Part 2 - Augrabies Falls and The Kalahari

Early the next morning we leave the Little Karoo and head north to the Augrabies Falls National Park.  Here the might Orange River plummets 56m into the gorge below.  The local name for these majestic falls is 'Aukoerebis' or 'place of great noise'.  We spent the very hot afternoon, enjoying the falls and the creatures that inhabit the rocks....then we arrived at our beautiful accommodation, Vergelegen Guest House.  The pool was a welcome sight and was soon filled with most of our group. 

Along the way we saw Sociable Weaver nests built on hydro poles
and wires. Largest recorded, 2 ton and known to house
up to 300 birds

Entrances are underneath so snakes and
African wild cats can't get in.  We
learned however, that some enterprising cats
get on top and dig down into the nest
The nests have various rooms for
different purposes..nesting, sleeping,
very much like humans. The lower
level tunnels provide heat and air
conditioning to the rest of the nest

One of the hundreds of weavers that build
these nests.  

Adam helping us understand the life of the Weaver birds

Wahhhh, he drove right on by!!!

Of course he'd stop for a baboon!

Our truck attracted so much attention

Creatures that inhabit the rocks at
the falls

Pretty geckos

The mighty Orange River

The falls

Verglegen Guest House

The most beautiful sunsets ever!
They last forever....just wait...
this is only the beginning

Gorgeous birds at the guest house

We haven't seen black swans since
Australia in '07

We could have stayed here forever however Adam had us pressing on to keep to the itinerary, further north-west into the Kalahari and the magnificent Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.  Covering over 3.6 million hectares, this is one of the largest reserves in Africa.  Due to sparse vegetation in the area, excellent predator sightings are common, including that of the famous black maned lion.  Although we didn't actually have the thrill of seeing the lion, we did encounter the remains of a fresh kill.  We enjoyed a game drive to our lodge and again when departing the park.  We enjoyed night game drives, sunset pan drives, the Kalahari Nature walk and the most pleasurable interactions with the ancient Bushman.  Remember the movie "The Gods Must Be Crazy"?  The bushmen are featured in the movie and we were delighted to listen to their click language.  We heard it many times over in various parts of Africa.  A beautiful language.  Our accommodation was the gorgeous !Xaus Lodge, overlooking the pan and the desert.

A beautiful lunch spot

First hippo sighting, in the restaurant.
It's a storage unit, not a real hippo

Lush vegetation

Ostrich egg light fixture

Someone got seriously lost with
the ice cream cart!

..and in Uplands..

..a sobering message on a shop wall..

written by high school students

Then we arrived in the Kalahari and were overwhelmed by the assault on our senses; the heat, the wildlife, the colours, the pure and incredibly dry air and the raw beauty of all that we saw there.

Heaviest flying bird in Africa,
the Kory Bustard, weighing in at
up to 18 kg

Transferring luggage from our Kiboko
truck into our open vehicle for the long
trip to the lodge

Anja trying out her new dust proof head
scarf

Dinner time

Our cabin - generators run 4 hrs/day
and you need to be in bed by 10 pm...
lights out!

Witty and wonderful Hannas, our Kalahari guide

At the lodge, awaiting our briefing

The lodge overlooks the pan where
animals gather at night and get
their dose of minerals

The lounge

Our accommodation

The pan in the photo above looks like a crater and can actually be full of water in the rainy season.  It was dry as a bone when we were there, except for a small area where non-toxic runoff from the lodge was drained, providing water for the animals.  A herd of wildebeest visited as we watched from the deck.  Under the mineral-rich earth of the pan, lung fish survive several feet below the surface up to five years and sometimes longer, until the rains bring them out of their state of suspended animation and they swim again. Water for the lodge and guests is found deep beneath the surface of the Kalahari, in bore holes.  The water is unpalatable to humans and the lodge has a purification system (reverse osmosis) for drinking water.  Bore water was used in the pool and for showering. Supplies for the lodge are obtained from the closest town, Upland and involves a 750 km round trip effort.  It is critical to be organized and not forget a single item.  Meals were delicious, fresh....even salads and juices that boggled our minds with their freshness.

The !Xaus Lodge is six years old and the Komani San (Bushmen) and Mier communities own the lodge and furnishings.  The land is owned by the park.  The community receives monthly rental income based on guest turnover.  The lodge is managed by whites, teaching the employees who are from the communities, how to run the lodge.  After ten years of operation a trust will be established to receive a 10% equity stake in the management company.  The lodge assists in funding for off-site community health, agriculture, education and job creation.

The managers daughter was a regular
Dr. Doolittle, collecting gecko's
until she had a handful

Quite happy to be given a drink

One of the risks when walking in the desert grass is tick bites and we were encouraged to wear hiking boots, long pants and long sleeve shirts.  Hannas had just returned to work following a tick bite that sent him to hospital for three weeks.  He was still suffering from an enlarged liver.  As he talked to us on our walk, he felt the back of his neck and showed us a little bug that he identified it as a tick.

Walks are always done single-file for
protection

The beautiful colours of the Kalahari

Pieter, our Bushmen spotter

Even in the driest of deserts, there
is moisture in these melons and the
animals rely on them to survive

Our group walking to the Bushmen's Camp

Examining the pan up close

Traditional Camp

Pieter was our host and demonstrated
their craft-making.  Their lives depend on
the income made from jewellry
and household items, all made from natural
sources

Pieter, burning designs into wood
and horn

Aunt Lys making jewellry

Pieter and Aunt Lys'
little doll daughter

Examples of Pieter's talents

The little lady taught us
how to work with wood

Then kept an eye on me and my work
using a simple device to drill
through ostrich egg shells and horn

Ostrich egg art

..and  bigger eyes on Bob

Off to a Sundowner (drinkies at
sunset)

The rest of us

The most beautiful sunsets
we have ever seen

... they last forever

and for the first time ever for clients, Pieter
played his special musical
instrument as the sun set

Hannas, setting up the food

Here comes the tincture

Still setting...

Hannas attempting a Lotus seated posture

Our terrific guides

Sadly, our night photo's didn't turn out however we saw the Cape Cobra, a long, pale yellow snake.  It was moving rapidly beside our vehicle...too fast to get a picture.  We also saw porcupine, Kalahari kangaroo, which is actually a spring hare that looks just like a tiny kangaroo, Kudu, hawks, jackals, mongoose, meerkat, scorpion and barn owl and genet.

Yellow Mongoose

Baby ostrich....so cute