Last weekend friends, Bill and Judy invited Helen and I to join them at the Eagle Rock wildlife estate where they have a private lodge. Eagle Rock is located about 15 kilometres west of Witbank in Mpumalanga province in the highveld of South Africa. The eastern boundary of the estate is  the Olifants river which is fed by the Witbank dam and flows down to the Loskop dam. The flow of this river is determined by the release of water from the Witbank dam. During the peak rainy season it can be in flood but in late September, spring in this part of the world, it was dry so the water level in the river was low. 

“Springtime on the highveld is a time of expectancy. Certain trees and bushes start to blossom. The skies are blue and cloudless and there is no sign of rain. The sunrises and sunsets are dusty infused with warm mauves, peaches and pinks. The days are warm and the evenings cool. The migrant birds are on their way. It is a magical time of the year, pregnant with new beginnings.” ~ Mike Haworth

Bill and Judy are long standing friends so the first afternoon was spent catching up and just enjoying the quiet and beautiful scene from their lodge. Being a passionate nature photographer, regardless of the merriment the night before, I got up early the next morning, before sunrise, in search for a few  images which captured the mood of the sunrise in this unique landscape. This first image was taken just as the sun was rising. It had just climbed above the horizon but the light was very hazy so the sun was just a ball of yellow and orange in the purple, apricot and pink sky. There are many coal-fired power stations in this part of South Africa. They create the haze, mother nature creates the beauty.

The haze was thick, the sun had climbed quite high in the morning sky and it was still quite dark and moody.

“The early morning sun illuminated the sandstone cliffs, painting them with a palette of ochre, peach, pink, buff, beige and brown. New green shoots punctuated the textured sandstone cliff face with splashes of vibrant green. Rock martins played in the gentle updraft along the cliffs while Egyptian geese cavorted along the river in the valley floor.” ~ Mike Haworth

As the sun rose in the hazy sky, the filtered light began to illuminate the sandstone cliffs towering over the river.

This was a standpoint which we used to look at the Black Eagle’s nest. The nest was located on the cliff edge away from prying attentions of baboons, genets and rock monitors.

Back for breakfast, the outlook from the lodge patio looking onto the sandstone cliffs.

“For most of us, knowledge of our world comes largely through sight, yet we look about with such unseeing eyes that we are partially blind. One way to open your eyes to unnoticed beauty is to ask yourself, “What if I had never seen this before? What if I knew I would never see it again?”
~ Rachel Carson

A short walk from the lodge and we were overlooking the Olifants river. It was low  but spring has brought out the vibrant greens in some of the trees.

After breakfast we wandered around the estate. We found a lone red hartebeest grazing in  one of the verdant valleys. It was strange that it was alone but there are no predators on the estate save a clandestine leopard or two.

Early in the morning the rock hyraxes come out onto the rocks to warm up.  They stay in the rocky outcrops for cover. Despite this many fall prey to the Black Eagles which live in the area.

“

“…drink in the beauty and wonder at the meaning of what you see.”
~ Rachel Carson

The morning dew was still on the grass. A pair of Natal francolin were foraging in the middle section of a road track. It was blissfully peaceful. I watched them quietly going about their business for about half an hour before they moved off into the surrounding vegetation.

Along the same valley were many ferns, briars and flora which was waiting for the rains to burst into life. This grass bird was singing its heart out unperturbed by me.

An ubiquitous male Stonechat calling to his mate.

The Eagle Rock estate is sited on weathered sandstone. Staring at the weather structures along the cliff face images start to form – the head of a roman soldier with helmet on. 

In next week’s post, I will show you some of the images of the black eagles which live and hunt along these sandstone cliffs on Eagle Rock estate.

“It is a wholesome and necessary thing for us to turn again to the earth and in the contemplation of her beauties to know the sense of wonder and humility. ”
~ Rachel Carson

Explore, seek to understand marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

I was fortunate enough to spend a day with my life-long friend, Mick Condy. He now owns and runs a Safari company called Mike Condy Tours and Safaris. Mick invited me to spend a day with him in the Pilansberg Game Reserve next to Sun City in the North West province of South Africa. We had an early start and were up and out on the road at 5h00 to get to the Bakubung gate at the Pilansberg Game Reserve by 7h00, just as the sun was rising.

“The friendship began at nursery school. Grew in primary school, found space and dimension at senior school. Endured separation during the war and later at varsity. Reconnected later in life. By then many decades had past and the life investment was yielding evergreen respect, recognition and liking. Now fifty years down the road of life it is great fun, mixed with deep appreciation and respect. You don’t have to be the same but there is golden thread of memories, experiences and camaraderie which create a unique bond.” ~ Mike Haworth

Being life long friends there was much to talk about for the two hour drive to the park. We have shared a love of the bush all our lives and it is only as we have got older that we could be afford the time and money to spend more time in the bush. One of the wonderful aspects about growing older with life long friends it that time spent together is used to share insights we have found out about life. It is both interesting and inspiring.

