Pilanesberg and Kgaswane birding, Nov 2012

Links

• List of birds

A frustrating 5-hour drive with broken-down trucks, road works, choking traffic and getting lost, finally got us to Guland Guesthouse in Rustenburg on Friday afternoon. Having only flown back from Dar-es-Salaam in the morning, I was dead tired and went to bed almost immediately.

My alarm woke us at 04:00 on Saturday morning and after a bite to eat we picked our way through the outskirts of Rustenburg, reaching Pilanesberg's Manyane gate shortly after 05:30. The sky was heavily clouded and as soon as we entered it started spitting. But we still picked up some easy birds like Rufous-naped lark, Diderick cuckoo, Chestnut-vented tit-babbler, Southern yellow-billed and African grey hornbills. Orange-breasted bush-shrike, Red-chested cuckoo, Grey-backed camaroptera and Chinspot batis were calling all over but when it started to rain more heavily we had to close our windows. Eventually it cleared a little and we had excellent views of bushveld birds like Kalahari scrub-robin, Blue waxbill, Arrow-marked babbler, Crimson-breasted shrike, Long-billed crombec and Golden-breasted bunting. Heading steadily west, we spotted our first raptor for the day, a Gabar goshawk, sitting long enough for a positive ID but just too far away for a photo.A few other common birds made it onto our list until we stopped at the shop for a quick break and cold drinks. At Mankwe dam we added a whole bunch of birds: Black-winged stilt, Marsh and Common sandpipers, Little and Great egrets, African darter, African jacana, Reed and White-breasted cormorants, Pied kingfisher, Grey and Goliath herons, African black and White-faced whistling ducks, and both African and Greater painted snipes - the painted snipe was our first for South Africa! Heading further west, the birds started to quite down as we reached a hot noon despite the morning rain. Martial and Brown snake-eagles were the only other raptors we added but a Violet-eared waxbill and Green-backed heron were very obliging for the camera. Around 15:30 we exited the park at Bakubung gate and with heavy thunderstorm clouds building, attempted to locate Yellow-throated sandgrouse at some of the locations pointed out by a local birder, Stuart Groom. Unfortunately it started raining and the light grew so bad that even if there were any sandgrouse close to the road, we probably wouldn't see them anyway. We headed back to Rustenburg, arriving just before 6pm, had dinner and got into bed, happy that we got 114 birds for the day.

A runny tummy kept me up from 1am and when we left the guesthouse shortly after 5am, we went looking for a 24-hour pharmacy at the private hospitals. Disappointed that neither of the two hospitals we visited had an open pharmacy we headed up to Kgaswane Mountain Reserve. It was a clear and cool morning but the birds were calling already and Diderick, Red-chested and Klaas's cuckoos, Rattling and Zitting cisticolas, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, Rufous-naped and Flappet larks got onto our list quickly. We had great views of Black cuckooshrike before reaching the plateau where a Jackal buzzard waited quietly in a tree. The grasslands produced Desert and Wing-snapping cisticolas, African stonechat, African wattled lapwing and Cape longclaw. At the information centre a pair of Mocking cliff-chats were very entertaining and driving through the marshy bits we thought we heard Red-chested flufftail but couldn't be sure. On our way out we stopped at the big waterfall and picked up Sentinel rock-thrush and Red-winged starling but we had a long way to drive back and started heading east for Pretoria.

Mpumalanga birding Oct 2012

Early on Saturday morning we drove up to Dullstroom with the hope of picking up a few new birds. On the approach to Verloren Valei, just outside Dulstroom we started our day and recorded a number of the regulars. At the top of the road, just inside the nature reserve, we stopped for a break and scanned the marshy bits in the distance with the scope. Nicola managed to pick out a crane in the far distance and as we watched it carefully, we were jubilant when it turned out to be a Wattled crane - our first one for South Africa! At 10am we were at the top of the road just below Die Berg and from here took a slow drive to Gustav Klingbiel Nature Reserve in Lydenburg. At the entrance to Gustav Klingbiel, a Red-throated wryneck called and just inside the reserve, a few Alpine swifts banked across the little dam. Unfortunately the tracks in the reserve are in a pretty bad state and after we struggled our way to a saddle up in the hills, we didn't fancy the even worse tracks further up. After a spot of lunch we drove out to Kingwoody Lodge where we spent the night.

Before dawn we were up and packing and noted our first Red-chested cuckoo for the season. By sunrise we had driven to the turn-off to Mount Sheba and took a very slow drive from here. The pine and gum plantations only produced Cape canary, Cape batis and Dark-capped bulbul but things picked up past the plantations. On the protea-covered upper slopes we picked up Swee waxbill, Bar-throated apalis, Cape robin-chat and Cape white-eye and as soon as we entered the forest, Knysna turaco, White-starred robin, Sombre greenbul, Greater double-collared sunbird and Olive woodpecker. We parked just below the hotel and walked down the road towards the Old Diggings and not 100m down the road, a pair of very confiding Orange ground thrushes (together with one Olive thrush) entertained us for 20 minutes. A Red-chested cuckoo sat still for a picture and we got great views of a Yellow-throated woodland warbler. Olive bish-shrike and Grey cuckooshrike were calling and on our way back to the car, we got quick but good views of a Yellow-streaked greenbul and a Lemon dove. We returned home via Verloren Valei again but things were very quiet in the middle of the day with the only interesting sighting being a pair of Secretarybirds. By 13:30 we were home and unpacking. I switched my computer on and were surprised by emails on SA Rare Bird News of a Red phalarope having been spotted on a pan just off the highway, 30km west of Belfast - a spot we drove past not 30 minutes ago! Feeling tired after two successive early mornings, I decided to take a break while Nicola did some quick shopping but then I realised I was going to regret it terribly tomorrow. When Nicola returned, we jumped back in the car and raced the 40km back to the pan (Leeuwfontein)where a few others have already gathered. We parked, simply walked over to where the others were sitting and there it was, swimming handsomely less than 10m from us! Having picked up a few other waterbirds as well, we drove home in a very happy mood. This was our third serious twitch (cheapest one by far) and we've been successful all three times! (Golden pipit, Pongola Nature Reserve, Dec 2010; Grey wagtail, Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens, Jan 2011 being the first two).

Magoebaskloof hiking and birding, Sep 2012

Links

• List of birds

Returning from a Malawi site visit late on Friday afternoon made it impossible for us to drive through to Magoebaskloof before the weekend started. Instead, we left very early on Saturday morning, arriving in Magoebaskloof around 9am. Along the N11 we added a few common birds including Southern yellow-billed, African grey and Red-billed hornbills. We decided to drive down the Forest Drive and quickly picked up Knysna turaco, Sombre greenbul, African emerald cuckoo, Cape batis, Southern double-collared sunbird and Barratt’s warbler. In one of the many shady spots we stopped and picked out calls of Olive bush-shrike, Green-backed camaroptera, Southern boubou, Yellow-fronted tinkerbird, and for the first time in Southern Africa – White-starred robin! A few other birds were also on our list by the time we exited the Forest Drive and returned to the Houtbosdorp entrance to meet up with the rest of the group at Waterfall hut. From the other side of Dap Naude dam we could see them lounging in front of the hut and we quickly drove around and joined them for lunch. Later in the afternoon other hikers arrived and this prompted us to go and park the car at Broederstroom hut (no parking available at Waterfall hut) and walk the short distance through the marshy bits above the dam. A braai fire was started in the late afternoon and after a splendid dinner we crawled into bed, a little apprehensive of the 18km walk of the next day.

Mist hanging thickly over the dam and above the forest greeted us as we woke up. With a long day’s hiking ahead of us, Nicola and I got away first, intending to do some birding along the way. Unfortunately it was cold and the few birds that were out were almost impossible to see against the bad light. We made good progress through the forest though, and Shirley, Eddie and George only caught up with us about 2km into the walk. The thick, cold fog did make for excellent walking conditions but after about two hours walking it started drizzling. Some members of the other two groups on the trail overtook us while we were bird-watching but after they stopped for a tea-break, we passed them again. About 10km into the walk my feet became annoyingly sore and I had to stop every 20-30 minutes for a short rest. However, the cold and wet kept us all on our feet most of the time and we arrived at the beautiful Dokolewa Pools hut around 1pm. Shirley had strained her back along the way and had difficulty sitting and lying down. Nicola gave her a massage after lunch but we also started discussing alternative options for the last day, including walking out on the Forest Drive rather than the normal trail. Nicola and Shirley took a slow walk up towards De Hoek hut to see where the Forest Drive ran and along the way heard Scaly-throated honeyguide and took nice pictures of a White-starred robin. Having discovered exactly where to pick up the road, they returned and after a bit more rest in the afternoon gloom, we made dinner. The still overcast sky turned dusk into night very quickly and by 18:30 we were all in bed.

We were up early again and it was quickly clear that Shirley’s back was not doing too well and she wanted to walk out on the Forest Drive. Eddie was going to go with Shirley either way and as my feet were still painful from yesterday, I decided to walk the road as well. Even though the road was a longer walk, we knew the gradient would be much easier and anticipated it taking us not longer than three hours. George wanted to stick to the trail and started out shortly after breakfast on his own. At 06:45 we were on our way too and after picking up Scaly-throated honeyguide, White-starred robin, Chorister robin-chat and Long-crested eagle, we emerged on the bottom section of the Forest Drive and started the easy walk up. Today the weather was completely clear but it was still cold in the shade and the walking extremely pleasant. As we rose higher on the slopes we added some more birds in the forests and then stopped briefly at one of the streams crossing the road. A large group of birders were actively spishing as I came around a corner in the road – I walked up softly and was very happy when a Blue-mantled crested-flycatcher appeared just at that moment. Where the normal trail crosses the road higher up, we were surprised to see George and a few of the other group just emerging from the forest. We had another short rest with them before George went up the trail again and we carried on up the road. My feet were becoming sore again but I was determined to finish in style and pushed on ahead of the others, reaching Woodbush hut shortly after 9am, having walked about 2.5 hours. Nicola, Eddie and Shirley arrived within another 10 minutes and while Shirley and Eddie had a quick shower and waited for George, Nicola and I drove off to Broederstroom hut in Shirley’s car to fetch ours. Thirty minutes later we were back and we left for a well-deserved coke in Haenertsburg.

This was Nicola's first and my fifth Magoebaskloof hike - an evergreen (literally and figuratively) trail with fond memories!

Swaziland hiking and birding, Jul 2012

Links

• List of birds seen

Leaving home just before 2pm, we made it to Oshoek border post just before 4pm. The South African side was quick but the queue on the Swaziland side took 20 minutes to clear. Finally through we drove the short distance to Malolotja National Park and arrived around 5pm. Our little cottage was neat and clean but due to some guy smashing into an electric pylon somewhere distant, without electricity. After bacon and cheese sandwiches for dinner we heard African wattled- and Black-winged lapwings calling in the early evening.

