A HOT MIDDAY AND A COOL BATH

 It's midday. The heat is uncomfortable. The temperature peaks at 38C. Our campsite at Mata Mata has been packed up, the tent folded up and placed on the car roof rack. Stretchers, chairs and tables have been folded up and stored on top of the roof rack, too. Now, we are in the car, travelling down the Auob to Twee Rivieren. We do not hope to see much, as the animals gather under the shade of the few trees in the riverbed. The soft, early morning light has been replaced by a harsh glare. To do photography in this light is not ideal, as the photos tend to look over-exposed.

The water-hole.

We slow down at the water-holes and scan for any animals. The hot sand shimmers in the heat, but we do not see anything coming to drink. Then, Noel stops suddenly, "look," he says, "there's something in the water !" I look, and then I see the head. Submerged in the depths of the water trough, with just its head protruding, is a Spotted Hyena, taking a bath.

After a good wallow, the hyena starts to climb out.

Feeling refreshed, the hyena ambles off.

 The Spotted Hyena stands nearly a metre high at the shoulder, and can weigh up to eighty kilograms.  The genitals of the male and female hyena look similar, and therefore it is difficult to tell the sex of a hyena. "That does not matter, all that matters is that they know the difference," says Noel with a chuckle. What I like about the Spotted Hyena, is that they live in clans, with a matriarch in charge. All the female members are dominant to the males. Communication with the clan members is done by  whoops, cackles, growls and grunts, with these eerie vocal noises being heard in the night. The Brown Hyena leads a more solitary and silent existence, and does not hunt big prey like the Spotted Hyena. Both the Brown Hyena and the Spotted are territorial, and use scent marking to establish their territories.
  

A Brown Hyena scent marking.

It is often thought that the Spotted Hyena is a cowardly scavenger, but they are also tenacious hunters. In the Kalahari, the Spotted Hyena will often prey on Gemsbok ( Oryx ) calves, by running into the herd and separating a young one from the adults. They are also fearless, and will chase lions away from a kill. They are able to eat one-third of their weight in one sitting. Generally, the only time one will see hyenas during the middle of the day, is when they are bathing.

For more information about hyenas: www.hyaenidae.org

FAREWELL, PIET HEYMANS

Piet Heymans loved the Kalahari. He was a business-owner from Bloemfontein, but he would travel up to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park at least twice a year. He got to know the secrets of the Kalahari, and he could read animal behaviour. Piet, or Oom Piet ( Uncle Piet ), as he liked to be called, could tell from the number of moths around the campfire, if rain was to be expected in the next few days. The skies would be cloudless, and Oom Piet would watch the agamas. If the agamas were sitting high up and looking North, a shower of rain could be expected.

Oom Piet had visited the Kalahari during all the seasons. He saw the changing weather patterns and the different climates which accompanied each season. He knew the harsh, dry winters and the scorching, merciless summers. He would drive a Toyota Landcruiser from Bloemfontein, which had been converted for camping purposes, to the Kalahari. This vehicle was nicknamed "Skilpad", which means "tortoise". Oom Piet and Skilpad would be a familiar sight as he drove along the Park roads. He would often stop and chat to the tourists and discuss sightings.

Oom Piet favoured the region north of Nossob. He often sat at the water-holes of Cubitje-Quap; Kwang; Bedinkt; Langklaas and Kousant. In later years, the Botswana authorities established a campsite at Polentswa. This became Oom Piet's favourite campsite, as here he found tranquility and the freedom of an unfenced camp. Oom Piet would spend hours watching the animals coming to drink at the Polentswa water-hole. It was here, that he felt close to nature and his beloved Kalahari. By then, Skilpad had been replaced by a smart off-road caravan, and I wonder how many times Oom Piet took shelter in that caravan when lions and marauding hyenas came to visit  him at Polentswa.

It was a privilege to be invited to camp with Oom Piet. Noel Hammond; Anton and Elanie de Villiers; Jan and Elsie Hamman and Gavin Stapleton were some of the privileged fellow-campers. This was a group of friends and photographers that shared camaraderie around Oom Piet's campfire. Sadly, Jan passed away in 2004, and Gavin in 2008. Yesterday, the 16th of January 2013, Oom Piet slipped away in his sleep, after a long battle with cancer.

