CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

SOUTH AFRICA: PART II
Cape Town
December 20, 2007- January 3, 2008

The flight from Nelspruit to Cape Town is about two hours and we made it in a tiny twin prop plane. I looked out the window during the flight; after leaving the Drakensburg Mountains I saw only plains. Susan’s parents picked us up at the Cape Town airport and we drove to their house in Kreupelbosch, very close to the wine route. They kindly put us up in their home for our entire stay in Cape Town. Just outside of the Cape Town Airport we passed an endless shanty town. Later in the trip we saw more shanty towns near H0ut Bay and another in the Cape Flats. The Barneses said it wasn’t safe to walk around the neighborhood so after having some tea, Susan and I took a short walk carrying nothing with us. There were some Cape Turtle-doves giving the well-known dove call of Africa, “kuk-coooo-ku-ku.” I read a book on the deck of the Barnes’ house as it was summer in South Africa. That night we went over to Susan’s sister’s house. Her sister, Alison, lives with her common law husband, Simon. There were many guests in addition to the Barneses, Kim and her fiancée, Denesh, Susan’s very loquacious old high school chum, Helen, and her 60 year old lawyer husband, Steve, and their two kids. Kim and Denesh passed out somewhere along in the evening and Helen after drinking an entire bottle of wine played the piano for everyone while Steve filled me with his impressions of American politics (incredibly at one point stating that Reagan was our best president, a point on which I vehemently disagreed since I believe he is the second worst president). Everyone agreed that Bush is the worst president we have ever had and is a stain on America. Steve asked me what I knew about South Africa and I said that I had read My Traitor’s Heart by Rian Milan before coming, in preparation for the trip. Steve said that Rian Milan was a kook and then proceeded to explain the high crime rate to me (a topic which is covered in explicit detail in Mr. Milan’s book). The people of South Africa are very proud of their country and how well it is faring economically compared to the rest of Africa. Johannesburg is the economic capital of the area with a bustling industry based on the gold and diamond mines mostly. Alison’s son, Susan’s nephew, Christopher, asked me what Johannesburg is known for in the US and I said, for its crime. I think he was hoping I would say for its industry but everything I had read including Mr. Milan’s book indicated that Johannesburg had one of the highest crime rates in the world. Susan’s brother, Martyn and his family live in Johannesburg and despite their pride in their country live in a gated community with electric fences and a security guard. It is just the way of life in South Africa. One thing South Africa can be proud of is that everyone I met spoke impeccable English. Unfortunately they are also very obsessed with pronunciation believing of course theirs to be the superior one. This led to endless ribbing of my “American” accent. I found myself nearly unable to speak at times with shame over my philistine barbaric pronunciation most notably of “water” and some other words. I think I held my own though in the English grammar department.

December 21, 2007, after breakfast we drove a short distance to a bad neighborhood to the Rietvlei Wetland Reserve (all of these unpronouncable hideous words come from the odious Africaans language), a freshwater wetland located on the floodplain of the Diep River before it drains into the Milnerton lagoon and then Table Bay. I was nervous about taking my camera in but there was a gate with a security guard and they charged a small fee so I felt safe once inside. Cape Town is on the western side of South Africa and so I had an opportunity to see a completely different set of birds from what I had seen in Kruger and Durban. Also the weather was much better as the sun finally came out and it was actually warm. The reserve has a boardwalk through riverine habitat, reedbeds, a freshwater lake and a tidal lagoon. In the lake we saw Great-crested Grebe, Little Grebe, many Reed Cormorants, an African Darter, Black-crowned Night-Heron, and one Glossy Ibis. In the lagoon were dozens of Great White Pelicans, and Sacred Ibises. A small flock of Spur-winged Geese flew overhead and there was one lone Yellow-billed Duck on an island in the lagoon. We went into one of the hides and I saw my first Red-knobbed Coot and an African Purple Swamphen which looks very similar to the Purple Gallinule, a resident of the southern US. In the strandveldt along the paths were Cape Bulbul, Karoo Prinia, Cape White-eye, Levaillant’s Cisticola, and Red-winged Starling. There was a large flock of Common Waxbills near the museum. After passing through the building, you come to a large glass window where you can look into a pond. Perched over the pond were a Yellow Canary, one Southern Double-collared Sunbird, and a Cape Canary, and on the ground was a Cape Robin-Chat. After checking out the pond, we looked at the museum’s display case of stuffed birds and the aquarium which had some endangered toads and fish. That night Mrs. Barnes said we were once again invited to Simon and Alison’s for a briaa (South African for bar-b-que).

December 22, 2007, it actually was hot, probably reaching 94 degrees. In the morning Susan and I went to South Africa’s national botanical garden, Kirstenbosch. The gardens are gated and well manicured so it was safe to bring my newly repaired tripod (Ihad smashed the tripod to pieces in Kruger on the last day and miraculously Mr. Barnes had been able to repair it) and video camera. From the gardens one can hike up one of the many trails into Table Mountain National Park where the gardens give way to the wild indigenous fynbos, a type of vegetation found nowhere else on earth that consists of fine low growing plants and flowers, especially the national flower, the protea. We walked up the fynbos trail in the garden and immediately found a family of Cape Francolins pecking on the ground. Sombre Greenbuls were calling incessantly from the trees and a Cape Robin-Chat scurried along the ground. We sought refuge under a tree and found it full of Cape White-eye, Cape Batis, Cape Canary, and Malachite Sunbird. Kirstenbosch is a good place to see raptors soaring and that day we saw one of many Steppe Buzzards we would see during our stay. We continued our walk around the gardens and saw African Dusky Flycatcher, Karoo Prinia, Cape Rock Thrush, Olive Thrush, White-backed Mousebird, and in the outlying areas Orange-breasted Sunbird and Southern Double-crested Sunbird. At the border of the gardens we saw some people descending from one of the trails to Table Mountain called Skeleton Gorge. It looked inviting and I asked Susan about it. She said it was too dangerous, that her family had told her not to go up there because we would be mugged.

After Kirstenbosch we returned to the house in Kruepelbosch and then took a walk around a small neighborhood park, Die Oog which looked like Die Dog on first inspection. Susan said it wasn’t safe so we only took our binoculars in. It’s a small park with a pond and some shrubs and pine trees. We saw lots of Guineafowl, Egyptian Geese, Reed Cormorant, Cape Weaver, and Southern Red Bishop. Later in the day Susan took us to a place where she had spent many hours as a teenager sulking and thinking she said, a winery called Groot Constantia. The winery allows you to walk around their vineyards and grounds at your own risk. Susan said it wasn’t safe and we could only take binoculars and no cameras. It was another excellent spot for raptors with a clear view to the sky. Although the vineyards were a monoculture holding only pigeons, the surrounding areas were forested and full of birds. Soaring above we saw another Steppe Buzzard but also another very similar looking raptor that I studied very carefully to make out the pale greater and median coverts identifying it as a Forest Buzzard. In the vineyards we found Speckled Pigeon and in the forested area Common Fiscal and an up close look at the beautiful African Paradise Flycatcher which would have made an excellent photo if I had only had my camera. It was very frustrating to always be looking behind me to see if a criminal was lurking who might get my binoculars and/or camera.

December 23, 2007, we got up early and drove the long drive to the south-western most point of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope National Park. After entering the park we passed a huge expanse of fynbos. We pulled over at a rocky beach on the Atlantic side and got out to have a look. Ostriches were feeding in the low coastal scrub and then a flash of color caught my eye—the endangered African Black Oystercatcher! We walked down to the shore and had a better look. While we were admiring it I noticed a very pale plover walking on the narrow shoreline—a White-fronted Plover. We continued driving to the turn off for Cape Point. We parked and hiked up to the lighthouse where we had expansive views of both the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Wave upon wave of cormorants flew past but I couldn’t find any interesting pelagic birds which you can supposedly see from this vantage point. Nevertheless the expansive view was majestic and reminded me of Point Reyes minus the disgusting noisome dairy farms. After enjoying the view we climbed back down past the hordes of tourists to the parking lot where we found a Cape Bunting hopping around. We drove down to the Cape of Good Hope and there were more hordes of tourists. We stood out on the rocks and saw large roosts of Swift Terns, Cape Cormorant, Bank Cormorant, White-breasted Cormorant, and at least one Crowned Cormorant. After squeezing in between tourists for a picture next to the Cape of Good Hope sign we turned around and headed back down the coastline in search of shorebirds which we never found. A Rock Kestrel perched on a rock near the ocean allowing us to get very close to it. We also saw yet another Steppe Buzzard flying overhead. We pulled over at one pull out and I was surprised to see a Parasitic Jaeger fly over. There were many Cape Gulls and some Hartlaub’s Gulls and mixed in with the many Swift Terns were a few Sandwich Terns. In the scrub were some Grey-backed Cisticolas singing away along with some Karoo Prinias and lots of Cape Wagtails on the beaches. We turned off at the Circular Drive and finally we found Cape Sugarbirds with their long streaming tails and big bills for extracting nectar from the sugarbushes. The fynbos was dotted with protea bushes all the way to the horizon. We stopped at a Marine Reserve and found some Sacred Ibises, another White-fronted Plover, and a Kittlitz’s Plover. There was a flock of Cape Canaries eating in the grass along with one Brimstone Canary. Before leaving we glimpsed a Water Mongoose hustling back into the scrub. While driving back toward the park entrance a striped mouse crossed the road and we passed a family of Baboons which are common in the park.

