2015 dawns over Glen Reenen Rest Camp in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park.
Happy New Year everybody!
New Year in the bush: Golden Gate, 1 January 2015
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Category Archives: Golden Gate Highlands National Park
Summer in the bush: Golden Gate, 31 December 2014
We couldn’t think of a better way to see out 2014 than by scaling the Brandwag Buttress in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park
The Brandwag Buttress
View of the Golden Gate Hotel & Chalets and the road to the small town of Clarens from the top of Brandwag this misty morning
Our 2014 in pictures
Looking back at the fantastic places we stayed at while exploring South Africa’s wild places in 2014…
Pafuri River Camp, February 2014
Letaba, Kruger National Park, February 2014
Swadini, Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve, February 2014
Glen Reenen, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, March 2014
Giant’s Castle Game Reserve, April 2014
Shingwedzi, Kruger National Park, April 2014
Orpen, Kruger National Park, April 2014
Berg-en-Dal, Kruger National Park, May 2014
Skukuza, Kruger National Park, August 2014
Satara, Kruger National Park, August 2014
Shipandani Hide, Kruger National Park, September 2014
Shingwedzi, Kruger National Park, September 2014
Glen Reenen, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, November 2014
Skukuza, Kruger National Park, November 2014
Chelmsford Nature Reserve, December 2014
Ntshondwe, Ithala, December 2014
Mantuma, uMkhuze, December 2014
Chane Cheese Farm, December 2014
Mpila, Hluhluwe-Imfolozi, December 2014
Midmar, December 2014
Glen Reenen, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, December 2014
Summer in the bush: Golden Gate; 30 December 2014
We’ve exchanged the hot and humid coastal plains of Kwazulu-Natal for the crisp mountain air of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the Eastern Free State, for the final leg of our epic summer holidays.
Surrounded by splendour at Golden Gate
Few places can compete with the Golden Gate Highlands National Park when it comes to sheer scenic splendour. Visiting the Park is always a pleasure, and our November 2014 visit was no exception. The Park is looking beautiful following the first good spring rains, and walking or driving around, there’s just so much to take in!
This way for great scenery!
Peace and tranquility at Golden Gate
Crystal clear mountain streams
Mushroom Rocks
The view from Glen Reenen
Double rainbow over Golden Gate
Rainbow over Glen Reenen
Misty sunrise
Valleys cloaked in mist
Glen Reenen
The road to Clarens
Fresh water in abundance
Thunder and lightning over Glen Reenen
Lighting up the skies over Glen Reenen
Craggy heights silhouetted at sunrise
Summer is the best time for bird-watching, when the migrants from cooler climes arrive and many male birds are adorned in their breeding plumage. In addition, Golden Gate is home to several rare and endangered species, and we were lucky to encounter some of them.
We had daily sightings of the rare bald ibis on the Oribi Loop at Golden Gate
We had daily sightings of the rare bald ibis on the Oribi Loop at Golden Gate
We had daily sightings of the rare bald ibis on the Oribi Loop at Golden Gate
Endangered bearded vulture in flight
Bearded vulture at the feeding station
Red-winged starling looking after our car
Cape Longclaw
Of course, a National Park wouldn’t be complete without large mammals, and Golden Gate has its fair share of animals adapted to the climatic extremes of a mountain environment.
Black wildebeest seem to like running around…
Black wildebeest seem to like running around…
Black wildebeest, at rest for a change, on a plateau
Black-backed jackal setting out to forage at dusk
Grey rhebuck
Grey rhebuck
Baboons
Baboon jockey
Zebra in the mist
At speed
Dwarfed by the spectacular scenery
It is always rewarding to bend the knees and appreciate the smaller, less obvious, of Golden Gate’s inhabitants.
Natural beauty
Natural beauty
Natural beauty
Seems not only human females require flowers for the romance to blossom – these beetles are mating on a Hypoxis stem
Stink bugs
As disgusting as they may be, flies are an important component of the ecosystem
Industrious ant
Fungus cropping up all over after the rains
Fungus cropping up all over after the rains
Aardvark hole
Termite mound damaged by an aardvark
Termite mound damaged by an aardvark
After seeing Golden Gate looking so lovely, we can hardly wait for our next visit at the end of December!
Lightning over Glen Reenen
Time to pack up and head back to Pretoria this morning, but not before sharing one last photograph from the Golden Gate Highlands National Park; last night we were treated to a display of thunder and lighting over the mountains around Glen Reenen as a storm cell passed quickly through the area.
Golden sunrise at Golden Gate
We woke up this morning to find the valleys of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park cloaked in a thick fog, drove to one of the mountain tops, found a spot above the low lying clouds, and were rewarded with the most beautiful sunrise.
Some de Wets have all the luck…
While I was working today, Marilize and Joubert spent some time at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park’s Vulture Hide. And they were rewarded with a fantastic sighting of another rare South African bird, the Bearded Vulture! Am I jealous? Yes. Yes I am.
A birding highlight at Golden Gate
This afternoon we were very fortunate to enjoy a quality sighting of one of South Africa’s rarest bird species here at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park: the Southern Bald Ibis.
All work and no play…
Not for us, thank you very much!
We’re visiting Golden Gate Highlands National Park again, for business and, come the weekend, pleasure. And of course we’ve already enjoyed an afternoon drive through the Park, taking in the magnificent scenery and plentiful wildlife.
I was inspired to try some “slow shutter panning shots” of these galloping black wildebeest by Susan Portnoy, The Insatiable Traveler. I’ll have to keep trying to get anywhere close to the awesome results she gets with the technique though. Thanks for the tips Susan!
DeWetsWild 