Abseiling and birding, Nov 2017

Our friends from Highveld Hikers asked me to set up an abseil for them. Since it was very close to our home, it was decided to go to Buffalo Gorge, about 20kms north of Middelburg. We've camped and hiked here before (neither of which are to be particularly recommended) but they do have a semi-decent abseil spot allowing for a good 45 metre descent.

Early on Saturday morning, Nicola and I drove out to Buffalo Gorge. It was overcast and cool and the forecast predicted rain for later in the day. We did some birding along the way and were excited about a pair of Temminck's coursers seen running ahead of the car. The track to get to the campsite wasn't particularly good so we ended up being a few minutes late but were happily greeted by Shirley, Eddie and Laurence. As they were ready to go, we packed all the gear in the Xtrail and set off. Just outside the gate we met the owner (Ryk) who explained where to go and what to do. The track to the mountain top was not good at all so we had to take it very slow. Close to the parking spot we exploded out of the car when the car flushed two Harlequin quails. A third one flushed as well as we approached the landing spot of the first two birds but we did not chase them any further. Shortly we parked the car and walked to the cliff edge. Unfortunately it was obviously not the right spot to abseil so we ended up wasting almost an hour. The map we received from Ryk had more than one map version and this, together with the text and his earlier explanation were completely contradictory. But eventually we found the right spot and I proceeded to set up the abseil. Neither Nicola nor I fancied the walk back to the top so we decided not to abseil ourselves. While I guided Shirley, Eddie and Laurence down, Nicola recorded birds we saw and heard - these included Orange-breasted and Grey-headed bushshrikes, Red-winged starlings, Mocking cliff-chat, Alpine and White-rumped swifts, Cinnamon-breasted bunting and Black-crowned tchagra. While we waited for the group to walk back to the top, the wind picked up and by the time they were back, it was blowing quite hard and cold. We decided to only do one more abseil for Shirley and Laurence and then pack up. After their return we quickly walked back to the car and drove back to the camp. We made it just in time - just as we started eating lunch it started raining. Not wanting to get stuck in mud, Nicola and I left shortly afterwards and returned home.

Checking Shirley before she goes over the edge

Shirley on her way

Not looking down

Cloudy view over the Selons river valley

Getting Laurence ready to go

Laurence over the edge

Strapping Eddie in tightly

Eddie on his way

A number of Middelburg Bird Club members met on Sunday morning on the edge of town to drive in convoy to Herman and Louise's farm, about 20kms north of Loskop dam. It was a beautifully clear day so we regretted somewhat only leaving around 06:30 and arriving at the farm at 07:30. While some people wanted to have some snacks and coffee first, Nicola and I immediately started birding and quickly added Southern black tit, African paradise flycatcher, Red-chested, Diederik and Levaillant's cuckoos, African green pigeon, Spectacled weaver, Red-faced mousebird and several others. Half an hour later we all started walking up a jeep track towards their tented camp and had some good birds along the way including White-crested helmetshrike, Willow warbler, Chinspot batis and Black cuckooshrike. Back at the farm house before 10am, some people went for a drive to the top of the ridge for a nice view towards Groblersdal. The rest of us tended the braai fire and watched a Southern black tit raid the African paradise flycatcher's nest, seemingly eating the day-old chicks. When the other returned from their drive we socialized while pot-bread was cooking at the fire. After lunch there was an outbreak of termites after yesterday's rain and this attracted hordes of Red-billed queleas, Barn swallows, European bee-eaters, White-rumped and Little swifts. Around 2pm people started packing up and by 3pm we were back at home.

Male Black cuckooshrike

Cut-throat finch and Dusky indigobird

Cape white-eyes

Southern black tit attacking African paradise flycatcher hatchling

MotherAfrican paradise flycatcher back on the nest

It was a very enjoyable weekend meeting up with friends we haven't seen in a while and enjoying some great birding and just being outside!

Cycad hiking trail, Feb 2017

Hikers: Pieter, Nicola, Shirley, Lawrence, Lorraine

It was a blissfully short drive we had to do to Cycad’s basecamp – just 40kms! Just before we left home, Shirley phoned with a request to bring along a gas stove, in case threatening rain forced us to cook inside. Nicola and I arrived at the basecamp almost an hour before the others and discovered that another group would also be hiking the trail – they had the use of the second hut. When Shirley, Lawrence and Lorraine arrived it took us over an hour to catch up on all the news and happenings since we haven’t seen each other in over a year. The dark clouds that threatened earlier turned into nothing and by 5pm we had our braai fire going. A beautiful sunset accompanied our dinner and after, we played our video of Iceland and reminisced about one of our best holidays yet.

 

At the basecamp hut, Lorraine, Shirley and Nicola almost ready to go

Day 1 (18 Feb): We were doing the trail as a basecamp, rather than sleeping over at the Arendsnes camp – the other group was doing the trail as a backpack. It was slightly annoying that there were only two toilets and two showers for all of us together especially when the other group started hogging both sides despite a verbal agreement that each of our groups would stick to one side. Nevertheless, we all finished up and were walking by 7am. It was a very pleasant morning but the trail that was neatly mowed for the first hundred meters, very soon disappeared entirely. It was well-marked though and only occasionally we had to stand still a little to look for the markers. This did annoy me somewhat – if you need that many markers to be able to follow a trail, then it's not a good trail. Good trails you can follow without having any markers. Nicola and I birded as we walked as well. By 10am we had reached the lip of the Olifants river gorge and had nice views up and down the valley. We could see the Arendsnes camp on the edge some distance away but first we had to descend down to the river.

Olifants river gorge, Arendsnes camp perched on the edge in the upper left corner

Lawrence looking down the Olifants

With the trail so badly unkept, it was a little slippery and dangerous in places but we got to the bottom safely. Here another obstacle awaited us though: fields and fields of blackjacks. By the time we reached a spot where we could access the river, most of us spent almost half an hour cleaning off blackjacks while Lorraine took a dip in the river. Soon after we started the climb up to Arendsnes and reached it at noon on the dot. It really was a fantastic location for a camp, perched on a cliff edge, overlooking the Olifants valley. We sat on the braai deck to have lunch and not long after, the first of the other group arrived (this was their overnight stop).

Trail-side butterfly

 Our tummies full, we headed off again, walking through some convoluted boulder fields and grassland, arriving back at our basecamp at about 2pm. Although the morning was cool and pleasant, the afternoon had turned hot and nasty and we all headed for the shade on the hut’s verandah. The rest of the afternoon we rested and started our braai fire again around 5pm. Around 7pm we watched bats leaving the eaves of our hut with Nicola’s infrared phone camera and listened to the Fiery-necked nightjars calling.

Trail-side lizard

Day 2 (19 Feb): The night was a bit warmer than the previous one and sleep didn’t come too easy. But today’s walk was a bit shorter and we were on our way again by 7am, initially following the same trail as the day before. Soon we were at another viewpoint over the Olifants valley and this time descended into a side kloof that was a little more pleasant than the slippery non-maintained path of the previous day. Thankfully our path joined up with the other trail past the blackjack fields but the climb back to the top of the gorge was possibly a bit worse, at least at first, because again there was just no path whatsoever and we just walked marker to marker through the tall glass and scrambling over rocks and boulders. The steepness did eventually ease up as we walked in a side valley that started higher up on the plateau. From here we joined again the same trail back to the hut and reached it by 11am.

African pygmy kingfisher

Middelburg cycad

Looking upstream in the Olifants river valley

It was a pleasant weekend and really great to see good friends. The location and views on the hike were great, but the path, not so much.

Baviaanskrans hiking trail, Aug 2016

Sorry folks, Google decided not to support Picasa web albums anymore and Google Photos (where all my photos was moved to automatically) does not have the option of embedding a slideshow of an album. So until Google comes to their senses, I can only provide a link to my Google Photos page where you can view photos of this trip.

Links

• Photos
• List of birds

On Friday after work, Nicola and I drove through to Kgaswane Mountain Reserve, and met up with George. Shirley was supposed to join us on the hike too but got the sniffles and decided to rather stay home. Having not hiked with the club for a year and a half, there was lots of catch-up to do and we did this over a fire with African scops owls and Fiery-necked nightjars providing background music. We stayed up chatting until after 9pm but with an August chill still in the night air, we finally crawled into bed.

