Nature's Valley to Bonamanzi, Africa 2005
2-23
October 2005
by
Henry Detwiler & Bob Miller
Bob Miller and I joined our hosts Barry and Margie Hawthorne of Cape Town
for a whirlwind 3-week tour of South Africa. This is a summary of
our adventures.
445
species -- bird list may be viewed by clicking > BIRD LIST
Click on
thumbnail pictures for full-sized photos. 
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At Richard's Bay, we saw a wonderful array of water birds, including
these Whiskered Terns and this Yellow-billed Egret.
Yellow-billed Egret
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Whiskered Tern |
| Bonamanzi Game Park is in the heart of Zululand, and
is composed of sand forest and the St Lucia floodplains. Here we saw one of the most
sought-after birds in South Africa, the Rosy-throated Longclaw.
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Rosy-throated Longclaw
It was a bit of a grassland skulker, but this beauty came out for a
few pictures. |
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Baboons
The sandy soils around Bonamanzi had
lots of spectacular flowers. One of the showiest was this Bloodroot
Lily, with its 10" array of blossoms. |
Baboons are common throughout South Africa; in fact in the Cape they
are quite a nuisance. They've learned to raid homes of food
and strip gardens bare!
Bloodroot Lily |
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Brown-headed Kingfisher |
In the United States our few kingfishers are all associated
with water; in Africa there are also woodland kingfishers that catch
bugs and other critters far away from aquatic environments.
This Brown-headed Kingfisher came to call on our "treehouse" villa
each morning as we awoke to the dawn chorus.
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As we traveled east from Nature's Valley, crocodiles became more common, and we
encountered warning signs ("INGOZI") in those areas where locals might
be tempted to swim. We saw crocodiles at Bonamanzi, Kruger
National Park, and Nylsvley Preserve, including a few 14' monsters.
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Nile Crocodile
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Fruits & Vegetables |
As we drove from spot to spot, we saw many vegetable & fruit
stalls close to metropolitan areas. In the heart of town, growers
would sell their crops from atop blankets on sidewalks and street
corners. Other types of vendors would also compete for empty
sidewalk space, effectively blocking any and all storefront
windows! |
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A night drive through Bonamanzi turned up bush babies, civet cats, giraffes,
several deer species, a few plovers and nightjars, and this
beautiful chameleon. It shines a bright green in the headlights,
making it easy to spot.
White-crowned Lapwing |
Lappet-necked Chameleon
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Hluhluwe River
We encountered a nesting pair of
African Darters, close relatives of our Anhinga. In the same
tree were numerous Weaver nests. A good find along the river
was the rare Lemon-breasted Canary.
African Python |
The Hluhluwe River flows through the
park, and one afternoon we took a few hours to ride down the
gently flowing current. Small crocodiles basked along the
edges, and herons watched us from the reeds.
African Darter
Our guide Richard spotted two African pythons
in a tree, one of which was probably twelve feet long. They
stayed coiled up, though, so our looks weren't too good.
Unfortunately, these were the only two snakes we saw on the entire trip.
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Bonamanzi had a good number of ponds, and had the largest
collection of tree frogs we saw during our stay. They
chirped and croaked all through our outdoor dinner one night. From
here we headed north and west, traveling through Swaziland, where
we encountered a flock of vultures that included this behemoth
with its four-foot wingspan, the
largest of the South African clan.
Lappet-faced Vulture
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Tree Frogs at Bonamanzi
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Zulu Village next to Bonamanzi Park
ON to PAGE 3 |
