On several occasions, long-standing friends, Bill and Judy Pierce, invited Helen and I for a weekend at their syndicated bush cottage in Eagle’s Rock estate. This is a private wildlife estate located about 15 kilometres north of Witbank in Mpumalanga, a province in South Africa.

“Old wood best to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read.” ~ Athenaeus

The Eagle’s Rock wildlife estate is located in the flat farming area outside Witbank which is rapidly developing into an opencast coal mining area. This wildlife estate was unique because its eastern and northern border was the Olifant’s river which flows northwards from the Witbank dam to the Loskop dam and onto join the Letaba river in Kruger National Park.

The Olifants river has cut a steep canyon through the red sandstone in the area, an impressive feature which you would not know existed by just looking at the flat farming and mining surrounds. Eagle’s Rock estate has a unique geological character which determines the diverse flora, fauna and birdlife found on it. The red sandstone in the canyon is highly weathered and has developed steep cliffs in sections along the river.

“The river has great wisdom and whispers its secrets to the hearts of men.” ~ Mark Twain

The steep cliffs on sections of the canyon used to be home to White-backed vultures and are now home to baboons, dassies, Black eagles, and Peregrine and Lanner falcons.

One of my favourite things to do here was to get up early when everyone was still asleep, after an evening of fun and laughter, and drive around the estate as the sun was rising to watch all the diurnal wildlife getting started. It is not only the wildlife that is entrancing but the insects and flora too. First thing in the morning, this Common Dotted Border was sipping moisture from the wet soil.

One of the sand roads on the estate follows a valley on the northern side of the estate which has abundant flora and fauna. There are two dams on the river course, and I have often seen kudu and klipspringers on my wanderings. There are Cocqui francolin and Natal spurfowl and many species of seed eating birds in this river course.

Around the dams we have seen Marsh owls, several species of duck and of course in the evenings the frog orchestra warms up for its nightly symphony.

”A river doesn’t just carry water, it carries life.” ~ Amit Kalantri

This Eupatorium was just one of the many flowers blooming along the sand track adjacent to the stream trickling down the valley.

You need to be wide awake when photographing Black eagles from the sandstone cliff edge. It is very exciting when these huge eagles fly past. Being caught up in all the excitement it would be very easy to take a step in the wrong direction and free fall about 300 metres to the bottom of the gorge. Even with that risk it was still a wonderful opportunity to photograph Black eagles in their natural habitat.

“Rivers are places that renew our spirit, connect us with our past, and link us directly with the flow and rhythm of the natural world.” ~ Ted Turner

While waiting for the Black eagles to appear there are always the Speckled pigeons which inhabit the cliffs. These pigeons together with numerous Little swifts are constantly flying past . On occasion, I have seen Fish eagles and even a Martial eagle fly along the river course. I have spent many happy hours musing over the beauty and majesty of this place and what a privilege it is to have your own private Black eagle viewing spot.

You need to remain alert as the Black eagles appear quickly from behind the ridge. They make no sound so you only have a visual cue. They can either come from high after riding a thermal or from down in the valley using the updraft to lift them up.

The pair of Black eagles usually fly together and use the updraft from the canyon to fly along the canyon. This gives a photographer many wonderful opportunities to get relatively close shots of these magnificent eagles gliding past.

From the eagle look-out point looking east up the Olifants river you can see the Presidentsrus resort which is mostly hidden by the cliff at the bend in the river. The Black eagles often sit on the red sandstone rocks. From this vantage point you get an almost 360 degree view of their hunting area. This vantage point also gives them close access to the nest which is about three hundred metres along the valley.

Once the sun has risen and it has warmed up enough for thermals to start developing, I usually drive to an eastern section of the estate where there is a resident pair of Black eagles which have produced offspring almost every year. There is a three hundred metre walk through the rocks to get to the edge of the sandstone canyon. From the main vantage point, you can see up and down the canyon. From this point you can also see the nest that the Black eagles use to raise a chick each year.

The male Black eagle is smaller than the female. The adult Black or Verreaux’s eagle is mostly jet-black in colour. The eye ring and cere are yellow, and the beak is horn grey with a black tip. When these magnificent eagles are flying and when seen from above the white on the back, rump and upper-tail coverts and part of the scapulars form a distinctive V-shaped patch.

There are plenty of dassies on the sandstone rocks which are a favourite part of the Black eagle’s diet. Dassies make up around 90% of this eagle’s diet.

It is a real thrill to watch these huge Black eagle’s fly past. During the breeding season which is in late winter the eagles are very busy preparing and repairing their huge stick nest structure sitting precariously on a cliff ledge.

These Black eagles are inquisitive and often fly above “our” lookout point just to check up on what we are doing as the lookout point is about 50 metres above and 50 metres away from the nest.

The weather in the late afternoons in summer can be quite colourful and dramatic. This was the view from the cottage patio looking north onto the gorge as a storm was building.

“There is something massively energising about the gathering storm. The gathering builds expectations of wild skies, where flashes of forked lightning were followed by booming thunder claps. The sky darkens, there is wind in your face and you can smell the rain coming.” ~ Mike Haworth

The last weekend we spent will Bill and Judy at Eagle’s Rock estate, a thunderstorm developed and with the lightning came the thunder. The view from the patio gave us the sunset to the west and the thunderstorm to the east which was both beautiful and dramatic.

As the storm moved west and the sun set the sky darkened and we got to see nature’s light show with sundowner in hand. It is very humbling to watch mother nature display like this.

“The thunder speaks, but the lightning strikes.” ~ Zulu proverb

The last time we visited Eagle’s Rock estate was in the March of 2020 just before the lockdown for the Covid-19. Bill and Judy’s syndicate has subsequently sold their bush cottage at Eagle’s Rock estate. We spent many happy weekends as guests of Bill and Judy over the years. There was always something to see during the days with long walks around the estate and at times down to the valley floor which took some navigating.

“Old friends are like wine — they grow much sweeter and more valuable as they get older. And they are irreplaceable.” ~ Ron Hale-Evans

Natural wild places and time spent with long standing friends is the perfect tonic and a great way to share ideas and have much fun and laughter together. Thank you Bill and Judy for many wonderful times spent with you at Eagle’s Rock.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun Mike.