearded neck hair for buoyancy. Its fur releases a smelly musky oil which repels water. We have also been told on numerous occasions by game rangers that the waterbuck also releases this oil when it is frightened. The lion is its main predator but has learnt to leave it alone because the oil it releases taints its meat which makes it unpalatable.

Our trip continued along the tar. As we drew closer to Letaba we decided to take one of the gravel road loops down and along the Letaba river. We saw zebra, elephant and impala.

We stopped at the edge of the water for elevenses. We are now reduced to park purchased processed cheese on some Woolworths crackers..not too bad. We watched three waterbuck walk along in front of us…they had a youngster with them. We saw a saddle-billed stork waddle along. An enjoyable half hour break from driving.

Our total viewing for the day was 99+ impala, 99+ wildebeest, 99+ zebra, 15 giraffe, 3 warthog, 2 grey Lourie, 6 kudu, 4 hippo, 37 elephants, 28 buffalo, 17 waterbuck, 2 steenbok, 1 bateleur, 1 saddlebilled stork, 1 squirrel.

We arrived at the Letaba reception at around 11.30….. too early for check in which is 2 pm. However we did book on to the sunset drive. We went to wait until check-in at the restaurant and decided to have a toasted bacon sandwich for lunch while overlooking the river, with its many islands which appear during the dry season.

At 2 pm we picked up our chalet key. Once again the chalet was the tired old variety but as it was on the perimeter fence we overlooked the river. It had a closed in veranda, with mosquito netting and wire , which makes you feel as if you are in a cage looking out🤣. This time we had a microwave, toaster, kettle ( thank heavens…can’t wait for a coffee), and full utensils but no hotplate or sink…however there is a large tub for putting your dirty dishes in and carrying to the communal kitchen to wash up….ummmm…no! I can’t see either John or I doing that so I guess it will be the restaurant for the next two nights🤣🤣

We arrived early for the sunset drive and our name was first on the list so we got a choice of where we wanted to sit. The truck was almost completely full, but this time with people who actually wanted to game view and knew the etiquette of the bush.

Off we set with our driver and guide “Happiness” . Unfortunate her name did not deliver. We saw lots of giraffes. Several were stood in “ push-me pull-me” positions. Lots of animals do this in particular zebras and impala, it is so they each look in different directions so they can see if any predators are coming.

The 3 hour drive showed us giraffe and elephant. A rather lovely sighting was a nyala buck and 3 cows in a dried river bed. As we were nearing the end of our drive we saw a black backed jackal, however Happiness was reluctant to reverse the truck so that everyone could see it. Just before we turned in the camp gate 2 hyena appeared, but once again Happiness didn’t reverse even though most the truck were asking her to….a little disappointing…..so for the first time this trip we decided not to tip….we don’t believe in tipping when it’s not earnt or deserving.

Squirrel, kudu, Wildebeest, Buffalo and Elephant.

We headed for the restaurant and once again John had Venison pot pie and I had roasted chicken and …yes I did have a Savannah light🤣

The night saw us playing cards in the cage before an early to bed was required.

Portugal & Southern Spain Trip – Day 9 – Sunday 18th May 2025- Donana National Park – El Rocio.

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A fitful nights sleep was had in our cupboard…too hot without the aircon and too cold with it, even set to 21…. So it was a very rude awakening, having finally gone into a deep sleep around 4.30 am, when the alarm invaded my musical snoring chorus at 6.40 am….does this time really exist ….cant believe that I used to be on my way to work at this time 7+ years ago….But needs must….I quickly showered and dragged on some suitable clothing whilst cursing John for being so awake and jolly at this unearthly time!!!!!
Breakfast was hard rolls which you toast to make them even harder, with nice cheese, ham, Salami, yoghurts, fruit, cereal and some fairly decent strong black coffee. By 7.15 we were ready to go in search of the National Parks office……back along the deep sand road we’d walked the previous evening. It was only about a 10 minutes walk. We queued to get to the ticket desk where we handed over our voucher. We thought we had paid at the hotel but the really nice English speaking parks board receptionists explained we had paid €24 to the hotel for the convenience of them booking it and now we pay €54 for the actual trip….ummm we’ll see if we’ve been ripped off when the Mastercard bill arrives…but we felt this was genuine so we handed over the Euros…cash only…and we were given a ticket stating Lucia 5, and told Lucia would call us to her bus….so we waited outside with the other eager visitors.

