Pandas in Africa: Day 70 to 72: Olifants River Game Reserve

The last few days in the bush it was just the two of us; game drives, birding and still eating Jean’s fruit.

On our last drive we were under great pressure … we had 98 birds on our list for this trip, not a great number but certainly not bad for winter time. As there was very little game around we stopped to identify anything that dared flutter around us. We added 99, a red-billed buffalo weaver and as the sun was setting I spotted a long tailed paradise whydah, a nice way to finish off a wonderful few weeks.

I love the freedom of having our own place in the bush. No pressure to be up a 6 to go on a game drive or be back in a camp before the gates close. We are also very spoilt to have our own game drive vehicle. It is wonderful to have the breeze in your face and to be open to the sounds and smells of the bush. On we down side, we have been caught in the rain and soaked to the bone and it can get pretty cold on early morning drives.

This is our third vehicle we have had down here, a brand new out the box Landcruiser that was converted into a comfy sight seeing vehicle. It is quiet and handles the off-road beautifully. This has been a huge step up from the previous two old workhorses; retired construction vehicles that had been around the clock a few times, chopped up and seats welded onto the back. They did serve us well and they were also the vehicles that all the kids learnt to drive with. If you can master those gear boxes on gravel roads with the threat of ellies around the next corner, you can pretty much drive anything. All 3 got their licenses first time.

The bush at the moment is very dry and fairly sparse but at least there is vegetation, unlike last year this time when the area was ravaged by drought. It will still be a few years before the grass cover recovers completely but the animals are all in good condition. Each season is special, the spring brings leaves and seed pods to what looked like dead winter trees and bushes. By summer the grass is thick, green and lush, making game viewing difficult but bringing in loads of migrant birds, making birding easy and exciting. My favorite time is early December when all the ungulates drop their babies and the plains are teaming with herds of tiny impala, giraffe, zebra and my best baby warthogs.

We all have bush favourites: my favourite drive is the Pels Loop, favourite drinks place is the old washed up log on the Olifants River.

As I mentioned my fav of the the Big 5 is the ellie, my fav animal is a warthog – someone has to love something so ugly. My fav flower is the Impala Lilly, fav tree is the baobab but I also love the rock fig, fav smell is the potato bush (wild sage comes second), I love the sound of roaring lions and the call of the fish eagle. Birds, omg, I don’t have one but I do love birds that stick out, in an otherwise stark environment, those with colors that are so out of place and yet these camouflageless birds survive. The list must include the lilac breasted roller, the violet backed starling, African hoopoe, malachite kingfisher, love blue waxbills and so on.