Friday 17 April 2015

Unforgettable memories made!

Hi there everyone!

As you can imagine, a lot of incredible things have happened in the course of the last ten days or so… Every day the pieces of nature’s puzzle get put together to form a bigger picture and, as the time passes by, we are able to see and understand more and more about the African bushveld. This is, of course, accompanied by unforgettable sightings which are always a pleasure to witness!

A Blue Wildebeest calf suckling 
The bush is extremely dry this year, but this has had no ill effect on the high density of thrilling animals surrounding our camp. These conditions have also brought some unusual birds into the area such as Namaqua Doves and Wood Sandpipers, which we have never seen here before! We have also had some great raptor sightings, the most exciting of which were the African Hawk-Eagle and Martial Eagle.

The game viewing is also at an all-time high - we have been visited in camp by Giraffe, Elephants, Buffalo and elusive Spotted Hyaenas this past week alone!

There is truly never a dull moment at Nkombe camp, as we are often interrupted by the chattering alarm calls of Tree Squirrels, the barking of Bushbuck and the nervous distress calls of the Vervet monkey whilst going about our daily activities.
The walking has been absolutely amazing as we have been studying different tracks and signs from small birds to impressive lion tracks. Bird watching is also at its best when on foot, as we often find ourselves only fifty metres from camp with so much to look at!

We had a couple of exciting encounters on foot as well. It is a whole new experience to view animals on their level in their environment as opposed to from the game-viewer. We had fantastic encounters with a couple of Buffalo bulls as we watched them from a distance scratching themselves on trees and continuing with their natural behaviour. We also had an exciting Elephant encounter as we watched a mighty male feeding on nearby vegetation after which we followed fresh lion tracks!

The beautiful cheetah!
We added an all-new, elegant creature to our 'exsighting' list as we found a beautiful Cheetah lying in the shade in the heat of the day. This was a first for many and still spectacular for the rest, as we don't often get to see these charming cats. 
 
We were lucky enough to find a fresh impala kill hoisted up in a tree one morning. The Leopard responsible for this was nowhere to be found. After scanning the area for a few minutes, we moved on, but decided to revisit the site later that day. On our return that afternoon, we suddenly heard the thumping sounds of massive Hyaena paws crashing through the bush, literally scraping past our vehicle. We decided to stay put at the site of the kill and just observe these misunderstood creatures with the hope that the Leopard would come back to her trophy...

After about half an hour of waiting, we were just about to move on when Gus spotted her hiding on top of a termite mound not too far away from where the vehicle was parked moments ago. She shot up the enormous Marula and continued feeding on her meal, with Hyaenas’ mouths watering below as they waited for scraps to drop. The carcass started to slip due to her feeding and ,despite all her manoeuvring around the tree, she could not keep the kill from falling. As soon as the carcass hit the ground, she knew it was over and that the Hyaenas outnumbered her.

We then spent the rest of the time observing these creatures’ powerful jaws crushing through bones and hooves until there was almost nothing left but the horns of a once living impala ram. One of the most amazing sightings ever, just proving that patience is everything!

A curious elephant decides to investigate our vehicle
The Elephant sightings that we have been experiencing  are personally at the top of my list! We have seen every form and size of Elephant from the cutest baby trying to manoeuvre its clumsy trunk to the most striking and impressive bulls. The students sitting right at the front (on the tracker seat) have had a few unforgettable moments as a few of the Elephants approached the vehicle curiously from the front. These memories will stay with all of us forever…

The coalition of male lions
As if all of the above is not enough, we had an intimate sighting of two new male Lions in the area.

I must say, they were more energetic than our previous coalition, in that one managed to stand up and re-position himself only a metre or so away and then returned to being its lazy, lethargic self!

This was still an absolutely incredible sighting, as we were alone with the respectable cats and had the privilege of watching and inspecting them for half an hour or more. It was remarkable!

Sunrise at Nkombe Camp...
It has been an incredible journey so far to see these great students grow and learn every day. I personally (Chanyn) can’t wait to see what amazing field guides they will become…


To another day in Africa - cheers!


 
The ANT Blog


The cutest, smallest African carnivore - Dwarf Mongoose


A rare sighting of a juvenile Southern Ground Hornbill


A majestic Elephant bull crosses the open plains


A Red-billed Oxpecker in its element, scissoring its way through the hair on a Buffalo's back


The curiosity of a Giraffe


Those magnificent eyes!