We took a different route home along the Atlantic Ocean and the dramatic coastline. We stopped at Seaforth Beach and walked to the shore but it didn’t seem very safe so we only looked at the colony of African Penguins roosting there.

December 24, 2007, we awoke to stormy weather. Susan had assured me before we left that it did not rain in Cape Town in summer. We drove way out to Milnerton Beach looking for the Rietvlei Wetlands Reserve. We saw a sign for it but the only trail was right along a noisy highway. We walked along with rain threatening the entire time. Some Blacksmith Lapwings were huddled along the banks of the Diep River. On the other side was a golf course and on an island some Egyptian Geese were roosting with Little Egret, Grey Heron, Cape Gull, and Hartlaub’s Gull. The wind was picking up and the rain was coming down just as I noticed a Common Greenshank along the bank. The thunder claps were getting closer and closer and the storm was obviously headed right for us so we raced back to the car. Just before reaching it lightning struck not 50 meters away. We dove into the car just before a down pour. We had to eat our lunch in the car parked in front of Milnerton Beach hoping the storm would pass over which it eventually did. Susan didn’t want to get out but I convinced her to walk along Milnerton Beach with me. It cleared up and we could see Lion’s Head, a familiar landmark in Cape Town, back-dropping the beach along with Table Mountain. A man on the beach saw us struggling to take a self-photo and offered to get one of us both with the mountains as a back drop.

December 25, 2007, I had been dreading this day. In my entire life I had never missed a Christmas with my own family and I was not looking forward to spending this one without them. After breakfast we took a short hike in Toklai Forest. Susan said it was dangerous and so she wouldn’t let me bring my camera. There were several people in the forest walking their dogs and it seemed safe enough to me. We found a Steppe Buzzard eating a mouse in a tree and saw a Chaffinch, an introduced European species that has become established in Toklai. After our short walk we packed up our presents and went to Simon and Alison’s for the festivities. We opened some presents and then had a briaa outside under the canopy. It was superb weather and I enjoyed being outside on Christmas Day. After dinner everyone opened crackers which are wrapped items that you pull apart making a popping noise. Inside is a little present and a note with some witticism on it. There were no pumpkin pies but Mrs. Barnes had made some miniature mince meat pies. The kids swam in the pool and there was a lot of drinking involved. In the evening instead of having dinner we had the Christmas pudding. After the Christmas pudding we had to watch the queen’s speech on TV. Her speech was a whole lot of bullocks. Following the speech, during which I believe Mrs. Barnes stood with her hand on her heart, Simon took everyone up to Cecilia Forest for a short walk in the woods. Some native cork trees were growing at the entrance but mostly it was planted with non-native pine trees and so we didn’t see many birds, just Cape White-eye, Common Chaffinch, and African Dusky Flycatcher. After our walk we settled back under the canopy but incredibly it began to downpour and we were forced back inside the house.

December 26, 2007, Boxing Day, a national holiday, Susan and I got up early and drove back to Toklai Forest. Before reaching the parking area we passed a band of criminals huddled on the side of the road. One of them approached the car and I rolled the window up because I just knew he was going to snatch my binoculars and ruin my vacation. We made it past the band of criminals and parked the car. We started walking up the path toward Elephant’s Eye, another Cape Town landmark on Table Mountain. A black man was walking a little ways ahead of us and I was nervous but it turned out he was a park ranger. The trail ascends rather steeply, about 2100 feet, up to a sort of cave that looks like the eye of an elephant from far away. On the way up we saw another Steppe Buzzard and Rock Kestrel. We passed through expanses of fynbos some of which held Cape Grassbirds and colorful fields of blooming wildflower and proteas before reaching the cave. From the Elephant's eye we could see all across Cape Town all the way to the sea. We saw dozens of beautiful Orange-breasted Sunbirds in the fynbos. After enjoying the views of Cape Town, all the wildflowers, and the sunbirds we continued hiking upwards toward Constantiaberg. As Susan topped the summit a man greeted her dressed in flip flops and shorts. It was windy and cool that day and he was dressed completely inappropriately. I wasn’t sure if he was a criminal or just crazy but I wasn’t sticking around to find out. I had brought my camera against Susan’s advice. I turned back down the mountain but then fearing for Susan went back up and got her. We ran back down without ever reaching the beacon. We stopped about half way down and had lunch with all of Hout Bay for our view. We hiked down toward the Atlantic side and then back around toward Elephant's Eye. When we got back to the final ascent for Elephant's Eye a helicopter swooped down right in front of us and lifted down a gurney for a hiker with a broken leg. The helicopter hovered as long as it could and then had to circle and come back to drop down a rescue worker. On the way back down the mountain we again passed the black ranger. He glared at us; I think he knew I had feared him for his blackness earlier. I’m sorry I did but it’s a fact that 90% of the crime committed in South Africa is committed by blacks. I know it is because of the tremendous gap between rich and poor but I had to be practical while there and weigh my odds of being mugged carefully.

December 27, 2007 was the birthday of Evan, Martyn and Bonnie’s son, who was turning four and Bonnie had planned a birthday party for him at Alison’s house at 2:00 PM but we got up early and drove to Kirstenbosch for a hike before the birthday party. We walked through Kirstenbosch to the start of Skeleton Gorge. This trail goes straight up a steep gorge to the top of Table Mountain. There is a cable car that goes to the top as well and virtually everyone in the family had advised me that I should take the cable car up. This would have been absolute anathema to me and the antithesis of what I am all about. No, we were going to hike up some 3500 feet to McClure’s Beacon with commanding views of all of Cape Town and down to both oceans. The fog started to come between the peaks but it was mostly a sunny day with incredible views all around. There were many other hikers also on holiday and it seemed unlikely that we were in any danger whatsoever. Not too long up Skeleton Gorge we heard the unmistakable song of the much sought after Knysna Warbler. We also saw some more Cape Batises and Cape White-eyes in the trees above the creek. While relaxing on a rock to have lunch I spotted a small family of Ground Woodpeckers nearby also congregating on a rock. Time was running out and Susan made me run down the bone crunching Nursery Ravine back to Kirstenbosch. Despite pounding my knees all the way down in record time we were still 45 minutes late for Evan’s birthday party. Alison chastised Susan for her lateness. It was around this date that I began checking my calendar each day counting how many days were left before I could return to my own country. At the party Martyn and Bonnie gave Evan a transformer that turned into a Humvee. I was mortified. Did Bonnie, who earlier had complained to me about people (presumably Americans) and their big SUVs, not know that Humvees were the very symbol of American profligacy and excess?