Sure enough at 8.00 am a couple of drivers arrived and shouted out their names. They were taken to the 24 seater 4×4 high tyred buses. Then a nice young lady came and shouted Lucia and we hurried after her to another identical bus. The number on the ticket was the number you were allowed to board the bus and choose which seat you want. We selected two seats next to a sliding window which we could open, so that John could stick his camera out of it…….

Lucia gave the commentary in Italian, Spanish and, thankfully, English. She told us the town of El Rocio had 1000 residents. In June they have a religious week/ festival which involves over 1 million visitors and 100,000 horses….Wow, unimaginable. She informed us a lot about the National Park. For the first time in 15 years the heavy rains had filled the marshes and the horses and some birds had retreated into the forest section of the park because the water was so high in the marshes. We saw a heron nesting in the wooded area, which she said was unheard of. We soon came across a couple of groups of deer browsing in the forest. There seemed a lot of excitement about seeing rabbits…they evidently are the bottom of the food chain for foxes and lynx to survive. But the rabbits survival had been threatened by the eucalyptus trees which drain the moisture out of the soil and prevent the natural undergrowth, which rabbits feed on, from growing. So the eucalyptus trees had been felled with only two remaining. Their stumps were moved to another area where the dead stumps were placed as a memorial to the trees and a good breeding ground for the rabbits. Lucia pointed out many species of birds including the black kite and the many storks, herons etc.

Before continuing into the wetlands Lucia explained that farmers were allowed to graze cattle and sheep etc and that they belonged to farmers where as the horses were just wild. The horses were managed by the parks board. We continued along a causeway which the farmers had built, across the marsh land, to make access to their cattle easier.
We stopped and stretched our legs on the causeway. There were dozens of different species of birds, flamingos, ibises, little and greater egrets, several types of heron, loads of different ducks like the poacher, teal, coot, moorhen , grebes, plovers and even the endangered Marbled teal……an ornithologists’ paradise.

We continued along the track to a visitors centre. This had toilets……but take your own paper!! ….. a coffee shop and a huge glass viewing area overlooking some Lakeland. We learnt there were over 4000 nesting birds in this area alone. Lucia set up her telescope and I managed to get a picture through it of a couple of flamingos….

There were plenty more pictures taken to capture the moment

On walking back to the bus we noticed not only the vibrant flora but also a stork nesting on an electricity pylon. There was a chick in the nest.

We were just about to re-board the bus when we heard the thunder of many hooves….it was a “Round-Up” with “Gouchos “ driving them along the road….there must have been 200+ horses and 4 herdsmen. We followed them down the road and they were driven into a corral through some water. Evidently they will be divided up into different areas from there.

On our return to El Rocio Lucia told us that the cork tree was now protected, not least because the Lynx often have their cubs in holes in the cork tree because it helps regulate their temperature. She told us there were several hundred Lynx in the park…she had seen one the day before.
At the end of our 3 hour tour we went back into the office and booked the 5.00 pm tour the following day with Lucia again. It had been a splendid experience. We wandered back to our hotel along the lake shores promenade which was a lot easier than trudging through the deep sand. The square in front of the hotel was again buzzing…a hive of activity…

We had a bite of lunch …a hamburger or so it was described but a rubber frisbee would have been a more accurate description. We wandered back to our cool, quiet hotel stopping on the way to chat to a very pleasant Australian couple who had been on the same bus as us……they are visiting Kruger South Africa at the same time we are later in the year…perhaps we’ll run into them again. After siesta on the terrace and a few games of cards we went in search of an earlish evening meal. We ordered grilled chicken which came with fries….unfortunately it was very tough and my gums are struggling with all the hard food and also the lack of vegetables…but hey Ho….a huge horse rode in behind John and breathed down his neck while his well manicured very smart rider had a fantastic brought to her.

What a surreal place this is…very busy, but an experience we wouldn’t have missed for the world…. Looking forward to tomorrows venture and fingers crossed for a sighting of a Linx.