Waking at 05:30 we had sandwiches and rusks for breakfast, then drove out towards the Silotfwane viewpoint only learning afterwards that this was for 4x4s only. It was overcast, windy and stingingly cold. We started our birding with a few African pipits, Buff-streaked chats and Cape longclaws, but after only 10 minutes driving we spotted two beautiful Black-winged lapwings – having heard them yesterday for the first time, these were our first sighting of them ever! Before reaching the viewpoint we also encountered Cape rock-thrush, Jackal buzzard, Red-winged francolin and Cape grassbird. The road was indeed pretty bad and when we arrived at the viewpoint, we decided to rather hike from here instead of Logwaja as I initially planned. The hike started gently enough and a bunch of swallows overhead turned out to be Grey-rumped swallows – our first for the year. After about a kilometer the path started descending more steeply and we had to watch the overgrown patches carefully. We eventually reached the Malolotja river valley but as the track disappeared in thick undergrowth we had to do some bundu-bashing before finding the main valley path. We headed up the valley and reached Malolotja campsite quickly and took a short rest. From here we crossed the Malolotja river several times and I got a dunking at one of these as I slipped on a rock. No harm done except a bruised ego and off we went. In the forested patched we added Ashy flycatcher, Cape batis, Sombre greenbul and Bar-throated apalis. The clouds above now looked slightly more ominous than earlier and we moved on quickly. After a bit more bundu-bashing we reached Majolomba campsite and a few minutes later started the brutal ascent back to the top. The first 350m climb was very steep and loose and by the time we reached more gentle slopes I was buggered and so were my feet. I mistook an early turn-off for a later one but luckily realized the mistake after only 200m. We retraced our steps and then had to climb another 50m followed by a gentle descent before reaching the proper turn-off. At this junction a bubbling stream was a great relief as our water was getting very low. As it was also well past lunch time we took a short break and ate some crisps with ice-cold mountain water. Although not far from the car now, the slow ascent from here was just too much for my un-exercised legs and frequent cramps forced me to sit every few hundred metres to stretch out. Nicola had much more energy and went ahead to bring the car a bit closer to the trail-head where I arrived eventually. It was now 2pm and we were both very tired but with a good day’s hiking and birding done, we did not feel guilty at all returning to our cottage. The road back proved quite a challenge but after a few steep and rocky turns were negotiated, all was well and we got back by 3pm, also adding Mocking cliff-chat and Plain-backed pipit on the way. After a nice hot bath we spent the afternoon with books and tea and as dusk fell, a lonely Bokmakierie also made it onto our list.

Another early morning saw us driving some of the southern tracks of the Park under a very cold and cloudy sky. We did not add any new birds for the trip until we got back to the cottage where two White-necked ravens perched on a rooftop. We packed up quickly and left Malolotja just before 9am, driving north towards Pigg's Peak. The road from Pigg's Peak to Bulembu is horrendous and we spun tyres frequently in loose sand and dust on steep slopes. Through the border sometime after 10am we enjoyed the beautiful drive to Barberton where we ended our bird list with a lone Long-crested eagle. A few Stop/Go roadworks forced us onto the back road towards Machadodorp where we picked up the N4 and arrived safely home just after 2pm.

Marloth and KNP birding Jun 2012

Links

• List of birds 

On Friday afternoon we drove to Marloth park, arriving at our accommodation just after 6pm. Renting from a colleague of Nicola's, it was great value for money for the weekend. After hamburgers for dinner it was off to an early night's sleep as we planned on getting up at 04:30 to make it to the Crocodile Bridge at Kruger National Park at 06:00.

Nicola's mobile alarm did not go off as set and when I woke up, it was already 05:20. We quickly rushed to get everything packed and by 05:40 were on our way. We made it to the gate at about 06:15 but luckily the sun had not risen yet so we haven't lost any birding time. Unfortunately, after entering the park, we immediately discovered that the road we wanted to drive via Biyamiti bridge was closed and we had to take a long detour to get back to Malelane. But our disappointment was short-lived when we first saw two spotted hyenas investigating the tourists in front of us, and then a white rhino in the road not 500m further on. Birding was as good as you can expect from a winter's morning and we added Common scimitarbill, White-crested and Retz's helmet-shrikes, African harrier-hawk, Brown snake eagle and Brown-headed parrots among a few others before we reached the Biyamiti weir. At Afsaal we had a quick lunch before spotting a skinny-looking lioness lying in the shade not 5m from the road. On our way out we added Buffy pipit and African palm swift and on the Crocodile river bridge just after exiting the park, Giant and Pied kingfishers, Goliath heron, African jacana, Great and Little egrets, Black-winged stilt, Water thick-knee and a lone White-fronted bee-eater. Back in Marloth around 3pm we did some shopping before returning to our accommodation. At 4pm we started our braai and sized up the very tame warthog for the spit as it came grazing around the house and pool. A couple of Red-capped robin-chats and Sombre greenbul came drinking from the small water hole and Golden-tailed woodpecker and Green-backed camaroptera called from the woodland before the sun set.

This morning Nicola's alarm went off on time and just after 6am we were at the gate of Lionspruit Reserve, the game reserve forming part of Marloth park. After a quite start in the icy morning air, we located our first birding party and noted Black-backed puffback, Chinspot batis, Southern black tit, Cardinal woodpecker, Fork-tailed drongo, Emerald-spotted wood dove and Speckled mousebirds. Driving away from Frikkie's dam we saw our first Crowned hornbills for the year, harassing an African goshawk with load squaks and shortly after we were delighted with a lifer in a Stierling's wren-warbler although our sighting was cut short by another vehicle driving up and scaring the bird off. Some moist woodland in the south of the park yielded Black crake, Brown-crowned tchagra, Green-winged pytilia, Yellow-breasted apalis, Southern yellow-billed and Red-billed hornbills. We exited the reserve some time after 10pm, packed and locked up and did a quick turn next to the Crocodile river where we saw Grey tit-flycatcher and Marico sunbird before exiting Marloth and heading for home.

A very pleasant weekend out with a total of 94 bird species seen. A litte bit on the slim side, but with a lifer added, a very successful weekend indeed!

Cape Town birding Apr 2012

Flying down to Cape Town on Friday for work, we used my SAA companion ticket to fly Nicola down as well. We planned to spend some time with my and her family and also try to do our first pelagic trip on Saturday. Unfortunately we got news during the course of Friday that the pelagic trip had to be canceled for the weekend due to high winds on the sea so we decided to visit Cape Point National Park instead. My Dad accepted the invitation of joining us for the day's birding but as my Mom had already made plans for the day, she could not.

On Saturday morning we were on our way before dawn and reached Simon's Town around 06:45. A quick peek at Boulder's beach got us our first African penguins for the year and we also paid tribute to the Western Cape's most famous dog, Just Nuisance. At Cape Point NP the weather was cold, windy and miserable and most of the birds seem to appreciate this and huddled down. Orange-breasted sunbirds, Levaillant's and Grey-backed cisticolas were abundant though and with the odd Cape sugarbird and Malachite sunbird, the birding was OK as we made our way down to Cape of Good Hope. Here we added Cape cormorants, Swift terns, African sacred ibis, the ever-present Common ostriches and Red-winged starlings feeding off the sea lice scurrying around the beached kelp. At the Cape Point lighthouse we took a quick walk to the historical lighthouse and also down to the new one, ticking Cape bunting, Cape bulbul, Cape robin-chat and Bokmakierie. Further sightings included Cape spurfowl, Jackal buzzard as we drove towards Olifantsbos and then returned to exit the park. By now the wind had died down and the sun emerged from behind the clouds - it was turning into a lovely day and we felt a bit cheated about not being able to do the pelagic trip. At Kommetjie we had a quick bite to eat and although there were a number of birds in the Kom, no new ones were added for the day. Past Hout Bay we drove into some afternoon fog on our way to visit Nicola's aunt in Greenpoint. Aunt Estelle made us a yummy calzone for afternoon tea and we chatted away while reminiscing through some of our travels' pictures. We left by 5pm and made it in time for dinner back home.

Sunday morning saw us taking a quick drive up to Sir Lowry's pass to try and find Cape rockjumper. Occasional drizzle and a stiff breeze made for a very chilly walk up to the cannons on Gamtouw pass and unfortunately we dipped on the rockjumper yet again. Orange-breasted sunbirds were very vocal though and quite entertaining to watch. A pair of Rock kestrels also seem to huddle out the cold, sitting quietly on an outcrop as we made our way back to the car. After brunch with my parents we made our way to the airport for our afternoon flight back to Gauteng.

Golden Gate hiking and birding, Apr 2012

Links

• List of birds

Friday, 6 April
After spending the night at Nicola’s parentes, we left at 5am, and drove without incident through fairly heavy Easter traffic to Golden Gate. We arrived at about 10am, checked in at Reception and then drove down to the stables where we parked the car. It was a very pleasant day and with such a short walk to the hut before us, we walked slowly and birded along the way, picking up Bokmakierie, Drakensberg prinia, African red-eyed bulbul, Yellow-billed duck, Ground woodpecker, Red-winged starling and Cape rock-thrush. We arrived at the hut before noon but had an early bite to eat before snoozing the rest of the afternoon. Just before 4pm another couple showed up after completing the normal Day 1 of the Ribbok trail. An early dinner was followed by early bed.

Saturday, 7 April
We rose at 5am, had some oats, fruit and tea for breakfast, packed up all our stuff and left just before 6am. Hiding my pack with all our camping and sleeping gear in the bushes about 50m up the track, we only carried Nicola's pack with water, lunch and rain gear. As the sun started glinting off the highest rock bands of Ribbok kop, we turned off the path about 1km from the hut and started climbing up a spur leading to the Swartkop ridge. We made steady progress up the ridge and had our first rest for the day at 2265m, halfway up the spur. Nicola had carried the pack up to this point so I took over as the gradient steepened. As the ridge climbed higher we started angling off towards Snow hill and finally gained the main Swartkop ridge on the saddle just below Snow hill. It was about 09:30 so we had gained a fair amount of height but now the tricky bit started. First climbing slowly higher as we traversed the norther flanks of Snow Hill, we reached a prominent buttress between Snow hill and Ribbok kop and climbed just below its foot onto the northern flank of the saddle between the two summits. The going was tough as the slopes were steep and the grass tall, making it very difficult to see where we were walking. A short but exposed climb up a boulder got us onto the grassy slope in between the second and third rock bands – we were almost there! The gradient on the grass slope was steep and a sheer drop below made for slow and careful walking, but just after 10:30 we reached the steep gully breaking through the last two rock bands. Holding onto thorny plants and spiky grasses, we scrambled up the gully, easily at an angle greater than 50 degrees. Finally reaching the top of the fourth rock band, it was an easy scramble for the last 100m or so to finally reach the summit of Ribbok kop (2829m) at 11:15. Wow! What a view from the top! The entire Golden Gate and eastern Free State ranges to the north, the Caledon valley, Drakensberg and Malutis to the South, and my nemesis conquered after at least 5 attempts – it was fantastic to be up there! But we had a very long way to go still, so after 15 minutes rest, a few mouths full of Game, an apple and half a tomato each, we left. The climb down the gully was tough but we climbed down steadily and soon broke through the bottom rock band. There was still some tough down climbing on the steep upper slopes until we reached the main ridge leading down into the valley where the Ribbok Trail’s path ran. At about 2pm we finally reached the path and much easier walking, but by now the legs and feet were sore so we kept a moderate pace until we reached the hut and our hidden bag some time after 3pm. A large group of hikers had arrived to occupy the hut so we stayed just long enough for a quick splash of water in the face, saddled the bags and then walked out the 3km back to the stables. At 16:30 we were back, drove up to Reception and booked a campsite for the night. We decided not to waste time with the tent and just slept in the car after beetroot, Salticrax and tea for dinner.

Sunday, 8 April
A few drops of rain roused us from our sleep and since dawn had already begun, we quickly packed up the car and did some birding on the way out to Harrismith. It was blustery with heavy cloud moving in so few birds were around. Even so, Long-tailed widow, Drakensberg prinia, Cape rock-thrush, Ground woodpecker, a lone Black harrier, Grey crowned crane and Southern bald ibis were all seen before we left the park. In Harrismith we had a quick Wimpy breakfast before birding the lark and crane circuits, picking up a few common birds but also African snipe, Botha's and Spike-heeled larks, Black heron and a whole field full of Blue cranes. Around 2pm we checked into our accommodation and spent the remainder of the day trying to move as little as possible - the muscles have stiffened up nicely and walking was a painful affair.

Monday, 9 April
Hoping to miss most of the Easter traffic, we left before 7am and drove comfortably and without problems back home, first collecting Nicola's cats at her parents and then arriving back in Middelburg at noon.

It's been more than 10 years since I first saw Ribbok kop and thought it would be magnificent to climb. Several attempts have been thwarted by weather, illness and laziness, but now, finally, I've done it! And what a great peak to do, with a 360 view all around, unbelievably good weather, and Nicola making it to the top as well - a truly memorable day in the mountains!

