We headed for Midmar Dam Nature Reserve in the Natal Midlands following our amazing time at Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in December. The serenity of the large expanse of water in front of us sure was a dramatic change in pace from the five days of searching for the “Big-5” that came before.
Midlands greenery
Midmar 29122014
Midmar Dam scenery
Midmar Dam scenery
Midmar Dam Nature Reserve scenery
Midmar Dam scenery
Early fisherman
Serene sunrise
Midmar
Midmar, December 2014
Natal spurfowl
Speckled mousebird
Cape sparrows pair
We had only one afternoon, one night and one morning to spend at Midmar before heading further inland to celebrate New Year’s at Golden Gate Highlands National Park, but thoroughly enjoyed ourselves walking around the beautifully kept grounds.
DeWetsWild 
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Wonderful photos all but that sunrise is to die for! 😀
Thanks Linda! Makes getting up early more than worthwhile…
Mal oor die fotos. Lyk voorwaar na interessante plek.
Lekker uitspanplek vir almal, maak nie saak hoe aktief jy van jou vakansies hou nie 🙂
Pragtige foto’s
Baie dankie Tina
Is daar nog so baie water in die dam? Ai dis darem maar mooi daar. Mossies is tog ook maar interessante voëltjies al is hulle so alledaags. Ek voer elke oggend n groot groep- Trompie geniet dit natuurlik om krummels op grond op te tel.
Ons het die dam by vorige geleenthede al heelwat voller gesien as wat dit in Desember was, Ineke, maar ons stem saam dit bly n mooi plek! En ons stem saam oor die mossies, dis jammer baie mense kyk sommer bo-oor hulle oor hulle so algemeen is, veral hier in die stad.
Is hier ook so en tog is hul heel gesellig en oulik in hul manier van rondskarel tussen tafeltjies of stoele deur
A very different SA – easy to think this could be somewhere in Europe. Btw, that speckled mousebird seems to perch on an Australian bottlebrush tree 🙂
You’re so right Maurice; the scenery, architecture, farms all very reminiscent of the UK (where most of the original settlers came from).
And you are right about the mousebird’s perch too! Sadly, the gardens at Midmar was planted in a time when people were much less conscious about planting indigenous.
The little Cape Sparrows are adorable. 🙂
They sure are Kathy, pity they are so common around human settlements as most people don’t give them a second glance.
Beautiful photos! We look forward to your next adventure. Jean & Alex and Kuno (the African parrot!)
Happy to have you along guys! Kuno’ll love getting back to his African roots 😉
By the way, do you see Congo African Grays on your travels? We hear that they live in great flocks. True? Kuno would very much enjoy seeing photos of his relatives 🙂
Unfortunately South Africa lies far south of the tropical rainforests of central Africa where the African Grey’s occur, but we have several other kinds of indiginous parrots that occur here.
Ah, yes, of course. Well, we do enjoy your photos of his distant cousins! Have a wonderful trip. 🙂
Thanks for your kindness and support guys!
Looks interesting, another one I have on my list.
Lots of safe space for little ones to run around to their heart’s content at Midmar 😉
Looks like it, birding opportunities too, I would guess.
Certainly Boeta. If you’re a serious birder you should also visit the Karkloof Conservancy nearby: https://dewetswild.com/2013/08/30/karkloof-conservation-centre/
As serious as the time allows or affords me…hehe.
No matter how much you have available, time to spend in the outdoors is always too little…