Bayala part 3

12 October

Returning from the morning game drive and while Sam and Tom were getting ready for breakfast I decided to try and photograph and identify some of the sunbirds in the grounds.

I started on the males as they were easier to identify. First up a male Marico Sunbird

here an adult male Scarlet-chested Sunbird

and a young Scarlet-chested Sunbird

another Marico

It was soon time for breakfast and as ever Tom had got a head start and was halfway through his first helpings and making his second order with "The Professor" who had got to know Tom's requirements.

Following breakfast I continued in the camp grounds....

A Lesser Striped Swallow was nesting behind our room.

A male Chinspot Batis

and here the female Chinspot

One of the commonest small birds in the grounds were the Yellow-fronted Canaries

We had been recommended the "Elephant Interaction" at Bayete Zulu Game Reserve- which was just a 20 minute drive away. This is home to two habituated elephants- Rambo & Rachel, who are free to roam the reserve as they wish. The story behind this is that they were rescued from a tourist attraction in another part of Africa. The attraction had shut down and these two majestic, beautiful creatures were scheduled to be culled! The guys at this reserve rescued them from their fate and brought them over to Bayete. Then the problems began- both Rachel and Rambo were so used to human interactions that they were constantly getting into trouble by seeking out that human contact. Roaming into villages, damaging fences and buildings to do so. The answer? A feed station was built for them, well away from where damage could be done. As people want to know more about elephants they can now go to the feeding station to learn about Rambo and Rachel and elephants in general from the reserve rangers. The guests pay an entrance fee which in turn covers the cost for their welfare and Rachel and Rambo get the human interaction that they long for.

Among many facts we learnt that there are 80,000 muscles in an elephants truck

inspecting the Jacobson's organ which helps the elephants in pheromone detection - their sixth sense.

Then back out on the game drive and more encounters with Zebra

I had noticed something strange happening over the past few days and that was Tom using binoculars !

Scanning across the hills it was amazing to see the distances these game animals moved. Here some distant Nyala.

Nothing like turning the corner to see a Rhino coming towards you along the road. Off goes the engine and with us making no noise or movement it came remarkably close.

Some very nice Leopard food standing at the side of the road. If only they would snort and run off in a panic, but no they were quite calm so no Leopards on the cards.......

A Hammerkop at one of the dams

We encountered a group of Giraffes fighting. The sound of them wacking their necks at one another and swishing their heads from side to side captivated Tom. If I knew how to upload video on this blog platform I would. These two were really going for it.

13 October

Becoming the norm our first animals of the day were Buffalo.

and on the backs of those Buffalo were Oxpeckers keeping them clean and having themselves a meal at the same time, a good commensal strategy.

More Rhinos - Garrick told us the way to tell Black from White Rhino was that the latter keep their heads down close to the ground for grazing. Black Rhinos are browsers and their pointed lip helps them feed on leaves from bushes and trees.

Ever present were Birchall's Coucals.

We were getting to know Garrick and he had another of those moments. A purposeful drive to a nearby dam where we encountered some Lions. We sat and watched them for a good while, a bit of interplay a lot of sleeping and some mating going on.

To be so close to these Apex predators with them taking so little notice was a real privelage. The game have got used to vehicles and don't seem to equate them to humans, but that would be a different matter if you jumped down from the Land Cruiser !

We left the Lions to their routines and stopped off at a couple more dams on our return to the lodge.

Yellow-billed Stork

Following breakfast and thanks to Derek Woodhouse's and David Fisher's contacts I had been invited to a hide for an hour's afternoon birding. On arrival I was surprised to see it was sunk into the ground and was on eye level with a drinking pool.

It was already hot and I was wondering how I'd cope with the increased heat, but no fear there as it was air conditioned ! A wonderful hide and I was extremely grateful to have been allowed to use it. Garrick accompanied me and he too was impressed.

Some of the sightings from this hide included......

Golden-breasted Bunting

Crested Barbet with Bulbuls

Spectacled Mousebird

Sombre Greenbul

Jameson's Firefinch

Green-winged Pytilia

Village Weaver

and in a show of horns..........

and then more Impala, females all looking a bit nervous..... must be a Leopard about I mused

Nope just a couple of Warthogs

I returned to the Lodge to find Sam and Tom by the pool.

It was our penultimate full day and as I swam in the pool my mind wandered onto thoughts of "you know what" What chance is there in the remaining time of seeing a Leopard. There had been reports of one but it was very elusive and apparently only seen briefly by another lodge disappearing into the bush to lie up all day. Hmmm it wouldn't be a disaster as the trip so far had exceeded all my expectations but it would be the icing on the cake to see one, or even part of one.

So with just three drives left, this pm and two on the last day I was excited/concerned/apprehensive............. would I catch up with this most wanted cat ?

Bayala continued

11 October - pm

Afternoon game drive and our first stop was at a water hole where we saw African Fish Eagle, Darters, Weavers (below) and some Herons.

Hearing a rather strange sound from the water I turned to find myself looking directly at a Hippo ! This was a new animal for me and long awaited after missing them in Northern Namibia.

We had a late afternoon snack as we watched the various visitors to the waterhole. A Giant Kingfisher put in an appearance

and for Herons we saw Striated (Green-backed)

and just as we left a Yellow-billed Stork joined the party. The light was fading and we departed to the snorts and bellows from the group of Hippos as they prepared for their move out of the water and onto land for the night.