December 28, 2007, we went to meet an old school mate of Susan’s she had reconnected with. We were supposed to meet a lady named Emma and her girlfriend, Silvery, and their friend, Peter, for lunch at Glen Cairn, near Hout Bay. We tried to get some early morning birding in before our lunch appointment. We started at Rondovlei Wetland Reserve where we saw a Booted Eagle fly over. From the blinds we saw the same Spur-winged Geese, African Darter, and Yellow-billed Ducks from before but we also found a Cape Shoveler, a new bird for the trip. We weren’t finding anything else new so we left and drove to the Cape Flats to look for the waste water treatment plant which, allegedly is a magnet for birds. Cape Flats is a very poor section of town and it was the one time in Cape Town where I felt real fear. We rolled the windows up and locked the doors while stopped at stop lights (called robots in SA). Dozens of black men stood aimlessly on the side of the road not even trying to hawk magazines no one wanted but just standing idly. We finally found Strandfontein and I was very grateful that it had a gate and security guard who wrote down our names. We drove into the Strandfontein wetlands and immediately came to large flocks of ducks and finally after weeks of searching, my first ever Greater Flamingo. In the wetlands we found Southern Pochard, the lovely chocolate brown Maccoa Duck, Cape Teal, Red-billed Teal, Black-winged Stilt, hundreds of Pied Avocets, and more Blacksmith Lapwings. In the grassy area around the pond we found an African Pipit foraging, but we could not find any shorebird flocks with anything other than lapwings. We ran out of time and ended up about 30 minutes late to lunch which was uneventful. After lunch we drove to Boulders Beach. We walked out to the rocks where the African Penguins were busy copulating right out in the open. They let us get very close to them. It was quite windy and so we left and drove to Noordhouck Beach. We parked and were greeted with a sign advising us not to bring our valuables as there had been many muggings there. A Black-shouldered Kite was perched near the parking area. I gave it only a passing look, wrongly assuming it was the same species as our White-tailed Kite. I took no video of it, only learning upon returning from our trip and consulting my North American Bird Guide that it was a completely different species. There were no other birds on the beach or in the lagoon and it was very windy so we left. Next we drove up Chapman Peak Road to Hout’s Bay. This road is literally carved out of the rocky cliffs overhanging the ocean. It looks very similar to California’s Big Sur. We stopped at some pull outs and enjoyed the amazing views.

December 29, 2007 we drove to Toklai Forest and parked. Like many of the hiking areas in Cape Town, there was a black man with an orange vest who presumably was there to watch our car. We always tipped the car parkers a Rand or two. We hiked up the steep trail to Constantia Nek, six miles round trip, to Victoria Dam. At first the trail passed through non-native grassland bordered with pine trees. I wasn’t expecting to see anything but there were dozens of Neddicky (Neddickies?) perched right out in the open beside the trail singing away. Little Swifts soared overhead. The pine tree area had been partially cleared of the pine trees by the National Park in order to allow the native fynbos to move back in. As we ascended we did finally get back into the fynbos where we saw yet more Orange-breasted Sunbirds, Cape Sugarbird, and Cape Grassbird. As the trail leveled out we looked for a place of refuge from the sun as it was a scorching day. I said I imagined Mrs. Barnes at home melting under the table. A family of “coloreds” (this was considered a perfectly legitimate word in South Africa to refer to the descendants of the white people who landed in Cape Town and mixed with the blacks) were under the only trees on the trail. So we turned back after making it to Victoria Dam. The trail was full of more proteas and wildflowers, the only one of which I could identify being an Felted Everlasting. We found a Cape Robin-chat and an African Olive Pigeon on the way down and at the bottom another African Dusky Flycatcher. Nearly at the bottom Susan received an SMS from Martyn saying he was keen on seeing her and that he and his family were in Kirstenbosch. (This was typical Barnes behaviour which required minimal planning). If he had sent a message 20 minutes earlier we could have descended into Kirstenbosch but since we were nearly at the car it made more sense to drive to the gardens and pay to get inside. We found them escaping the heat under a large tree. We joined them and had our lunch there. We saw more Cape White-eyes, Olive Thrush, Cape Francolin, and Sombre Greenbul. It was quite hot that day; I would say around 95 degrees and when we returned to Kreupelbosch the first thing out of Mrs. Barnes’s mouth was “it’s so hot.” Mr. Barnes was happy as a lark watching cricket on TV.

December 30, 2007, we decided to go back to Strandfontein Water Treatment and Zeekoevlei Wetlands since our trip two days previous had been truncated by the need to meet the My Face lady. In addition to the birds we had seen earlier we also saw the one and only South African Shelduck of the entire trip plus two Hottentot Teals right by the car. We didn’t stray too far from the car at first because Susan was afraid we would walk into a Cape Cobra. I wanted to see one but not with its mouth dangling from my knee. We came across two birders walking along the road and felt easier about getting out. While standing by the car we saw an African Marsh-Harrier fly over the wetlands. We finally found a shorebird flock but it was way out far away from us and without a spotting scope we were unable to make out much except for a possible Little Stint—not exactly the view I was hoping for of this life bird that is so hard to differentiate from our Western Sandpiper.

We returned to Kreupelbosch to spend time with the Barneses but after a while decided to take a walk at Groot Constantia. We felt more comfortable taking our cameras this time now that we had seen all the other people on holiday, all the car parkers, rangers, and helicopters. Cape Town was making an obvious and concerted effort to make it safer for the holiday. South Africa will be hosting the World Cup in two years and I guess they see all the work they need to do to clean up their tarnished image as a crime capital. We walked through the vineyards and immediately saw a Yellow-billed Kite fly right over our heads. Because it was finally a warm sunny day, many raptors were flying on the thermals. We also saw more Steppe Buzzards and I believe at least one of the raptors was an immature Jackal Buzzard. There were dozens of butterflies and lots of Cape Turtle-Doves and then when we passed from the vineyard into the forested area we started seeing all kinds of other birds too including our first Swee Waxbill, a pretty little bird with a gray head, black chin, red bill, green back and wings and red rump. We had a moment of anxiety when a group approached but they were just tourists just like us chancing a mugging for a fine day of hiking.

December 31, 2007, I don’t like new year’s eve; it never leads to any good at all. We had a social obligation at 11:30 because Susan had arranged to meet her best friend from high school, Dom, where they were staying in Cape Town, for lunch. In the morning we drove back out to Milnerton to look again for Rietvlei since our earlier attempt had been thwarted by the rain and lightning. Mr. Barnes said that we had not driven far enough the first time. The directions I had downloaded from the internet before our trip were very vague and we had a hard time finding it. Susan did all the driving in Cape Town since I was too terrified to drive a stick shift sitting on the wrong side of the car and driving on the wrong side of the road as they do in Cape Town. I saw a sign that said “Rietvlei” so we turned and finally bumbled our way to the reserve entrance. There was a gate and a guard and a small entrance fee which was reassuring of its safeness for photography and walking around without being mugged. We parked and began walking toward the bird blind and saw some black and white birds with very long tails in the trees. We had to consult the bird book to determine they were Pin-tailed Whydah birds, an exciting find so late in the trip. Again we had little time on account of our approaching lunch date. As we approached the blind Susan spotted our first ever African Spoonbill, a bird I had been searching for for nearly two weeks. Near the blind some shorebirds were on the mud flat but they were mostly birds we had already seen elsewhere, Black-winged Stilt, Pied Avocet, Blacksmith Lapwing, and Common Greenshank. We went into the blind even though we were now out of time and right away I spotted a Lesser Swamp Warbler in a reed bed right next to my window. Susan called me over to her window and pointed out the much sought after Curlew Sandpiper! We had to reluctantly leave the blind. As we left a flock of birds flew over sounding remarkably similar to our cranes at home. Susan said they were cranes but I was unconvinced because I had not come across this bird while constantly thumbing through the bird guide every day trying to figure out what everything was. However, later I realized they were indeed Blue Cranes. I had just overlooked them because they were on the same page with the Secretarybird, a bird we did not get to see in Kruger because our guide was obsessed with elephants, and I had been overlooking that page since they were only located on the dry savannahs of the eastern side of the country and not in Cape Town. We were now seriously late but it had been an exciting morning of new discoveries. We had a nice lunch with Dom, her sister, her husband, and her three darling daughters and then left them for their own obligations. Before returning home we stopped at a fancy beach on the Atlantic Ocean called Llandudno Beach. It was packed with people swimming and sun bathing. We walked down to the water which I was keen to check out as Susan’s family had said repeatedly about how cold the water was. I went in up to my knees (I had on shorts) and it was cold but not nearly as cold as the icy Pacific back home. We drove from Llandudno to Hout Bay where we walked along the beach. I didn’t like it because a polluted river flowed into it and it smelled bad because it was close to a pier and marina.

We returned in the evening to Simon and Alison’s for the new year’s celebration. Nearly everyone fell asleep around 10:30 PM but Simon woke everyone up near the stroke of midnight so they could all embrace and kiss. This was very strange as they had shown virtually no outward display of affection up to that point. I was unprepared for the offered kisses. I looked up in the sky to see Orion upside down pointing his arrow directly at us.