The king of the jungle!
 

Tuesday 7 April 2015

The wild and wonderful welcoming of the new FGASA level 1 students to Nkombe Camp!

Hi there everyone!
 
I am extremely happy to be blogging about 2015’s very first FGASA level one course! This week has been an exceptionally exciting one as our students arrived to the legendary Nkombe Camp filled with great enthusiasm and anticipation for what the next two months has to offer…
 
Staying true to its reputation, the wild and wonderful camp lived up to its expectations, with some interesting visitors that gave our new students an African warm welcome. The first evening was spent under the stars and around the fire getting to know each other. We definitely have another fantastic group this year. Coming from different sides of the world, we all have one thing in common… nature!
A couple of elephant bulls decided to make an appearance that evening as we heard them feeding on the favourable vegetation surrounding the camp. The night was filled with the thrilling sounds of elephants feeding, the alarm calls of the Side-striped Jackal as well as the bone-chilling whoops of the Spotted Hyena. Even the incessant disputing between a troop of baboons was heard very early in the morning. This alone was a wonderful welcome to the African bush for the students!

Dagga boy

We started bright and early the next day with yet another visitor in camp to greet our students. As we enjoyed our first cup of coffee, three old buffalo bulls decided to rest in a bed of Red grass only ten metres away from us. Relaxed, they went about their business as if we were not even there. They stayed in that same spot even after we had left camp for our bush walk. This again was another big bonus!

There is no better way to experience the bush than on foot as there is so much more to see, hear, smell and touch! We had a magical walk, taking in the remarkable surroundings with everything from the smallest tracks and listening to the melodies of the various bird calls to watching an impressive elephant bull crossing an open plain in front of us.
 

A coalition of three male lions
After coming back to camp we hopped on the vehicle and went for a short drive and then had the privilege of seeing a coalition of three male lions! They were as lazy as ever, lying in the shade of a Magic Guarri tree. They did, however, lift their heads every now and again as if they had just caught the scent of a fresh meal. This was because of a massive herd of buffalo less than half a kilometre away! We were hoping for some action, but the heat of the day proved too much for the lethargic lions to try and hunt an 800kg buffalo…
 

The female leopard in camp
After another amazing day in the bush and a couple of lectures, we relaxed around the fire as the sun started to set. The last thing we expected was to be visited yet again by a new magnificent creature which walked straight into camp…a gorgeous female leopard! The relaxed cat passed the students’ tents and we watched in awe as she walked calmly through our home. It caused absolute delight as well as an immediate adrenalin rush for all of us. She again visited us a couple of days later whilst relaxing in the road next to camp! How Lucky...
 
I find it astonishing how we can live in the middle of the African bush and experience so much that nature has to offer and yet we will never know it all or be able to predict what will happen next. We watched the most fantastic scene unfold whilst sitting under the shade of a dense canopy underneath a Natal Mahogany tree. A very opportunistic Common Scimitarbill had found a spider that looked particularly delicious right next to the kitchen. We watched as the bird destroyed the Golden Orb Web Spider’s home, ripping the web apart with its bill. This continued for a couple of minutes as we found ourselves silently cheering for the bird to catch the motionless spider as if we were watching a soccer match. And finally the bird scored a meal…to our absolute pleasure :)


A Spotted Hyaena closely following the two leopards
We had yet another unpredictable sighting as one of our students spotted something in the distance. It turned out to be a leopard in a tree very close to camp (pun intended!). We climbed on the game viewer to get a closer look and were surprised to find a Spotted Hyaena following not one, but two leopards! It turned out to be a mother and her cub which is almost full grown. The hyaena eventually lost interest and we had the pleasure of watching the two leopards playfully groom one another. It was one of the best sightings I have ever had. What made it even better was the fact that a massive elephant bull decided to walk behind our vehicle whilst all of this was going on. It was absolutely amazing!

Taking it all in :)
Besides seeing the Big Five in under a week, we have learnt and seen so much more than that. It is the smaller things that make us understand the way nature works and that is what our passion is. We are now handling trees and birds and already this has opened our eyes to a whole new world. It is truly amazing what one can learn in a week and to think, we have seven unbelievable and exciting weeks left! Who knows what will happen next…
 
The ANT Blog


The cutest young zebra!


Mother and son

Strengthening bonds


Gorgeous leopards


FGASA 1 group of 2015