Day 1 (27 Aug): We were all up at first light, had breakfast, packed up and were underway by 07:15. The trail started with a gentle but persistent climb out of the kloof where our camp (Explorer Camp) was in. The sun was shining brightly but the temperature was very pleasant so early in the morning. Birds were singing too and we logged White-bellied sunbird, Green wood-hoopoe, Black-backed puffback, Black-collared barbet, African grey hornbill etc. With practically no hiking done in the last 18 months, both Nicola and I took it slowly up the hill but when the gradient improved and we headed down towards the Reserve’s entrance road, we started catching up to George again. It really was a beautiful morning and very pleasant to be out in the bush again! Past the road we descended some more until we reached a small stream where we sat for some snacks. Then followed a long climb up a ridge opposite our overnight camp at Avon-More. It was now past 10am and the sun was definitely a bit hotter. I started dragging behind a bit but eventually caught up with Nicola and George waiting at the top of the ridge. A steep and loose descent got us into shady woodland bordering a dry river bed. In a nice shady spot we stopped for lunch and just ten minutes after lunch, walked into Avon More camp. I remember from the last time I did the hike in 2005 how well the huts were camouflaged by concrete work looking exactly like the surrounding boulders – it still looked exactly the same! Both Nicola and I had some overworked muscles but it was great to get in some decent exercise. After a nice cold bucket shower, we lazed around camp, listening to birds and just enjoying the peace and quiet. At 5pm George started our fire which we only used for warming up our meat that we braaied last night. We all headed for bed much earlier tonight and I persuaded Nicola to sleep “outside” in the communal area which was completely open on both ends – this helped us to hear African scops owl, Pearl-spotted owlet, Spotted eagle-owl, Fiery-necked and Freckled nightjars.

Day 2 (28 Aug): Knowing that there was a lot of climbing ahead of us, we got up just as the night started to lighten a little. All three of us were ready to go at 06:45. The first kilometre wound up and down the slope of the ridge where Avon More camp was before starting to climb up the Tierkloof gorge. This was quite steep and a few tricky spots slowed us down. By 9am though, we were sitting at the viewpoint above Tierkloof waterfall and enjoying the view. The trail from here took a long loop across the top of the waterfall, circling through the valley above the falls before ascending to the ridge on the southern end of the valley. We all deemed this loop unnecessary and climbed straight up to the entrance road and then straight up the ridge. Eventually we picked the path up again where it crossed a saddle in the ridge and we finally reached the beacon at the top just after 10am. After a brief rest we had our first flat walk for the day along the ridge crest and about a kilometre later started the steep descent back down to Explorer camp. The day has warmed up considerably by now and the shady patches in the wooded gully were very welcome. George pulled ahead of us at this point and we only saw him again back at Explorer camp which we reached just after 11:30. We said our goodbyes as George hit the road and after a quick wash under the tap, we were on our way as well. Despite many muscles aching with unfitness, it was a very pleasant weekend. It’s a pity that Shirley was sick and couldn’t join us.

Suikerboschfontein hiking trail, Jan 2015

With Nicola still having to get some work done at the in-laws' place, I was going to Suikerboschfontein hiking trail with Highveld Hikers on my own. Arriving in the are with a couple of hours daylight left, I did some birding along the road in the trail's home pentad, picking up common highveld birds like Amur falcon, Yellow-fronted canary, African pipit, Pin-tailed whydah, Zitting-, Cloud-, and Wing-snapping cisticolas, Ant-eating chat, Cape longclaw etc. A nice new bird for the year were a couple of Banded martins on the telephone wire. At Oom Japie's hut, Cape robin-chat and Familiar chat were obvious and Bokmakierie was calling close-by. As soon as I arrived, a stray cat made a big nuisance of himself and was to become a real irritation throughout the evening, despite all of us giving him a substantial dinner to try and keep him away. Eddie, Shirley and Lawrence arrived not long after I did and Eddie quickly got the braai-fire going. We chatted and reminisced around dinner and hit bed not long after 8pm, hoping the cat would not come and curl up on our sleeping bags.

Saturday morning started with a chilly air and fog rolling in from the valleys. Neighing horses got us out of bed but the cool morning kept us from starting the day's 10km walk before 7am. as can be expected, the grass was sopping wet and since the trail hasn't been walked too much lately, the grass was also long and our pants were also pretty wet after half an hour. We made good distance in the first hour to get to our first break just before Baboon hotel and while Red-chested and Diderick cuckoos were calling in the background, a Cape batis showed well in some wattle trees. With the halfway mark in sight we reached top of a ridge and did some easy walking - but the morning's fog had now disappeared and it was warming up rapidly. The trail descended down to a pleasant little stream and with a 6.6km marker just opposite us, we sat for a tea break just before 11am. So far my new boots and feet held up nicely but I knew there was a long climb ahead and with the intention of getting out of the sun, I started walking again 20 minutes later. The climb started slow and steady and traced the edges of the "Chariot temple of the dying sun" - some old ruins scattered along the slope. Up the trail climbed and the sun beat down harder and harder. I was just starting to overheat when the path climbed into a thickly wooded kloof with some very welcome shade but here the path was steeper still and halfway up, i started cramping a bit. A few stretches and slowing the pace sorted it out and eventually I made it to the top of the kloof at noon. It was now really hot, despite an occasional breeze wafting in from the south. Luckily I knew exactly where the hut was and only 300m later and slowly walked into camp, desperate to get into some shade. Less than five minutes later I was enjoying an ice-cold shower and then sat in the kitchen area eating lunch, waiting for the others. The rest walked in about forty minutes later, equally hot and tired and equally happy with a cold shower. The afternoon really hot and probably pushed into the low thirties. But a male and female Mocking cliff-chat kept us entertained and in the early evening a cute dormouse appeared and sat very tamely for some close-up pictures. With the sun below the horizon the temperature finally dropped and we enjoyed the perfectly clear skies and fresh evening air. As I was flying to Cape Town the next afternoon, I intended to start walking very early so I was in bed in my own hut not long after 8pm.

My alarm was set for 04:45 but at 4am I was already wide awake, thanks to some continuous pattering feet on my roof - probably a number of the dormice. With just a hint of slightly lighter skies and a few less stars visible, I ate a quick few bites before packing my bag in five minutes and got on the road. Still nursing a mysteriously sore ankle (about a week now), I decided to rather stick to the easier track back out to Oom Japie's hut, knowing that I couldn't risk missing my flight later that afternoon. With dawn still quite far away but not really needing a flashlight anymore, I took to the road that steadily climbed the ridge Rooikrans camp was on. It was obviously quite humid as despite the cool early morning, I was pouring with sweat within five minutes. I made it to the junction of the main road to Oom Japies camp just as the sun peeked over the horizon and happily ticked my 48th bird for the pentad - loudly calling Common quail. Now properly on the ridge, the walking was easy and straightforward and not long after 7am I turned into the gate to Oom Japies. The annoying cat was very happy to see me and quickly made himself a nuisance again. With home barely more than an hour away, I decided to forego a shower or even taking my boots off and just dumped my pack in the car and left.

It was a very pleasant and relaxing weekend and great to have Eddie, Shirley and Lawrence's company again. The birding was not bad at all but I accidentally dropped my binoculars halfway through Saturday's walk and the left lens's prism shifted enough to make them virtually worthless. Hopefully i can get it repaired before the next birding trip!

Looking back on 2014

2014 is fast coming to an end. It's been a bit of a roller coaster and started in Zimbabwe with news of my grandmother who passed away. Throughout the year we also said goodbye to my grandfather, two hiking friends and one of Nicola's cats so we've had plenty to feel sad about. But we live in the here and now and it's important to move on from such events, so here are the top ten highlights from this year, in no particular order:

1. With the help of Niall Perrins, setting a new personal record of 153 birds seen in a day, while birding in the Punda Maria/Pafuri area in February during an extreme birding weekend arranged by the Honorary Rangers at Kruger National Park.
2. Learning about warblers from expert Ettienne Marais and seeing the Kgomo-Kgomo floodplain covered to it's highest level in ten years.
3. Having two successful twitches (Lesser black-backed gull in June and Pacific golden plover in November).
4. Having one of the best day's in Mkuze Game Reserve's fig forest we've ever had
5. Birding in Manu National Park, the reserve with the highest number of species recorded in the world (1003 and counting).
6. Birding the cloud forest in Aguas Calientes and seeing Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca and the Nazca lines.
7. Paying an ad hoc visit to an unprotected pre-Incan burial ground south of Nazca where 1500 year-old skeletons and skulls lay exposed in the Atacama desert.
8. Stepping off the plane in the Galapagos islands and seeing one of Darwin's famous finches for the first time.
9. Snorkeling with marine iguanas and seals in the Galapagos.
10. Visiting the Tankwa Karoo for the first time and sharing this starkly beautiful place with my parents.

