Island Holidays
There is a very special river at the south western end of the Great Rift Valley that flows steadily eastwards through a vast floodplain of quiet backwaters and oxbow lakes and lily covered lagoons to converge with the mighty Zambezi as it surges through a series of turbulent rapids to the spray fringed lip and roar of the magnificent Victoria Falls – so aptly described as the ‘smoke that thunders’ by the local tribe.
This unique river is the tranquil and beguiling Chobe that represents one of the last remaining and relatively unspoilt wilderness destinations left in Africa.
Here vast herds of elephant and buffalo still follow the ancient game trails in the surrounding woodland and migrate in season across the sprawling flood-plains as they have done for generations.
In late December last year I was afforded the opportunity of re-connecting with this highly nomadic summer visitor of seasonal occurrence by way of a kind invitation from Shaun McGillewie of Kroondal near Rustenburg. Canary-yellow in colour with a dark conical bill the Cuckoo Finch, previously known as Parasitic Weaver, was originally assigned to canaries then weavers and is now more closely associated with indigobirds and whydahs. It is brood-parasitic favouring Cisticolas and Prinias to incubate its eggs and look after its young as the two preferred host families in our area. Patterns of appearance throughout its known sub-equatorial summer range are highly erratic.
Many a trip report to the north of Namibia and along the Caprivi Strip has been written without a record of Sharp-tailed Starling having been ’ticked’ in this otherwise starling-rich area.
The rewards for visiting the Gardens at first light before the crowds arrive are that you get the chance to see two of the most secretive residents of the more well wooded area. One such morning yielded great views of an African Goshawk enjoying the early morning sunshine, in a totally exposed position, while a little later a slow stroll through the cycad dell produced up-close views of an exceptionally tame pair of Lemon Doves. These were previously known as Cinnamon Dove prior to the common name change in Robert’s VII.
Day 1: Karoo Prinia foster parent
Patrick recently spent two nights on guano-filled Malgas Island off Saldanha on the West Coast of South Africa to see an Australian Gannet – a rare bird of note on the Southern African coast.
Patrick has guided several pelagic trips over the past few months.
The sands of the Namib Desert are made up of a scenic mix of crescent shaped barchan dunes rising to 100m in height above the sandy coastline and rocky outcrops that flank the cold, nutrient-rich Benguela current which flows northwards from Antarctica along the southwestern coast of Africa.