January 1, 2008. What better way to start the new year than to find new birds. We drove again to Reitvlei Wetland Reserve. It was very windy. There were many of the same birds from our previous visit. Susan pointed out a nuclear power plant across the wetland. After lunch beside the fresh water lake where people were water skiing, we walked along the marsh and finally found the smallest kingfisher in South Africa there—the beautiful Malachite Kingfisher, which is only 13 centimeters. After enjoying the huge flocks of geese, ducks, ibises, and flamingoes we left and headed to the waterfront. I had been dreading this part of the trip as well, the present buying stage. The waterfront is much like Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, a big tourist attraction full of shops and no birds but feral pigeons. We did see some Southern Fur Seals basking in the sun. Then it was all shopping.

January 2, 2008, Susan and I ran 1.5 miles around the neighborhood and then Susan and her parents took Martyn and his family to the airport. I stayed at home finishing one of the many books I had brought to SA. In the afternoon they returned and Susan and I had Mrs. Barnes drop us off at Constantia Nek. We walked from there to Kirstenbosch where Mrs. Barnes picked us up two hours later. We didn’t see any new birds but we saw a giant tortoise and a Mongoose along the way. That evening we planned a quite evening with Susan’s parents at their house. I was reading in bed when there was a knock at the door. Simon had come by to say goodbye which I thought was very sweet of him. I had opened a bottle of wine Mrs. Barnes had given me for Christmas since it wouldn’t fit in my suitcase. Curiously Susan and I had tried the exact bottle back in San Francisco after finding it in a wine shop there. It was a 2004 Porcupine Ridge Cabernet and it was quite good.

January 3, 2008 was our last day in South Africa. We got up early and drove back out to the Cape of Good Hope. We stopped at the visitor center and were so lucky to see two Bush Bucks. We drove out to the Cape but it was very windy. We tried to climb up the trail above the Cape of Good Hope but the wind made seeing anything flying very difficult. We saw a few Dusies along the trail but not much else. We got back in the car and drove back away from the point. We saw a flash of orange and stopped the car and there was a Bokmakerie in the scrub. Next we drove back to the Circular Drive and took the Boobajain Trail to the water’s edge where we had lunch and then back up the rocks to the parking area. We saw a lot more Cape Sugarbirds and Cape Grassbirds in the fynbos. While eating lunch at the shore I noticed an unusual looking bird hopping around on the rocks. We went over to investigate and were pleased to find yet another bird to add to our South Africa total, a Familiar Chat. As we were ascending the rocks back up to the car after lunch we saw several birds fly onto the rock face so we stopped to see what they were. They were all Rock Martins but then we noticed a yellowish looking bird perched on top of a rock. After two and a half weeks I finally found a Cape Siskin, the last addition to our growing bird list. What an exciting finish to an outstanding trip. We had to leave to allow more family visiting time so we reluctantly left the amazing Cape of Good Hope. We packed up and Mr. and Mrs. Barnes took us to the airport. Alison met us there to say goodbye. I counted all the birds we had seen in Africa and it totaled an amazing 241 birds.. It had been an incredible journey to the dark continent. We said goodbye to the Barneses at Cape Town Airport and flew away to London back to civilization.

Yellow-breasted Apalis
Pied Avocet
Arrow-marked Babbler
Black-collared Barbet
Bateleur
Cape Batis
European Bee-eater
Little Bee-eater
Southern Carmine Bee-eater
White-fronted Bee-eater
Southern Red Bishop
Bokmakierie
Red-billed Buffalo-Weaver
Cape Bulbul
Dark-capped Bulbul
Cape Bunting
Cinnamon-breasted Bunting
Golden-breasted Bunting
Black-bellied Bustard
Forest Buzzard
Jackal Buzzard
Steppe Buzzard
Green-backed Camaroptera
Brimstone Canary
Cape Canary
Yellow-fronted Canary
Common Chaffinch
Familiar Chat
Levaillant’s Cisticola
Rattling Cisticola
Cloud Cisticola
Grey-backed Cisticola
Red-knobbed Coot
Bank Cormorant
Cape Cormorant
Crowned Cormorant
Reed Cormorant
White-breasted Cormorant
Burchell’s Coucal
Black Crake
Blue Crane
Cape Crow
House Crow
Pied Crow
Black Cuckoo
Diderick Cuckoo
Jacobin Cuckoo
Klass’s Cuckoo
Levaillant’s Cuckoo
Red-chested Cuckoo
African Darter
African Morning Dove
Laughing Dove
Lemon Dove
Namaqua Dove
Fork-tailed Drongo
African Black Duck
Comb Duck
Maccoa Duck
White-faced Duck
Yellow-billed Duck
Booted Eagle
Lesser-spotted Eagle
Long-crested Eagle
Martial Eagle
Steppe Eagle
Tawny Eagle
Verreaux’s Eagle
Wahlberg’s Eagle
Great Egret
Little Egret
Yellow-billed Egret
Yellow-bellied Eremomela
Jameson’s Firefinch
Common Fiscal
African Fish-Eagle
Greater Flamingo
African Dusky Flycatcher
Ashy Flycatcher
Fiscal Flycatcher
Spotted Flycatcher
Cape Francolin
Grey Go-away-bird
Spur-winged Goose
Cape Grassbird
Little Grebe
Sombre Greenbul
African Green-Pigeon
Common Greenshank
Southern Ground-Hornbill
Spotted Ground Thrush
Helmeted Guineafowl
Grey-headed Gull
Hartlaub’s Gull
Cape Gull
Hamerkop
Black-headed Heron
Goliath Heron
Purple Heron
Brown-backed Honeybird
Greater Honeyguide
African Hoopoe
Red-billed Hornbill
Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill
African Sacred Ibis
Hadeda Ibis
Purple Indigobird
African Jacana
Rock Kestrel
Brown-hooded Kingfisher
Giant Kingfisher
Malachite Kingfisher
Pied Kingfisher
Woodland Kingfisher
Black Kite
Black-shouldered Kite
Yellow-billed Kite
Blacksmith Lapwing
Crowned Lapwing
Bronze Mannikin
African Marsh-Harrier
Rock Martin
Red-faced Mousebird
Speckled Mousebird
White-backed Mousebird
Common Myna
Neddicky
European Nightjar
African Olive-Pigeon
Black-headed Oriole
Common Ostrich
Pearl-spotted Owlet
Red-billed Oxpecker
African Black Oystercatcher
African Palm-Swift
African Paradise-Flycatcher
Long-tailed Paradise-Whydah
Brown-headed Parrot
Great White Pelican
African Penguin
Speckled Pigeon
African Pipit
Common Ringed-Plover
Kittlitz’s Plover
Three-banded Plover
White-fronted Plover
Southern Pochard
Drakensberg Prinia
Karoo Prinia
Tawny-flanked Prinia
Black-backed Puffback
Red-billed Quelea
White-necked Raven
African Reed-warbler
Cape Robin-chat
White-browed Robin-Chat
White-throated Robin-Chat
Cape Rock Thrush
European Roller
Lilac-breasted Roller
Purple Roller
Common Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Brown Scrub-Robin
White-browed Scrub-Robin
South African Shelduck
Cape Shoveler
Magpie Shrike
Red-backed Shrike
Cape Siskin
Brown Snake-Eagle
Cape Sparrow
Southern Grey-headed Sparrow
Black Sparrowhawk
African Spoonbill
Cape Francolin
Natal Francolin
Swainson’s Spurfowl
Black-bellied Starling
Cape Glossy Starling
Red-winged Starling
Violet-backed Starling
Black-winged Stilt
Little Stint
Marabou Stork
Saddle-billed Stork
Woolly-necked Stork
Yellow-billed Stork
Cape Sugarbird
Collared Sunbird
Greater Double-collared Sunbird
Malachite Sunbird
Marico Sunbird
Olive Sunbird
Orange-breasted Sunbird
Southern Double-collared Sunbird
White-bellied Sunbird
Barn Swallow
Greater Striped Swallow
Lesser Striped Swallow
Red-breasted Swallow
White-throated Swallow
African Purple Swamphen
African Black Swift
Alpine Swift
Little Swift
Cape Teal
Hottentot Teal
Red-billed Teal
Lesser Crested Tern
Spotted Thick-knee
Water Thick-knee
Groundscraper Thrush
Kurrichane Thrush
Olive Thrush
Cape Turtle-Dove
Lappet-faced Vulture
White-backed Vulture
White-headed Vulture
African Pied Wagtail
Cape Wagtail
Icterine Warbler
Knysna Warbler
Olive-tree Warbler
Willow Warbler
Blue Waxbill
Common Waxbill
Swee Waxbill
Cape Weaver
Dark-backed Weaver
Spectacled Weaver
Village Weaver
Yellow Weaver
Cape White-eye
Pin-tailed Whydah
Red-collared Widowbird
Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove
Green Wood-Hoopoe
Bearded Woodpecker
Cardinal Woodpecker
Ground Woodpecker