Birding-wise, we've done really well this year. Around February or March I got the idea that it might be possible to identify 1000 world birds in 2014 and as of right now, I'm on 995 and Nicola on 925. This aim was a personal one and I worked hard at it, squeezing in several one hour early morning sessions during business trips to Cape Town and Durban. I will leave for West Africa in less than a week where it should be easy to pick up the remaining five. But this trip to Benin, Togo and Ghana is actually more to do with my aim for 2015 - to identify 1000 African birds. This is considerably more daunting than a thousand world birds so I've got some ambitious plans in mind for 2015. For now though, it's the dual-purpose West Africa trip that's ahead - finishing 2014 and starting 2015 on a bang. To all friends and family, may you have a wonderful and peaceful holiday and a great 2015! Here are some of our pictures that captured our highlights in 2014:

Quaggapad hiking trail, Nov 2014

Nicola picked me up from the airport and we headed straight out towards Balfour. The directions were fairly straight forward although the 16km gravel road we had to travel on was certainly not the best in the world. We arrived sometime after 6pm to find Eddie, Shirley, Karen and Edith already there and settled. We were delighted to hear that we got upgraded to the cottage next to the main farmhouse where there was electricity, fridge, microwave, hot water and all kinds of luxuries we shouldn’t get too used to. Mike and Moira arrived shortly after us and as Eddie had already got the fire going earlier, it wasn’t long before various pieces of dead flesh were sizzling away. After dinner we still chatted late into the night before going to bed.

Day 1 (08 Nov): The bunch of tame peacocks roaming around the farmhouse woke us early but a cup of coffee soon dispelled the sleepiness. By 06:45 we were ready to go and with a cloudy sky and cool breeze at our backs, we headed into the veld. We first walked past the hiker’s hut where we would’ve stayed had we not been upgraded and then turned north through some cattle grazing and into low hills. The trail was reasonably well marked through the short grass and it was quite obvious that we were going to climb onto every single koppie and hill we could see. We took a few breaks along the way but there was very little of interest along the trail. At some point the trail turned back to cross the entrance road to the farm and then approached a small farm dam surrounded by large gum trees where Black-headed herons had built a large heronry. This was our lunch spot – the shady gums provided welcome relief from the sun that had now started blazing down in the late morning. With lunch done the path traced back to the road and then appeared to head over yet another hill before taking a longish roundabout route back to the farm. My feet were sore and I’d had enough of the purposeless path so I whipped out the GPS, got a heading back to the farm and walked straight for it with Nicola, Moira and Karen joining me. Just before 1pm we were back at the farm cottage with the rest of the group trickling in over the next fifteen minutes. A quick shower was blissful in the hot afternoon and we spent the rest of the afternoon chatting in the cottage’s cool lounge. Despite threatening thunder and lightning, we didn’t get any rain and just before 5pm, Nicola got the braai fire going. After dinner the farm’s owner brought us imported pear cider from Sweden that had been delivered to them by mistake and never picked up again – it was delicious! With the alcohol doing it’s trick, we made it to bed quite a bit earlier than yesterday.

Day 2 (09 Nov): All of us except Karen were again ready by 06:45 and again we first walked to the hiking hut from where the shorter Day 2 started. The path wound up the first koppie of the day where we spotted Blesbok, Red hartebeest and Zebra in the distance. Northern black korhaans were calling loudly from all over the grasslands and they were joined by Cape longclaws, Wing-snapping and Zitting cisticolas, Diderick cuckoo and the ever-present Hadeda ibis. At a rest stop in between some acacias, Edith spotted a Spotted eagle-owl in a tree but it unfortunately flew off just as I had the camera ready. We saw another two eagle-owls as the path started circling back towards the farmhouse and along a stream that fed several small farm dams we also notched up Commmon greenshank, Spurwing goose and Hamerkop. We were back at the cottage by 10am and had a quick shower before we left for home.

Although not a particularly memorable hike, it was good to get out in the veld again and meet up with old friends and good company.

Brian Smallwood, 23 May 1941 - 13 Feb 2014

I joined Highveld Hikers in 1998 (then still under the flag of SAA Hiking Club) and not long after met the Smallwood's, Brian and Norma. Over the past 16 years we have done many many hikes together until Norma's troubling foot operations prevented her from joining us anymore. Brian kept on going and even after he got sick he could be seen on several hikes, still enjoying nature... and his beer! Brian passed away suddenly on 13 Feb this year and even though it was not completely unexpected, it was still a great shock to all of us who knew him. On Sunday 29 June we had a celebration of Brian's life with a braai at Eddy's house. We met old friends and reminisced about the good times and the memories. Many people remembered specific events or moments like these below - if you'd like to add something to the text, please add a comment at the end of the post and I'll happily add it in the text body. Also, if you have more pictures of Brian, please forward them to Shirley or me. Norma, we mourn with you and think of you every day. Brian, thank you for sharing your life with us. Farewell.

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Brian my birthday buddy, I will always have a glass of sherry (OB’s) on him with my birthday. When doing a hike and I am scared of slipping. I remember Brian’s words. When we did Tepelkop in the Free state, it was raining, the sandstone was wet and slippery, Brian was walking with me and he used to say to me always trust your boots and where ever I go and I am in the same situation, I remember his words and he is in my thoughts. For me he is always walking with me, especially when we do a hike in the Free state. KEEP ON WALKING, Buddy…

Madelene Haasbroek

My memories of Brian are that he was always a caring and helpful person. He always helped me when I was hiking; always lending a hand when I needed support. He will be sorely missed.

Shirley Klein

Brian Smallwood - a Hiker to the very end. Hikers the world over will be familiar with the phrase, " I'm going to cut a corner off your badge for taking a short-cut", but this could never be said about Brian. On many occasions he would rather walk the rocky path about 5 metres from a perfectly good road, maintaining that he was following the path and not taking "short cuts“. Of all the many hikes I have hiked with Brian, I can truly say that he never complained about anything. Yes, he might have occasionally muttered a few choice words, many of which contained the phrase "bloody hell", but he stoically trundled on at his own pace. Brian may have passed on to better pastures, but in our hearts and minds he will always be taking up the rear on future hikes, ready to give a helping hand to those who need it.

George Surman

He always knew where he was – he never got lost. So now he must be in his rightful place – rest well my friend

Eddy Schudel

Brian our dear friend, you may not be with us in body but you will always be with us in spirit on every hike. We will talk to you, ask you if we are walking in the correct direction, see you "test” your bed about 6pm; hear you ‘quietly’ get up in the morning to put the kettle on. I shall miss toddling along at the back with you; having a quick sit down; watch you “count insect’s legs” as you bend over to have a few seconds rest; your ever ready hand to help me over a river or difficult place. Your safe driving so I could have a catnap. Your generosity like when we got lost in Cedarburg and we had to go on half rations and you gave me all your peanuts - “Bloody hell woman – take them, you need them more than I do.” All your stories about Poland and your youth. Never a great talker during the day but often chatted in your sleep – loudly! When asked if you wanted to do a particular hike – don’t mind it’s ok with me whatever you want to do! I am so glad you did Hadrian’s Wall with Eddy and I last year; I knew you really wanted to do it and it was a wonderful experience and a great hike. You will be greatly missed but always remembered. Sleep well my friend.

Shirley Tebbutt

I was thinking and then Brain came into my mind - a story he was telling us, how early one morning Norma woke him up to get out of bed and he asked why, she said she needed to go to the loo. His answer was why don't you get out your side, her answer was because Bella (her cat) was comfortable and asleep, so dear Brain, as usual, did what he was told to do.

Tony and Patricia

Brian refused to let the inevitable consequences of age get in the way of him living life and he made sure he lived it to the last! Every hike, every moment, lived with youthful passion.

Nicola Vrey

Brian stayed with her the whole way, supportive and encouraging. At one stage Brian even pushed her bottom to get her over the next hurdle! The progress was slow but Brian remained with us for the entire climb to the top.

Karin

On a hike to Hanglip in Limpopo, we were standing topless outside the hut after a long hot day’s hiking. I was very fit and skinny at the time and Brian looked me up and down, slapped his belly and said: “You need to start drinking some bloody beer and get some meat on you”.

Pieter Vrey

Brian, Always there on a hike with a helping hand or shoulder and waiting ever so patiently for us slow walkers. And of course, that great sense of humour. Remembered with fond memories.

Dennis and Elise Le Roux

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Time is too slow for those that wait

Too swift for those that fear

Too long for those that grieve

Too short for those who rejoice

But for those who love, time is eternity

Henry van Dyke

Kaapschehoop birding/hiking Sep 2013

Links

• List of birds

At just after 4pm on Friday, we left Middelburg, heading for the picturesque town of Kaapschehoop with our friends Laura and Bennie for a weekend of relaxed birding and hiking. Despite some slightly dodgy directions we found our accommodation – Karin's Kaia, a lovely 2-bedroom cottage with an upstairs lounge and balcony - very comfortable for the weekend. We quickly settled in, made dinner and enjoyed David Attenborough's Life of Birds for an hour or so. By that time it was getting late so we headed for bed, ready for an early morning start the next day.

