Roxanne Reid's Blog, page 39
July 17, 2013
Strange bedfellows in the Richtersveld
The Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, tucked into the farnorthwest of South Africa’s Northern Cape, must be SANParks’ strangest park.Yes, even stranger than the Golden Gate Highlands (which has a public roadrunning through it) or Addo (which comprises disconnected parcels ofland – at least for now). What, then,is so weird about the Richtersveld? Well,inside the boundaries ofthis conservation area you’ll find both Nama herders grazing their flocks andhighly visible diamond mining operations...
July 10, 2013
Showdown at Crocodile Bridge, Kruger Park
‘Are youthe one who left a ring in thebath?’ she asked. Seriously? We’d been camping for nearly 10 weeks infour countries bythen and not once had I come across anyone so pushy aboutablution cleanliness.When we arrived at Crocodile Bridge in the far south of the Kruger National Park,the campsite was full, and selfish campers were taking up morethan onesite each in this very small area. It was the cherry on the cake afterourearlier experiences of Kruger campers with nomanners.
Although the...
July 3, 2013
Life and death in the Kalahari
Summer in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and we were watchingthe miracle of birth a kilometre or two south of Kamfersboom waterhole on theAuob riverbed. The springbok mum was resting next to the road when we foundher, the head and front hooves of a lamb poking out of her rear end. Soon thebody would follow and the newborn would get its first experience of Kalaharisand. Mum was quiet, dignified, none of the wailing and gnashing of teeth youget from humans giving birth. After a few minut...
June 30, 2013
10 reasons to love the Kgalagadi
There are so many reasons to love the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Parkthat the reddunes, star-filled skies, blood-red sunsets and fabulous sightings of big gamelike lions, leopards, cheetahs and gemsbok don’t even feature in the top 10.Here’s my pick… 1.Listening at dusk to the clicking sound of the barking geckoes (morevoluble in summer than in winter). You haven’t reallyexperienced the Kgalagadigees (spirit) untilyou’ve heard it.
2.Looking beyond lions to watch the little creatures –...