Cameroon birding and hiking, Mar 2012

Links

• List of birds for the trip (you can filter per day or per location)
• List of lifers (one tab for each of us)

Our 2-week trip to Cameroon was arranged by Benjamin Jayin Jomi, Benji for short, (Website: www.bipahetcig.webs.com, E-mail: benjijayin@yahoo.com), a local guide we met through the Birding Pal website. I've made use of local guides in South Africa and elsewhere in the world before but never before had the services of such a wonderfully professional, well-prepared, friendly and accommodating guide. Throughout our 2-week trip he was extremely helpful, catered to our whims and fancies, had back-up plans in place for any eventuality (some of which came our way), is excellent company and a fantastic ambassador for Cameroon. It was difficult saying goodbye to him at the end of our trip and if ever you want to visit Cameroon, we highly recommend his services. Not only can he arrange birding, cultural and adventure tours throughout Cameroon, but also the climbing of Mt Cameroon and birding tours to neighbouring countries, including Sao Tome and Principe. Benji, I hope our paths will cross again soon.

Cameroon is hot and humid as a true tropical country should be, but as a couple used to the cooler highveld air above 1500m in South Africa, these conditions were very testing to us. There are large areas of primary rainforest and its here that the birdlife really excel. However, apart from a few protected areas, the rainforest seems to be restricted to the lesser accessible hilly and steep areas – vast swathes of palm oil, banana, plantain and rubber tree plantations encroach on the natural vegetation and who knows how long the rainforest, and the birds along with it, will be able to survive. The people of Cameroon are very friendly and we were heartily welcomed wherever we went. Life here seems as hard as it is elsewhere in Africa with access to electricity, water and sanitation very primitive in places but the Cameroonians seem proud and optimistic nevertheless. Lack of infrastructure of a Western standard once you’re outside major towns means that roads are not always passable and may force you to change plans, as we had to do. However, the roads in the cities are surprisingly good and not nearly as busy and congested as I’ve experienced elsewhere in Africa. We spent 14 days in Cameroon, identified 210 species of birds, of which 127 were lifers for me and 144 for Nicola. Due to time constraints we didn’t visit the Bamenda highlands, one of the key endemic hotspots in Cameroon – this will have to wait for another visit. We also dipped on the Mt Kupe bush-shrike as washed-out roads prevented us to get to Kodmin, as well as the Red-necked picathartes in Korup National Park – stakeouts close to their nests are reasonably reliable when it rains but since we had almost no rain during our entire trip, our efforts didn’t pay off this time. Another highlight for us was summiting Mt Cameroon on my birthday. At 4090m it was Nicola’s first 4000m summit and one I’ve been dreaming off for a long time. Here’s a brief day-by-day account of our trip:

Saturday, 10 March
After an hour stop at Libreville’s airport, we hopped over to Douala and just before 9pm, walked off the plane into a wall of humidity as thick as syrup. Immigration was fairly quick but then we waited nervously for quite a while before our bags showed up. We got waved through customs and shortly after exiting the terminal building, spotted Benji holding up the “Birdingpal Cameroon” board. Wading through the populace we reached our taxi and had a short drive to our hotel – Foyer du Marin – helping on the way to push our stalled taxi into life again. Benji helped us to check in and then we sat down to a light dinner while Benji explained the next morning’s itinerary. With our room cooled down significantly by the aircon, we were able to flop into bed and fall asleep almost instantly.

Sunday, 11 Mar 2012
Up just after 5am, I took some of our luggage downstairs while Nicola decided to rather fall down the stairs with her share of it. Benji picked us up at 6am but before we left we added our first few Cameroonian birds: Woodland kingfisher, Senegal coucal, African thrush, Brown-throated wattle-eye and a few other common ones. On our way to Edea we stopped at a small marshy dam for Hartlaub’s duck. After hearing a Chattering cisticola while watching from the road, we walked down towards the pond's shore and our noise scared up two of these very pretty ducks. Adding African pygmy goose, African jacana, a flock of Grey parrots, Grey-headed nigrita and some Mona monkeys we drove to Edea where we had a late breakfast of cheese omelettes, lovely bread rolls and a juicy pineapple quarter each. Driving up the Sanaga river we stopped at a huge sandbank where we saw African skimmers in the distance, two Grey pratincoles and just before we carried on, Yellow wagtail. We entered a plantation of rubber trees and drove past Lake Ossa. Little bee-eaters were all over and later we did see a few White-throated bee-eaters as well but unfortunately, the Black bee-eaters we were targeting here, didn’t show. On our way back to Edea we did however add a White-throated blue swallow and Spotted greenbul. Now a long drive ensued: first back to Douala where we hit some traffic, picked up lunch and food for the next couple of days and then onto Loum. From here we started climbing up the foothills of Mt Kupe and on the forested slopes we saw many Orange-cheeked waxbills, a Whinchat and Grey-headed kingfisher. A flash of red flying across the road was obviously a turaco but unfortunately it disappeared before we could ID it. Arriving in Nyasoso at 6pm, we stopped to look at the Mackinnon’s shrike Nicola spotted and then stopped at a neat little guesthouse with Mt Kupe looming in the dusk behind it. We both had refreshing cold showers and then sat down to proper Cameroonian cuisine for dinner. Off to bed by 9pm.

Monday, 12 March
We were up before 6am, breakfasted, and then headed off to Mt Kupe with our guide Albert, a local who had trained himself in the birds of the area as a profession. Benji was to catch up with us later but we had barely made it to the school by the time he joined us; our frequent stops for birds meant we had made little progress. However the stops were well worth it and we marked off lifers like White-chinned prinia, Forest swallow, African blue flycatcher (what a truly beautiful little bird this is!) and Black-crowned waxbill. The lifers continued as we wondered through the fantastic forests of Mt Kupe: Green and Yellow-billed turacos, Yellow-spotted, Naked-faced and Yellow-billed barbets, Speckled, Yellow-throated, Red-rumped and Western tinkerbirds, Yellow-bellied wattle-eye and Yellow-footed flycatcher to name but a few. The forests were full of midges, flies and mosquitoes, all of which demanded blood sacrifices. We looked like we had come down with the measles within a few hours! We stopped for lunch at the overnight campsite for those who intended climbing the peak, and then soon afterwards started heading back down. New sightings and lifers continued all the way into town, but of particular interest were a stunning Black-faced rufous warbler who responded well to our calls and came to sit less than 3m from us, and then later, a Many-coloured bush-shrike, also responding to calls and giving brilliant views of its colourful plumage. By this time we were tired though, half mad from the constant itch of insect bites and were eager to get home and take our shoes off. Back down, we watched a chicken sacrifice her life to become our dinner, and soon after eating her, climbed into bed.

Tuesday, 13 March
With the road to Kodmin being basically washed out, Benji decided to head back down Mt Kupe towards Kumba before going to Mundemba. We had breakfast just after 6am and by 06:30 were on our way. After driving through Nyasoso town, we got out and walked, quickly picking up many of the now standard forest birds. Our first lifers for the day were fleeting glimpses of Western bluebill and Chestnut-flanked sparrowhawk. After walking a good 2-3km, we’ve also added our first ever sighting of African emerald cuckoo (having only ever heard it), Tambourine dove, Splendid glossy starling and a real special sighting: Black bee-eater. We also added Mountain saw-wing and Black-and-white mannikin before we got to the next town but by now the little midges that plagued us so yesterday were at it again and we were quite happy to get into the car and drive on. As we descended gradually we could feel the air getting thicker outside the car and the air-conditioner was very pleasant. Despite being lulled into sleep by the rocking of the car over the undulating road, we added more birds before we reached Kumba: Double-toothed barbet, Red-necked buzzard, Whinchat and African harrier-hawk to name a few. In Kumba, Benji helped to sign us into a hotel that almost didn’t have place for us due to a huge cycling race going through the city. The last room left turned out to be a sizable suite although it took some time to get the air-conditioners working. After fish and chips for lunch, we had a bit of a rest before heading to Barombi Mbo crater lake for some afternoon birding. Unfortunately it seemed that most birds were trying to hide from the oppressive heat and after walking a quarter of the way around the lake, we had only added one lifer: Bates’s sunbird. We were back at the hotel just before 7pm, discovered that our air-conditioners weren’t working so we knew we were in for a hot night. Moving some hot air around with the fans helped marginally, but after dinner we had to lie still under the fans for quite a while before being able to sleep.

Wednesday, 14 March
With a long drive ahead of us and no serious planned birding, we had a late breakfast and after Benji picked us up at 07:30, drove through to Ekondo Titi. On the way our vehicle’s exhaust started to sound distinctly edgy and in Ekondo Titi we pulled into the local mechanic's yard to get it fixed. After some checking under the car, it became apparent that it was going to be a fairly substantial job on the manifold and since there weren’t any car lifts or pits, a bunch of us promptly lifted the one side of the car and propped it up with an old car axle. This method squashed the tyre off the right front wheel rim and it was now obvious we’d have to get the tyre pumped as well before we’d be able to go anywhere. Four hours later, after lots of welding, fiddling, fitting and sawing, the manifold was “fixed” and the tyre pumped back up. In the mean time we had some lunch in a local eatery and just after 2pm, we were back on the road towards Mundemba. Luckily the road was in slightly better condition than a week earlier when Benji passed through here and we arrived in Mundemba just before 5pm. Throughout the day we spotted a few of the usual birds as we drove but did manage to get one lifer at the bridge just before we reached Mundemba: Preuss’s cliff swallow. After settling into a hot room (air-conditioner wasn’t working) we went for a short walk and saw some Yellow wagtails and Black-and-white mannikins but nothing new. At 7pm we had a really nice chicken, sauce and plantain dinner before heading to bed.

Thursday, 15 March
After a slightly later than planned breakfast, we picked up a guide for Korup National Park. The 10km to Mana footbridge was in pretty bad state and it took us almost an hour to get there. Two porters were enlisted to carry our camping gear, food and water while we (including Benji and Prince, our guide) looked for new birds. Korup National Park is on the border with Nigeria and consists mainly of primary rain forest. It’s barely 100m above sea level and we were pouring sweat before we crossed the 120m Mana footbridge. Our first find was a White-crested hornbill flying over the forest canopy and in the next hour we also added Chestnut wattle-eye, Blue malkoha, Blue-billed malimbe, White-spotted flufftail and Icterine greenbul. The walk in the forest was flat and easy but the ridiculously high humidity made things very uncomfortable. We sat at a small stream for some lunch and afterwards walked another 2 hours or so before reaching Rengo camp in a small clearing. In this time we added Yellow-casqued, White-thighed and Black-casqued hornbills, Forest robin, Lesser bristlebill, Red-vented and Crested malimbes, Yellow-browed camaroptera, White-throated, Eastern bearded, Red-tailed and Sjostedt’s greenbuls, Blue cuckooshrike, Pale-breasted illadopsis, White-tailed ant-thrush, Fire-crested and Brown-chested alethes, and a nice special: Fraser’s forest flycatcher. Rengo camp was littered with tents from a Rockjumper tour group but there was enough space for our and Benji’s tents. The heat was stifling though and we tried to do as little as possible for the next hour. At 4pm we walked to the Picathartes knoll about 1.5km away. Walking the last 100m almost on tiptoe, we discovered the Rockjumper people already in place, hoping for the Picathartes to show up. We quietly sat down to wait but when dusk fell, it was obviously not coming back while we were there, so we all left to walk back to camp in the dark. I was feeling quite sore after the day’s walk-stop-walk routine and took a rest while Nicola helped Benji with dinner. We immediately climbed into the tent thereafter and tried to limit the amount of sweat pooling on our bodies.

