Tag Archives: wildlife

Experiencing a flash flood in the Karoo National Park

The Karoo National Park, located as it is in the semi-desert Great Karoo, usually receives very little rain – the town of Beaufort West on its south-eastern border receives an average of only 236mm (9.3 inches) annually. It was therefore a real thrill for us – even if it meant we were cut-off from our accommodation in the main rest camp for a while – to experience the wonder of a torrential downpour passing over the arid plains in several waves following each other in quick succession, and the flash floods and rainbows that followed in their wake, when we visited the national park in December 2022.

Thunderstorm building over the Karoo

A wave of thunder clouds rolling over the Karoo

Thunderstorm over the Karoo National Park

Gemsbok caught in the rain

A herd of gemsbok huddled together in the thunderstorm

Springbok in the rain (photo by Joubert)

A road turning into a stream after the first wave of rainfall

A Marsh Terrapin that emerged during the rains in the Karoo

A normally dry Karoo streambed transformed into a flowing river

Road or river?

A normally dry Karoo streambed transformed into a flowing river

Flash flood rendering a road impassable

A normally dry Karoo streambed transformed into a flowing river

Run-off on the side of a Karoo road

Waterfall in the Karoo

Looking at the storm passing over the Karoo from a vantage point on the Klipspringer Pass

The Rest Camp at Karoo National Park inundated

Thunderstorm over the Karoo National Park

Rainbow over the Karoo National Park

Rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds in the aftermath of the storm

Heavy clouds hanging ominously over the hills of the Karoo

Remember that DeWetsWild can assist you with reservations in the Karoo National Park if you are planning a visit to this special place.

Guided drive through the Nuwejaars Wetland

6 Replies

This morning we enjoyed a guided drive through the Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area, a special place where the farmers work with nature and not against it. We’ll tell you more about Nuwejaars in the new year (Nuwejaars means New Year’s by the way)

Waskraalvlei in the Nuwejaars Wetlands Special Management Area

Nuwejaars Wetland Special Management Area

Boxing Morning in De Hoop

9 Replies

We hope everyone that celebrated yesterday had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends.

We spent much of today exploring the beautiful and diverse De Hoop Nature Reserve. Of course we’ll tell you much more about De Hoop soon!

De Hoop Nature Reserve, 26 December 2022

De Hoop Nature Reserve

Koppie Alleen Beach in De Hoop Nature Reserve

Christmas in the Overberg

13 Replies

We’ll be spending Christmas at this beautiful cottage on the Aloe Canyons Guest Farm, just south of Swellendam in the Overberg, surrounded by beautiful scenery and rich wildlife. We sincerely wish all our friends and followers a very merry and blessed Christmas.

Aloe Canyons Guest Farm, December 2022

Cape Town’s Finest Garden

26 Replies

We spent most of our morning at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, roundly considered one of the seven best gardens in the world. We certainly see why it would rank so highly and would love to share more pictures of this beautiful place when we are back home after the holidays.

Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, 23 December 2022

Seeing more of Cape Town

6 Replies

We’ve spent the whole day exploring Cape Town’s scenic attractions – from Chapman’s Peak Drive to a seal tour out of Hout Bay, to a picnic in Tokai and a ride up-and-down Cape Point with the Flying Dutchman funicular (and many points in between). Lots to tell you about when we’re back home!

Hout Bay from Chapman’s Peak Drive

Hout Bay harbour

Cape Fur Seals

The Flying Dutchman Funicular is a convenient way to travel up to the Cape Point lighthouse

Looking out over the Cape of Good Hope

Bontebok on the beach at Buffelsbaai in the Table Mountain National Park

Iconic Cape Town

6 Replies

We’ve arrived in Cape Town where we’ll be visiting the Table Mountain National Park and surrounds for the next couple of days. Here just a quick look at two of the city’s most iconic landmarks; Table Mountain and Robben Island. and one less well known, the memorial to Cecil John Rhodes.

Table Mountain towering over Table Bay

Robben Island

Rhodes Memorial

West Coast Life

10 Replies

There’s more to see here in the West Coast National Park than you can point a lens at!

Barn Owl

Geelbek Manor

Kittlitz’s Plover

African Oystercatcher

Bontebok

Steenbok

Greater Flamingo in flight

Kelp Gull

Yellow Weaver

12 Replies

Ploceus subaureus

The Yellow Weaver, or Eastern Golden Weaver, is a very social bird closely associated with reedbeds lining coastal rivers, lakes, dams and other permanent waterbodies, venturing into the surrounding savanna to search for the seeds, insects and nectar on which it feeds. Fully grown they weigh approximately 31g and measure 15cm in length.

Yellow Weavers breed colonially during spring and summer and will often occur alongside other weaver species. The males are polygamous, weaving several circular grass nests, often directly over the water, and trying to impress as many females as possible. The female is solely responsible for incubating the clutch of 2-4 eggs and caring for the chicks, which leave the nest at about 3 weeks old.

In South Africa the Yellow Weaver is confined to the coastal plain along the Indian Ocean coastline from the Eastern Cape to far northern Kwazulu-Natal. Beyond our borders their distribution extends as far as central Kenya. According to the IUCN the Yellow Weaver is of least concern.

Yellow Weaver

Eastern Golden (or Yellow) Weaver male (female in the background)

Eastern Golden (or Yellow) Weaver

Eastern Golden (or Yellow) Weaver female

Eastern Golden (or Yellow) Weaver

Yellow Weaver

Collared Pratincole

29 Replies

Glareola pratincola

The Collared Pratincole is a migrant to South Africa, usually arriving to breed from about July and departing again by February. They’re found in open habitats – overgrazed grasslands, floodplains, sand banks and so on – near reliable large water sources like dams, lakes and estuaries. They’re most active by dusk and dawn, catching insects in flight and on the ground, and often follow herds of game or stock to catch the invertebrates they flush.

Adult Collared Pratincoles measure about 25cm in length with a weight of around 75g. While they’re usually seen in substantial flocks, often numbering into the thousands, they are monogamous breeders, laying clutches of 2 eggs in shallow depressions (like animal footprints) on the bare ground. Incubation takes a little less than 3 weeks and is shared between the parents. The chicks start flying when they’re about 4 weeks old.

The Collared Pratincole is very widely distributed over Africa, Europe and west and central Asia. and the IUCN lists it to be of least concern overall. In South Africa they are found, mostly during our spring and summer months, in the Lowveld and northern Kwazulu-Natal, and are considered rare and near-threatened.