Oom Piet, you will always be remembered, as the Kalahari will never forget you. You have left behind a legacy of solar-powered water pumps at the water-holes. The water produced by these solar-powered pumps sustain the wildlife, and brings enjoyment to the animals which like to bathe. You worked tirelessly to establish "The Friends of the Kalahari", and to raise funds to replace the worn-out and malfunctioning windmills, giving your time and  generous sponsorship to this project. Oom Piet, your legacy lives on ...

 Sunset at Mata Mata

Please see the blog posting, "Where are the barking geckos ?" for photos, and information about Piet Heyman's book, "Ousus".

A TAWNY EAGLE AND A TRAFFIC JAM

The air seems cooler this morning. I stand outside the tent and greet the dawn. I look at the sky, but all the dark clouds have vanished. The wind has died down. I was disappointed it had not rained during the night, but I was not disappointed for long. We drive thirty kilometres down the Auob river, and then we suddenly see small puddles of water. "Rain," I shout excitedly, " it rained here during the night !"  Noel brings the Land Rover to a halt, and lifts up his camera, with the 300 - 800 F5.6 Sigma lens attached, and grins as he snaps away. He photographs a Tawny Eagle in a rain puddle in the road.

A Tawny Eagle bathes in a rain puddle

For about twenty minutes, the Tawny Eagle bathes, splashes around and drinks the water. A line of cars back up behind us. The eagle derives much pleasure from the puddle, and Noel derives much pleasure from his photography. The cars cannot pass, and become impatient. There is an exchange of words between Noel and the driver behind us. I get embarrassed, and sink lower in my seat. This altercation causes the eagle to look up. The eagle ruffles its feathers, and they are not the only the only feathers being ruffled at the moment. Suddenly, the eagle takes off. The car behind us pulls alongside, the driver is looking angry and glares at us. Noel politely smiles and thanks the driver for his patience, as they pull off.

The Tawny Eagle takes to the air.

Tawny Eagles are common in the Kalahari. They range in colour from light blonde to dark chocolate brown. The younger birds are usually light in colour and darken as they get older. The eagles feed on on small mammals, like squirrels and mongooses, reptiles, other birds and insects. They will also feed on carrion, and as a result of this, they are often killed when poisoned carcasses are placed in the open. They build large stick nests, and they favour the stout trees which grow in the riverbeds. 

After photographing the Tawny Eagle, we head back to Mata Mata. We have to break up camp and then travel down to Twee Rivieren.

TWO DUTCH TOURISTS HAVE A GOOD EVENING

On our drive back to Mata Mata, we see dark clouds gathering in the sunset sky. There are lightning flashes and a real threat of a thunderstorm. Noel and Dave stop to do some landscape photography.

Photo: David Mullin

Rain clouds are a welcome sight, as they hold the promise of life-sustaining rain falling in the desert. I am actually hoping that it will rain much later in the evening. Noel has invited Marilyn and Leonie to join us for supper. They offer to contribute their hot soup. "Soup," the South Africans exclaim, "we do not eat hot soup in Summer." We decline the offer of hot soup, and we all club together and supply meat and things like tinned corn  and bean salad for a  braai.  Noel had made two jellies earlier on. He shares the jelly amongst all of us. adding a good dash of custard. We enjoy our dessert. I have a feeling it is our last braai in the Kalahari, and sadly, it is.

Photo: Noel Hammond

There are eight of us sitting under the blanket of a dark Kalahari night sky. There are no stars this evening, and the wind whips up. A few big drops of rain fall, but in ten minutes it is all over. I enjoy the camaraderie and the company of my fellow-campers. Leonie complains bitterly that the shop would not sell her a bottle of wine, because it is Sunday. She asks for an explanation. It is the second time this trip, that I am unable to explain the laws of my country to Dutch tourists. I supply some white wine, and Geoff readily shares his bottle of red. We raise our glasses, and drink a toast. It is the last night at Mata Mata for all of us, and we will part ways tomorrow morning.

Marilyn and Leonie tell Geoff and Lynette about their bad day.

We all retire and bid each other  a good night. Tomorrow, Marilyn and Leonie will travel to the Augrabies National Park;  Geoff and Lynette will leave for a further trip in Namibia; and the Hammonds and Mullins will take a slow drive to Twee Rivieren. It may have been a bad day for our Dutch friends, but it certainly was a good evening !