Friday, 16 March
The morning was about a half degree cooler than the previous afternoon so the sweat started running over our already sticky bodies the moment we got out of the tent. We had a quick breakfast and then decided to do some short walks around the camp. Just as the Rockjumper group left the campsite, a Lyre-tailed honeyguide flew over while calling and when a Red-billed dwarf hornbill came to sit in a tree right above us, we already had two lifers for the day. About 200m from the campsite we heard and then tried to call Blue cuckooshrike and Bare-faced trogon – unfortunately neither seemed very interested in the recorded calls. After some considerable effort by Prince and Benji, scrambling and running in the forest undergrowth, locating the call, we were really happy to see a little Sjostedt’s owlet. We made our way towards Bat cave, an interesting couple of large boulders forming huge overhangs, tree and scrub roots forming curtains around the edges and hundreds of bats eerily flitting around us. Prince showed us a Picathartes nest, built from mud and moss, precariously clinging to an acute angle of one of the boulders. Deciding to return to this nest in the evening, rather than the Picathartes knoll, we walked on, picking up further lifers: Speckled tinkerbird, Blue-breasted kingfisher, Fraser’s sunbird, Yellow-crested woodpecker, Blackcap illadopsis, Golden greenbul and Shining blue kingfisher. After lunch at the campsite, we tried to cool off a bit in the small stream but it lasted for as long as you were in the water. Then it was back to sweat and bug repellent. Just after 15:30 we slowly made our way towards Bat cave. While Benji waited at a junction, we quietly made our way to the site, found comfortable spots and proceeded to wait. We probably waited for about an hour and a half; although Prince was sure he heard the Picathartes calling, we didn’t see anything and just before it became completely dark, we made our way back to the camp again. Another very uncomfortable night was spent in the tent and although the birding was good in the forest, we were looking forward to getting back to a cold shower and clean clothes.

Saturday, 17 March
While Benji boiled water for breakfast, we quickly packed up our camping gear and by 07:30 we started the walk out. With a long drive waiting for us, we couldn’t spend too much time birding and the only lifer we added was a Hairy-breasted barbet. Just before 10am we were back at Mana footbridge but unfortunately we beat the porters to the bridge and had to wait another 30 minutes or so before they showed up. We drove back over the terrible road to Mundemba and then had a really nice cold shower before starting the drive to Buea around noon. We stopped in Ekondo Titi for lunch and eventually reached Buea just after 6pm. Benji had reserved a really nice hotel for us and while Nicola started sorting out some of our gear, Benji and I went to find food and water for our climb up Mt Cameroon. Back at the hotel we discovered that our dirty clothes had developed an odour able to repel flies and we decided to try and hang them out to air a bit during the night. After a delightful dinner of pepper steak, chips and coke, we packed our bags, ready for the Mt Cameroon climb, then went to bed.

Sunday, 18 March
Benji arrived while we had an early breakfast and immediately after, we drove a short distance to the start of the climb. We were quite happy to pass our two backpacks off to two porters and carry only water, rain gear and birding equipment. Starting at about 1000m above sea level, it was already cooler than the lowlands and a much more comfortable temperature to walk in. Our aim was to bird-watch on the lower forested slopes and then move a bit faster once we reach the grasslands above 2000m. Our first lifer in the forest was a very pretty Mountain robin-chat, soon followed by Western mountain greenbul and the very endemic and striking Yellow-breasted boubou. As we slowly ascended along with quite a few other people, we added African hill babbler, Shelley’s oliveback, Dusky crested flycatcher, Black-billed weaver and Elliot’s woodpecker before arriving at the first hut at about 1850m. We had some lunch and water and then around 12:45, started climbing higher. Just before exiting the forest, we were very happy when Benji located the Mt Cameroon speirops for us. The grassy slopes above the treeline quickly became quite steep and our interest in the birdlife waned as our heart and breathing rates increased. We did see two Grey kestrels chasing one another but with a long climb ahead, we soon concentrated mainly on putting one foot in front of the other. We climbed past an intermediate hut at about 2250m and then aimed for a lone tree high above us. We reached the tree (around 2600m) sometime after 3pm and Benji supplied us with a very welcome sweet roll, boiled egg and apple. Then it was back to the slog and finally we reached Hut 2 at 2850m just after 5pm. The refreshing wind we had on the lower slopes had by now strengthened and become decidedly colder, probably reaching 50-60km/h. We were told that this wind blows permanently and considering the volcano’s location right on the Atlantic coast, it’s quite understandable. A group of three Germans were also doing the climb and while Nicola and I helped to fix one of their stoves, Benji cooked us dinner. After dinner we spread our sleeping gear on a waist-high sleeping platform and tried to get some sleep amid the blustery wind and rattling rafters.

Monday, 19 March
Summit day! Birthday! We rose before dawn, packed and ate breakfast in the dark, then left into the strong and cold wind around 06:30. In the first hour we climbed over 300m and by the time we sat down for our 3rd rest, we were over 3500m. Neither of us slept well the previous night but Nicola felt the exhaustion a bit more than I did. But we slowly climbed on and by 10:30 we reached Hut 3 at 3770m. By now it was decidedly cold, despite the hazy sun outside. Nicola was very tired, but after a cup of hot tea offered by our German co-climbers whose stove we fixed the night before, and a quick bite to eat, she felt ready to carry on. Benji was a little short of breath and decided to rather skirt around the summit with the porters to the lunch spot on the other side while we carried on. With Nicola in front, we slowly but steadily tackled the last 300m ascent. By now there was little vegetation to hold the volcanic dust together and we were very sorry we left our sunglasses at the bottom, since the persistent wind kept a large portion of the sand air-borne. As we approached the final summit dome the wind increased to close to 100km/h and walking became treacherous. Then at last, at 12:15 we stepped onto the summit of Mt Cameroon, at 4090m, the highest point in West Africa. What a birthday present for me! And Nicola’s first 4000m peak to boot! Unfortunately it was not a pleasant place to linger and after a few pictures we made our way down. One of the porters had accompanied us to ensure we take the right path but it wasn’t hard to follow the tracks down the volcanic slopes. The howling wind was another matter: it blew Nicola over twice as she tried to descend and we both had to stop literally every 20-30 seconds to try and rub out the dust blown into our eyes. But at least the descent is much quicker and we reached the edge of the crater just after 1pm. Here Benji and the other porters were waiting for us and we had a quick bite to eat before moving on. During the next two hours we climbed up, over and through the mercilessly convoluted crater bed, strewn with old lava boulders, rocks and pebbles in fantastic formations, all covered by eerily grey lichens and moss. It was desolate and pretty but very tough going, especially since the wind had still not let up, and was occasionally accompanied by light rainfall. Finally we reached some easier grass fields reminiscent of the Drakensberg plateau and we were able to speed up a bit. Just before 5pm we reached the site of the 2009 eruptions, a small but deep crater surrounded by barren black dunes of volcanic sand, dust, pumus and ash. Walking over this was easy on the feet and knees, but we kicked up even more dust to scratch our eyes. Finally, just before 6pm, we reached the treeline and soon stood at the Mann spring campsite. We had covered 18km, ascended 1250m and descended 1800m. We were tired to the bone. The porters helped to quickly set up our tent and we then helped Benji to cook dinner with rice, sardines, palm oil and canned chicken loaf. We wolfed down our dinner and then collapsed in the tent.

Tuesday, 20 March
We got up as the darkness faded and immediately after breakfast, scrambled through some thickly vegetated forest slopes to grass fields where we walked for the next two hours. We were now birding again and we picked up two lifers, Grey apalis and Cameroon pipit before we reached and descended into the forest. Unfortunately we didn’t have the nice open path we had on the first day and it was tough-going over hidden rocks and tree roots descending quite steeply at times and climbing short sections over ridges. We did see the Mt Cameroon speirops again but didn’t add anything new until we reached the farmlands above Bokwango where we picked up a Red-faced crimsonwing and Oriole finch. The 13km of tough forest walking on top of the previous day’s exertion, resulted in extremely sore and tired feet and muscles. We eventually wobbled into Bokwango after 1pm sometime and gulped down a warm coke before Ernest arrived to collect us for the short drive to Limbe. In Limbe Benji checked us into the Miramar Park hotel, right on the ocean front, looking onto a handful of islands in the Bay of Ambas and an offshore oil rig. We collapsed in our bungalow in an air-conditioned stupor for the rest of the afternoon and only emerged briefly for dinner.

Wednesday, 21 March
After breakfast we discussed our options for the last few days with Benji. We decided to have a rest day and get some other things done as neither of us fancied the idea of walking much. First we visited Benji’s handcrafts shop in the Limbe Botanical Gardens where we bought a few masks for our collection, a small shadow statue and brass figurines. Benji then took us to find a laundromat where we dropped off a bag full of very smelly clothing. A quick visit to shop for some drinks was followed by lunch, where we picked up a lifer of the Western reef egret feeding on the rocky shoreline below our restaurant, and then back to the hotel for a restful afternoon. At 4pm we had a quick dip in the hotel’s swimming pool before dinner and then off to bed.

Thursday, 22 March
Benji picked us up from the hotel just after breakfast and we walked over to the Limbe Botanical Gardens behind our hotel. After adding a few common birds around the lower end of the garden, we approached some flowery trees with a number of sunbirds including Olive-bellied, Green-headed and Reichenbach’s. After carefully watching all of them, Benji finally picked out a Green-throated sunbird and we got fair views of it before we moved on. It was very hot and humid and as we were just behind the ocean cliffs we couldn’t even enjoy the sea breeze. Benji walked us over to a cage where Grey parrots confiscated from illegal traders were being rehabilitated for release back into the wild. On the way, two Cassin’s flycatchers sat beautifully perched, one on a low branch, the other on a twig sticking out from the middle of the Limbe river. Resting at the top of a short uphill section, Benji spotted something that looked like a Shrike flycatcher but when it didn’t respond to the call playback, he tried the call of the Red-eyed (Black-shouldered) puffback – and it promptly appeared! We had fantastic views of the male and a few minutes later the female also showed up. We returned to the entrance of the gardens and then went for lunch at the municipal restaurant, overlooking the almost black sand of Down Beach. On a pier running into the ocean we saw our first Grey heron and Common greenshank for the trip before returning to the hotel for an afternoon rest. At 4pm we first drove to the pier again where a pair of Royal terns got added, then drove up a hill towards the northwest and picked up a Maxwell’s black and Slender-billed weavers. Back through Limbe and out the other side, we stopped at the dirt road towards Bimbia and took a short walk up the road. A Lizard buzzard, lots of Village weavers, African harrier-hawk, Red-breasted swallow and Little bee-eater were added, but no new lifers. With the sun setting fast we made a last quick stop at the pier on the way back to the hotel to add a whole bunch of Whimbrels and to Benji’s great surprise, four African sacred ibis. This was only the third time he’s ever seen it! Dinner was chicken and chips at the hotel, before we enjoyed the cool comfort of our room for the rest of the night.

Friday, 23 March
Our breakfast was late this morning because the hotel staff couldn't find any bread. Eventually they discovered some and soon after we got picked up by Ernest and Benji. We drove out to the Mile 6 beach and got out at the entrance road, walking the few hundred metres to the beach while birding the scrub and farmland along the way. We heard and saw quite a few of the common birds but also got another glimpse of a Western bluebill and nice sightings of African blue and Rufous-vented flycatchers. We reached the black beach and walking towards an abandoned building, added a Pied kingfisher (sitting on the beach), Reichenbach's and Green-headed sunbirds and in the reeds surrounding a little pond, heard a Little rush warbler. The pond was disappointingly quiet but there were a couple of Reed cormorants, African jacana and a Blue-headed coucal calling in the distance. On our way out from the beach we picked up a Long-billed pipit and then turned west so Benji could show us where the 1999 lava flow halted, just a few metres short of the ocean. We scrambled over some rickety steps up the side but unfortunately the rich volcanic dust has given life to so many plants already that you can barely notice the actual flow from the top. We drove further west to a port town from where small boats leave for Nigeria and some old German palm oil factory ruins stood. It was an interesting drive out and very pleasant in the air-conditioned car. Back towards Limbe we turned onto a side road and got out when the car couldn't go any further on the road-turned-donga. Walking almost a kilometre up the gentle slopes below Mt Etinde (subsidiary peak of Mt Cameroon) we picked up a few nice birds like Grey-crowned nigrita, Black-crowned and Orange-cheeked waxbills, Slender-billed weaver, African pygmy kingfisher and Simple greenbul. Threatening clouds turned us around but it started pelting down just before we were back at the car. Benji dropped us off at the Hotspot restaurant for lunch and we spent the afternoon cooling down at the hotel before dinner and bed.

