This afternoon, we had one of those drives that some people would consider being very quiet as we didn’t see any of the big 5 animals. This was fine, however, as we had already seen them the day before. This drive turned out to be a whole new experience all together.

We saw quite a number of different raptors – including the tawny eagle, wahlberg’s eagle, steppe buzzard and black shouldered kite. We also came across a tree that housed 2 breeding pairs of grey heron, both pairs with a chick in the nest.

Before you think this was a birding drive, we also saw a number of insects. There was a female spider-hunting wasp, zooming around us as we talked about her; bark spiders building their nests, and all other kinds of creepy crawlies making Kapama their residence. We talked about animal tracks and traditional uses for trees and other plants, really paying attention to the smaller things around us. The African bush can be even more exciting when we pay attention to everything surrounding us.

It was a very enjoyable drive and for sure one that I will easily repeat again.

Story by Jacques (River Lodge)
2013/11/20