Helen and I visited Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve, one of our favourite places in South Africa, in November last year. We try to visit this reserve at different times of the year to experience the differences in the wildlife, flora and scenery each time.

“There is no time to be bored in a world like this.” ~ Unknown

Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve is located in the southern end of central section of uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park. The latter is a World Heritage Site. The Drakensberg rises to more than 3,475 metres and extends roughly northeast to southwest for 1 125 km parallel to the southeastern coast of South Africa.

The most-elevated stretch of the Drakensberg, in eastern and southern Lesotho, is composed of severely eroded basalt capping a sandstone base. Its pinnacles, broken and fractured blocks present a steep eastern scarp of 3 000 to 3 300 metres in elevation along the length of the border between Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal; a steep southern scarp of 2 400 to 3 000 metres in elevation lies along the length of the Lesotho–Eastern Cape province border.

“Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.” ~ Edward Abbey

The main hutted camp in Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve overlooks the Bushman’s river. Looking west from the camp up the Bushman’s river you will see Giant’s Castle peak which is 3 314 metres high. Giant’s Castle gets its name from the outline of the peaks and escarpment that combine to resemble the profile of a sleeping giant.

Giant’s Castle Nature Reserve is about four and a half hour’s drive from Johannesburg depending on road conditions. After checking in and getting settled in our chalet we went for a late afternoon walk along the Bushman’s river trail towards the main caves. This walk revealed many birds on the rocks and on the trees, shrubs and proteas alongside the path. November is summer in South Africa so most of the birds had already adorned their breeding colours. They looked like jewels in the sunshine.

A male Greater double-collared sunbird in full breeding colours perched on a twig jutting out of a lichen encrusted branch of an Oldwood tree.

A Green white eye perched on a young shoot of an Oldwood tree in front of our chalet.

We can see three species of White-eye in South Africa, the Cape, Green, and Yellow. The Green White-eye has a broken white eye ring at the point closest to its beak and has a greenish breast and belly colouring. By contrast, the Cape White eye has the same broken white eyering but its flanks, breast and belly colour is grey.

A Bush Blackcap in a deciduous shrub in front of our chalet. This species has a distinct blackcap and a coral red beak and its underparts are light grey.

The Bush Blackcap has a melodious call. It is musical and varied. With this character singing so beautifully in front of our chalet and sitting in such an open position I just had to pick up my camera and photograph it.

There are numerous Kurrichane thrushes in and around the Giant’s Castle camp. More often than not you will find this species on the ground flicking through loose leaf litter with its beak, probably searching for earthworms. This species has an orange beak and orange flanks. It had been raining so the black malar stripe was not evident. It has the typical repetitive thrush whistle.

“Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower.” ~ Hans Christian Andersen

On our walk out of camp along the trail to the main caves we found this male Buff Streaked chat which was very talkative from his prominent position on the large rocks alongside the path. He has a distinct buff eyebrow, a black face mask and neck and an orange breast which fades to white at his belly and vent. He has distinct black wing and tail feathers. The female is a buff colour but not nearly as strikingly coloured.

A male Malachite sunbird in the process of regrowing his breeding colours. He was perched on a protea stem trying to hang on in a stiff wind. Once he has grown his full breeding plumage he will be a bright metallic green all over and will have a yellow shoulder sash. His tail will consist of two long middle tail feathers.

“The lure of the distant and the difficult is deceptive. The great opportunity is where you are.” ~ John Burroughs

A male Malachite sunbird in full breeding plumage perched on a dead shrub next to a large boulder trying to get some protection from the strong wind gusting down the Bushman’s river valley.

A male Cape canary on a lichen encrusted rock. The male has a grey nape and mustard yellow face throat, breast and belly.

This male Canary was on his own. The female is a buff colour with heavy streaking on her breast and belly.

A Cape long claw watching the passers by from a prominent bush. This species is one of three in Southern Africa. It has a distinctive orange throat. Like all longclaws it has a black colour, cryptic upper parts and a long hind claw to help it climb over long grasses.

The Bush Blackcaps were very obliging on this trip. In the past I have struggled to see them out in the open.

An adult Gurney’s sugarbird perched on top of a shrub soaking in the late afternoon sun after a rain shower. This species of sugarbird looks and behaves in a similar manner to sunbirds but is in a different family and is much larger than all the sunbirds. This species can often be found on the protea roupelliae, the Silver sugarbush.

“May I dust you lightly with my charisma.” ~ Peter Carroll

In South Africa we can see two species of sugarbird but only the Gurney’s sugarbird is found in the Drakensberg. It has a rufous breast and cap. It has a yellow vent similar to bulbuls. The Gurney’s sugarbird has long tail feathers but they are much shorter than those of the Cape sugarbird.

These were just a few of the birds we saw on our first afternoon at the Giant’s Castle Camp. The weather was variable with sunshine, heavy clouds, winds and sporadic rain showers all of which we expected in late November in this part of the world.

Sunset looking up the Bushman’s river toward Giant’s Castle.

The main purpose of the trip was firstly to get into the wild to refresh our souls with mountain air and allow our eyes to glide over spectacular vistas. The second reason was to spend five days in the Bearded vulture hide. With the weather being so variable we decided one or two days at the hide would be a hit an miss in terms of photographic and avian sighting productivity.

“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

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

Have fun, Mike