Saturday, 24 March
One of the few mornings we didn't wake early to an alarm - we slept late and had breakfast only just before 9am. We spent the rest of the morning carefully packing up and making sure we got everything into the luggage. At noon Benji and Ernest fetched us for the 2-hour drive to Douala. Already feeling sad to be on our way back, Benji dropped us off at Foyer du Marin for lunch while he and Ernest went to check into their night's accommodation - they were collecting a new set of clients from the airport that night and would be starting a new tour the next morning. Benji came back around 4pm and we chatted for the next hour before leaving for the airport. Nicola and I both felt quite emotional saying goodbye to Benji, who has become a real friend over the past two weeks, showing us Cameroon's fantastic birdlife, sharing our sweaty experiences in Korup and our sore feet on Mt Cameroon. We checked in and managed to get into the MTN business lounge to spend the next 2 hours under a merciful air-conditioner before boarding our plane back home.

Drakensberg (Amphitheatre) hiking and birding, Feb 2012

Links

• List of birds

After picking Nicola up from work, we drove without incident down to Phuthaditjaba, arriving at Sentinel car park around 19:30. The hut was virtually fully booked so we decided to sleep in the back of the car.

Day 1 (25 Feb): After a reasonable night, we woke to clear skies. With breakfast over, we signed the mountain register, packed our bags and took a slow walk up the zig-zags. Resting on top of the zig-zags we saw Bearded vultures and Alpine swifts and while on the contour path, two Verreaux’s eagles flew across the face of Sentinel. Shortly before Sentinel cave, a confiding female Drakensberg rockjumper sat still for a few pictures. We dropped our packs in Sentinel cave and packed a daypack with snacks, water and rain gear before we set off to the chain ladders. Past the chain ladders we still had sunny weather but clouds were building up on the Amphitheatre. Across the Tugela bowl we spotted some pipits and after some careful scrutiny of the habitat and habits, we concluded it can only be Mountain pipit. We climbed slowly but steadily towards the summit of Mont-aux-Sources, adding Greater kestrel, White-necked raven and Cape vulture as well. Finally we reached the summit cairn around 11:30 and had a quick rest and some snacks before setting back down in the gathering clouds. Low in the Tugela bowl we spotted a very streaky canary-looking bird that we later easily identified as a female Drakensberg siskin – lifer number 3 for the trip! Back down the chain ladders we arrived in Sentinel cave just before 2pm, made some Game and settled into our sleeping bags for an afternoon rest. Barely 15 minutes after we arrived, it started raining and we were very glad to be warm and dry! Dinner was done early and we sat down to watch the fading light with a cup of tea, before going to bed.

Day 2 (26 Feb): A quick breakfast and fast packing saw us on the move by 06:30. It was an easy walk down to the car and we arrived back before 8am. On the way back home, disaster struck when I got sideswiped by a taxi in Phutaditjaba. Luckily there was a police station right around the corner but it still took an hour to make the accident report and get all the driver's details. Back on the road we stopped in Harrismith to get some marsala chips and eventually got home before 3pm.

An enjoyable weekend with both our hiking and birding targets met!

Oom Paul's hiking trail, Feb 2012

Nicola had her left elbow cubital tunnel syndrome operation on Tuesday and was still in heavy bandages by the weekend. Consequently she decided to stay home, while I joined the Eddie, George and Brian for the weekend hike. I left around 14:30 and drove leisurely, arriving just after 4pm. The others had just arrived as well and with dark clouds looming, we made a fire inside for our braai and after dinner, headed straight for bed.

Day 1 (18 Feb): Despite heavy fog and cloud around, we were up early and left shortly after breakfast. The footpath was cut open through the tall grass and reasonably well-marked but when it ran through a rocky patch, we temporarily lost it. Back on the path we followed the markers until we reached Candlewood huts. We were confused by the legion of trail and hut names and the obvious discrepancies between the map and reality but since we all knew the area quite well, we soon agreed on where to go and followed the track down to the bottom of Bride’s Leap waterfall, the second highest in Mpumalanga and the one I abseiled a few years ago. Down in the forest it was cool but still humid and the sweat poured from us. The path twisted through the trees until eventually we started climbing up towards Bermanzi hut, just as another group of hikers came from the opposite direction. George and I had pulled away from Eddie and Brian at this point but soon George also pulled away from me. I took it slowly up the steep slopes but when I finally reached the rock cracks at the top, my right leg started cramping. Soon though I was at the Stables hut and able to rest. Eddie and Brian arrived almost an hour later and after lunch we spent the afternoon chasing the hordes of flies around the hut. After a few drips of rain we decided to make a fire quickly as we didn’t have an inside braai at this hut. We had just enough time to warm up our meat before the rain came down. After some dinner and tea it was into bed.


Day 2 (19 Feb): It rained some more during the night and we woke to rolling fog and cloud. But the temperature was very comfortable and we set out in shorts and T-shirt, ready for crossing the valley. Down the valley we went and back into the forest. Our path diverged from the previous day’s walk and George and I pulled away on the uphill. Through the forest we climbed steadily but it was tough-going in places with low tree branches and slippery rocks. Halfway up the hill we waited for Brian and Eddie to catch up and as soon as they did, it started raining. We covered our packs and put on jackets or ponchos and then climbed on. George and I took the lead again and soon reached the top of the first cliffs. From here the path’s gradient eased and we had a short breather before steadily moving on. The path wound up the mountain through very pretty rock formations and scenery but soon it was obvious that they (the owners) wanted to show us every single rock on the mountain. As the path circled into cracks and around trees making about turns every so often and we got more and more irritated until finally we were fed-up with the path. I was further disappointed when the path never reached the trig beacon I was hoping to summit. With the heavy fog around, we could rarely see for more than 50m so we wouldn’t even know where to begin looking for it. Eventually we got through the top of the mountain and walked through upland grass to another gully. Cruelly the path went down into the gully and up the other side instead of skirting around. I reached the hut shortly before George and quickly got rid of all the wet clothes and shoes. Realizing it was going to be a long time before Eddie and Brian arrived, I said goodbye to George and was on my way.

All things considered it was a good hike and the rock formations at the top of the mountain on Day 2 was certainly worth walking through. Unfortunately the owners don’t seem to have any idea about goal-oriented hiking and the endless circles we traced on top was just plain irritating.

Kaapschehoop birding and hiking, Jan 2012

Links

• List of birds

We were up by 03:15 and driving by 03:45, arriving in Kaapschehoop at about 6am. We parked the car in front of a guesthouse and then started the stroll towards the escarpment. Walking through bizarre rock formations we quickly added excellent birds like Cape rock-thrush, Buff-streaked chat, Swee waxbill, Wailing and Wing-snapping cisticolas. The short walk leads to a ranger station with a stunning view towards Komatipoort, Barberton and Swaziland. Through the rising early morning mist we saw Alpine and African black swifts and heard African emerald cuckoo, Sombre greenbul and Purple-crested turaco, but the raptors let us a bit down. Back in the hamlet we slowly walked past residents starting their early Saturday morning and picked up Amethyst and Greater double-collared sunbirds. Just beyond the hamlet limits, walking towards the Kaapsehoop hiking hut, we saw our first lifer: Drakensberg prinia. A short break at the hut allowed us to spot a confiding Olive bush-shrike and then shortly thereafter, on the way back to the village, we added our second lifer: Brown-backed honeybird. After getting a permit for Battery creek waterfall we took the short but steep and slippery walk through indigenous forest. Although visible from the road, the waterfall's much more impressive when you stand underneath it but the noise does mean you can barely hear one another talk, let alone bird calls. Back out to the top we did get a brief glimpse of a Chorister robin but not much else. Feeling tired from our early morning drive, we checked into Hippo Pools guesthouse and got a fantastic loft unit with kitchenette, bathroom, 2 bedrooms, lounge - all for just R200 pp! After an afternoon nap we headed back down to Battery Creek to try and lure White-starred robin out, but only got Yellow-fronted tinkerbird. There was enough time to take another walk to the escarpment edge but again the raptors failed us and we only spotted a lone Yellow-billed kite. After a canned dinner relaxing in front of the TV, we headed for bed early.

Expecting our bird guide, Enos, at 6am, we were up at 5am and ready just before 6am. Enos showed up exactly on time, having already walked 7km from his lodgings. Walking towards the Blue Swallow Heritage Site we ticked off all the regulars we also saw Yellow-fronted canary, Yellow bishop, African pipit, Red-winged francolin and African olive pigeon before reaching the forest. Enos said the Blue swallows haven't been back in the last 2 seasons so we decided to rather spend time in the forest. African emerald cuckoo called early on and Barratt's warblers were quite common in the scrub. An Olive woodpecker made a brief showing before we reached areas where we tried to call Bush blackcap, Orange ground thrush and White-starred robin. After two unsuccessful locations, we were walking around a bend when a robin-like call warbled behind us. First thinking it a Chorister robin we turned around to look for it and then Nicola spotted it - but it was a Bush blackcap! Elated we watched it for a few minutes while it called continuously and eventually moved off. Our playback of African emerald cuckoo got the bird interested but never enough to get close-up views. Shortly after we turned around we finally made contact with an Orange ground thrush but only got fleeting glimpses as it kept on darting to and fro above our head. Walking a little further and playing our recording again, we picked one up again, either the same one responding to our call or a different one. After patiently waiting in the undergrowth to the side of the road and playing the recording a few times, we finally got him sitting still on a branch long enough for all three of us to see him really well. Satisfied with some decent forest birding done, we made our way back to the top, picking up another Olive bush-shrike and a Crowned eagle on the way. Back in Kaapschehoop we loaded the car with our last stuff and dropped Enos off at his lodgings before making our way back home.

Kaapschehoop is an excellent birding location, close enough for a weekend birdwatching and hiking outing and we certainly plan to go back soon. We highly recommend making use of Enos as a bird guide - let us know if you need his number.

Okavango, Caprivi and Vic falls birding, Dec 2011

Links

• List of birds for the trip

13 December
Daily birds: 55, Total count: 55, Lifers: None

Leaving home just before 1pm, we were slightly surprised to see a Purple heron at Kruger dam. Some other birds we saw on our way north included Pin-tailed whydah, White-winged widowbird and European roller. We found Shelanti Game Lodge easily and checked into a beautiful chalet (only R220 per person per night). It was already around 5pm but we took a walk around the outside of the antelope breeding camps (roan, sable, black impala etc.) and added Kalahari scrub-robin, Shaft-tailed whydah, Black, Klaas’s and Diderick cuckoos, Southern pied babbler, Acacia pied barbet and Orange-breasted bush-shrike. Dinner consisted of cheese sandwiches and then we relaxed in the bedroom under a very welcome air-conditioner.

14 December
Daily birds: 107, Total count: 120, Lifers: Greater painted snipe

Just before 5am we had a quick cup of coffee and then took a stroll around the breeding camps again. It was overcast and dark but we still got Swainson’s spurfowl, Pearl-spotted owlet, Magpie shrike, Rattling cisticola and a few others. Back at the chalet around 06:30 we had some breakfast, then took another walk before checking out. On the way back to the tar road we also added Southern black tit, Green-winged pytilia, Monotonous lark, Bearded woodpecker and Common scimitarbill. The road to Grobler’s bridge border is in good shape and we arrived just before 10am. The South African side went quickly but on the Botswana side we stood in a queue at the cashier for 20 minutes before getting through. But by 11am we were done and took a leisurely drive to Palapye. Dark rain clouds were around and every now and then we had a few drops of rain. Past Palapye and onto Serowe we made good time and arrived at Khama Rhino Sanctuary around 1pm. We checked into our chalet and had some lunch and a rest before heading out at 3pm. The roads in the sanctuary are deep sandy ruts and although it’s a fairly comfortable ride, you definitely need a high-clearance vehicle. We visited all of the pans as well as a bird hide and added quite a nice number of birds considering the time of the day but our best sighting was of Greater painted snipe at Serwe pan – the first time we’ve seen this in Southern Africa. Other notables include White and Marabou storks, Jacobin cuckoo, Double-banded courser, Martial eagle, Violet-eared waxbill and Swallow-tailed bee-eater. At 6pm we were back at our chalet and had mealiepap, sweetcorn, tomato relish and viennas for dinner. Our chalet turned out to be quite permeable to the local insect population as well as some four-legged furry animals. Nicola found this out first hand when a rat sitting on a rafter pooped on her! It was a bit of a restless night and at 5am we were ready to go.

