There was a bit of a crowd outside the office where I waited to get my permit to go on my first morning drive from Nossob. But pretty soon everyone was on their way and I had a stretch of road all to myself.
The sunrise created one of those scenes that I absolutely love.
At Cubitje Quap there was a large herd of Blue Wildebeest in the riverbed. The waterhole itself was quiet with just a few Turtle Doves having a drink.
The road to Kwang was extremely quiet. At Kwang Waterhole there was a Springbok, more Blue wildebeest and a Bateleur just visible between the branches of a tree. A small herd of Kudus was having a drink, but they were skittish and scattered when I parked my car.
The rest of the road was very quiet. There were some animals in the riverbed, but they were mostly far away. I stopped at all the waterholes but there was not much happening. The road started to deteriorate from Bedinkt – the corrugation was something to behold. I did see Red Hartebeest and large herds of Springbok on the far side of the riverbed.
A beautiful Gabar Goshawk flew straight at my windscreen, swerved at the last minute and then landed behind my car.
The excitement happened between Lanklaas and Kousant waterholes – I saw something tiny in a tree. At first I thought it was a dove, then I realized it was a raptor. A teeny, tiny raptor! Seeing a Pygmy Falcon was on my bucket list for the trip, and there it was! 
It wasn’t sitting in the best spot for photos, but it was still a great sighting. I knew it would be small, yet I was still surprised just how tiny it was. I made it as far as Kousaunt waterhole before the quiet road and corrugation had me turning around. At Kousaunt there were Cape Sparrows, Red-headed Finches and Lark-like Buntings.
On the way back I had another wonderful sighting when I found this little one cross the road. It was less than 30 cm long and adorable.
At Bedinkt waterhole some Gemsbok seemed eager for a drink while a Pale Chanting Goshawk was surveying the area a little further on.
A herd of Blue wildebeest was having an afternoon siesta.
I did not mind the quiet drive when there was scenery like this.
After lunch I went for a drive to Marie’s Draai. Not too far from camp I found a herd of Springbok. A few were lying down, but I noticed one that came running at full speed.
He ran straight to one of the one of the Springbok lying down. Then there was lots of posturing, shaking of heads and stamping of feed, but not much more.
Then the one that came storming in turned around and ran off as fast as he arrived. It was very funny.
I had booked a Sunset drive for later that afternoon. We saw lots of animals – Kudus, a herd of more than 20 Red Hartebeest, a Southern White-faced Owl, a few Spotted Eagle-owls, Springbok, Gemsbok and the ever-present jackals.
I loved this Sociable Weaver’s nest just before sunset.
Just after we switched on the spotlights, we saw eyes. It was an African Wildcat. Before the end of the drive we saw another.
We were approaching Marie’s Gat when we saw eyes coming out of the grass on the other side of the Nossob Riverbed. The animal moved quite fast, and very quickly approached the vehicle.
How wonderful! She walked past us, completely relaxed.
Then she disappeared into the night as if she was never there. Needless to say, we were four extremely happy people who drove back to camp!
The next morning I did not rush to leave my camp. I had a relaxing coffee at camp while having a wonderful chat with one of my neighbours. I only left for my morning drive after 08h00. I headed out to Marie’s Draai first. There were the usual Jackals and Springbok. I spotted an Ashy Tit flitting about in a tree, a nice addition to my trip bird list. At Marie’s Gat there were some Springbok in the riverbed. As I drove on I noticed a lot of cheetah tracks in the road. There were a couple of other cars who had been searching for the spotted cats, but no luck. I joined the search for a bit, scanning the riverbed and the hills. After a while I gave up and headed back to camp.
After a quick body-break I headed out of the north gate.
Timing is everything.
If I had driven out of the gate just a few minutes later, I would have missed this.
I was less than 200m from the gate.
She walked with purpose while the Jackal continued to follow her and complain about her presence at the top of his lungs.
She walked towards me and then paused nervously.
I decided to wait for her to cross the road.
She looked back once, and then she was gone.
The sighting lasted less than 10 minutes.
I looked at the photos at home and compared them to those of the leopard from the night before, and I am certain it is the same cat.
I could not believe that I spotted her and then had the sighting all to myself. I drove to Kwang waterhole and back, and saw the usual animals in the river bed.
This Chat Flycatcher was my eight lifer for the trip.
I went back to camp for lunch, and then went for one last afternoon drive to Cubitje Quap. I relaxed next to the waterhole, hoping for something to arrive. I saw a shadow and looked up to see a gorgeous Tawny Eagle.
There were many LBJs and doves around. Suddenly chaos erupted. I quickly realised why – A Gabar Goshawk came hunting.
He picked out a little bird, and the chase was on. The little LBJ managed to stay just a few centimetres ahead of the attacker. It was amazing to see them fly incredibly fast, the little one swerving, ducking and diving, and the Goshawk following every move.
The LBJ was quick enough and the Goshawk had to return empty handed. It was one of the most fascinating sightings I have had in a long time.
A Fork-tailed Drongo was also hunting and was a little more successful than tea Gabar Goshawk.
A few Burchell’s Sandgrouse came for a late afternoon drink. They are so pretty.
Another shadow caught my eye, and this shadow decided to come for a drink.
She was absolutely gorgeous.
As I drove back to camp I reflected on my two days exploring the roads north and south of Nossob. There were lots of times when it was quiet, but when I did see animals, the sightings were really special.