“A friend is one that knows you as you are, understands where you have been, accepts what you have become, and still, gently allows you to grow.”~ William Shakespeare

Prior to its proclamation as a reserve in 1979, the Pilanesberg National Park Complex was degraded of indigenous game populations due to intense settlement by commercial farmers. At considerable expense, the land  was developed during the first 15 years after 1979. This development was the largest and most expensive game stocking and land rehabilitation project ever undertaken in any African game reserve at that time. The objective being to restock the park with wildlife and facilitate the regrowth after the degradation from human settlement. More than 6,000 head of game were introduced during the Operation Genesis game trans-location programme, which  received worldwide acclaim.

This area is unique from a geological perspective. Its structure, termed the “Pilanesberg National Park Alkaline Ring Complex” was formed by volcanic eruptions some 1 200 million years ago. This extinct volcano is old even in the context of a geological time scale and is the best example of an alkaline ring complex. There are only two other alkaline volcanoes in the world, in Russia and in Greenland. Neither are as clearly defined as Pilansberg National Park.

Near the centre of the park in Mankwe dam. It is surrounded by rocky outcrops, open grasslands, wooded valleys and thickets which provide a varied natural environment for the wildlife. This is typical of the ‘Bushveld’ which occurs in the transition zone between the dry Kalahari and wetter Lowveld vegetation. There is much to do in and around this park but we preferred to get away from the maddening crowd and see nature in her element. 

“No matter how few possessions you own or how little money you have, loving wildlife and nature will make you rich beyond measure.”
~ Paul Oxton

Still early in the morning around 8h00 we found two young males which had left the pride and were on their own, nomads. They were very playful with each other.

Two young nomads who see to have formed a coalition.  Their manes had still to fully develop. They were playful, cavorting around in the waterways at the head of the Mankwe dam.

Mick and I went down to the Mankwe dam hide to see what was going on. It was busy, people wise, so not much happening from a nature point of view. Nevertheless we were graced by our avian friends. It was an overcast day and quite chilly early in the morning so this lesser-striped swallow had puffed itself out to keep warm.

The air was still and cool so this probably kept these lesser-striped swallows on their perch as the insect activity must have been quite subdued.

This lesser egret was busy hunting in the shallows around the Mankwe dam hide. It seemed to be successful in its hunting efforts catching several little fish.

In the car park, there were a few Crested francolins pecking in the sand looking for seed. This character came running towards us habitually expecting food.

“The hope of the future lies not in curbing the influence of human occupancy – it is already too late for that – but in creating a better understanding of the extent of that influence and a new ethic for its governance.”
~ Aldo Leopold

A little later we wandered our way up toward Makorwane dam, west of Mankwe. On the way we were told there was a leopard sighting next to the road a few hundred metres ahead.

This was handsome male leopard which seemed unfazed by the vehicles and remained focused on the bush around him.

After spending a while watching the male leopard, he wandered off into the bush so we carried on up the road. A little further on from our leopard sighting we found a pair of Black-capped wheatears. They were foraging in some burnt grass for insects.

“Colours are the smiles of nature.” ~ Leigh Hunt

Winter can be a magical time for fora in the bush. Winter can bring out some spectacular colours in the bushes and trees.

We found a small family of wathogs browsing in a burnt area of bush. They use their snouts to dig into the the earth and uncover succulent roots and tubers.

We travelled east to Ratihogo hide which has provided many extraordinary sightings in the past, but it was very quiet this time but for a brown-headed kingfisher hunting for insects from its perch in the trees overhanging the dam.

From the Ratihogo hide we wandered along the Korwe drive down to twin dams which, being winter, had dried up,  We were rewarded by a sighting of two large bull white rhinos basking in the warm winter sun.

There is a wide variety of habitat to see in the Pilansberg reserve and in winter the bush offers a vivid palette of colours.

We found numerous small herds of blue wildebeest. They had huddled together due to the wind. The wildlife adapts to the wind because it disrupts two key senses, smell and hearing. It was good to see many youngsters in the herds.

A small family herd of zebra grazing at the foot of a range of hills along Mankwe way.

“Nature’s beauty is a gift that cultivates appreciation and gratitude.” ~ Louie Schwartzberg

In the afternoon we returned to Makorwane dam and on the way we found a large breeding herd of elephant next to the road. Two teenage bull elephants came onto the road to “play fight” and push each other around trying to assert their dominance. the two were evenly matched so there was no winner.