TWO DUTCH TOURISTS HAVE A BAD AFTERNOON

It is a very hot afternoon in Mata Mata,, If I was still in Nossob, I would have taken a book to the laundry room in the camp site. Many a surprised camper found me sitting on a work top, with a book in hand. It was much cooler than the tent. Mata Mata does not afford the luxury of a cool laundry room. This afternoon finds me lying in our tent, eyes half-closed and wearing a T-shirt which has soaked right through with sweat, and an open book lying face-down on my chest. Noel suddenly appears, and asks if I do not want to visit Namibia. "Great idea," I say, "is it cooler in Namibia ?"

T

 Namibia is a neighbouring country. How are we going to Namibia ?  We did not bring passports with us. We do not have the necessary vehicle registration papers. Well, it is Africa, so how do we cross the border ? Okay, like many others before us, we just stroll across. "What !?!? "  I hear all of you saying,  "you just walk across ?" Yup, like just like thousands of illegal immigrants cross into South Africa, we are going to visit Namibia. We greet the South African policewoman, policeman, policeperson ...oh, whatever, and the Namibian Immigration Officer, and we walk past all the booms, no man's land or no person's land ( you know what I mean ! ) and we traipse 600 metres along a gravel road to a farm gate. We enter, and walk up to a bright yellow building, with big black lettering saying "Sitzas Farm Stall".  Did Noel and I do this in the heat ? Affirmative. The Mullins were still sweating back at camp, they were absolutely convinced we had lost our minds.

We bought a Springbok fillet, which Noel proclaimed would be a treat for supper. I wished I could have bought a loaf of freshly baked bread, or a packet of homemade rusks. There was no dried wors ( sausage ) or biltong. I stared at rows of jams and pickles, but it did not appeal. There were some handicrafts for sale: quilted patchwork bags and little scented pillows, which I thought were rather quaint for this remote farmstall. I was expecting African curios and beadwork. We rushed back to camp, quickly freshened up, and then it was time to go for an afternoon game drive.

We did not see very much on this game drive, and so we decided to go back to camp early, and start the braai fire for an early supper. The camp gates only close at 7.00 p.m. so we were often dining after 8.00 p.m. most evenings. I was admiring the landscape, a few dark clouds had gathered, and I was wondering if it was going to rain later, when we rounded a bend... A little blue Kia sedan was stuck in the soft sand. Inside the car were the two Dutch ladies looking desperate. Could we help ?
Noel leapt out the Land Rover, grabbed his tow rope, and attached it to the two vehicles. "Will he get our car out ?" asked Leonie. Leonie had climbed into our Land Rover, as she was too nervous to stand outside. "Oh yes, Noel will get your car out of the sand. He has done this many times before in the Kalahari, " I replied. Yes, he did rescues the Dutch ladies, who were most grateful. "We had a bad morning, and now we have had a bad afternoon, " said Marilyn. "Two times in one day, " said Leonie looking extremely forlorn.

The tow rope is attached, but Marilyn and Leonie are looking worried.

TWO DUTCH TOURISTS HAVE A BAD MORNING

Marcel and Jacq Smidt had a good day when they photographed the mating lions, but two of their countrymen, or should I say "countrywomen" or even more politically correct: "countrypersons"; had a very bad day. Marilyn and Leonie had arrived from The Netherlands, and were driving around the Park in a rented Kia. They  arrived at Mata Mata the afternoon before. They had brought two very small one-man tents with them, or should I say, "one-person" tents. They were trying to erect their tents, but with not much success. An Afrikaans chap noticed that they were having some difficulty, and in no time at all, the tents were up, and their kind helper was hammering in the tent pegs.


Early the next morning, we were parked at the Craig Lockhart water-hole. A male lion and a lioness were lying right next to the road. I am sure that this was the same pair that Marcel had photographed. Noel parked under the shade of a tree, and we waited to see if any other animals would come to the water-hole. The cheeky jackals would sneak a quick drink, keeping a watchful eye on the lions, then they would scurry off. A small herd of Springbok were grazing a little distance away, and there were some giraffe in the vicinity as well. With all this animal activity going on, what was Noel photographing ? He was photographing a little bird in a tree. We had seen a Pearlspotted Owl (Glaucidium perlatum ) fledgling, clinging on to the bark of the tree branch next to us. It was a lucky sighting.

Pearlspotted Owl

The Pearlspotted Owl is the smallest owl found in southern Africa. When fully grown, it reaches a length of eighteen centimetres. "Oooh look, " says Noel, "there is another one peering at us from that hole in the branch." 

