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Friday morning at 4am we were up and packing the last few things before hitting the road well before dawn. In the dark I managed to get on the wrong road to the south and we had to drive the R543 to Hendrina to get back on track. This must surely be one of the worst tarred roads in South Africa. But back on the N11 we made good time to Ermelo before three Stop/Go roadworks held us up again. Shortly after Amersfoort we turned off the highway and started our birding, working our way slowly towards Wakkerstroom. Disappointingly the area has also not yet received any rain this season and everything looked dry and dusty. We were looking especially for Denham's and Whitebellied bustards, Grey crowned cranes and Blue korhaan. A number of times we saw large birds sitting deep in the agricultural fields; without fail though, these turned out to be Spurwinged geese. But among others, we did get Southern bald ibis, Red-capped lark, South African shelduck, Plain-backed pipit and Blue korhaan before we reached Wakkerstroom. After filling up with petrol we headed south past the Zaaihoek dam and completed a circuit past Groenvlei. It was a very pretty drive despite the dry and dusty conditions and we added Ground woodpecker, Buff-streaked chat, Blue crane and Sentinel rock-thrush before we came to the track leading up to Ossewakop. With engine racing up the steep and rocky track, we made it to the top with nice views over the area. We had a spot of lunch before driving back down and into town to make a turn past the wetlands. The only exciting bird we added here was an African marsh harrier - the rest of the common ones we ticked when we drove through Wakkerstroom earlier. Just before 2pm we drove to our accommodation and spent the rest of the afternoon dozing and reading.
Surprisingly, a Fierynecked nightjar called during the night. Getting up at 05:30 we were on our way before 06:30. We made a quick turn at the wetlands to add the usual waterbirds, including a Black-crowned night heron. Then we headed east towards Piet Retief, a very pretty drive indeed. Specials along the way included Buff-streaked chat, a lone Secretarybird right next to the road, some Southern bald ibis and a good identification of Long-billed pipit. We took some of the back roads to Fickland's pan where we got Jackal buzzard, Spike-heeled lark, African pipit and Mountain wheatear. Back in Wakkerstroom we ended our birding by visiting some of the wetland hides and added Fantailed widowbird and a Malachite kingfisher. Making a last turn on the western side of the wetlands we were lucky to have a small covey of Red-winged francolin cross the road. Back at our accommodation we had a good shower before dinner and an early night.
Once again the Fierynecked nigthjar called in the night and another surprise was a Secretarybird landing about 50m from the house in the grass. We packed and cleaned, then left just before 7am. With a cold front pushing through, the wind has picked up significantly and at the wetland hides, it was rather unpleasant. Nevertheless, we were very lucky to spot a lone Lanner falcon (lifer) on a soccer pitch in town and then a little later added another Black-crowned night heron before starting back home. This time we drove the tar road to Volksrust with a fading hope of bustards and cranes. But it was not to be. Our last good sighting was a pair of Blue korhaan very near the road that Nicola spotted just as we drove past them. We turned around quickly and had good sightings before they disappeared. A quick stop at the Wonderfontein pans on the way home yielded a lone Greater flamingo among all the other regular waterbirds. A few waders could also be seen but were too far away to ID. We ended our trip with 98 birds in total and two lifers (Lanner falcon and African rock pipit).
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