15 December
Daily birds: 97, Total count: 161, Lifers: Curlew sandpiper (N), Golden weaver (N), Swamp boubou, Hartlaub’s babbler, Senegal coucal

Happy birthday Nicola! We packed up and left early under heavy clouds, driving slowly towards Serwe pan and picking up all the regulars along the way. At Serwe pan we again got the Double-banded courser and three Greater painted snipes along with Red-billed, Cape and Hottentot teal, Common swift, Common greenshank, Kittlitz and Common ringed plovers, Curlew sandpiper and Red-capped, Rufous-naped and Eastern clapper larks. A few more birds were added back towards the entrance, bringing our total list for the sanctuary to 95. We left for Maun at 09:30. Despite heavy clouds and the occasional spit of rain, it was a long and hot drive with the aircon working hard. On the way we added Greater kestrel, Brown snake eagle and Cape Crow before arriving at Okavango River Lodge outside Maun just before 4pm. After sorting out the details for our mokoro trip, we rested a short while before doing half an hour’s birding from a picnic table in front of the lodge’s bar. With an excellent view over the Thamalakane river, we quickly picked up a bunch of waterbirds including Pied and Malachite kingfishers, Black crake, African openbill, Squacco heron and African jacana before the lifers started pouring in: first we heard Swamp boubou calling in a tree above us but unfortunately couldn’t spot it. Then a confiding Hartlaub’s babbler sat right in front of us for a good ID, and several moments later a Senegal coucal hopped into a tree on the opposite bank. With the sun setting fast, we walked back to our chalet and then Nicola spotted the Swamp boubou. After a good look at him, we headed back to the chalet for an eat out (of cans) dinner. While getting all the cooking stuff from the car, Nicola also spotted three White-browed robin-chats, calling clearly in the scrub.

16 December
Daily birds: 82, Total count: 184, Lifers: Long-toed lapwing, Great reed warbler (N), Rufous-bellied heron, Black coucal, White-browed coucal, African reed warbler (N), Coppery-tailed coucal

It was a beautiful morning as we sat on the river front counting birds just after breakfast. Our ride to the starting point of our mokoro trip was at 8am so we had some time to just sit and relax. Very soon we had notched up basically the same set of birds we got when we arrived last night, including the Hartlaub’s babblers, Senegal coucal and Swamp boubou. Just after 8am our “driver” came to fetch us – we were expecting a bakkie or 4x4 trip but it turned out to be a much more fun 45 minute trip by boat. The fast ride along the canals towards the buffalo fence was exhilarating and cool in the already blazing heat and a sighting of two flying Long-toed lapwings made it even better. At the buffalo fence, from where all mokoro trips start, we soon met up with our guide, Galaxy, had all our stuff loaded into a fibreglass mokoro, and off we went. We were marginally disappointed for not having a real mokoro, but the reasons for this were justified – for starters, the three of us and our gear would not fit in a normal mokoro but more importantly, if everyone was allowed to cut down a hardwood tree to make a mokoro for this booming tourist industry, pretty soon there would be nothing left. So I think this is a commendable government requirement. Galaxy poled us quietly over the water for the next two hours, going through water lily and reed covered canals and ponds. Its very tranquil and relaxing although the December heat is fierce. Surprisingly, perhaps because the water is too deep, there were few birds around, apart from myriads of African jacana and Squacco heron. At 11am we arrived at our campsite on an island under a large fruiting sycamore. We set up our tents and had some lunch before relaxing in the mid-day heat under the welcome shade and watched Blue waxbill, Arrow-marked babbler, Red-billed firefinch, African green pigeon, Southern grey-headed sparrow and Woodland kingfisher in the trees and on the ground around our campsite. At 2pm we went for a walk around our island but with both Nicola and I having suffered diarrhea that morning, the walking was not very comfortable. The sun was intense and when we returned just after 15:30 we were unsure how we would handle the rest of our trip. But during this time we had heard both White-browed and Coppery-tailed coucals and had excellent sightings of Black coucal – this meant that we have now ID’d all the Southern African coucals! Deciding that the Okavango water was filtered by billions of reeds, we switched our home-filtered supply with the lightly tannin-stained Okavango water – neither of us experienced any further tummy issues. Some time after 4pm we took a short mokoro trip to another island from where we walked to the “Hippo pools” a large open pond where the water was deep enough for them. While sitting on a grassy knoll looking at the hippos, we heard African reed warbler calling in the reeds in front of us – a lifer for Nicola. On our walk back to the mokoro, we ran into a grazing elephant and had to backtrack and walk a circle around him, trying to stay downwind. We reached camp by 7pm and while Galaxy made us some pap, we shared our beetroot and breyani dinner with him. The mozzies chased us into the tent immediately after dinner but it was so swelteringly hot that we spent the entire night in our underwear, welcoming every breath of wind pushing fresh air through the tent vents. During the night we heard hyenas, jackal and even a far-off lion calling but more exciting was Galaxy chasing an elephant out of our campsite.

17 December
Daily birds: 70, Total count: 191, Lifers: Dickonson’s kestrel, Slaty egret, Lesser jacana

After a pre-dawn wake-up with a quick cup of tea and some rusks, we took a short mokoro ride and then started a long walk towards some pools where game and birds congregated. Almost as soon as we started we spotted Dickinson’s kestrel in a palm tree. The birding was not quite as good as we expected and I was rather surprised at how quiet the thickets were. But it was overcast and windy and although the birds were not out in force, the walking in these conditions was very pleasant. We soon reached the pools along with another large group of tourists and we spotted Slaty egret and a short while later Lesser jacana as well. Galaxy told us that the pools would be teeming in a month or two’s time and we thought it a bit strange that the birds would be better later rather than this time of the year. We eventually started our way back and as the wind dropped a little and clouds started burning away, it got hot again and we were very glad to reach the campsite again by 11am. Relaxing in the shade for the rest of the afternoon, we watched our resident avian friends around the campsite. By 16:30 it was still very hot but not so bad that we couldn’t go on a mokoro cruise for the rest of the afternoon, returning by about 18:30. It didn’t look like poor Galaxy had anything but mealiepap to eat, so we shared our entire dinner with him. The mozzies drove us into the tent again after dinner and unfortunately sleeping conditions were no better than the previous night.

18 December 2011
Daily birds: 53, Total count: 194, Lifers: None

Another pre-dawn breakfast was followed by a 3-hour walk on our own island. We didn’t see or hear anything new but it seems the windy conditions had stirred up something because both Nicola and I got itchy noses with Nicola later tearing up from the intense hay fever. We actually had to cut our walk a bit short because of this and arrived back in camp at 09:30. The sun was merciless and we tried to stay as still as possible until 2pm when we headed back to the buffalo fence where we got picked up by the people from Okavango River Lodge just after 4pm. The ride back was windy and cool and Nicola spotted some Water thick-knee and another Lesser jacana. Back at the lodge we wasted no time in getting into the shower and then off to the bar for steak and chips. Overall the mokoro trip was excellent but the following should be said: you end up spending a lot more time walking than out on the water, which for birding is better since apart from the odd Openbill, African jacana or Squacco heron, you see little else from your low-down vantage point through the reeds; organizing a mokoro trip through any of the Maun-based lodges is a total rip-off – we paid about R2300.00 for the 3-day trip for the two of us and our poor guide got about R500.00 of that. That said, our guide Galaxy was incredibly willing, friendly and conscientious. His technical skills identifying birds were a bit lacking though as he frequently mixed up calls and bird names and foreigners not knowing the local birds at all may suffer because of this. But to us this didn’t really matter as we made all the IDs ourselves while he guided away and did a wonderful job of telling us other interesting things.

19 December 2011
Daily birds: 94, Total count: 205, Lifers: African goshawk (N), Green-backed honeybird, Pel’s fishing owl

After another bout of diarrhea for me, we left Okavango River Lodge early to try and visit the Maun sewerage works. Alas, we were told its impossible to bird inside the fence so we birded outside, picking up quite a few bushveld species including Lilac-breasted roller, Common scimitarbill, White-browed sparrow-weaver etc. Before 9am we drove into Maun to buy probiotics, Lomotil and a fan, as we had another 7 tent nights ahead of us and I wasn’t sure that I’d be able to live through scorchers like we had in the Delta again. We found everything we were looking for and then headed off towards Shakawe, picking up White-backed vulture, Steppe buzzard, Red-billed oxpecker and Burchell’s starling along the way. We drove through some nice rain storms and arrived at Drotsky’s cabins in very wet conditions, driving through deep puddles in the sandy road. We checked in and then pitched our tent in tall riparian forest with water dripping on us non-stop. We hid in the tent until the worst had stopped and then took a short walk in the forest. White-browed robin-chat, African green pigeon and Hartlaub’s babblers were very common and we even spotted an African goshawk. We went back to reception from where one of the owners, Jan Drotsky, took us on a short walk looking for Pel’s fishing owl. Two minutes into our walk, a small bird flew into a dead tree to our left and after some deliberation we concluded that it was a Green-backed honeybird. At the end of campsite 17 Jan led us through some undergrowth until suddenly he pointed through the trees. And there in broad daylight it sat watching us – a Pel’s fishing owl! It flew a short distance into a further tree but sat there in the open and we had fantastic views for about half a minute before it flew away. Wow! After searching for 3 years, and arguably the most wanted lifer for this trip, we’ve got him!! Very happy, we made our way back to the tent, cooked supper in the growing dusk, and made friends with our neighbours before crawling into bed, the box fan we bought in Maun making life considerably more comfortable.

20 December 2011
Daily birds: 64, Total count: 219, Lifers: Chirping cisticola, Collared pratincole, African skimmer

Early today we collected our neighbours and headed off for the site where the Pel’s had been roosting the day before, only to find that he had chosen a new spot, undoubtedly due to our visit the night before. Disappointed not to see him again we headed back to camp and said goodbye to our birding companions who were leaving that day. We did manage to show them the very pretty Narina trogan so we felt we had been semi decent birding guides. We then walked down to the river and boarded a boat for our aqueous birding tour. We headed up the panhandle searching for specials like Pels’ and White-backed night heron but no such luck. However a short while into the trip we heard the call of the Chirping cisticola, and later came across a wonderful marshy field which was covered with birds – African openbills, White-faced ducks, Blacksmith lapwings hiding the less common Long-toed lapwing, various Egrets, and to our delight, a flock of Collared pratincoles, lifer number two for the day! Our guide then took us upstream to the last remaining sand bank, which serve as nesting sites for the African skimmer. We were afraid that the water levels would be too high, and that all the skimmers would have left, but lady luck shined on us that day and we picked up lifer number 3! Very satisfied we headed back to camp and then hid in our tent for the majority of the day as another storm blew through. A post-dinner attempt at night birding lasted all of 15 minutes as the relentless mosquitoes gave no indication that they worried about our layers of insect repellent.

