Wednesday 29 January 2025
I had to postpone my trip by a few days at the last minute, but finally the day of departure arrived. I left home at about 05h00. As I was driving, I could see the black sky behind me turn from black to purple to pink. An hour after I left home the sun rose in the most brilliant orange. I thought of the previous time I headed west on the N14 to visit KTP for the first time.
I was so excited because I knew the trip would be amazing. But there was also a bit of nervousness mixed in with the excitement because I wasn’t a hundred percent sure what to expect.
Today I was just as excited as the first time. Once again because I knew the trip would be amazing, and also because I now knew what to expect.
Because I had to postpone my trip I had to drive straight through to Twee Rivieren. It was a very long drive, but regular stops and some birding along the way (Abdim’s Storks, Martial Eagle, Kestrels etc) made the drive bearable.
I arrived at TR at about 16h30, and as I walked to reception I could burst with excitement. After settling in at the chalet I walked to the hide. It was extremely hot, and I couldn’t stay in the hide for very long. On the way back I stopped for a bit to watch the antics of a family of Ground Squirrels.
I had dinner at the restaurant. But the long day had taken its toll, and I was in bed by 20h00 – it wasn’t even completely dark yet!
I pondered on how to do this TR. I am not going to do an entirely sequential report and won’t add all sightings because most days I would see the same animals. I will show some of these but will focus on the sightings that were highlights for me.
The TR will be split into five Parts –
- The drive from Twee Rivieren to Nossob and the two nights I spent in Nossob.
- The drive from Nossob to Grootkolk and my experiences at that wonderful camp.
- Back to Nossob for three nights’ camping.
- Driving along the incredible Long Dune Road for three nights at Mata Mata.
- And ending with three nights at Twee Rivieren.
