Watch this space – we have been quite for a while but new exciting stuff coming up…

Stay put.

Last night we went out an hour later to search for the Blackfooted cat. As we approached the location as indicated by the tracking device, it was like ringing Pavlov’s bell – she came running through the grass towards us!

Ewann gave her the first mouse and off she went! We found the burrow where she was hiding the kittens almost two hundred meters away.

She took another four mice into the burrow to feed the little ones. After the seventh mouse, she didn’t come out again.

Since the previous night, she has moved the kittens almost a kilometre away. But fortunately, she stays in the area which is now her territory!

Tomorrow we will return home but will be back there again to catch up on the kittens’ progress.

Have a good day!

Almost all animal species that we spotted at Telperion have little ones – some recently born and others already steady on the hoof. The warthoggies (from pinklets to piglets) are all over the grassland running and hopping. We also saw a lost Blesbuck lamb running up and down the plains searching for someone to adopt him. He eventually ended up at four other (lost?) blesbuck lambs.

Below are a few of the little ones we encountered:

Tonight we will be visiting the Blackfooted cats again. Hope to see one of the kittens again.

Until tomorrow!

We arrived at Ezemvelo this morning. At the office we received news from Maroti Tau that one of the Blackfooted cats that was released here during June-August 2011, gave birth to two kittens! (See our posting of 3 June 2011 for info on their release).

Late this afternoon we hopped onto the gamedrive vehicle and with the help of a tracking device, the mother was soon found.

1.  Below is Maroti and Ewann with the telemetric tracking device:

2.  We found the mother in an old springhare hole.

3.   The mother is being fed every second day – she is on a diet of five to seven mice at a time. Below is Nicoleen serving dinner!

4.   And another one!

5.   And then the BONUS!! I was able to take this picture of one of the kittens deep down in the den:

Enough excitement for one day! Speak again tomorrow…

Last week we spent a day at Telperion (a Diamond Route property). As we drove through the reserve, Nicoleen counted a total of 34 warthog piglets and numerous newborn from Impala, Blue wildebeest, Zebra, Waterbuck, Baboon and Kudu. And where were our cameras? Don’t ask.

We will be back there this coming week and hope to catch the piglets before they turn into pigs. Then there is the elusive leopard that was spotted again a month or so ago. Hope to get a glimpse of him/her – one never knows!

And before I forget – I took the picture below after a rainy spell at Welgevonden. The millipede drowned in a puddle and the beetles were having a feast! I’m not sure which beetles these are but they have a longish snout with which they dug into the millipede’s sides sucking him dry. Will ask Duncan MacFadyen (our expert entomologist) to ID them.

Speak to you again from Telperion – have a nice week!

Welcome back to our blog – we hope you are having a prosperous new year so far!

Fortunately this year has one extra day – we will need every minute for our plans to fit into 366 days:

1.  Our Diamond Route book project is picking up speed. We have started with the design and layout and sorting of photos. Now the pictures start coming alive!

2.  The Welgevonden project delivered some excellent pictures and we will soon start compiling those into a book. The title though is still a mystery (Ursula, you have any suggestions?)

3.  We will be hosting our Photography Workshops at new exiting venues. The Diamond Route has granted us permission to run workshops at selected nature reserves. More on this to follow…

This year will see us venture into the video production arena. Although not completely new to us, it is still a Big Bite and a challenge we are looking forward to!

Enough written.

Next blog coming soon…

After braving some violent weather at Welgevonden yesterday, we decided to tour the country and visit the town of Prince Albert.

To get to Prince Albert we had two choices: either take the tame road via De Rust and Klaarstroom, or tackle the mighty Swartberg Pass. And yes – you guessed it – we opted for the wild one!

As we entered the pass from Oudtshoorn’s side, it started to rain. The rain only stopped when we passed the halfway mark (the “TOP”). The temperature here was 17 degree Celsius.

At the junction to Gamkaskloof (“the Hell”) the mist cleared and the sun broke through.

Once we reached Prince Albert, the temperature in the shade was a happy 36 degree Celsius. After a cup of coffee at “The Coffee Shop” we flipped a coin to decide which way to return to Oudtshoorn. Heads it was and we returned via the tame route…

Hopefully more excitement is on its way!

We returned to Fancourt late this afternoon and joined in for a pleasant evening of Carols by candlelight. We were first entertained by the Keiskamma Music Academy to traditional flute music. By this time it was already dark and overcast with a soft drizzle. Not deterred by the weather, approximately 200 Chinese lanterns were lit and set off from the clubhouse terrace.

Although it was not easy to take pictures in these conditions, I manage to capture some of the lanterns before they disappeared into the clouds.

Tomorrow will be our last round at Fancourt and we will be travelling back to Oudtshoorn and De Rust afterwards.

Our next posting will be from Welgevonden – see you then!

Today we travelled up Montagu Pass and a trip that normally takes 45 minutes turned into a 2 hour photography excursion. Here are the info and pics as promised:

Named after John Montagu, the Montagu Pass is a good gravel road with many serpentine curves that wind through the fynbos-covered Cradock’s Kloof until it reaches the top. It links the two towns of George(bottom) and Herold (at the top).
Work on the pass started in 1844 and on average, 250 convicts were employed at any given time on the construction of the pass. Total expenses amounted to R71,600-00.

During construction, a stone toll house was erected on the George side of the mountain. Toll tariffs were (in today’s RSA currency): Two cents per wheel of a vehicle, One cent per animal drawing a vehicle and sheep, goats and pigs passed for half a sent each. R800-00 was collected in the first year and by 1918 all tolls were abolished.

The pass is popular amongst modern mountain bike riders and their aim is to reach the top at Amanda’s Grave in record time.

Thanks for joining us on this trip – we are on our way to Fancourt for an evening of Christmas carols and flying of Chinese lanterns.

Will report back on that – have a good day!

Today we had the privilege to explore the fairways and greens of the Fancourt Golf Estate in the town of George. The reason for including this in the blog is that the course is in an immaculate condition and the natural areas are still unspoilt. Birds are in abundance and we even spotted Purple Heron, Hamerkop and Water Dikkop around some of the ponds. We also saw medium-sized raptors in the larger trees but were unable to identify them.

Later we visited Harold’s Bay. Although the day was quite hot, only a few visitors and surfers braved the cold waters of this part of the Indian Ocean. I took a picture of two kids playing in the sand close to the water’s edge.

Tomorrow we will, weather permitting, drive up the Montagu Pass. We hope to get good pictures and together with these, we will post something on the history of this pass.

Until tomorrow – have a good day or a good night’s rest.