Unfortunately for the animals, they all had a rather wet Christmas as a misty drizzle set in for the day. Although of course the frogs were loving it.
We had a wonderful chilled out day ourselves. Just the perfect Christmas with family and friends.
Monthly Archive for December, 2008
Christmas eve had me winding down and just having fun.
I took to the skies early in the morning to see what the rain had done last night and thankful that I wasn’t trying to drive anywhere. The place was totally soaked. Just great!
And all the animals I saw were dotted around in the heavy clay areas, all totally inaccessible by vehicle. Why they like to walk around in those heavy clays, I don’t quite know.
The buffalo herds were spread out all over the reserve. I don’t think I’ve ever so many from the air.
Fresh tracks criss-crossed the clay, being very visible from the air.
The only elephant I saw was this big tusker in the south east. I wonder where the herds are hanging out?
A very MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all!!!!!!
It was a lovely hot sunny day for a change. The last couple of weeks have been overcast with a sprinkle of rain thrown in here and there.
And even with everything feeling and looking so fresh I just wasn’t having much luck in finding my filming subjects, or any subject, to film.
Banyini had its usual friends of impala, wildebeest, zebra and giraffe and the couple of young waterbuck that have recently taken up residence in the area. And the bird life had increased dramatically over the last week.
Even a pair of Crowned Cranes had arrived in the area. I haven’t seen them in this area before, but they seemed quite happy with life picking away at the millions of flying ants on the loose.
In the late afternoon I filmed this storm dropping what looked like a complete cloud on the southern area, a long way from us.
When we got down onto the savannah it was already passing to the north having totally missed Banyini.
I was having fun filming the savannah with this stunning dark backdrop when suddenly it was upon us. I was frantically hassling to get the cover of the vehicle, my equipment and my daughters. They stayed semi dry and I got soaked. The rain came down like I don’t recall seeing before and within minutes I was standing in 3inches of water that flooded the savannah like a vast lake. It kept coming and coming and the winds almost swept me off my feet. And then just to add a little more it hailed briefly.
I stayed out the car holding down the tarpaulin as the wind and rain ripped at it. For some 30minutes it kept up this onslaught and then eventually slowed down a little. We made out of there before the water had time to settle in and turn the place into one huge mud wallow.
Amazingly not even a kilometre away the rain had hardly fallen. We must have had a lone cloud just dump itself on us.
I wonder what happened to that pair of Crowned Cranes. Had they taken off as the storm approached or had they sat it out somewhere?
It’s still raining but only little bits here and there and not really being of much help to the environment.
It was just great to drive around all day seeing the changes the rain is bringing. Many flowers are now out and covered by myriads of insects. The flush of green lush grass is coming through and the grazers are just loving it.
The female impala with their tiny young, are looking rather lean after the extended dry spell we’ve had but with the flush in grass now they’ll pick up condition fast. As will all the herbivores.
But the predators will find it harder and harder to hunt as the bush thickens and the animals move into peak condition.
Every day the impala lambs get stronger and wiser, and the wild dogs will find it increasingly harder to run down impala. No more slow pregnant females to chase down and all in peak condition able to run that much faster and for longer.
Many pans are now full and the ducks have come flocking in. Where have they been all this time? All crowded at the last remaining large bodies of water?
Even with all the changes going on I didn’t come up with much to film today, just little snippets of this and that.
But sunset at Hwata pan was one of the most stunning sunsets I’ve seen in Africa. Well anywhere really. It was truly awesome and just went on for ages.
The sunshine lasted for the morning and then it rained most of the afternoon. These gentle rains are really good for the veld, but they aren’t helping the water table. Hopefully somewhere along the line we’ll get a few serious downpours that will provide runoff to fill dams and pans and help with the water table. Unfortunately I think we’re in for below average rains this season. But who am I to know this stuff. I’ve only been here for 3 years.
With a bit of social work for a change, after all it is the festive season, I’m not getting out in the field as much as I should be just yet. I suppose this is mainly cos I end up working on Wildcast after socialising and that usually takes me into the early hours of the morning, and then I end up having to catch up on sleep.
I was out this morning filming these giraffe and also the wild coffee trees are in full flower with their little pink flowers being attended to by myriads of butterflies. They came in all shapes, sizes and colours, and they don’t sit around for long making filming them a dash difficult.
The lions have been a little elusive the last couple of days but I hope to pick up on them tomorrow.
It was a day of sunshine and no rain. And it’s amazing how quickly many of the areas dry up, except for the heavy black clays.
Manyari had ducked. I’m not sure where she’s run off to. But it was now time for me to be on the trail of the wild dogs again. Mark is away for a week or so, which means that without the lights I can’t film at night. And so the lions get a break.
I was back in the skies flying in search of the dogs. I hadn’t been up for about a month and with all the rain I was expecting some stunning landscapes. But it just wasn’t that yet.
The trees had their new leaf but even after the last 4 days of rain, the grass still hadn’t managed to throw its green carpet across the bushveld, which still remained its drab dry self.
The eagles eye vantage point proved rather beneficial today. A herd of elephant were moving around Ganyani using the little pans that had filled with water, to play and wallow in.
A White Rhino cow and calf were doing the same and I flushed a couple of Black Rhino as they lay resting in shade. Sable, buffalo, Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest and impala all made appearances below my wings.
AND even the wild dogs. They were resting up in the north towards the Mhangula triangle.
It was a bargain to pick them up in the late afternoon. The whole pack looks really well, and judging by their tummies, they’d probably fed this morning.
Lying up in little mud wallows to keep cool, the pack awoke to greet and hassle each other before moving off on the hunt at sunset. It was dark when I left them slowly on the move sniffing at anything they could, ever hopeful to come across the scent of some delicacy.
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