Tag Archive for 'Goliath Heron'

Moonwalk on the Water: Video

I was on a mission plotting markers on my GPS today and as Shakespeare says, “This is the short and the long of it.” It took most of the day to work through a series of positions where five different Black Rhino were last seen. I also had to do a bit of bush clearing to make things easier for myself when I find one of these guys. I found plenty of evidence of Rhino movement, but wasn’t lucky enough to find any of them. I feel confident that I’m edging my way forward with these Black Rhino, but I hope to get on a trail soon.

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I ended up on Banyini with two elephant bulls watering at the pan. They seemed to come from different directions and meet up there. They were quite relaxed and seemed quite happy to share the space.

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In the afternoon, I did a practice run of the route between my various marker points, and invariable a little bush clearing on the side. Although it was more of a technical day, at least I feel a little more effective than just driving until I find something.

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I ended up all the way at Nduna Dam and decided to pick up a little footage of a Goliath Heron wading in the water. As the sun went down I headed for a cave where one of the Rhino has been sleeping during the day, the bats were flying in and out like in a scary movie. I think I even saw a few dry old bones on the cave floor! Again, I found evidence of activity in the area, but no Rhino.

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Highs and Lows: Video

We seemed to have brought the rain with us on our return from South Africa to pick up supplies. Yesterday we only had one shower, but it was enough to have Kim return early from the dogs, soaking wet. After attending to a few things on my vehicle, I set out later in the afternoon to catch up with the dogs, but Kim was tracking them and left them running west into sum slippery terrain. The sun set to the sound of one of our lionesses’ calls echoing through the hills – feels good to be back!

Early this morning the rain set in and now I’m back to “sticking” to the roads. Unable to track the dogs through muddy terrain, I always enjoy seeing flowing water, so I was keen to check out how the dams were filling up. At Nduna dam the river was flowing into the dam and the water level was rising. What an awesome morning listening to running water, bird-life in abundance and the hippo snorting in the background! Just as I got comfortable, an ominous looking cloud crept over the horizon, which was when I felt it a good idea to expedite my morning drive.

A quick spin past Banyini and Nyari pan revealed some big herds of Zebra and Impala, with a few interesting looking butterflies to photograph. The great success of today, though, was in the afternoon when we were introduce to a new character – a male leopard.


Alan and the Malilangwe team have managed to tag him, so we will have a lot more time to spend with him.