Some spotlighting on the way back to the lodge gave us two sightings of Gennet and a Flap necked Chameleon.

The end of day 1 and what a day it had been. A superb evening meal followed and then a reasonably early night - because yup Game Drive no 3 tomorrow. Little did I know..........

12 October

Up early in preparation for the game drive and after coffee and rusks we departed.

At the first dam there were a pair of White-faced Whistling Ducks

then an African Wattled Lapwing

Garrick looked a little restless as I was scanning for birds and quickly said there was a change of plan. The engine fired up and off we went. I asked him to stop so I could photograph some passing Nyala (below) but clearly something was up. I didn't know whether to raise my hopes for something with spots or consign my thoughts to some logistical problem. We were heading back to camp !

and as we neared the camp entrance there is was, the cause of Garrick's quick about turn

a Cheetah ! Lying in the road wagging it's tail and looking from side to side. Garrick had been tipped of by one of his colleagues ..........

Unlike some safari experiences where big cats get surrounded by many vehicles we were fortunate enough to be just one of two vehicles. After watching this perfectly honed killing machine for five minutes the other vehicle left and we sat just the four of us watching one of my all time "most wanted animals" as it looked around, stretched and stood up. Blooming excellent ! Changing our position occasionally gave different light settings.

Reluctantly we left as the Cheetah seemed to be settling in for a prolonged rest. As it turned out this was the only Cheetah sighting of our trip but what a experience. I was truly made up. Now we just needed the next one with spots please ----- but with 30 thousand hectares to hide in I knew this was a big ask. Bayala and many surrounding lodges/reserves had taken their fences down many years ago to provide a huge reserve.

Continuing the drive we stopped to look at the diminutive Emerald-Spotted Wood Dove

Barbets are a favourite of mine and this Crested Barbet didn't disappoint even if it didn't raise it's shaggy crest for the camera.

Nearby another, this time a Black-collared Barbet

Next up was Lilac-breasted Roller sporting just about every colour in the paint box

Then it was back to the mammals with Black Rhino and White Rhino, Nyala and of course more Giraffes.

The final bird of the morning drive was a Black-crowned Tchagra

Breakfast awaited. Next up sunbirds, zebras up close and very personal with an Elephant plus a Giraffe road block.

Bayala Safari - finally

We were due to go on safari to The Bayala Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal three years ago but covid put an end to that and then again later the following year when travel was not advised we still didn’t make it. 2022 however was different so on the 10th of October, Sam Tom and I found ourselves on a flight to Africa. Excited was an understatement.

We decided on Bayala as Tom had a close connection with the people who own and run the reserve. It was our first visit as a family to Africa and while we had an idea of what to expect we were soon to have our expectations surpassed.

After a transfer from Jo’berg to Durban and then a three hour drive to Bayala; we arrived in the dark, down the long dirt track to the lodge - seeing a large black snake slithering across the road which was difficult to identify as it was in the headlights. It was black so must have been a black mamba !

We woke early and prepared for our first game drive. Up at 5am and ready in the lobby at 5.50am where we met our guide Garrick, who was to be with us for the whole trip - four full days and so eight game drives.

Our first encounter was one of the big five “Cape Buffalo”

And my first proper bird sighting Birchall’s Coucal, typically noisy.

It wasn’t long before we encountered the animals Sam most wanted to see, a group of Giraffes on a distant ridge.

We were confident of closer views and headed in their general direction, stopping to look at a group of Gazelles pristine in the early morning sun.

Garrick manoeuvred us into position.......

Sam's target sorted, just mine for Cheetah and Leopard to go, and well, we were not sure what Tom's target animal was, though we were soon to find out!

Driving the tracks; Garrick suddenly stopped the truck to avoid running over a Crowned Lapwing which was nesting either side of the tyre tracks. Three eggs in a small hollow right in the middle of the road. She held her nerve to the last minute and then flew off from the road into the nearby scrub. Garrick marked the spot with stones at the side of the track to alert other trucks.

An immature Fiscal Shrike posed nicely by the side of the track and then the crowd pleaser - Warthog, which quickly became Tom’s favourite animal of the trip.

while watching them drinking at a small water hole another movement caught my attention and we saw a Leopard Tortoise swimming. With surprising speed it left the water, with an ant on it’s back and headed back to the bush.

Another water hole and another of the big five - Rhino. Odd to see it in the company of Egyptian Geese. Bayala play a big part in the de horning Rhino programme which has helped protect these fabulous animals for poaching.

The three hours seemed to whiz past and we headed back for breakfast. I was counting the hours to the afternoon game drive and decided to try and familiarise myself with the birds in the camp grounds.

White-browed Scrub Robins common around the grounds

single Pale Flycatcher

Mocking Chat

Not to mention the local Warthogs ! Tom missed these as he was still having his second breakfast, sussing out the towel situation for the pool and ordering just a little more food.

Having got to grips with a few of the birds in the grounds it was time for lunch. Then more bird familiarisation and suddenly it was nearing 3.30pm and time to prepare for the second game drive. We were all very excited as we boarded Garrick's trusted Land Cruiser.

the afternoon game drive write up to follow shortly, which included a new and much wanted (not a Cheetah or a Leopard) animal for me - it was now my turn......................