Saturday morning we had a quick breakfast and then headed out to walk to the escarpment. It was unfortunately quite windy and overcast, so most birds were sensibly hiding away. However, a few ones did show themselves: Buff-streaked chat, Familiar chat, both Sentinel and Cape rock-thrushes, Yellow bishop and a number of Wailing cisticolas calling. We reached the escarpment very quickly and were disappointed to find the wonderful view covered by haze. The wind was not at all daunted by the cliff face and rushed up at us, so we turned around and headed back. We had some fun bundu-bashing and climbing the wonderful rocky boulders before getting back to town. On the outskirts we saw both male and female Amethyst sunbird, Southern double-collared and Red-winged starlings. We stopped off at the cottage for a quick breather, before we obtained a permit for Battery creek waterfall from Koek 'n Pan. We crossed the road and quickly dipped down into the kloof, where we followed the winding path alongside the stream. At one river crossing Pieter went on ahead while I waited for Laura and Bennie, who had become entangled in some thorny branches. Once free we turned to follow Pieter and out of the corner of my eye I noticed a Mountain wagtail flying low across the stream. I quickly pointed it out to Laura and Bennie since it was a lifer for them. We then spent a nice half hour at the foot of the falls taking numerous photos. Laura crossed the stream to get a better angle, but on the way back she slipped and fell into the stream, giving her elbow a nasty knock. Fortunately she had passed her camera to me before crossing, so the only consequences were wet clothing and a very nasty bruise. After that incident we headed back so Laura could get to some dry clothes. On the way back out we had fleeting glimpses of an Olive woodpecker before leaving the forest. Once home we rested for an hour before heading into town for an afternoon snack at the pancake restaurant. Dinner was a braai with potato salad and roast vegies followed by another hour or so of Attenborough’s Life of Birds before bed.

We had planned a nice breakfast of omelets and bacon, but unfortunately I could not partake due to a nasty tummy bug. Despite my best efforts, I could not even keep water down, and the mere thought of food had me gagging. Fortunately Laura had some handy Valoid so I dosed myself before we climbed in the car and headed back. We got home by lunch time where we settled in for a quiet afternoon. Despite all the incidents, it was a very relaxing weekend, and our only regret was that the inclement weather had made for a small birding count.

Mauritius 2013

Links

• List of birds

Friday - Kempton Park
After work meetings, shopping and a few other errands we drove to our accommodation in Kempton Park, close to the airport. We got ourselves a take-away dinner and spent the evening watching dvd’s the B&B supplied. We got an early night in preparation for our early flight the next day.

Saturday – Mauritius!
We got up early, had a quick breakfast and headed for the airport. After an hour or so reading in the lounge, we boarded our plane, and then stood in the parking bay for a full hour until the airline caterer had delivered the food for our onboard meal. Eventually we took off. About two hours into the flight we flew over Madagascar and both of us peered down at the mysterious island, promising to visit there soon. An hour or so later we flew over Reunion, and Pieter got some lovely views of the volcanoes piercing the clouds. We landed in Mauritius only about 20 minutes late as the pilots had done their best to make up for the initial delay. As we taxied in, we both peered out the windows looking for our first Mauritian bird but were dismayed when this turned out to be a bunch of Common mynas. Our rental car (with First Car Rental) was a bit of a skedonk with little Marie biscuit wheels and creaks and groans coming from all over. Driving into Mahebourg for the first time was intimidating: the streets are literally only wide enough for two lanes, buildings are built right up to the edge (no shoulder) and street name signage is virtually non-existent. Having driven most of the Mahebourg streets at least twice, we eventually found our accommodation, Auberge Le Saladier, a lovely B&B run by an extremely friendly and helpful couple. After checking in, we took a quick drive down to Blue Bay for some sunset pictures and then returned for a local dinner and our first night in Mauritius.

Sunday – Black River Gorges National Park
Our first birding destination was Mauritius’s only national park, the Black River Gorges. Detailed directions from our hosts in Mahebourg saw us passing through sugar cane fields, small towns, Hindu monuments and tea plantations before arriving at Le Petrin, one of the access points for Black River Gorges. All 9 Mauritian endemics are to be found here but since many of these are still listed as Endangered or Critically endangered, we weren’t sure what we’d be able to see. We took a slow walk along one of the forest tracks and very quickly picked up our first lifer – the very common Mauritius grey white-eye. We peered longingly into the trees hoping to catch a glimpse of the very rare and endangered Pink pigeon, but no such luck. We did pick up a few more lifers: a White-tailed tropicbird flying far away over the trees, and later the Mauritius olive white-eye, Madagascar turtle dove, and the Madagascar fody. Returning to our starting point we made our way to the other side of Black River Gorges intending to climb Mauritius’s highest peak, but just then our petrol light came on. We decided instead to find petrol first and drove down the mountain towards the nearest petrol point indicated on our map. We arrived on the west coast to find that our map was wrong, no petrol was to be found in miles! Nervously we drove east along the coast of the island, passing through town after town with no petrol station. It was a very pretty drive but we were not in the right frame of mind to really enjoy it. Eventually we arrived at a bigger city and were delighted to stumble across a petrol station, over 50km after the light came on! We filled up and headed back into the mountains, determined to go bag the peak, despite the weather now being hot and humid. First though, we stopped off at the “Coloured earths” in Chamarel, an interesting combination of eroded basaltic soil and sand with different chemical compositions resulting in sort of a sand-coloured rainbow patch, smack in the middle of the forest. Back on the road, we soon found the trailhead for the peak and parked. Luckily the walk in is dead-easy with a flat 3km walk along muddy pathways carved out of the casuarina forest. The last 50m or so is not that straight forward though with a very steep and nasty scramble up loose dirt to reach Mauritius’s highest point, Piton de la Petite Riviere Noir (828m). From the summit we had a 360 view: the entire Black River Gorges spread below us, the large lakes and mountains to the north, Port Louis in the distance and the surrounding Indian ocean as far as you can see. Mascarene martins and swiftlets, both lifers, flitted around us in a stiffening breeze. After s spot of late lunch, we climbed back down the slippery slope, hiked back and then drove back to Mahebourg. Another restaurant dinner and an early night followed.

Monday– Grand Baie
To try and miss the notorious traffic of Port Louis, we got up early and were off just before 6am, driving around 70 kms on the motorway to get to the most north western point of Mauritius, Grand Baie. We had a very special trip planned – a trip on a submarine! A briefing started at 09:30 followed by a short ride across the lagoon to a larger ship anchored close to the reef and serving as base for the submarine. Excitedly we climbed down the ladder into the sub and crawled to our seats since the sub was barely tall enough to accommodate us while seated. The sub dropped down around 20m to a shipwreck – an old, limping boat that was deliberately sunk to act as an artificial site for future corals to grow. A few fish darted around the rusty ship, but we saw far more fish when we moved over to the coral reef itself. Hundreds of yellow and blue and red (although they appear brown at that depth) fish danced over the corals. To our delight a turtle appeared out of the blue (literally) and slowly swooped off through the water to a quieter spot. We moved over several coral mountains before heading to a particularly active patch, so active it’s been called the aquarium. An amazing abundance of fish darted in and out and over this little patch of coral, which even housed a a moray eel. An anemone waved from the top of the coral, and a little clown fish swam all around it. An angel fish glided majestically past, and six lion fish glared menacingly from the depths. Scores of yellow fish swerved nervously about, a few larger black fish came closer to satisfy their curiosity, and an occasional flash of brilliant blue was yet another species. All too soon we were surrounded by a curtain of bubbles as the sub surfaced again. It was a fantastic experience; I could easily have spent hours down there just watching the fish go about their day. On our way back to Mahebourg we stopped off in Port Louis to visit their craft market where we picked up a few souvenirs, the most impressive being a wooden scale model of a French brick. The building of wooden ship models started in Mauritius in the 1960s and has grown to such an extent that Mauritius is now famous for this. We could hardly go home without one of our own, although we wish we were able to afford one of large models with intricate detail and carving work, selling for thousands of dollars. We were back in Mahebourg for an early dinner.