21 December 2011
Daily birds: 122, Total count: 242, Lifers: Bradfield’s hornbill, African Golden Oriole, Brown Firefinch

We had to pack up a very wet tent in the morning after breakfast and after collecting our frozen bottles of water from reception at Drotsky’s, we were on our way. Common waxbill at the Botswana border post was a new bird for the trip and after we finally left the Namibian border and drove into Mahango National Park, we soon picked up Bradfield’s hornbill. The 12km to the entrance gate where we had to get our permit to drive onto the floodplain was awfully corrugated and we didn’t see much anyway. Around 9am we got our permit and returned a short section down the road to go onto the loop road over the flood plain. This immediately bore fruit with Dickonson’s kestrel, Collared pratincole, Swallow-tailed bee-eater and Grey tit-flycatcher among the nicer sightings. We completed the loop road and returned the same way, having lunch along the way. It was another scorcher of a day and when we finally left the park we were still white from the sun cream. At Ngepi camp we quickly checked in and met Christoph, the local birder recommended to us by the neighbours from Drotsky’s. After pitching our tent and a bit of afternoon rest, we commandeered Christoph for an afternoon walk. Barefooted he led us through the fields and township area immediately outside Ngepi camp and in the 2 hours we spent with him, picked up numerous specials including Lesser moorhen, Yellow-billed oxpecker, Greater painted snipe, Red-headed weaver, African pygmy goose, Lesser jacana, Rufous-bellied heron, Chirping cisticola and our second and third lifers for the day: African golden oriole and Brown firefinch! Back at the camp we sat on the deck overlooking the Kavango river and sipping ice cold drinks and added African pied wagtail and an over-flying Osprey. After breyani and veg for dinner we hit the bed but got a tad hot when the power, and with it our fan, went off just before 10pm.

22 December 2011
Daily birds: 105, Total count: 253, Lifers: Mosque swallow, Wattled crane

A very early start got us onto a boat again with Christoph as our guide, just before 6am. Heavy cloud made for a picture perfect sunrise as we added Banded martin, Long-toed lapwing, Ruff, White-fronted plover, Collare pratincole, Black-crowned night- and Green-backed herons. On a crumbling sandbank we found two lonely African skimmers (one adult one 2-month old chick) and on the Mahango National Park border we got fantastic views of White-backed night-heron. Back at the camp we quickly re-organized the car a bit and headed for Bwabwata National Park Park (Buffalo Park) on the opposite shore of Ngepi camp and Mahango. While driving through town we picked up Namaqua dove, Rufous-naped lark and Scaly-feathered finch. Inside Bwabwata we saw Bateleur, Purple roller, Jacobin cuckoo, Common scimitarbill and a few others, but then, just as the road entered the floodplain, I stopped to scan the marshes and while gazing through the binocs, three Wattled crane walked into my field of view. I almost dropped the binocs as I tried to simultaneously switch the car off, get Nicola’s attention and get out of the car. Leisurely the three strolled along the edge of the marsh, about 30m away from us as we slowly followed taking pictures – now we had the Top 3 birds we were looking for!! Further on we added a few more birds, including a fantastic view of a Slaty egret, before turning back, having lunch under a large sausage tree and then driving back through a heavy rain storm. A quick stop at Popa falls which are arguably the world’s lowest “falls” got us a maybe Rock pratincole but it was too far off to be 100% sure so we left it off our list. Just before turning into Ngepi camp we also added a Village indigobird and on the almost flooded Ngepi road I scared up two female Double-banded sandgrouse. We arrived back at 3pm and typed up our list of the past two days before having dinner and getting in an early night.

23 December 2011
Daily birds: 109, Total count: 264, Lifers: None

We overslept a little but still managed to leave Ngepi Camp around 05:45, arriving at a locked Mahango Game Park gate at 06:15. Irritated, I walked back towards the headquarters and found the receptionist lazily walking towards the gate which she should’ve opened at 6am. Finally in, we quickly made our way towards Mohembo border and from there got onto the floodplain road. Driving slowly with the sun at our back we picked up Fawn-coloured lark, Senegal coucal, Mosque swallow, White-browed coucal, Grey-headed kingfisher, Dickonson’s kestrel and three Wattled cranes. Very soon it became hot again and we had to lather sunscreen on. Towards the northern exit of the floodplain we finally picked up a Yellow-billed egret and Comb duck and then did another loop back to the south during which we added White-crested helmetshrike, Pin-tailed whydah and Eurasian golden oriole. Our second run past the large baobab got us an out-of-range African emerald cuckoo before we headed back home. We spent the afternoon relaxing before dinner and bed.

24 December 2011
Daily birds: 89, Total count: 268, Lifers: Ayres’s hawk-eagle

Around 1am I got woken up by some strange scuffing and snorting noises outside the tent. In a dazed state I didn’t quite realize what it was until it got louder and I finally woke up to the fact that a hippo was feeding immediately outside the tent. It dawned on me that a hiking tent will not keep an angry hippo at bay and I didn’t care to become another statistic. With my heart thumping in my throat I woke Nicola up with the one hand, while reaching for the car keys and flash light with the other. We waited until it moved off a little to the left, then very carefully unzipped the tent, crawled out as quietly as possible and made a quick dash for the car. Feeling much happier inside the car we dozed uncomfortably for just over an hour before checking it was gone and making our way back to bed. At 04:45 my alarm went off and we groggily had some breakfast, started packing the stuff inside the tent and then went for our morning walk with Christoph. We were hoping to catch some Burchell’s sandgrouse but although the terrain was ideal and we picked up Temminck’s courser and lots of Double-banded sandgrouse, the Burchell’s sandgrouse remained elusive. Back at camp we quickly packed up, paid and made our way across Bagani bridge and into the Caprivi proper. It was a very pleasant drive, the speed limit forcing us to drive no faster than 80km/h so we could still watch roadside birds. Nicola spotted a flying bird which turned out to be an Ayres’s hawk-eagle, our only lifer for the day. Lunch was had at a picnic spot along the road and we made it to the Kwando river soon after. We checked into Camp Kwando around 2pm but were dismayed to learn there was no electricity to power our box fan. Tired from our hippo escapades, we both slept the afternoon away, made dinner at 6pm and spent a hot and sticky night in the tent.


25 December 2011
Daily birds: 77, Total count: 274, Lifers: Arnot’s chat

After a late lie-in, we got up and had breakfast before getting directions to Mudumu National Park. Once there, we headed for the Park Rangers office to get a permit, only to find we had to go to a different office. The trip was not wasted though, as we spotted the first canary of our trip, Yellow-fronted. The road to the second office was rather hairy with several big pools, each deeper, larger and stickier than the last. About 300m from the office we abandoned the car and set off on foot. After paying for our permit we walked back, picking up Broad-billed roller on the way. Just before we reached the car, we saw a 4x4 navigating the pond we had been to scared to try, and when they almost got stuck and had to back up we were grateful we didn't try it! We turned around and drove through the park, sticking to the main track for most of the way. We picked up quite a few bushveld birds, but nothing particularly special, until Nicola noticed an Arnot’s Chat, our only lifer for the day. On the way back it started to rain heavily. We attempted to reach the Hippo Pools by navigating a side road, but turned around when faced with another chain of puddles in the road, rapidly growing in the heavy rain. Back on the main road we stopped on the side, listening to teh heavy drumming on the roof. After a Christmas lunch of tuna mayo on Provitas, we headed back to camp to wait out the remainder of the rain shower. Although we didn’t pick up many lifers, the day did yield quite a few new birds for trip: Yellow-fronted canary, Steppe eagle, Red-billed hornbill, Flappet lark and Black cuckooshrike.

26 December 2011
Daily birds: 58, Total count: 282, Lifers: Schalow’s turaco, Tropical boubou

Tired of camping we left Camp Kwando soon after 4am, eating some Salticrax as we drove to Katima Mulilo. We aimed to search for crakes at the sewerage works in Katima but the directions were a bit misleading and we couldn’t find it. We slowly drove to our accommodation for the night, Caprivi Houseboat Safaris, on the banks of the Zambesi. As we stopped in the driveway, a Schalow’s turaco hopped into the tree above and shortly after we chatted to the owner’s son, a Tropical boubou flew out from the shrubs in the garden. Silke, co-owner of Caprivi Houseboat Safaris, helped us to locate the sewerage works on Google Maps and then we left again, this time managing the find the place. Unfortunately it was completely overgrown with reeds and although we could hear birds calling and scuttling around, there was no chance of seeing any of them. Disappointed we left and bought some late breakfast at the Pick & Pay before going back to our lodge and checking in. Feeling sleepy after the early start and the day’s heat already building, we took a welcome rest in our stunning chalet, right on the banks of the river. African green pigeons and Trumpeter hornbills joined Red-faced mousebirds and Dark-capped bulbuls in a fruiting tree next to our chalet and in the early afternoon Nicola spotted an African finfoot right from the deck of our bedroom! After some intensive re-organizing of the car and drying of the tent, we went for a sunset cruise picking up Green-backed and Black-crowned night herons, Half-collared, Malachite, Giant and Pied kingfishers, five African finfoots and White-faced whistling duck, but alas, no Pel’s fishing owl. Having returned just before 8pm, we made a quick dinner and then jumped into bed to escape the hordes of mosquitoes.

27 December 2011
Daily birds: 86, Total count: 289, Lifers: None

After an early breakfast of rusks and coffee we took a drive along a bumpy track running next to the Zambesi. Unfortunately we didn’t have good access to the river itself and only got the usual birds in the area like Tropical boubou, Schalow’s turaco, Black-throated canary, Yellow-breasted apalis, Marico sunbird, Yellow-bellied greenbul etc. We were back at the lodge before 8pm, packed up and headed for the border. The Namibian border was quick an easy but the Zambian side was a proper African road border with no signposts, tarmac, or order of any kind. We had to make four separate payments, get four different receipts/documents, in four different "offices", each one more dilapidated than the last. Ridiculously, one office accepted only Kwachas and the other only US Dollars. After paying about a thousand rand in total and spending an hour filling in books (and not once getting our car inspected) we were finally able to get going. We passed over the Zambesi bridge and quickly through Sesheke before heading into open country for the 200km drive to Livingstone. We drove slowly and enjoyed the immensely green countryside, patches of which were inundated with water. Along the way we saw Lizard buzzard, Bronze manikin, Yellow bishop, a flood of Squacco herons, Bateleur, African paradise flycatcher and our first Southern black flycatcher and Black-headed heron for the trip. We arrived in Livingstone around 1pm and drove through town, pleasantly surprised that the roads were quite good and people seemed to obey standard road rules. Mostly. Heading for our accommodation, we got a little worried when we had to turn down a dirt road and drive into rural roadside Africa but when we found Sunbird guesthouse about 150m down the road, we got secure parking, a pleasant garden, a large, clean room with TV, aircon, mozzie nets over the beds and a clean bathroom. Even better was that breakfast was included in our rate; even though it was only two slices of bread, coffee and one egg, it was still much more appetizing than the standard 3 rusks we’ve been having for the past 2 weeks and our hosts Rebeccah and Kennedy were extremely friendly and helpful - this was hands down the best accommodation for our trip. We had a late lunch, then went back into town to check out the curio market and returned to do our stinking laundry in the bath tub before making an early dinner. Watching the 2nd day of the SA/Sri Lanka cricket on SABC 3 was a mixed blessing since SA was doing badly (and it only got worse) but the one or two Zambian channels we picked up were entertaining.

