Category Archives: Mokala National Park

Winter in Mokala: Quintessential Africa

The scenery in Mokala National Park seems purpose-built for a television documentary on Africa, and I might be biased but there’s no continent with more beautiful sunrises and sunsets than ours.

Mokala Gold

Roan Antelope in silhouette

Camel Thorn

What a sunrise!

Brightness in winter

Mokala’s plains

Camel Thorn Tree with Sociable Weaver nest

Gemsbok on the plains

An Aardvark was busy here digging up the road!

Kniekie Loop

Tsessebe silhouette

Umbrella Thorn silhouette

Come take a drive with us through this beautiful national park:

We’ll soon be announcing a very exciting spring-time tour to the Mokala National Park – do keep an eye on DeWetsWild’s facebook page so that you don’t miss out!

Winter in Mokala: Familiar Pririt

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This female Pririt Batis was also a regular visitor to Chalet #1 in Mokala National Park’s Lilydale Rest Camp when I visited along with Hannes Rossouw last week, but she was a lot more demure than the Chestnut-vented Warbler I showed you two days ago.

Female Pririt Batis

We’ll soon be announcing a very exciting spring-time tour to the Mokala National Park – do keep an eye on DeWetsWild’s facebook page so that you don’t miss out!

Winter in Mokala: Peeping Tom Gecko

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On the last night of our visit to Mokala National Park last week I found this Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko on the floor of the bathroom in Lilydale Rest Camp’s Chalet #1. I didn’t question it about its intentions but I did carry it outside to more suitable habitat. The towel was a very necessary precaution; she’s a biter!

Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko found at Lilydale in the Mokala National Park

We’ll soon be announcing a very exciting spring-time tour to the Mokala National Park – do keep an eye on DeWetsWild’s facebook page so that you don’t miss out!

Winter in Mokala: A very chummy Chestnut-vented Warbler

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This little Chestnut-Vented Warbler came to welcome us to Lilydale’s Chalet 1 immediately on our arrival – Hannes and I hadn’t even unpacked the car yet! Invariably it would appear in a flash every time we stepped outside. So habituated was it that it would peck crumbs from beneath our hands where we sat eating sandwiches on the deck outside the chalet, offering wonderful opportunities for up-close views of a bird species that is notoriously frustrating to photograph because it never sits still!

This little Chestnut-vented Warbler was a frequent visitor to the deck in front of our chalet at Lilydale in the Mokala National Park

We’ll soon be announcing a very exciting spring-time tour to the Mokala National Park – do keep an eye on DeWetsWild’s facebook page so that you don’t miss out!

Winter in Mokala: Lilydale Rest Camp

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I am fresh back from a mid-week visit to the Mokala National Park in our Northern Cape Province with friend and colleague Hannes Rossouw.

We stayed in the beautifully situated Lilydale Rest Camp, where our chalet – # 1 – had a lovely view over the Riet River. Truth be told, all the chalets in the camp as well as the dining room behind reception have equally good views of the fast-flowing stream down below.

Chalet #1 in Lilydale Rest Camp

Chalets in Lilydale Rest Camp

Lilydale’s reception building

Lilydale might be built to provide a comfortable stay to human visitors, but it seems to be even more popular with Mokala’s wildlife – from tiny birds to kudus paid us a visit during our stay, and I’ll be telling you more about three of the cutest visitors in the next three posts on DeWetsWild.

Warthog family enjoying the green grass next to Lilydale’s swimming pool

Rock Hyraxes sunning themselves on a ridge below our chalet

This little Chestnut-vented Warbler was a frequent visitor to the deck in front of our chalet at Lilydale in the Mokala National Park

A Small-spotted Genet came by in the early evenings after we finished braaiing

This is one of two Kudu bulls that regularly ventured into camp after dark

We’ll soon be announcing a very exciting spring-time tour to the Mokala National Park – do keep an eye on DeWetsWild’s facebook page so that you don’t miss out!

Our 2018 in pictures

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Taking a look back at all the wonderful places we stayed at while exploring South Africa’s wild destinations in 2018.