Tuesday – Black River Gorges
The day dawned overcast, but we weren’t put off. Straight after breakfast we headed off again to Black River Gorges, still hopeful of finding some of Mauritius’s endemics. Some rain and a steady wind made the morning quite chilly, so instead of walking, we just drove around the perimeter of the park, looking for birds. Unfortunately Mauritius is not a friendly place for car birding; narrow roads and impatient drivers make it impossible to drive slowly. We eventually headed for the Grande Riviere Noir entrance to the park, which gave access to the river valleys itself. Once there, the rain had cleared a bit so we braved the wind and took a walk. At the very beginning of the walk, a parakeet flew into a tree ahead of us and got us very excited before we identified it as the common introduced Rose-ringed parakeet. As we continued on our walk we heard this strange call, a deep hooom… hooom…, sounding very much like an owl. Since Mauritius has no owls we wandered on very puzzled. A short while later the mosquitoes started becoming a real nuisance so we turned back. Again we heard the hooom… hooom… call, and this time the thought popped into our heads that it might be a dove. We perused our bird book and were excited to find out that it was the call of our sought after Pink pigeon! We scanned the trees eager for a sight of it, but only got a brief glimpse as it flew off. Happy with this ID, we headed back to the Le Petrin entrance of the park to spend some more time along the escarpment of the gorge before heading home. Right by the entrance, we stopped to look at a large pigeon on the ground and were thrilled to see it was a Pink pigeon! It was very obliging and allowed us to get close enough for good pictures of this famous bird. When it flew off we continued our walk and were lucky to catch a glimpse of a group of parakeets flying and calling overhead. Back at the B&B we took advantage of the free wifi to compare the calls of the two parakeet species on the island and confirmed our suspicions – it was the scarcer Mauritius parakeets! So our day ended with two endemic lifers added to our list!

Wednesday – Ile aux Aigrettes
For the first time on our trip, we had a late lie in and only got up at 7am. We ate breakfast and spent some time carefully packing our delicate wooden ship into our luggage. We then headed off for our last excursion, a trip to Ile aux Aigrette, a small (26ha), Mauritius Wildlife Foundation-protected coral island just off the coast, used to breed Mauritian endangered species of birds, reptiles and plants. We were guided carefully around the island to see all of these. Giant fruit bats were hanging from a netted roof in a breeding cage, covering their eyes with their hands and we were allowed to gently touch one of the giant Aldabra tortoises, a Seychelles’ endemic introduced because of its similarity to the now extinct Mauritius tortoise. The tortoise looked at us and stood up, the top of his shell being higher than our knees, stretched out his neck and begged for some attention. I swear it had a look of content on its face as we stroked its leathery neck! We continued our walk and spotted some of the Telfair skinks that were being bred here. Once we reached the more overgrown (more natural forest as it used to be) portions of the island, characterized by mainly endemic ebony species, we started seeing some birds, and were happy when our guide pointed out a Mauritius fody – an endemic we had missed on the main island. An excellent sighting of a Mauritius olive white-eye followed, and we learned that this is now even more endangered than the Pink pigeon with only about 150 birds left in the wild. A feeding cage provided shelter to more Pink pigeons and it was a touch sentimental to see these birds made famous by the works of Gerald Durrell and Douglas Adams. It was a good tour and it was fantastic to see the sincere efforts on the conservation front. Pink pigeons, although still endangered, now number around 400 birds in the wild, a fantastic achievement considering they numbered only ten birds in 1991. The Mauritius kestrel (one of the endemics we dipped on) is also a bit safer now, its population also up to about 400 from only 4 individuals at its most critical. Plants have also fallen to man’s hand – only 1.3% of Mauritius area is occupied by endemic species, the rest are introduced or are crops. The conservationists have around 12 full time personnel living on the island to assist in the conservation efforts. Their jobs entail collecting seeds from the endangered plants on the island, germinating them and eventually planting them in protected areas back on the main island. They feed the birds, import soil for the turtles to lay their eggs in (being a coral island, there’s very little soil deep enough for this), and put cages around the Mauritius olive white-eye nests to prevent the fodies from taking them over and destroying the eggs. They ring each fledging before it leaves the nest, and organize trips to the main island or to other small islands off the northern coast of Mauritius, where they re-introduce the bred birds. There is a long way to go, but it is good to see that perhaps these species will not follow the fate of the dodo. We headed back to the main island, finished packing and headed for the airport, our short trip over all too quickly. There’s much still to do in Mauritius and it’s such a friendly and easy place to visit that we will certainly go back when we get another opportunity.

Drakensberg Apr 2013

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• List of birds

Brian, Rhona and Tamsyn spent the night at our place and just after 8am on Friday morning we left, driving to first to Harrismith via Bethal and Standerton. In Harrismith we had Nando’s for lunch before spending 2 hours to get to Bergville on the road past Sterkfontein dam. The road is in horrendous condition and although there’s some pretense in fixing it (chevrons in the middle of the road with an occasional Stop/Go section that’s universally ignored), there are actually kosmos growing through the middle of the road in places. What a disgrace – it’s going to be a very long time before I’ll attempt driving this particular route again. Despite the road, we arrived in the Cathkin area in good time and it was a glorious afternoon as we pulled into our accommodation at the Bergview estate just outside Drakensberg Sun hotel. After unpacking the cars and getting settled, we started a fire and soon after Rhona and Nicola’s cousin Richard and his friend Andrew showed up. Our firewood turned out to be miserable braai wood and after getting a smoky flavour we had to stick all our meat in the oven to get cooked. After a great dinner we played 30 Seconds until past midnight, wished Brian a very happy birthday and turned in.

Tentative plans to go for an early morning birding walk evaporated quickly in the morning as we lazed around the house at breakfast and later strolled down to the hotel and its lake. Around 11:30 we drove to the Waffle hut outside Winterton to celebrate Brian’s birthday and then visited several craft and souvenir shops on the R600, eventually getting back home around 3pm. Another lazy afternoon was followed by an excellent dinner. While Andrew and Richard went to watch a local comedian at the hotel, the rest of us had our own comedy session while playing three rounds of 30 Seconds. It was another late night but after 12, not even the coffee could keep us awake anymore and off to bed we went.

Sunday morning was definitely going to see some birding getting done. Rhona, Brian and Tamsyn left to spend the day at Cathedral Peak while Nicola and I took the trail up to the Grotto birding in the forest along the way. Initially we struggled a little finding the path but when we did it was nice and easy walking. Apart from a few common birds on the way into the forest, we picked up Brown-throated martin, White-rumped swift and Southern boubou. The forest itself had many parties of Cape white-eyes that seemed to follow us because around every corner was a group of four or more feeding in the low and mid stratums. On several occasions these were joined by Yellow-throated woodland warblers and even two Forest canaries that made a quick appearance. A strange looking bird had us perplexed for a short while but after browsing the field guide we discovered it was a ruddy form Olive bush-shrike. We had great views of this pretty bird sitting at times only 2 metres from us. Bar-throated apalis and Cape batis were also common but our sighting of day was certainly a short but cracking view of a Bush blackcap – our first for KZN! Higher up in the forest we also heard Sombre greenbuls before we arrived at the Grotto around 11am and sat down for a quick bite to eat and some water. Then we proceeded up the trail, quickly climbing out of the forest where the Canopy Tour starts. From here it was just a matter of walking down the dirt road back to the hotel and we reached the house some time after mid-day. A shower and lunch was followed by a lazy afternoon before getting another braai fire ready for dinner. Brian, Rhona and Tamsyn arrived around 5pm and we spent the rest of the evening chatting about all the fun we had during the day.

With plans of doing some birding along the way back home, we had to get an early start. At 7am, Nicola, Tamsyn and I were ready to go and after a tearful goodbye, we were on our way. Our first stop was Spioenkop dam Nature Reserve. A few distinctive calls like that from Golden-tailed woodpecker and Chinspot batis greeted us as we entered the reserve and while still on the tarred section we got a nice surprise: Brown-backed honeybird. In the thornveld we added a number of typical bushveld species but nothing of particular interest. The dam itself had very little to offer but as the tracks in the reserve seemed to be much more extensive than indicated on the map, we thought it a good idea to return to the reserve on a future trip. At 10am we turned around and paid a visit to Ladysmith's sewerage works. This was unfortunately quite a let-down. Despite a very helpful lady pointing out where we could watch birds, the place is unsafe, completely overgrown and has zero facilities for birders. After picking up Yellow-billed egret, African purple swamphen, a few White-faced ducks and an African pied wagtail, we left. It was now already almost noon and with a long way ahead of us, we got onto the N11 back home. Between Ladysmith and Newcastle we ran into a 15km section of road works where they forced you to drive 40km/h on average by putting up speedbumps every few 100m. Having bounced over 57 of these in more than 30 minutes it took us to drive this section, we had little pleasant to say about the current condition of SA roads. This was not helped by another stretch of 43km of horrendous road between Amersfoort and Morgenzon. For the past 5 years we have not been able to drive anywhere in the country without running into major road works, pathetic roads or countless Stop/Go sections. We wonder if it will ever end... But there's no point about complaining about this as we had a fantastic time in the 'Berg with friends and family and we look forward to seeing them again, hopefully in the not-too-distant future.