We had seen the two Dutch women drive to the water-hole. "Why have they got their car headlights on ?" asks Noel. We are so busy admiring the owlets that we do not take much notice of what other people are doing. The lions were sleeping, so it was not good photography . If this was the mating pair, I am sure they were exhausted . The Dutch ladies stopped right next to the lions. Research has shown that lions sleep for twenty out of twenty-four hours. I was sure that the lions were going to sleep there the whole day, but I was later proved wrong about that. The sun was getting too high, and the lions were not even stirring, or taking note of the other animals, so we headed back to camp for brunch.

Later, the Dutch women returned to camp, but not in their car. They had been enjoying the lion sighting so much, they forgot to switch off the car headlights. When they got very hot sitting there, they tried to start their car, and the engine would not turn over. The car battery had gone flat. Feeling the rise of panic, they shouted to the other tourists for help. A car pulled alongside, the back door was opened, and the Dutch women had to climb out of their car and into the other, while they were still in the presence of lions.

The rangers were informed of the situation, and they went to chase the lions away, so that they could push-start the car. I was wrong about the lions sleeping there the whole day, they ambled off when they chased away. I could sense the fear the two women experienced when they recounted how they were rescued. It had been a bad morning for them.

THE STORY OF A SIGMA LENS

The afternoon is still hot, when we set off for a game drive. "I wonder if I am going to be lucky like Marcel," muses Noel. Noel had brought some Sigma demonstration lenses with him. He makes me wrap the lenses in a towel, and then pass them through the car window at sightings. People are then able to try out the lenses with their camera bodies. I tell the Mullins this is how we met Anton de Villiers in the Kalahari. It was about 1994, when Noel, myself, our young son, and Jan Hamman were travelling in the Park. It was then known as the Kalahari Gemsbok Park. It had started to rain, and it was dismal and overcast. We had stopped at a lion sighting, when a bakkie ( light delivery vehicle ) pulled up next to us. "Oh shame," said Jan " " look at this poor guy trying to photograph the lion in the rain, with his short lens. Let's help him." I wrapped Noel's 500 F4 lens in a shirt that was in lying in the car, so that the elements would not get wet in the rain. Jan then passed the lens through the car window to Anton. Anton was very surprised that strangers would lend him a lens. Later, back at camp, we introduced ourselves. Anton and Noel and Jan became firm friends. They travelled together on many photographic trips in the Kalahari, the Drakensberg  and even to Etosha.

Yesterday afternoon, we were exhausted from driving from Nossob, and then having to set up camp in the heat. Noel decided not to go for a game drive, but work instead. He dusted off the Sigma lenses, and put them out on our camping table. He invited fellow-campers to try out the lenses. Marcel had travelled all the way from the Netherlands to visit the Park. His eyes lit up when Noel said that he could use the Sigma 300 -800 mm F5.6 lens.

It was much later that Marcel and his wife pulled up at our campsite. "Noel," he said with a dismal look on his face,"this lens is no good. It is very bad."
                                                                               "Why ?," asked Noel looking alarmed. Noel had taken many photos with that lens, and was extremely happy with the results.
                                                                                                           "Look here, look at these terrible photographs," said Marcel sounding very agitated. Hearing the commotion, we all clustered around Marcel's camera. "Terrible, terrible ! Look the photos are even pornographic," said the wide-eyed Marcel. We all looked, and then we laughed. Marcel had been joking with us. He had once-in-a-lifetime pics of mating lions. Well done, Marcel !

Photos: Marcel Smidt











I scanned the Auob riverbed with its fifty shades of grey sand, but I did not see any "pornography". We were just a touch envious of Marcel's pics, but we do know that he would not have got these shots if he wasn't using a Sigma lens !

Anton came to visit us at Mata Mata, with his wife, Elanie, and cute daughter, Antonelle. He was staying at Twee Rivieren, and was then going to camp at Nossob. "These roads are really awful, I wonder when they were last graded," complained Anton.
                                                    "Ja," agreed Noel, "look at my Land Rover's dashboard. It is going to fall off."
        "Noel, you can't repair your dashboard with insulation tape," said Anton, handing Noel a roll of duct tape. "Here, use this."

The roads were in a dreadful condition. The garage at Mata Mata did not have a puncture repair kit, and Dave had to use Geoff's repair kit to plug his tyre. The ablutions were only serviced once week, so they were often in a sad state. The tyre pressure gauge at Twee Rivieren did not work. The garages did not stock all the grades of engine oil. Standards are definitely slipping, SANParks !