We hope that 2019 will be kind to all our friends here at de Wets Wild, and that we’ll continue to share in each others adventures!

Skukuza Unit 210, Kruger National Park, March 2018

Twanana Research Camp, Kruger National Park, March & May 2018

Haak-en-Steek Cottage, Mokala NP, April 2018

Chalet 26 at Augrabies Falls National Park, June 2018

Cottage 25 at Twee Rivieren, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, June 2018

Cottage 1 at Mata Mata, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, June 2018

Cottage 8 at Nossob, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, June 2018

Chalet 24 at Twee Rivieren, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, June 2018

Ntshondwe Chalet #20, Ithala Game Reserve, August 2018

Camping at Bakgatla, Pilanesberg National Park, November 2018

Umlalazi Log Cabin #1, December 2018

Chalet 16 at Mpila in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, December 2018

Mokala Scenery

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We’ve already shown you so many of the animals and birds that call Mokala home that you must by now be convinced of the fact that this National Park is one of South Africa’s conservation gems. That sensational faunal diversity however would not have existed had it not been for the wide range of vegetation, habitats and landscapes that Mokala comprises, and now in this final post about our April 2018 visit it is fitting that we showcase that aspect.

Umbrella Thorn

Camel Thorn tree with sociable weaver nest

Shepherd’s Tree

Red hartebeest in the wide open spaces

Riet River overlooked by the accommodation units at Lilydale

Stofdam

Rugged hills dot the plains in Mokala

Mokala sunset

Mokala sunrise

Gemsbok on Mokala’s open plains

Mokala’s clear, unpolluted skies make for wonderful photos of the nightsky

Hardy beauty

Vleitulp

Scenery at Mokala National Park, April 2018

Springbok and eland at Mokala National Park, April 2018

Scenery at Mokala National Park, April 2018

One of our highlights from this trip was having a front row seat to one of the most awe-inspiring experiences one could hope to have in Africa: a powerful thunderstorm rolling over the parched plains, smelling the red dust rise into the air as big drops of cool rainwater smacks into the dry soil. Soul stirring stuff.

Thunderstorm rolling over Mokala

Clearing skies after the storm

Looming thunderstorm rolling over Mokala

And finally a few shots of our favourite place to stay while visiting Mokala: the rustic Haak-en-Steek Cottage.

Signpost for Haak-en-Steek

8 Years old: April 2018. Opening the gate at Haak-en-Steek Cottage in Mokala National Park

Haak-en-Steek Cottage, Mokala NP, April 2018

Haak-en-Steek Cottage

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

A rich assortment of animals at Mokala

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Just as with the birds we showed you 2 days ago, Mokala National Park has an incredible variety of four and six legged creatures on show.

The large mammals are the easiest to see and photograph. During our 4 day visit in April 2018 we recorded over 750 different sightings of 30 different kinds of mammals!

The white rhino is the biggest of the animals in Mokala. Here they are shy and elusive and we were very happy to see a few of these endangered creatures.

White rhino cow and calf

Rhino pair in Mokala National Park

White rhino cow with almost fully grown calf

Impressive white rhino bull

Angry white rhino cow defending her calf

Remember those mud-loving buffaloes we showed you a few days ago? Well that wasn’t our only encounter with Mokala’s growing population of African buffalo and we were very fortunate to come across several more herds and a few loners while exploring the Park.

Muddy old Dagga Boy

Big buffalo bull slaking his thirst

We’ve no clue what this buffalo cow tried to tell us.

Buffalo bull soaking in the first rays of the sun

Mokala’s giraffes are shown off to great effect in the open landscape dotted with their favourite Camel Thorn and Umbrella Thorn trees.

Giraffes in Mokala National Park

Close-up of a stately giraffe bull

Giraffe family in Mokala National Park

Giraffe in Mokala National Park

Young giraffe in Mokala National Park

Mokala is certainly one of the reserves with the greatest variety of antelope in South Africa, many of which are rare in other national parks. Amongst others we managed to see black and blue wildebeest, blesbok, eland, gemsbok, grey duiker, impala, kudu, mountain reedbuck, red hartebeest, steenbok, waterbuck, tsessebe, sable and roan antelope.