Australia & New Zealand, birding & hiking, Dec 2012

Links

• List of Birds

15 Dec 2012, Leaving SA (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 32
Lifers for the day: 0
Birds for the trip: 32
Bird of the day: Purple indigobird

The morning started with a late breakfast at our guest house, before we headed off for a few hours birding at Schurveberg. Due to the late start, we only picked up 32 birds, but a Purple indigobird, a new one for the year, was a nice surprise. We then went to visit our friends Jaco and Liezel to give their daughter Maaike her birthday present. Maaike and I share a birthday, although separated by 28 years! Then the drive to the airport, where my dad dropped us off. My cunning plan of ensuring the air hostesses knew it was my birthday did not bear fruit, as not only were we not bumped up to first class, we were seated on opposite sides of the plane. Luckily we managed to swap a seat with a very nice lady, and managed to sit next to each other after all. After waiting an hour at the gate for our plane, we were starved by the time dinner was served. After dinner we made use of the on board entertainment and I watched several episodes of Grand Designs before getting some shut-eye.

16 Dec 2012, Landing in Sydney and driving to Charlestown (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 9
Lifers for the day: 8
Birds for the trip: 41
Lifers for the trip: 8
Bird of the day: Rainbow lorikeet

We landed at around 3pm Ozzie time, and somewhat nervously approached customs, expecting that our bags would be emptied piece by piece, and that our leather shoes would be removed and sterilized. While we were not expecting them to be confiscated, we did not relish the time it would take. However it seems we looked innocent since we were just waved through after a verbal explanation of the contents of our bags. We picked up our rental car and started the drive up to Charlestown. Although we were paying more attention to the road map and the GPS directions, we did manage to take in some of our surroundings. Sydney felt very much like Cape Town, the beaches and vegetation, the same easygoing lifestyle. Although it was hard to recondition our thinking and accept that Wattles and Eucalypts are indigenous and supposed to be there! Although we spent most of the time concentrating on driving, we did manage to ID some birds as we whizzed by: Sulphur-crested cockatoo and Australian ibis. We arrived in Charlestown and checked into our very comfortable apartment and added a few more birds from the park opposite: Australian magpie, Rainbow lorikeet, Noisy miner (as ugly and noisy as the mynas we know) and Pied currawong. We did some grocery shopping for the next day and were gobsmacked at the self check-out-and-pay facility.

17 Dec 2012, Driving from Charlestown to Coffs Harbour (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 32
Lifers for the day: 22
Birds for the trip: 66
Lifers for the trip: 30
Bird of the day: Rufous fantail

Jet lag meant that we were both awake at 2 in the morning, so we watched some TV until it was light. We packed up and took a slow drive to Glenrock State Park, where we took a 5km walk to the lagoon. Although not being crowded with birds, we saw several very nice species, and notched up lifers left and right. The most interesting birds were Grey butcherbird, Channel-billed Cuckoo, Laughing kookaburra, Lewin’s honeyeater, Australian brush turkey and a Rufous fantail on it’s nest, with two hatchlings inside! We then started the long drive to Coff’s Harbour, where we managed to add a few more specials like Australian figbird and Galah, before settling in for the night with fish and chips sourced from the local fishing boats. Our early night was partly due to the need to sleep off jet lag, and partly due to a late afternoon thunderstorm that prevented a walk around town.

18 Dec 2012, Dorrigo National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 69
Lifers for the day: 41
Birds for the trip: 113
Lifers for the trip: 71
Bird of the day: Regent bowerbird

At 04:30 we were up and packing, leaving our apartment just before 05:30. Before entering the Pacific Highway to Dorrigo we stopped at a pair of small dams at the Education Campus and picked up two lifers: Willie wagtail and Australian wood duck. In Fernmount, another small dam produced a third lifer for the day: White-necked heron. Mist enshrouded the mountains as we climbed higher towards Dorrigo and when we topped out on the plateau it was cool and overcast. Nicola spotted something on the side of the road and as I balked at stopping at an awkward site, a Buff-banded rail walked out of the grass! And just two minutes later, a very aptly named Superb fairywren sat still for a picture! Shortly after 7am we parked at Dorrigo Rainforest Centre, spotted our first kangaroo and walked out on the Skywalk. Mist and bird calls swirled around us and it was terribly frustrating not knowing all these new and wonderful calls. But luckily many birds did show themselves and the IDs were not terribly difficult: Eastern yellow robin, Eastern whipbird, Yellow-throated scrubwren, Eastern spinebill, Grey fantail and a few others. At the end of the Skywalk we stayed for almost an hour picking up several more, but surely the highlight of the day – two male Regent bowerbirds perched on a branch about 30m away! Strange meowing calls threw us for a while as the birds were hidden very well but when finally I spotted one and we got the ID from the book, we were surprised we didn’t get it earlier – it was a bunch of Catbirds! The 6km Wonga Walk in the rain forest produced fewer birds but lots of leeches and standing still for longer than 30 seconds (really!) proved a bad idea. Highlights on the trail were Brown cuckoo dove, Australian logrunner, Black-faced monarch and Horsfield’s bronze cuckoo. Arriving back at the Centre well after noon, we sat at a picnic table for lunch and were surprised when a female Satin bowerbird briefly sat down on another table, not 5m from us. A drive down to the Never-never picnic site added a few more lifers: Australia’s only pipit, Little black and Little pied cormorants, Red-browed finch and Australasian grebe. Back in Coff’s Harbour in the late afternoon we spent some time in the harbour and lagoon area and picked up Dollarbird, Little tern, Pied oystercatcher, White-breasted woodswallow and a trio of Yellow-tailed black cockatoos.

19 Dec 2012, Driving to Lamington National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 52
Lifers for the day: 11
Birds for the trip: 125
Lifers for the trip: 82
Bird of the day: Rose-crowned fruit-dove

A very humid morning greeted us as we drove out to Coff’s Harbour lagoon before breakfast. A very familiar and welcome call greeted us as we drove: Eastern koel! The lagoon was surprisingly quiet but apart from the regular birds we picked up one new bird: Black-chinned honeyeater. We returned to our apartment for breakfast and after packing up and checking out, made a quick turn by the Education Campus dams, adding Australian darter, Hardhead, Pheasant coucal and White-winged triller. At the Botanic Gardens, White-throated needletails joined some Welcome swallows overhead but the “lakes” area of the gardens was very disappointing and no new water birds were seen. However, two other very nice additions were Scaly-breasted lorikeets and Rose-crowned fruit dove. Drizzle turning into slightly harder rain drove us out of the gardens just after 10am and we settled in for the long drive north to Queensland. Endless road works forced me to concentrate fiercely on the road and Nicola slept most of the way so no birds were logged until we reached Beechmont. The oppressing heat and humidity finally relented as we climbed up the mountains and topped out in the beautiful agricultural villages surrounding Lamington. We soon found our accommodation just before the turnoff to Binna Burra and our hosts, Jenny and Barry welcomed us warmly. After settling in we took a quick drive down to Canungra to buy food and then spent the rest of the early evening relaxing.

20 Dec 2012, Lamington National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 41
Lifers for the day: 9
Birds for the trip: 134
Lifers for the trip: 91
Bird of the day: Paradise riflebird

Just before 6am we left our Beechmont accommodation for the Binna Burra section of Lamington NP. Our first lifer for the day was a Torresian crow, and before we reached the park proper we also saw Pied currawong, Australian figbird, Rainbow lorikeet and Pheasant coucal. As we entered the rainforest, Superb fairywrens and Eastern yellow robins were seen frequently, Eastern whipbirds were calling non-stop and another new bird for us, Wonga pigeon, sat beautifully in a tree a few metres away. We stopped briefly at the information centre and this turned out to be a good thing as a female Paradise riflebird sat still only long enough for a good ID. At the mountain lodge we parked and walked first the Bellbird lookout track and then the Rainforest Circuit. As expected in the rainforest, it was difficult to add new birds, especially since we’ve already seen so many of them at Dorrigo. Australian king parrots and Crimson rosellas were common, Wompoo fruit doves were calling regularly and a few of the smaller jobs like Large-billed, Yellow-browed and White-browed scrubwrens had us paging through the field guide constantly. We had fantastic views of a male Satin bowerbird and Spectacled monarchs (another lifer). After lunch we drove through Canungra to the Greenmountains section of the park and picked up our last lifer for the day, Noisy friarbird, just outside the town. The long twisty drive up to O’Reilly’s is beautiful and after we saw the fantastic Tree Top boardwalk, we decided to come back very early tomorrow morning. On the way back it started raining and back in Beechmont it rained hard for quite some time while we cooked succulent lamb chops on the barbecue.