SOUTH AFRICA: PART I: DURBAN & KRUGER

Durban & Kruger National Park
December 13, 2007 – December 21, 2007

We left London on the evening of the 12th and arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa the morning of December 13, 2007, where we met Susan’s brother, Martyn. The airport was utter chaos. The conveyor belt wasn’t working on the luggage carrousel and throngs of people were climbing onto it trying to get their luggage. We finally collected our things and then met Martyn and his two kids and flew from Johannesburg to Durban, a coastal town on the Indian Ocean. We drove from Durban Airport to Umhlanga Rocks, to a large flat owned by Martyn’s in-laws, overlooking the Indian Ocean. I looked out the cab window on the drive from the airport with extreme sadness as we passed large tracts of shanty towns. Once in Umhlanga everything changed as we entered white South Africa, a swanky resort town for rich white folks with their high end cars, gated housing with security guards, electrically wired fences, and fancy accommodations. Our room opened onto a large deck with expansive views down the beach and across the ocean. Each morning I was able to use my photography and video equipment on the deck on the third floor without fear of being mugged, a high possibility in crime-ridden South Africa. After settling into our room we went for a walk down the board walk along the ocean. Police were stationed up and down the beach; it was the holidays, summer in South Africa, and the beaches were full of tourists. Helicopters patrolled the beaches incessantly as well. As we walked down the beach I noticed right away how little wildlife there was to see in the ocean itself. In fact, the only ocean birds we saw that day were a couple of Cape Gulls and one Lesser Crested Tern. Common Mynas, an introduced bird that has thrived there, were everywhere as were the symbol of South African birding, the Hadeda Ibis and Cape Turtle Dove which makes a sound embedded in my brain permanently. Despite the presence of many tourists, in the shrubs along the boardwalk there were quite a few birds including Dark-capped Bulbul, Tawny-flanked Prinia, Drakensburg Prinia, Lemon Dove, and Red-winged Starling. After walking down the boardwalk a ways we came to the entrance to the Umhlanga Lagoon Nature Reserve. It looked very inviting but a sign warned of the dangers of muggings and recommended entering only on Thursdays between 11:00 and 2:00 PM when a guard was there. Overcoming my extreme fear of being mugged and having my camera stolen we entered the reserve. It was the best part about Durban. My heart pounded as we entered a thick jungle with overhanging limbs and then came to a rickety boardwalk over the lagoon. In the jungle area we saw a Green-backed Camaroptera, African White-throated Robin-Chat, and Red-capped Robin-chat. Our fears overcame us and it was getting late so we turned back before exploring the boardwalk.

December 14, 2007, I got up and checked out the lawn below the balcony. I found more Mynas, Laughing Dove, European Barn Swallow, Dark-capped Bulbul, Cape White-eye, Bronze Mannikin, Gray-headed Gull, and Cape Sparrow. Out on the ocean was a pod of Common Dolphins. After breakfast we decided to walk back down to the Nature Reserve. Martyn’s brother-in-law, Allistair, warned us that it wasn’t safe but we went anyway. In the jungle we found a Cardinal Woodpecker, Brown Scrub Robin, and a Green-backed Camaroptera. An alternative trail to the one to the boardwalk went toward the Beachcomer Hotel and we took it as it seemed safer so close to the hotel. One tree there was full of butterflies and also had a Speckled Mousebird, Black-collared Barbet and a family of Vervet Monkeys. We stood in this one spot along time as it felt the safest. Then we decided to chance the rickety boardwalk and came across dozens of nesting weaver birds, Speckled Weaver and Cape Weaver. There was one Southern Red Bishop in the reeds. As we stood on the boardwalk right in the middle we had a good vantage point for both shorebirds in the river mouth and passerines in the woods. Along the canal there was a White-breasted Cormorant, Goliath Heron, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Wood Sandpiper, and Common Sandpiper. A Giant Kingfisher flew out of the woods and landed on a post in the canal. Then a Pied Kingfisher flew out of the same area and landed on a reed. In the woods on the far side that went toward the ocean I spotted a Black Flycatcher perched in a tree. We looked in the mud flats closely and saw a Three-banded Plover briefly come from behind some reeds. A Common Ringed Plover made an even briefer appearance before disappearing behind the reed bed. We decided to brave crossing the boardwalk to the other side. The jungle only continued briefly after that before descending to the beach. Out on the beach an African Fish Eagle flew overhead. Back at the flat we put on our swimming suits (called swimming costumes in South Africa) and went down to the beach to swim in the Indian Ocean. I had never even seen the Indian Ocean before much less swum in it. You could only swim in about a 50 yard section of the beach. So about 500 people were all crammed in this one section of the beach all trying to boogie board and ride waves and swim all the while bumping into each other while trying to avoid contact. If you went outside the 50 yard markers a life guard blew a whistle and asked you to get back in the swimming area. Another guard sat on a surf board right at the breakers to make sure no one went beyond the breakers. White Sharks are a huge threat in South Africa but as all the announcement were in Zulu I’m not sure if that was the reason or something else. Crime was always a threat even with the presence of guards, helicopters and police. So Susan watched our towel while I got in the ocean. It was chilly but not nearly as cold as the Pacific Ocean. Everyone said the Indian Ocean was much warmer than the Atlantic Ocean. I would find out later in the trip when we got to Cape Town.

December 15, 2007, I got up and scanned the ocean from the balcony. It was overcast. A stream of Palm Swifts flew past the balcony. A Cape Wagtail walked across the lawn below me. After breakfast we returned to the Nature Reserve. We first took the trail toward the busy tree next to the Beachcomber Hotel. A suspicious looking man was walking the other way. I was very frightened but felt somewhat safe by the hotel. Two men walked toward us and I hurriedly put my Canon Rebel into my backpack. If we had been robbed he would have hit the jackpot getting both my Canon Rebel and my Sony Video camera. The two men turned out to be police officers who had just returned from checking the nature reserve trails. One of the officers asked if we planned to go into the reserve when we said yes he said that there had been two muggings the day before. We were so frightened and jittery that I could barely even look at the birds much less film them. We walked toward the boardwalk slowly looking ahead and back constantly. We stood out in the middle of the boardwalk checking both sides and that felt safer as we had a chance to run either way if a criminal came. An African Darter was in the channel as well as a Ruff and another Common Sandpiper. I didn’t want to go either way as I felt entering the woods was very dangerous but we had to either return the way we came through the jungle or up the hillside to the beach. We finally decided that the shorter route to the beach was safest since once we reached the beach we were much less likely to be mugged with other people there, constant helicopters flying over and many people on holiday at the beach. In the woods that went up the hillside we found a Fork-tailed Drongo, a female Eastern Olive Sunbird, my first sunbird of the trip, Dark-backed Weaver, and Common Fiscal. We decided it would be safer to walk back along the beach where there was more security. While walking down the beach, a Rock Kestrel zoomed past us. Later in the day we went out to the pool area which was enclosed by the electrical fence so filming was easier and safer there. While looking around a Black Kite flew overhead and a Black-collared Barbet went repeatedly to this same tree overlooking the pool area.