On our way back to the Kubu road, after having seen the leopard, we found this unlikely pair warming themselves on a road next to the bridge. A Water monitor lizard and a terrapin. Not long after this image was taken, others saw the leopard had wandered down to the bridge and found and killed the Water monitor lizard. Leopards are not fussy predators.

There were no sighting highlights as it was special to see all the wildlife, big and small, animal and bird. The leopard was surprisingly relaxed which gave us a unique opportunity to spend some time watching this normally secretive feline.

Unfortunately last weekend, the Pilansberg National Park was ravaged by fire. Park authorities said it began in the north of the park‚ and burnt through the park on Sunday, fanned by the wind blowing south. The park has a number of hides favoured by many to watch the bird and animal life come down to the dams to drink. The largest hide overlooking Mankwe dam was destroyed by the fire.

“Don’t walk behind me; I may not lead. Don’t walk in front of me; I may not follow. Just walk beside me and be my friend.” ~ Albert Camus

Mick thanks again for a wonderful day in the park together, it was special and much appreciated http://www.mikecondytoursandsafaris.com/

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike

This is the last post from our Drakensberg trip showing some of the majesty of the Giant’s Castle area of the Ukhahlamba Drakensberg in central South Africa. We went there in mid-winter hoping to see snow. No luck, it was cold at night and in the early mornings there was frost on the lower reaches next to the Bushman’s river but no snow up on the mountain tops.

“Any landscape is a condition of the spirit.”~ Henri Frederic Ariel

The majesty of the scenery dictated that we rose well before sunrise which was around 7h00. This was the scene looking east at the sunrise from behind the vulture’s hide.

Slowly the sun peered over the middle berg to shine on basalt buttresses in the distant upper berg. The colours were soft, infused with purples and mauves.

“As knowledge increases, wonder deepens.” – Charles Morgan

As the sun rose it brightened revealing a pallet of unexpected colours.

On the edge of the ridge in front of the hide this pair of Black-backed jackals came to steal some of the bones we put out for the bearded vultures.

The Giant’s Castle vulture hide perched on the edge of a steep cliff in the middle berg.

The White-necked ravens were ever present even when the jackals were looking for food. Needless to say the jackals got whatever they wanted.

A view from inside the vulture’s hide looking south west across the ridge and off to the upper berg.

A Lanner falcon came to visit and stirred things up among the ravens.

A view of the terrain on the way to the vulture’s hide. Vast, magnificent and quiet but for the wind singing in the grasses.

A Bearded vulture sitting looking out from the edge of a cliff in the middle berg.

“The more clearly we can focus our attention on the wonders and realities of the universe about us, the less taste we shall have for destruction.” ~ Rachel Carson

Breathtaking views and colours as seen from the hide-early morning views.

Two juvenile Bearded vultures sparring high above the valley floor.

Early morning before the sun had risen -there was a stillness but the colours were vibrant and the scene sublime.

A Bearded vulture flying with the basalt buttresses in the distant background.

An adult and juvenile flying together way above the valley floor.

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.” ~  William Butler Yeats

Late afternoon just above the hide looking south west.

Freedom, space and grandeur.

Below the middle berg, this time along the Bushman’s river. It was early morning with the first light illuminating the tops of the middle ground hilltops. The white you can see in the foreground was frost. It was ice cold at that time. Nothing a cup of hot coffee and rusk could not ward off.

The sun had not yet peered into the valley but some of the reflections of the light from the hilltops were beginning to be caught in the reflections in the river.

Just stop on your walk and look around. You might be surprised at the eclectic colour and textures you might see.

“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” – Robert Louis Stevenson.

A short walk up the one of the valleys – verdant even in mid-winter.

The sunlight was now filling the valley. The river was strewn with rounded boulders which have been shaped over hundreds of years. The sun illuminated the river course beautifully.

“Have you ever sat in absolute quiet,

Have you ever been bathed in the warm morning light,

Does your heart not sing at the sight,

Does something deep inside you not stir just a mite.”~ Mike Haworth

On our last evening, once it was too dark to photograph from the hide, we drove to an adjacent area south west of the hide to watch the sun setting in the west.

The spectrum of colours melted from warm to cool with a warm hue. It is at times like this when you feel alive and grateful to be able to witness this incredible beauty.

The last light show from what was a spectacular day.

“Have you heard the wind singing in the trees and seen the branches swaying in rhythm. The wind was telling us where it had come from and where it was going. Then in between times the breeze whispered stories to the grass which waved in delight.” ~ Mike Haworth

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its inter-connectedness and let it be.

Have fun,

Mike