21 Dec 2012, Lamington National Park (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 41
Lifers for the day: 3
Birds for the trip: 138
Lifers for the trip: 94
Bird of the day: Albert's lyrebird

Up at 04:30 and on the road by 5, reaching O’Reilly’s around 06:30. It was very quiet and everyone seemed to still be in bed. Crimson rosellas and Australian king parrots were already looking for something to eat in the bird feeding enclosure and Eastern whipbirds and Green catbirds were calling constantly from the forest. We packed some breakfast and quietly walked towards the Tree Top boardwalk. And then, just at the entrance to the walk, a pheasant-sized bird casually strolled on the path, picking up bits and pieces to eat. It took me a few seconds to realize we were looking at a female Albert’s lyrebird! The BIG one! Nicola even managed to get a few blurry pictures (the light was terrible) before it moved on. At the top of the Tree Top walk we climbed the two platforms into the canopy of the forest, 30 metres above the floor. It’s a magnificent view and it would not have surprised us to hear David Attenborough’s voice narrating in the background. Unfortunately the platforms were very small and one could barely sit down so we scooted back to the boardwalk and sat down for breakfast on a bench at the end of it. A few other common birds were also seen, including Brown gerygone, Australian logrunner, Bassian thrush and Rufous fantail. Nicola spotted something that might have been a Noisy pitta but it disappeared so quick and we never saw it again so we still have to open our account for the pitta family. We spent a good 4 hours in the rainforest before returning to O’Reilly’s where a Mistletoebird rounded up our lifers for the day. We then bought some seed from the café and had a very entertaining 30 minutes feeding the Crimson rosellas and Australian king parrots. It was only noon now but dark clouds were building up so we decided to try something else. As we drove down the mountain it started to rain but eased up a little by the time we reached our destination: Tambourine Mountain. Watching a male Satin bowerbird while eating lunch at a small picnic site, we decided to have a look at the glow worm caves. This artificial cave was constructed purely for the conservation of glow worms that are apparently fast disappearing from their natural environments. It was a fascinating half an hour in the “cave” watching the glow worms create silken threads used to catch insect prey and 5000+ little lights creating a starry pattern on the roof and walls. After a quick cup of tea and coffee we were back on our way home for our last night in Australia before heading for New Zealand.

22 Dec 2012, Leaving Aus (Nicola)
Birds for the day: 25
Lifers for the day: 3
Birds for the trip: 142
Lifers for the trip: 97
Bird of the day: Sacred kingfisher

We got up bright and early to try and get to Brisbane with enough time to be able to do some birding at Boondall Wetland Sanctuary. We picked up a few birds en route, with the most exciting being a Magpie Goose that was flying over on one of our pit stops. We arrived at the sanctuary to be greeted by a swarm of mosquitoes. We rapidly unpacked our bags to find the repellant, slathered ourselves and set off. We followed one of the short circular routes, and the mosquitoes followed us. We walked rather quickly to try and stay ahead of the vampires, but every stop for a bird meant they caught up, and since our exposed flesh was repellant, they simply bit us through our clothing. We reached the hide only to find it was high tide and there were no sandbanks for all the waders we were hoping to see. Since the mozzies were a real menace by then, we gave up and headed back to the car. Although the outing was largely a bust, we did pick up two lifers – Sacred kingfisher and the Pale-headed rosella. We arrived at the airport early, too early to check in, so spent a few hours at a coffee shop before leaving for the next stage of our trip – New Zealand! The flight across was uneventful and we arrived in Christchurch around 11pm. The customs procedure was a little more comprehensive than in Sydney but we were still through without any hitches in about 10 minutes, picked up our rental car and drove through to our B&B where we flunked out quickly for the night.

23 Dec 2012, Christchurch to Fairlie (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 22
Lifers for the day: 11
Birds for the trip: 158
Lifers for the trip: 108
Bird of the day: Variable oystercatcher

Despite the late night, I shoved us out of bed before 6am for a quick look at Travis wetland before breakfast. At Travis we picked up our first New Zealand lifers with Grey teals and Paradise shelducks. Just after 7am we had breakfast at the B&B followed by a quick shower before checking out and heading back to Travis. A 3.5km walk took us right around the beautiful wetland and we added Silvereyes, Grey gerygone, Black swan, New Zealand scaup, Swamp harrier, and a few other introduced species. A drive past various points around the estuary potted both South Island pied and Variable oystercatchers as well as Bar-tailed godwit. We took a road that lead up into the mountains south of Christchurch and in the grassy heath we saw Goldfinches, Greenfinches and Yellowhammers. Beautiful scenery from the top of the hill had us snapping away but soon we drove back into town to do some shopping. We stopped at Hagley park, saw our first Black-billed gulls and then snoozed a little in the car while waiting for Darrell and Liza. And then the bad news came: Darrell and Liza were diverted to Auckland – too much fog in Wellington to land. This could seriously impact our entire holiday if Darrell and Liza can’t make it to Christchurch. After lots of waiting and calls to and fro, Nicola and I eventually left to go pick up our station wagon rental at the airport while Darrell and Liza still tried to get down to the South Island. Around 6pm Darrell let us know that he may be able to get tickets down to Queenstown so we could maybe drive through to Fairlie, sleep the night, then drive through to Queenstown the next day and pick them up from the airport. Another hour later we had confirmation that we should start driving to Fairlie and we set off. It was already 7pm but with the sun only setting after 9pm, and the roads south of Christchurch nice and quiet, it was a pleasant drive, arriving around 21:30 in Fairlie. The motel accommodation was perfectly adequate and soon after we checked in, Darrell confirmed that they got a flight through to Queenstown for the next day – our plans were back on track!

24 Dec 2012, Fairlie to Glenorchy (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 25
Lifers for the day: 2
Birds for the trip: 162
Lifers for the trip: 110
Bird of the day: Double-banded plover

An early start got us excellent scenery on quiet roads as we drove west towards Twizel and then south towards Queenstown. We stopped several times to gawk at the snowy peaks reflecting in perfect lakes and even added a lifer: Double-banded plover. In some agricultural fields we saw a bizarre spectacle: South Island pied oystercatchers and Black-fronted terns poking and quartering around the grassy fields. Just after 11am we made it to Queenstown and waited a short while before, thankfully, Darrell and Liza arrived. After picking up our permits for Routeburn track, we drove up to Glenorchy and checked into our hotel for the night and then back to Queenstown to buy food and sort out our transport arrangements for the next day. Back in Glenorchy around 7pm, we had some dinner, packed our bags and went off to bed.

25 Dec 2012, Routeburn track Day 1 (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 16
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 166
Lifers for the trip: 114
Bird of the day: Mohua (Yellowhead)

We started the day with a cold breakfast of muesli, yoghurt and fruit and left the hotel just after 7am. It was a pretty drive across the terminal moraine but after we parked the car at the trailhead, the sandflies attacked in force so the insect repellant was pulled out first thing. Just after 8am we started the famous Routeburn track. Across a stream and then through beautiful old red beech forest we walked, quickly adding two lifers: New Zealand robin and Rifleman. We regularly stopped to take pictures, especially where openings in the forest lent us views of the nearby snow-capped peaks. Our bird of the day was easily the Mohua that came to sit less than two metres above my head, just before the gentle path reached a hanging valley floor. The Routeburn river streamed crystal clear across the grass and rocks and since we made excellent progress, we sat down for a long tea break about 5 minutes from Routeburn Flats hut. Another New Zealand robin came looking for food and we all got a few close-up pictures. Then the slog started: trudging uphill to gain about 250m to Routeburn Falls hut. Stopping several times to catch our breaths and gawk at the scenery, we reached the hut shortly before 1am and gratefully rested our feet while having lunch. The hut was huge: there were 48 sleeping bunks, a common room, toilets, ranger’s hut and another set of luxury huts for the guided walkers. And from the deck of the hut we had the most unbelievable view down the Routeburn valley and to the top of a few 2000m peaks. For the rest of the long afternoon we dozed a little, took gentle walks around the hut and watched the scores of people coming in off the day’s hike. Around 18:30 we had a sandwich dinner and then joined all the other hikers in the common room for a “hut talk” with the ranger. After 8pm we headed for bed.

26 Dec 2012, Routeburn track Day 2 (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 16
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 166
Lifers for the trip: 116
Bird of the day: Kea

Still feeling a little stiff from the previous day’s climb, we started slowly up the hill at 07:30. We were among the first people leaving Routeburn Falls hut and the morning air was still and cool. There were quite a bit of cloud around and rain was forecasted for the day, but we were still able to hike in shorts and T-shirts. The path ascended in a series of small terraces, allowing us a short reprieve after each incline. Not far above Routeburn falls, we heard a screeching noise and we managed to get a quick glimpse of the Kea that flew past, on its way to the hut to ransack boots and backpacks. Climbing higher, beautiful views opened up and when we reached Lake Harris, we had to stop several times for pictures. We reached the Harris Saddle about 2 hours after we started. We took a quick rest in the small shelter and made up our minds: Nicola and Liza were going to carry on walking towards Lake MacKenzie hut while Darrrell and I climbed Conical Hill. Darrell and I left our packs in the shelter and started climbing slowly towards the summit. Darrell reached the top in about 40 minutes and I followed about 10 minutes later and we spent a good 15 minutes taking pictures and reminiscing about previous summits reached. This was certainly one of the most beautiful! Then it was downhill back to the shelter and off towards Lake MacKenzie to try and catch the girls, who now had an hour and a half head start. With me struggling with sore feet, Darrell soon took the lead and we each hiked at our own pace, traversing the steep slopes above the Hollyford valley. It was hard walking: the path rarely had flat sections and the continuous up and down slowed me down badly. But the magnificent views made up for it and I felt privileged to finally see the Southern Alps. Finally, after about two hours walking and an annoyingly long uphill, I reached a saddle and looked down onto Lake MacKenzie. It was a steep descent down into the valley and when I reached the treeline, my feet were hurting badly. At last reaching the hut, I eased off my shoes and had a late lunch before settling into our bunks for a bit of a rest. Later in the afternoon, Nicola and I took a walk to see the Tomtits that Nicola and Liza saw on the way down. Another sandwich dinner was followed by a hut talk by the ranger and then it was off to bed.