December 16, 2007, was our last day in Durban. In the morning before our flight we walked down the boardwalk to the reserve one last time. While standing on the boardwalk a Black Crake popped out of the reeds. I could have stood on the boardwalk all day just to see what else popped out but we had to go. We crossed the boardwalk and walked through the jungle to the beach where we found a Wahlberg’s Eagle perched in a tree. We walked up to the river mouth and found a Brown-headed Shrike perched in a tree. The only additional birds we found in the jungle were Common Fiscal and a Collared Sunbird. A man and his son were just about to head back into the reserve and so we felt safe enough to continue back that way as well instead of back along the beach where there were less birds to see. When we were nearly back to the flat we passed the police officer who warned us earlier about the mugging and he said, “you made it!” Back at the flat we packed our bags and then headed back to Durban Airport. We flew from Durban on a tiny twin prop to Nelspruit Airport where we were greeted by our guide from Bushwise Safaris, Ludaweick. The drive from Nelspruit Airport to Marloth Park is about an hour and passes some dramatic mountain scenery before following along the Crocodile River and into the park. Marloth Park is a nature reserve that borders Kruger National Park. On the drive I saw my first Pied Crow, a Black-shouldered Kite, Little Swifts, and Cattle Egrets. Soon after passing through the security gate we came across a Black Mamba snake in the road. Then we passed some Impalas along the road. Ludaweick said they were too common to stop for even though I had never seen one. We also saw a Diuker in the woods but Ludawieck wouldn’t stop for that either. We settled into our room which had a balcony with eye level views into a tree hosting a number of birds including a very vocal Gray Go-Away Bird and a Blue Waxbill amoung others. The lodge is just feet from the fence that runs for miles along Kruger National Park. Although you are not permitted to get out of your car in Kruger, at Marloth you may walk all along the fence line. So after settling into our room we went for a walk about one kilometer to a shelter and back. Immediately we came across a Natal Francolin and just minutes into our walk we came upon an elephant right next to the fence! It was the first elephant I had ever seen in the wild. The fence runs parallel to the Crocodile River where many animals and birds congregate. In the low shrubs along the fence line were hundreds and hundreds of Red-billed Queleas. White-browed Scrub-Robins hopped along the ground. We found a Bearded Woodpecker in a tree. There was a drab looking bird skulking in the reeds that I believe was a Willow Warbler. Along the banks of the river were many Blacksmith Lapwings, Egyptian Geese (abundant in SA), Yellow-billed Egret, and White-faced Ducks. A Burchell’s Couchal was perched in the low shrubs. We also found a Fork-tailed Drongo and Cape Glossy Starling in the trees. Just feet from us we found a Goliath Heron and a Diderick Cuckoo. On the ground on the way back we got a brief glimpse of a pretty Emerald-spotted Wood-Dove. We had dinner with Ludaweick and another guide named Heinrich. Luaweick and Heinrich frequently lapsed into speaking Africaans even though Susan told them that she grew up in Cape Town and spoke Africaans. Ludaweick said we would be the only ones on the safari the next day which would only last a half day since we would be taking a night drive that night with a park guide. He also said that he would be our guide for our stay. We asked him if he knew about birds because we had a particular interest in them. Ludaweick assured us that he was required to know about all aspects of nature in the park in order to be a guide and that he knew about birds but that his special interest was elephants.

December 17, 2007, we got up at 4:00 AM for an early start in Kruger. It was a thirty minute drive from our lodge to the Crocodile Bridge Gate at Kruger and all the safari companies line up before the gate opens at 5:30 AM to try to find the “Big Five” which is what everybody is most interested in. It was raining lightly but Ludawieck was wearing shorts. While waiting for the gate to open I spotted a Yellow-fronted Canary. Finally the gate opened and we crossed the Crocodile Bridge which is a low concrete platform that barely clears the river. Despite the rain, we saw many spectacular birds from the jeep all of which we of course new to me. Many vultures were perched in the trees, mostly White-backed Vulture but also one Lappet-faced Vulture. We also saw three different kinds of eagle, Steppe Eagle, Martial Eagle, and Brown Snake-eagle. We had no trouble finding Giraffe, Zebra, and Buffalo but Ludaweick didn’t think they were worthy of a stop. Not too long into our drive Ludaweick slammed on the brakes (probably because he saw an elephant) sending my Canon Rebel camera to the floor of the jeep shattering the LCD readout and making it impossible to see the settings or the picture preview. Every time we wanted him to stop for a bird he became extremely resentful. We came across some Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills and Red-billed Hornbills which I thought were fantastic looking but Ludaweick was uninterested and wouldn’t stop long enough for me to get a picture. (I later got a picture of a Yellow-billed Hornbill while walking in Marloth but it wasn't very good because I had to use my video camera). After a couple of hours we stopped at a rest area with a restaurant and gift shop. We tried to order something vegan but they had none of the items we wanted so Ludaweick yelled at the black workers there. We finally just had coffee and some toast. Ludaweick said he could not buy us water even though the water is not potable and we had pre-paid all inclusive! So Susan bought us some from the shop. It wasn’t that cold but since the jeeps are completely open the rain comes in and gets everything wet and eventually we began to feel cold. The rest area looked out over the Crocodile River where you usually can see lots of birds but with the rain visibility was limited. I only saw one Diderick Cuckoo, one Woodland Shrike, and some very tame Village Weaver and Masked Weaver birds that came right up to the table. Back out on the road we passed numerous gorgeous looking Lilac-breasted Rollers and European Rollers. Magpie Shrikes, a black bird with a very long tail, were everywhere. We stopped at a blind where a Hamerkop was busy building a nest next to the blind. Hippopotamuses were in the water and there was a Long-tailed Widowbird. It cleared up after lunch and we continued down some other roads that Ludaweick chose and found an accommodating Black-bellied Bustard. Every elephant we came across Ludaweick stopped the jeep and turned off the engine so he could study them in detail. We crossed some other bridge and saw a beautiful Saddle-billed Stork, Marabou Stork, and a Wooly-necked Stork. At one point Ludaweick turned into a dirt road and we saw a group of White Rhinoceros. I wanted to get a photo but no L:udaweick decided to drive the jeep right toward them scaring them away into the bush. On the way back out of the park we came across some Wildebeast, another animal I have never seen but Ludaweick didn’t deem it important enough to stop. Near the end of the tour he did slow down as a family of warthogs crossed the road. We left the park and returned to Bushwise Lodge. Susan and I spent the rest of the day walking along Marloth Park where we were treated to numerous butterflies including African Monarch, Fig Tree Blue, Common Diadem, Natal Acraea, Orange Tip, Scarlet Tip, White-cloaked Skipper, and Blue Pansy. There were water buffalo and hippos in the river and I came across a Speck’s Hingeback (tortoise). I saw the same Bearded Woodpecker from yesterday and Brown-backed Honeybird, Red-breasted Swallow, the beautiful Violet-backed Starling, and Red-billed Oxpeckers on the buffaloes. Way on the other side of the river was a lone Kudu. We had no hot water in our room and had to take a cold shower.

At 5:30 PM we went back to Kruger where a park guide took us on our night drive. Our park guide was named Kisani and she was excellent. She pointed out a Magpie Shrike and Woodland Kingfisher that were near the jeep. At dusk we came upon a lioness lying in the road. The male was sitting in the bush nearby. Kisani parked the jeep and within a few minutes an entire family with three tiny cubs trotted across the road. After the sun set Kisani got out some spotlights for the customers to hold and point into the bush looking for eyeballs. In this way we found a Pearl-spotted Owlet, Barn Owl, Spotted Hyenea, Springhare, and Porcupine. We went back to Bushwise for a very late dinner with Luda. We never got to say anything and ate silently while he pontificated about elephants.