Black wildebeest

Blue wildebeest

Eland

Gemsbok

Gemsbok at Mokala National Park, April 2018

Gemsbok

Impala

Kudu

Red Hartebeest

Roan antelope

Sable antelope

Steenbok

Tsessebe

Waterbuck

Not forgetting that we’ve already shown you loads of photos of Mokala’s springbok and plains zebras.

Springbok rams contesting a territory in Mokala National Park

Pale-rumped Plains Zebra in Mokala National Park

Mokala also has a wide variety of smaller mammals that are easier to overlook; Baboons and vervet monkeys, ground squirrels, warthogs, meerkats and yellow mongooses all crossed our path from time to time.

Baboon sharing a hill with a gemsbok

Southern African Ground Squirrel

Meerkat

Vervet monkeys

Warthog

Yellow mongooses

Mokala’s insects, amphibians and reptiles make you work harder for sightings of them, but for those who go to the effort there’s an astonishing variety of less conspicuous creatures waiting to entertain and enthrall!

This immature Western Olive Toad emerged after the thunderstorm

Two-spotted Tyrant Beetle

Southern Rock Agama

Marsh Terrapins

Leopard Tortoise

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

Bird Watching at Mokala

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Mokala National Park owes its diversity of bird species both to its location at the transition between South Africa’s arid west and wetter eastern regions, as well as the diversity of habitats protected within its borders. To date, more than 200 species of birds have been recorded within this relatively new Park and we, not considering ourselves very proficient birders (yet) managed to tick a respectable 70 of those. These are just a few of the feathered friends we made at Mokala during our visit in April 2018.

Ant-eating Chat

Ashy Tit

Black-faced Waxbill

Blacksmith Lapwings protecting their eggs against two wildebeest

Black-throated Canary

Black-winged Stilts

Brown-throated Martin

Brubru

Buffy Pipit

Burchell’s Sandgrouse (male)

Cape Sparrow female

Double-banded Courser

Crowned Lapwing

Egyptian Goose chasing South African Shelduck

South African Shelduck (male)

Familiar Chat

Fiscal Flycatcher

Cape Glossy Starling

Shy Golden-tailed Woodpecker

Grey-backed Sparrow Lark (male and chick)

Helmeted Guineafowl in flight

Kalahari Scrub Robin

Marico Flycatcher

Mountain Wheatear (male)

Namaqua Dove (male)

Ostrich female

Ostrich male

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Pied Crow

Red-billed Firefinch

Red-crested Korhaan

Red-headed Finch (male)

Sabota Lark

Scaly-feathered Finch

Common Scimitarbill

Southern Masked Weaver (female)

Sociable Weaver

Sociable Weaver nest

White-browed Sparrow Weaver

Spike-heeled Lark

African Spoonbill

Three-banded Plover

Cape Wagtail

White-backed Vulture W428

Yellow-billed Hornbill

Yellow Canary (Male)

If you’d like to learn more about Mokala National Park, why not have a read through the detailed post we did about the Park in 2016.

Mokala’s Pale Zebras

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When the last Quagga mare died in Amsterdam Zoo in 1883, it was thought that this uniquely South African species of zebra was hunted into extinction, never to be seen again. Where once thousands of Quaggas, with their striped forequarters and brown backs and buttocks roamed the Karoo their distinct “kwa-ha-ha” calls would never be heard again. Over a century later however it was realised, through DNA analysis, that the Quagga was a localised race of the still extant Plains Zebra, and the Quagga Project came into being to try and bring them back through selective breeding. With each subsequent generation showing more and more Quagga-like characteristics, one day we may again see true-to-form Quaggas roaming their native country in vast numbers.

The area in which Mokala National Park is located would have been populated by zebras that were intermediate in appearance between the Quaggas and more “traditionally” patterned Plains Zebras, and thus when the Park was proclaimed it was decided to specifically stock it with zebras that had a lesser degree of striping, especially on their backs and haunches. These pale-rumped zebras are certainly an endearing feature of the Park.