27 Dec 2012, Routeburn track Day 3 (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 29
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 175
Lifers for the trip: 120
Bird of the day: Tui

Once again we were among the first people to leave the hut. This time it was quite cold and all of us had jackets on as we started on the trail. First taking us into some silver beech forest, the path then ascended up and across the slopes through the forest, crossing a number of beautiful streams and waterfalls including the 176m Earland waterfall. By the time we reached the gentle path leading down to Howden hut, I was hurting badly and at the hut I had to take off my boots and massage my feet. At least it was nice and sunny and we thawed well after the cold walk in the mountain shadows. After a 20 minute rest, my feet felt better and we started our last climb of the Routeburn track. Fifteen minutes later we reached the top and from here it was about 3km of downhill all the way to The Divide. I reached the car park first and happily saw our rental car left by Trackhopper who drove it around from Glenorchy. The other three were soon there and after a few “After” pictures, we packed the car and drove to Te Anau for a picnic lunch of roast chicken and coke. At the Mirror Lakes we stopped for a few pictures but a stiff breeze destroyed the image – however, our first Tui were seen foraging among the flowers around the edge of the lakes. We made another stop at a wetland but didn’t add any new birds here. Finally we reached Invercargill at 6pm and were greeted warmly by our hosts at Bushy Point Fernbirds Homestay B&B. They had a birdfeeder at one of their bay windows and within 2 minutes we got fantastic close-up views of both Tui and Bellbird (another lifer)! After a cup of tea and chocolate, we all had an incredibly welcome shower and then Darrell and Liza generously took us out to dinner at the Cabbage Tree, a wonderful local restaurant with great food. Although we only got back at 9pm, there was still a bit of light left and dropping Darrell and Liza off at the B&B, Nicola and I made a quick turn at Sandy Point reserve. Unfortunately the light was fading fast and we saw nothing new but thought it was a worth a visit the next morning.

28 Dec 2012, Invercargill to The Catlins (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 22
Lifers for the day: 4
Birds for the trip: 179
Lifers for the trip: 124
Bird of the day: Royal spoonbill

With Darrell picking up a bit of a cold and staying in, Nicola and I had a quick cup of coffee at 6am before Jenny took us on a walk around Bushy Point, there own private reserve. Rubbing a piece of polystyrene on a glass jar, she managed to call a few inquisitive Grey fantails. Out in the grassy rushes, prime Fernbird habitat, Jenny began whistling and Nicola soon took over the job - amazingly the Fernbirds were so curious about us that they would scamper through the rushes up to less than a metre from us! But their habit of staying well within the grasses made seeing and photographing them almost impossible. During our hour long walk we spotted perhaps 8 individuals and did manage to get a few pictures of these curious little birds. At 07:30 we were back and had breakfast with Darrell and Liza before packing up and heading off to Sandy Point. Here we drove around slowly picking up several common birds but also two lifers: Hedge accentor (Dunnock) and in the estuary at Daffodil bay, Royal spoonbill. Around 10am we started making our way towards the Catlins, stopping at Curio Bay's petrified forest where we saw a Yellow-eyed penguin in a the far distance. We reached our motel-style accommodation at McLean Falls holiday park in the early afternoon and decided to have a rest. Later, while Darrell (still feeling sick) stayed in, Nicola, Liza and I drove to Papatowai to buy food for dinner. We were all still a bit stiff and sore after the hike and after dinner went off to an early night.

29 Dec 2012, The Catlins (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 30
Lifers for the day: 2
Birds for the trip: 181
Lifers for the trip: 126
Bird of the day: White-fronted tern

There are quite a few things we all wanted to do around The Catlins so soon after breakfast we headed out to a lookout point just outside Papatowai. An information board provided some interesting history about the area and included a beautiful poem by a bush tramway builder, Frank Ward. At Cathedral Caves we parked and walked down to the beach for about 20 minutes to walk around the interconnected caves in the shore cliffs, covered by high tide. Unfortunately there were throngs of people so we only stayed long enough for a few pics and then headed off to Tautuku estuary, Lake Wilkie, Purakaunui falls and Tunnel Hill before stopping beside the Catlins Lake for lunch. At Nugget Point we walked out to the lighthouse and added tow lifers: White-fronted terns were flying around the cliffs and numerous Spotted shags were drying out on the steep slopes. It's a beautiful walk with fantastic views and reminded us a lot of the walk to the Cape Point lighthouse. All too soon it was time to head back as for the first time in 8 days in New Zealand it looked like it might start raining. We stopped in Owaka to pick up a few groceries and then headed back to McLean Falls. While Nicola and I cooked a steak dinner and watched a David Attenborough special on the computer, Darrell and Liza decided to eat at the Whistling Frog restaurant. As the evening wore on, the skies finally opened and a light rain started to fall.

30 Dec 2012, Driving back to Christchurch (Pieter)
Birds for the day: 4
Lifers for the day: 2
Birds for the trip: 183
Lifers for the trip: 128
Bird of the day: Stewart Island shag

It was an overcast an drizzly morning as we set out for the 500km drive back to Christchurch. The drive was uneventful with frequent showers of rain but we stopped briefly at Moeraki to get a look at the Moeraki boulders and also the Little (Blue) penguin colony in Oamaru where we also spotted a few Stewart Island shags on the baywater. We reached Christchurch just before 4pm as the clouds made way for a hot afternoon. While Darrell and Liza rested, Nicola and I went looking for souvenirs in Christchurch but found everything closed. We dropped off the rental car at the airport and got a lift back to our motel before getting fish and chips takeaway for dinner. We had a subdued evening as we knew the holiday was fast approaching it's end and as we needed to get up at 03:30, we were off to bed before 10pm.

31 Dec 2012, Sydney (Pieter)
No bird-watching

After the early rise, we got a taxi to the airport and were soon checked in. Nicola and I wandered through the small airport but could find no souvenirs we liked so went off to the lounge for some breakfast. Darrell and Liza's flight back to Brisbane was called first and we said our goodbyes before also leaving for our gate. The uneventful flight got us back in Sydney at 08:15 but it took almost two hours to get out of the airport due to a 20 minute wait for an open aircraft parking bay, then almost an hour in immigration queues as an Airbus 380 deposited a huge number of Yanks just before we arrived. Finally out the airport we were at our motel in 5 minutes but could not check in before 1pm so we drove out towards the harbour area. Unfortunately our rented Tom-Tom GPS made a has of things - it continuously lost signal between the tall buildings and when on occasion it knew where we were, it's directions were lagging by a block or two. Inner Sydney roads are not easy to negotiate and we spent almost an hour driving around in circles before finally finding an out-of-way parking area next to the Royal botanical gardens. Throngs of people were already streaming into the gardens and we joined them, if only just to get some good views of the Sydney Opera House and and Harbour Bridge. We ate pies for lunch in between the growing crowds and were almost glad that both of us felt too tired to stay for the fireworks. After lunch we drove to The Rocks where we parked again and did some souvenir shopping before heading back to our Wolli Creek motel. We were both very tired and after repacking our bags, a shower and dinner, it wasn't long before we were both fast asleep, long before midnight.

01 Jan 2013, Home (Pieter)
No bird-watching

With our flight only at 10:30, we were able to sleep in a bit, but at 07:30, on eerily quiet roads, we made our way back to the airport. Checking in was quick and was followed by breakfast in the Qantas lounge. The flight back was long and as awful as it can be in cattle class but we landed on time and was soon met by Nicola's dad at Arrivals. A quick stop in Pretoria for Nicola to say hello to the cats before driving home.

Another short but incredible holiday! We thoroughly enjoyed both Oz and NZ and thought it would be an easy place to live in, if we ever decided to make our way to that side. We saw more new birds than expected and added some truly remarkable scenes to our memory banks. We hope we get a chance to go back again soon. Thanks to Darrell and Liza for sharing our time in NZ - it was good seeing old friends. Happy 2013!