December 18, 2007 was the day for our all day tour. It was raining when we woke up so I put on long pants and wore my rain jacket. Unforunately even this was not enough clothes as it rained all day long and was quite cold. It was still just Susan and me in the jeep with Ludaweick but we were to meet up with the other guests who were riding with Heinrich in another jeep, for breakfast at a picnic area on a mountain inside the park. Not long into our drive I spotted a Yellow-billed Hornbill perched right next to the road. It would have made an excellent photo. Unfortunately Ludaweick deemed it unimportant and zoomed right past it. Susan asked him to stop but he was already a kilometer past it and it was unlikely to still be perched in a perfect photo style so I just said forget about it. Ludaweick became very mad and moped the rest of the day. We made an unscheduled stop at the rest area where we met up with Heinrich and his group. Luda and Heinrich sat down and started having coffee. Luda started telling Heinrich in Africaans the story about the blow up with me around the hornbill. Susan was in the shop and he assumed I couldn’t understand-- I could not understand that dreadful language but it was clear from body language that they were talking about me as I stood there. I was furious. Later I told Susan about it and we were outraged at our ill treatment. We continued to the mountain where Susan and I were fed a bowl of cereal while the guides and the rest of the group had a gourmet meal of sausage, grilled beef, potatoes, sautéed onions, and I don’t know what else. After my cereal and some nasty instant coffee I wandered over to another picnic area to look for birds. I found my one and only Jameson’s Firefinch of the trip, a beautiful Cinnamon-breasted Bunting, Red-backed Mannikin, Collared Sunbird, and Groundscraper Thrush, all birds I would have never seen if I had relied solely on Luda. He was so concerned with finding the “big five” and particularly elephants that he frequently drove right past many fascinating birds I would have loved to have seen better or even studied. I looked down the mountain into the river banks and saw Spotted Thick-knee, White-faced Duck, and Marabou Stork. As I was filming some birds Luda stormed over and demanded that I get into the jeep. He told Susan that I was not supposed to walk around but he never mentioned anything about that to me. We drove further north into the park where the bush gives way to open savannah. We saw many eagles and vultures along the way including Lessser-spotted Eagle, Steppe Eagle, Tawny Eagle, Martial Eagle, African Fish Eagle, and many Bateluers. In the savannah we found Black-bellied Bustard, African Green Pigeon, a rare Namaqua Dove, and a Red-collared Widowbird. We came to an opening and Luda said there were some Southern Ground Hornbills. I said can we stop and Luda barked “of course.” We passed some rocky outcroppings and I spotted a little buck that Luda said was a Steenbok. He was very upset that I spotted it before he did. We saw several different kinds of bucks including Waterbuck, Kudu, Bushbuck, and of course Impalas. We continued north into an area that followed along a riverway that looked very promising. We heard a distinctive call from the forest that Luda said was a Red-breasted Cuckoo. I said I wanted to see some bee-eaters but Luda was wet and cold and wanted to turn back and go home. He had promised us we would go all the way to the visitor center where Susan and I were to have lunch and do some shopping. Luda was stuffed from his humongous breakfast but we were hungry as we had only had cereal so even though we were cold and wet we insisted that he press on. He showed his displeasure but crimping his shoulders up to his ears and not saying another word to us. He was driving along way too fast for me to see anything when I saw something red and tan out of my eye and I knew it was something good so I yelled “stop.” Luda was well past it but he reluctantly backed up and there were several beautiful Carmine Bee-eaters and one European Bee-eater perched out in the open. It was raining steadily and so my picture was inferior but I was thrilled to see these gorgeous birds nevertheless. As I snapped off some hurried photos Luda propped his hand on his hand and sighed audibly. As we raced toward the visitor center and our much awaited lunch, Susan saw a chamelian on the road; Luda ran over it. He said he didn’t see it and hunched up his shoulders above his ear line. We finally made it to the visitor center and Susan and I went in and ordered some vegetarian burgers and beers. Luda went off as far away as possible from us and we were relieved to be away from him. While waiting for our food I checked the river banks and found a Collared Sunbird in the trees and a Red-collared Widowbird. Luda told us we did not have time to go into the shop even though before the trip he said we would have time to have lunch and visit the shop. We sat under a canopy and ate our lunch while Luda moped. I looked up into the rafters and saw hundreds of Egyptian Fruit Bats roosting. While Luda wasn’t looking we went into the shop and bought some rain ponchos to at least cover our legs from the rain that pushed into the jeep. On the way back we saw a crocodile completely out of the water lying on a sand bar. Luda said there was no time to stop at all! We continued driving toward the Crocodile Bridge Gate in a very rushed manner because Luda said there would be a big fine if we didn’t get back before closing time (we were late because he insisted on making the unscheduled stop at the rest area to have coffee with Heinrich and tell him his little story in Africaans). With 30 kilometers to go Luda saw an elephant on the side of the road and slammed on the brakes and stopped the engine. He wanted to see if it would pull down a branch from a Marula tree. I looked out the other side of the jeep hoping some great bird would fly by but nothing did. A few minutes later Luda slowed down the jeep but didn’t stop. Susan and I couldn’t see what he was looking at but instead of stopping and giving us a chance to see he just kept pushing toward it until he finally flushed a Wood Hoopoe out of the road and over the top of the jeep. I just barely made out a blur of tan, black, and white as it flew over. That is one bird I would have really enjoyed seeing better than just a colorful blur of wings but Luda didn’t deem it sufficiently important for us to see it I guess. We made it to the gate with time to spare so Luda consented to pull over briefly while a family of warthogs ran across the road.

December 19, 2007, we got up at 3:45 AM in order to arrive at Kruger in time for a morning walk with two Kruger Guides, Kisani, our night guide from the day before, and Duncan. On the drive out of Marloth it was still dark and so we were lucky to spot a night bird, a European Nightjar, in the road and a small cat, a Long-tailed Genet. Luda was anxious to get rid of us so he wouldn’t really stop for either one except to avoid running over the Nightjar. I had just about had it with that Africaaner bastard. Africaaners are the people who brought us apartheid and the shame of South Africa. You can draw your own conclusions.

Duncan and Kisani both carried loaded rifles in order to protect us as we walked about the park. During the walk Kisani pointed out a Burchal’s Couchal, a Red-backed Shrike, and a Bateleur high in the sky spotted with her naked eye. During our walk in the bush we came across many large mammal tracks but the only ones we saw were elephant, giraffe, and zebra. We stopped for a rest and snacks provided by Duncan and Kisani and I asked about a bird perched nearby that Kisani said was a Purple Indigobird. Duncan told me that of the 800 birds found in Kruger he had seen 500 which is pretty amazing. At the end of our morning walk Luda came to pick us up. I would have loved to have spent another day in Kruger but Luda just took us straight back to the lodge without asking us what we wanted to do and we never saw him again. So Susan and I took a long walk along the path in Marloth. We saw many amazing birds during our walk which were mostly very close to the path. It was warm compared to the day before and not precipitating at all. In the river were African Jacana, African Black Duck, Comb Duck, and Great Egret. As we walked along we came across more Bee-eaters including a White-fronted Bee-eater, Marico Sunbird, Greater Double-collared Sunbird, Black-headed Oriole, Lesser Striped Swallow, Green Wood-Hoopoe, Jacobin Cuckoo, and White-bellied Sunbird. There were several Blue Waxbills, White-winged Widowbirds, a few Black-backed Puffback, and more Violet-backed Starlings. Two Southern Yellow-billed Hornbills flew into a tree finally giving me the opportunity to get a photo. We also came across a very accommodating Golden-breasted Bunting and a gorgeous Yellow-breasted Apalis. On the river banks were many hippos and a crocodile basking on the sandbar. We also saw a waterbuck and a giraffe and more impalas. As we headed back to the lodge we just made out a jackal in the bush. More guests arrived for dinner that evening and as it was not raining we had a dinner with all the guests at a long table outside. Just before dinner began Luda came over and said goodbye before we could even give him his completely undeserved tip. Before we went to sleep we heard Heinrich return with the two guests he had picked up from their night drive in Kruger. I went outside and told Heinrich that we had been unable to say goodbye properly to Luda and would he please give this money to Luda. I handed Heinrich 500 Rands.

December 20, 2007 was our last day with Bushwise Safaris (I hope it is patently obvious by now that under no circumstances would I recommend anyone pay to go on a safari with Bushwise Safaris). After breakfast Susan and I took a last long walk along the path in Marloth Park. On our walk we saw more exciting butterflies, a Giant Kingfisher, Southern Grey-headed Sparrow, Brown-backed Honeybird, Olive Tree Warbler, Rattling Cisticola, African Pied Wagtail, and a Klaas’s Cuckoo. We reluctantly concluded our hike and returned to the Bushwise Lodge. We packed our bags and Heinrich took us to the Nelspruit Airport. On the way he spotted a Long-crested Eagle in the sky. Heinrich stopped to pick up his girlfriend on the way to the airport; he said it was her birthday and he was taking her to lunch after dropping us off at the airport. On the drive to the airport Heinrich gave his girlfriend a birthday card and inside were 400 Rands. Hmmm.

LONDON: December 8-12, 2007 & January 4, 2008

On the evening of December 8, 2007 Susan and I boarded a Virgin Atlantic flight from San Francisco to London arriving 11:00 AM the next day, December 9, 2007. It was my first flight overseas in 25 years. In order to get on our new time schedule, after checking into the hotel, we immediately began walking to keep us awake as long as possible. Our hotel, the tiny but very accommodating, Hotel 20 in Earl’s Court, was just two blocks from Kensington-Knightsbridge Road, a pleasant if noisy walk that takes one past Holland Park and Hyde Park before arriving at Buckingham Palace and the lovely St. James Park, all on my list of potential birding sites. By the time we arrived at Holland Park on the first day it was nearly dark; it becomes dark that time of year in London at 4:00 PM! Though we could scarcely see anything we entered the gate at Holland Park anyway and were surprised to hear a lot of bird song, the only thing recognizable though was something I took to be an Eurasian Robin. We were very tired but persisted in our walk down Knightsbridge past Hyde Park, the Royal Albert Hall, through the Marble Arch, and finally to Buckingham Palace. It was raining lightly and dinner time was approaching so we turned back toward Earl’s Court where we decided upon a Thai Restaurant called Britannia Thai. Our first clue that this would be a very bad meal was that the sign outside said, “Thia Food.” The food was indeed very bad and the beer was tepid. After dinner we returned to the Hotel 20 and tried to read in bed but after dropping off to sleep and dropping our books to the floor repeatedly we gave up and fell soundly asleep at 9:00 PM.