28 December 2011
Daily birds: 34, Total count: 294, Lifers: Rock pratincole, Collared palm-thrush

We slept late and then had a great breakfast of toast and egg before heading for Victoria falls. Even from a distance we could see the cloud rising above the falls and when we parked the car at the entrance, you couldn’t miss the “Smoke that thunders”. We paid the (slightly high) entrance fee of 20 USD per person and walked to the first viewpoint. Oh, what a sight! Yes, its touristy and yes its expensive, but wow! Vic falls truly is a natural wonder. Getting wet in the spray, we walked to every single viewpoint and trail, taking pictures and videos of the mist rainbow(s), the falls, Batoka gorge, microlights passing over, bungee jumpers off the bridge and even a bunch of locals hacking a dead hippo to pieces in the middle of the Zambesi (above the falls) and dragging it to shore (probably for dinner). Birding in the immediate spray zone was almost impossible and besides, there weren’t many birds to see or hear anyway. Only when we walked the trail down into the gorge to see the Boiling Pot, did we start adding birds, including White-browed robin-chat, African emerald cuckoo, Swamp boubou, Trumpeter hornbill and new birds for the trip: Verreaux’s eagle, Red-chested cuckoo, Grey-headed bush-shrike and Red-winged starling. Back on the road to Livingstone we stopped at some of the lay-byes next to the Zambesi and at the second one saw a Rock pratincole on a small rock about 5m into the stream. After unsuccessfully looking for the sewerage works south of the town, we found the entrance to Mosi-oa-Tunya Game Park we wanted to visit tomorrow and as we parked at the entrance, Nicola noticed a Collared palm-thrush – unfortunately, since this was properly in Zambia, it didn’t count as a Southern African lifer. Eating a pack of chips for lunch, we drove towards the Flying Fox site south of the Vic falls bridge but were disappointed that they charge 40 USD for 2 cable slides across the gorge that will take you all of 5 minutes to complete. The rest of the afternoon was spent cooling down in our aircon room, watching Sri Lanka ruffle the Proteas' feathers. Dinner was another unglorious tinned breyani.

29 December 2011
Daily birds: 79, Total count: 300, Lifers: None

A 5am rise saw us at the entrance of Mosi-oa-Tunya Game Park just after 6am. Paying the (exorbitant) entrance fee, we slowly made our way into the park, quickly adding Black-crowned tchagra, Broad-billed roller, Yellow-billed kite and Collared palm-thrush. A telephone line provided Wire-tailed, Barn and Greater striped swallows perching together. Along the dirt roads there were numerous open grassy fields that invariably had lots of shallow water puddles and ponds, These were very productive with Saddle-billed stork, Spur-winged goose, White-faced duck, Three-banded plover, Greater painted snipe, African jacana, Hamerkop, Wood sandpiper, Great, Cattle, Little and Slaty egrets, Green-backed, Black-headed and Black herons , Woodland, Brown-hooded, Grey-headed, Striped, Giant and Pied kingfishers, African spoonbill and African Darter. Of more significant note were only our second sightings ever of African cuckoo-hawk and African crake. Stopping along the Zambesi waterfront we got another Rock pratincole. Other significant sightings were Brown-crowned tchagra, Lizard buzzard, Bearded woodpecker and Lesser striped swallow (first one for the trip). Unfortunately the park not only produced good birding but a very annoying supply of mainly horse flies, which have a surprisingly nasty bite. Flinging a rolled-up stack of border crossing documents at them, we littered the car with fly carcasses until we had to concede a loss and roll up the windows. The border crossing documents now looked properly Africanized. After lunch of tuna, mayo and Salticrax and with the park thoroughly explored, we made our way out, made a few enquiries about a sunset cruise and then did some curio shopping before spending the later afternoon under the aircon back at the guesthouse.

30 December 2011
Daily birds: 41, Total count: 301, Lifers: None

Not having enough money left to do any adventure activities or enter Mosi-oa-Tunya again, we decided to sleep late, get everything in order and pack the car. After lunch we drove into town to visit the Livingstone museum which wasn’t up to South African standards but reasonably interesting nonetheless. We discovered that David Livingstone and I shared birthdays and I thought it’s not totally inappropriate to think we are also sharing a similarly adventurous spirit. It started raining while we were inside and the clouds stuck around for the rest of the afternoon, cooling things down appreciably. Just after 4pm we drove out to Taonga Safaris from where we departed at 16:30 for a sunset cruise up the Zambesi. We actually had a braai and bar on board and although we didn’t spot anything new, the BBQ chicken, sausage, cabbage, potato salad, rolls and as many drinks as you like, went down extremely well. Most notably, we saw a couple of Hooded vultures perched on one of the mid-stream islands – a new bird for our trip. By 7pm we were back, drove back to our guesthouse and quickly packed the last things in the car for an early departure.

31 December 2011
Daily birds: 76, Total count: 302, Lifers: None

Up at 5am and gone before 6., we quickly spent our last Kwachas on some petrol and drove to the border post. Having been told they would only open at 06:30 we were happy to see them operating at 06:15 already and we quickly passed through the Zambian side. Although the Zimbabwe border took a bit longer due to a printer spooling error (to print the car’s temporary import permit) we still took less than 30 minutes and paid considerably less (21 USD) than what we expected. Unfortunately the bridge across Batoka gorge is single lane so we couldn’t really stop to take pictures, but we had plenty of time to enter the National Park on Zim’s side and take a walk along the falls’s edge. Very quickly we discovered that the spray on the Zim side is far more intense than in Zambia, and soon we had to put our ponchos on. Taking pictures and movies proved very difficult and the strong updraft generated by the falls kept collapsing the umbrella as well (used to try and protect the camera lens from blurry spray spots). After a wet hour in which we appreciated the falls from the Zimbabwean side, but got few birds (we did see Trumpeter hornbill, Schalow’s turaco, Red-winged starling, African paradise flycatcher, Grey-headed bush-shrike and Tropical boubou), we left to drive along the Zambesi to the Big Tree. Here we added Brown-crowned tchagra, Bronze manikin, Common waxbill, African green pigeon and a few others. We attempted to reach Chamobonda Vlei as described in our Birdfinder but although we found an unmanned boom gate and were able to drive beyond this, the sandy track was blocked after a few kilometres and we had to turn back. We stopped in town to do our bit in supporting some local artists and then headed towards Kasane. The Zim road was fairly good but quite narrow and shoulderless so it took some careful aiming to miss the large trucks driving in the opposite direction. The Kazungula border crossing was painless and soon we were back in Botswana, quickly finding our accommodation at Thebe River Safaris just outside Kasane. We checked in and spent half an hour cooling off under the aircon before heading out to get some food for lunch and dinner. Getting tired of tuna/mayo for lunch and tinned anything for dinner, we bought some rolls, assorted cold meats, cheese, tomatoes and yoghurt. Late afternoon we popped into the Mowana Lodge grounds and took a walk around the golf course and the hotel itself. Nicola spotted a Collared palm-thrush which we were now very happy to add for Southern Africa (the ones we saw in Livingstone counts for Central Africa as it’s north of the Zambesi). Back at our own lodge we had a simple but tasty New Year’s eve dinner and went to bed long before the fireworks started (not that Kasane gets too busy in this department).

01 Jan 2012
Daily birds: 105, Total count: 308, Lifers: Red-necked falcon, Western banded snake-eagle, Miombo blue-eared starling

An early cup of coffee/tea, muesli and yoghurt, saw us ready for our morning game drive into Chobe National Park at 05:30. Unfortunately we shared our drive with a bunch of foreigners who only wanted to see leopards. The teenagers sharing our drive, we discovered, must have very poor parents because they obviously couldn’t afford haircuts; the one next to me must have gotten a crick in his neck from all the flicking he had to do to keep the hair out of his eyes during the drive. They were however extremely good actors since they faked their disinterest in their surroundings like, really well and spoke to each other like, Brad and Angelina, you know... Unfortunately our driver was equally disappointing and we passed so many raptors and smaller jobs that we would normally have stopped for, that we could easily have made a record-breaking count for the day if we drove ourselves. Even so, we did pick up Scarlet-chested and Amethyst sunbirds, Marabou stork, Jacobin and Levaillant’s cuckoos, Southern ground hornbill, Yellow-billed stork and Broad-billed roller among the regulars and managed to stop for a lifer – Red-necked falcon, having a breakfast of the feathery kind. Mammal-wise there were plenty of hippos on the flood plain, some buffalo, waterbuck, banded mongoose, lots of impala, warthog and giraffe and when we took the riverfront drive just outside the park on our way back, we also added two lionesses. Back at the lodge we jumped in our own car and headed for Kasane Forest Reserve. On the way out we stopped to look at the eagle Nicola saw as we returned from the game drive. This turned out to be our long-awaited Western banded snake-eagle and when we had a careful look at the starlings in a tree on the other side of the road, they became our third lifer for the day – Miombo blue-eared starling. Kasane Forest Reserve unfortunately had very deep sandy tracks and for the 2WD it was literally impossible to drive outside of these. After a few kms we came across a sandy intersection and decided to play it safe – with wheels spinning and engine roaring I just managed to get the car facing the opposite direction and then we headed back out, promising to return as soon as we’ve joined the Gauteng yuppies and acquired a 4x4. We did another few kms on the transit road through Chobe towards Ngoma, but it was getting very hot and the birds were having siestas as well. We headed back to the lodge and rested until our sunset cruise departed at 15:30. Our boat was full of foreign overlanders completely over the top ecstatic to see hippos and elephants and when we saw a Black heron fishing umbrella-style, they loudly chanted “night-time, day-time, night-time, day-time” after an idiotic YouTube video someone saw. Despite having all the blissfully ignorant aboard, we did add Goliath heron, Long-toed lapwing, Glossy ibis, Collared pratincole, and of course, the Black heron. Back at the lodge just before 7 we sat down to a very filling restaurant meal before packing the car for an early morning departure.

02 Jan 2012
Daily birds: 64, Total count: 314, Lifers: Montagu’s harrier, Boulder chat

At 3am we got up, packed our toiletries and left Kasane, driving very carefully in the dark. Thankfully the first 140km of road was very good and despite slowing down twice for elephants on the road, made very good progress. The second half of the morning’s drive was less pleasant; Botswana’s euphemism “Road under construction” obviously meant: “This is a k*k road full of potholes and we don’t have the money to fix it. Now or ever.”. Still, we reached Nata not long after 7am and the Nata Bird Sanctuary shortly after. Driving the very wet sandy road towards the Nata Delta proved a bit much for us when we discovered Red-billed teals swimming in our road. We gave up after about 3km but saw lots of Northern black korhaan, Fawn-coloured, Rufous-naped and Eastern clapper larks, Desert, Rattling and Zitting cisticolas, Ruff, Wood sandpiper, Common greenshank, a Kori bustard almost flying into us and our first lifer for the day, a quartering Montagu’s harrier. We also visited the Sua spit but the Birdfinder’s directions once again proved inconsistent with reality and we got no nearer to the pan than about 2km. This section of road did produce a Steppe buzzard and Lappet-faced vulture though. Back on the A3 we drove leisurely ‘till we reached the twin heaps of boulders either side of the A3, 62km from Francistown, where the Birdfinder indicated a possibility of finding Boulder chat. We parked under a tree to have lunch but I had barely opened the can of tuna when we heard the characteristic whistle. Quickly we locked up and walked towards the call, calling back on the PDA as we went. And then we saw it! Perched on top of a boulder for a few seconds before it disappeared back in the undergrowth! We got another couple of views before it disappeared for good and we got back to our lunch. In Francistown we made a very unproductive visit to Shashe dam – by now the temperature was pushing 40 degrees Celsius and it seems even the birds went looking for air-conditioned rooms. So we went searching for ours but only found a very hot tent, despite two fans blowing full-strength. Although the safari tents were some of the nicest I’ve ever seen, it really was unbearably hot and at 4pm we drove into town looking for a place to have dinner. Lonely Planet restaurants seem to have disappeared from reality so we ended up spending 2 hours in the sub-standard Spur, waiting for the sun to go down.

03 Jan 2012

The birders in us were frustrated as we packed up at 05:30, knowing we can't watch birds today as we have a long drive ahead of us. A week ago, our friends watching our house, phoned us with a nasty surprise - lightning had struck our house, blowing our alarm system entirely, melted the phone line outside and earthed through our water pipes, shearing one in the bathroom walls. They managed to close the mains tap before major water damage could occur and since we unplugged all our appliances before we left, these were still intact. But now we faced a lot of issues to sort out so off we went, crossing the Martin's Drift border without hassle and arriving back home just after 3pm.

A really wonderful relaxing holiday with excellent birding and truly African experiences - I hope we can do this again in the not-too-distant future!