December 10, 2007, the first thing after breakfast at the Hotel 20, we headed back to Holland Park. In the day light we could see where all the bird song was coming from as the trees were full of Blue Tits. A Song Thrush hopped along the ground and there were many Black-headed Gulls on the soccer field. As we walked along I spotted a group of Chaffinches pecking along the fence but a lady’s dog chased them away. There were a number of beautiful bright green colored Rose-nosed Parakeets in the trees adding color to the overcast day. There were quite a few Eurasian Robins singing out in plain view. We heard some drumming and found the culprit to be a Great-spotted Woodpecker high up in the trees. At the Holland Park pond were a few Common Moorhens and a Great Cormorant. Wood Pigeons walked about nearby and Magpies were abundant. We continued along the nicely manicured path until we came to a sign for a Kyoto Garden. We were just about to go up to it when I stopped to film a stupid introduced Peacock. A cart pulled up with two police from the Royal Burrough of Kensington and Chelsea in it. One of them asked me what I was doing with a tripod. I said I was filming birds and he told me that was not allowed without a permit and I would have to go get one from Funkie. I put my tripod away and we went off to find Funkie. Funkie told us that we would have to pay 275 pounds in order to videotape in Holland Park. At the exchange rate of .4 pounds to the dollar that amounted to $675! I do love my home movies but not to the tune of $675 so we left or I suppose you could say thrown out of, Holland Park vowing to return the next day to secretly videotape with my small video camera and no tripod.

We continued down Kensington Road until we came to Hyde Park. Immediately upon entering Hyde Park we found a Eurasian Jay in a tree. We walked across the lawn to a pond which was full of Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Greylag Geese (made famous by the movie Wings of Migration), and Eurasian Coot. A Rook was calling noisily from a tree and a Pied Wagtail scurried along the path. Most of the gulls were Black-headed Gulls but there was also one Common Gull, one Herring Gull, and one Lesser Black-backed Gull. We walked from the pond down to the Serpentine which is a water way lined with thickets in places and a nice paved path. There we saw more Tufted Ducks which are very common in London, two Egyptian Geese, a Grey Heron, and a Great-crested Grebe. In the shrubs we found Blackbirds, more Wood Pigeons, and one Mistle Thrush. We stopped in a café to warm up and have lunch and then conintued down the path along the serpentine when two bobbies approached us enquiring again about our tripod. I thought we were going to be arrested but one of them said, “oh are you just looking at seagulls?” and left us alone. I was very anxious after that. I didn’t know it was a crime to use a tripod in England.

After Hyde Park we went again to Buckingham Palace to see it in the day time and the front gates were jammed with tourists. I believe they were changing the guard but I was more interested in nearby St. James Park. So we crossed the bridge and walked along the pond there. It was full of ducks and geese including Red-breasted Goose, Bar-headed Goose, Barnacle Goose, Red-crested Pochard, Common Pochard, Ross’s Goose, Great White Pelican, more Tufted Ducks, and Canada Goose. After enjoying our stroll along St. James Park we went to Westminster Abbey. I was looking forward to seeing Dickens’s grave but was disappointed to learn upon arriving there that no filming is allowed. We toured the abbey and I was annoyed that people were walking on top of Dickens with utter disrespect. I knew that Thomas Hardy was buried next to Dickens but I never knew that above Dickens Friedrich Handel is buried and beside him is Rudyard Kipling. Westminster Abbey is very beautiful but it was really a thrill to see my hero’s final resting place. Back outside we passed Big Ben which happened to be chiming and then crossed the River Thames on Westminster Bridge. As darkness fell we watched the Houses of Parliament light up across the river. We walked from there to Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar Square but fatique was setting in and it was very crowded in Piccadilly Circus so we walked back to Knightsbridge where we had a less than memorable meal at Bunch of Grapes. At least our pints were cold. Then we returned back to Hotel 20.

December 11, 2007, we headed out first thing in the morning back to Holland Park with my little Sony Handycam. We furtively videotaped Great Tit, Blue Tit, and Long-tailed Tit on the entrance road. We returned to the little pond which was thriving with birds including my first look at a Fieldfare and a Redwing. Then we went up to the Kyoto Garden which only had a Grey Heron and a Winter Wren but was quite nice nevertheless.

We took the Tube to Regent’s Park where we saw the one and only House Sparrow (this is a bird that was introduced to the US in the 1800s and has spread like a disease across North America) of the whole trip. We walked along the well manicured path to a hedgerow where we found a Dunnock and more Chaffinches and another Eurasian Jay. We visited London Zoo and by the time we finished there was little light left to visit the waterway. In the failing light we saw Smew, Eurasian Wigeon, Common Teal, Mandarin Duck, Red-crested Pochard, Tufted Duck, and curiously a Common Eider. Other birds there were Goosander, Common Goldeneye, Hooded Merganser, Ruddy Shelduck, and in the trees European Goldfinch and another Winter Wren. We had dinner in Piccadilly Square at the Blue Lagoon which was a much nicer Thai restaurant with decent food and then attended a performance of Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre. We returned to Bunch of Grapes in Knightsbridge for a couple of ales before turning in for the night at the Hotel 20.

December 12, 2007 was our last day in London. We toured the Tower of London which I very much enjoyed and where I saw the only Raven of the trip. I thought there would be bloody walls and instruments of death but there was only one axe and chopping block and mostly cells. I did not know that the Tower of London was originally built by William the Conqueror as a fortress against invasion. We went to the cell where Lady Jane Grey was imprisoned before being shamefully and wrongfully beheaded and saw her name carved in the wall. After the Tower of London we walked across Tower Bridge and London Bridge, and again visited St. James Park before heading off to London’s Heathrow Airport for our long flight to Johanesburg. We spent the next three weeks in South Africa, which will be discussed at length in the next section, before spending one final day in London before returning to the States.

January 4, 2008, we arrived in London’s Heathrow from Cape Town at 9:00 AM and then checked into a nearby hotel, the Park Inn. We took a bus from there to the Tube and then the Tube back to Regent’s Park. We went straight to the Inner Circle and found the waterway where we learned that it was actually a Waterfowl Reserve hosting waterfowl from around the world. It was comforting to see most of the birds from earlier in the trip—the Wood Pigeon, Black-headed Gull, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Magpie, Eurasian Coot, Mute Swan, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Jay, Blackbird, Great-crested Grebe, Greylag Goose, and Egyptian Goose. We also saw many exotics in the waterfowl reserve—Common Shelduck, Ruddy Shelduck, Wood Duck, Mandarin Duck, Gadwall, Pintail, Baikal Teal, Ferruginous Duck, Common Eider, and Goosander. After getting very close looks at these ducks we will probably never see again and certainly never so close, we walked to the British Museum. We toured parts of the museum including the section on ancient Egpyt where we enjoyed looking at the mummies and ancient tablets. The museum was very crowded so we left and walked to the Museum of Natural History in Knightsbridge. We stayed until it closed. It was dark out and raining lightly. We had the best dinner of the trip at the Masala Zone, an Indian Restaurant in Earl's Court, and then took the long Tube ride back to the Park Inn where we literally passed out from exhaustion. Then next day we flew back to the US and that concluded our trip, a magnificent trip full of wonders that I will never forget for the rest of my life.
39 new species
Common Blackbird
Common Chaffinch
Eurasian Coot
Great Cormorant
Carrion Crow
Ferruginous Duck
Mandarin Duck
Fieldfare
European Goldfinch
Goosander
Bar-headed Goose
Barnacle Goose
Egyptian Goose
Greylag
Red-breasted Goose
Great Crested Grebe
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Grey Heron
Eurasian Jay
Common Magpie
Rose-nosed Parakeet
White Pelican
Common Pochard
Red-crested Pochard
Redwing
European Robin
Rook
Common Shelduck
Smew
Black Swan
Mistle Thrush
Song Thrush
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Pied Wagtail
Woodpigeon
Great Spotted Woodpecker