Natural Beauty

For my final blog about working on Thabo Tholo I thought I would share some pictures showing the incredible natural beauty of this incredible place.

Looking down on the valley from the mountains.

Little Serengeti.

The Southern Cross: if ever you're lost out here you can use it to find South. You extend the axis from Gamma to Alpha by 4 1/2 times. At this point you then draw a line straight down to the horizon and you have South. You can also use the pointers, Alpha and Beta Centauri by disecting them and drawing a line until it intersects the extended axis of Gamma and Alpha; go down to the horizon and you will again have South.

The Hunter: Orion (please excuse my "art-work")

Birds

One of my favourite things to do while out here is go bird-watching, and these are a few of my favourites.

Natal Spurfowl

Kurrichane Thrush

Southern Black Tit

Black-capped Bulbul

Grey-headed Shrike

Magpie Shrike

Fork-tailed Drongo

Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill

Southern Red-billed Hornbill

European Roller

White-fronted Bee-eater

Southern Masked Weaver

Black-collared Barbet

Greater Double-collared Sunbird

Gurney's Sugarbird

Crested Eagle

Southern White-faced Owl

African Hoopoe

Narina Trogon

Mini Mammals

It's always cool to see something a little different when out and about in the bush, and the smaller mammals you get out here are always good value!! 

Rock Dassies (Hyraxes) are, believe it or not, close relatives of Elephants, and even have tiny tusks!! They are absolute sun-worshipers, most commonly seen basking on rocks. Normally quite skittish, that may be a characteristic gained with age judging by the actions of the tiny baby in the middle, who was brave (and stupid) enough to venture quite a long distance away from the protection of its family. Once it had realised how alone it was it quickly retreated to sit on his mums back.

Lesser Galagos, being nocturnal, are more often heard than seen. Galagos are more commonly known as Bushbabies due to their pretty haunting calls. They loved hanging around our tents in camp because there were tons of Sweet Thorn Trees, which exude a gum which they just can't get enough of!! Apparently it used to be eaten by humans before more modern, sweet products were developed.

Greater Galagos are, as their name suggests, larger than their Lesser cousins, and generally do just look like big teddy bears!! There are a pair at the Lodge which regularly come to feed on fruit put out by the staff for them, which gives guests a brilliant chance to see an animal that they would normally only be able to briefly glimpse at best. 

Tucka!!

This is shamelessly self-indulgent, but you can't spend 5 months with this little guy and not want to show him off to the world (and by world I mean the saints who have been reading my blog :)

Abandoned by one of the pubs at the edge of the reserve, it was apparently likely he may have been put down because he was impregnating everything in sight, but luckily Tara was convinced to take him in and so saved his little behind. Initially he was apparently very hesitant to play and was very nervous, so he may have been beaten quite a lot in his former "home", a horrendous act, but it's a credit to Tara and Becky and little Tucka himself that now he's an absolute menace, constantly wanting to play!! And when he's not playing you can bet your life he's sleeping or eating; what a life!!!

During times when I was alone in camp he really made all the difference in keeping me sane, and was a brilliant little companion, although he was a bugger for trying to push me out of my own bed!! But I easily got past that cause he's such an awesome dog, so here are a few memories of him.

The Little Things

Because I was able to walk around Thabo Tholo, it was a fantastic place to see and learn about the little animals that really can make the bush come alive!!

Beautiful: The African Monarch Butterfly

(Top Left) I have no idea what kind of spider this is, but I woke up to this little guy (about the size of a 50p) walking over my bare chest. (Top Middle) A huge rain spider, again found in my tent one morning; he just about fit into the palm of my hand. (Top Right) Brown Button Spider, the only one of the "medically relevant" spiders I saw while I was out here, for the first 6 weeks I was here she would make her nest every evening by one of our bathrooms, and after she had caught her meal would disband her web and retreat until the next evening. (Bottom Left) The TINY Kite Spider, about the size of a finger nail, these colourful little spiders make huge webs spanning roads, often getting caught up in our vehicle and joining us in the front. (Bottom Middle) The stunning Golden Orb Weaver; the female (Left) is many times bigger than the male (Right), and if he isn't careful will eat him after they mate, so he will normally wait until she is feeding before attempting to mate!! They get their name from the golden tinge to their webs, which can be huge and incredibly strong!! (Bottom Right) I found this awesome little Velvet Spider in a dead tree I was dismantling in camp. Their name is very appropriate because they honestly look like they are made of velvet. 

Cleaners: Without dung beetles, the bush would be a very different, much smellier place!! They play a crucial role in cleaning up the bush, and it's always important when driving around the reserve to try and avoid dung piles so you don't run over these little guys. Some species roll balls which they will then lay a larvae in and burrow to try and give it protection while it develops...

...however, Honey Badgers (Left) are particularly fond of these little pre-packed meals. We found the remains of one on one of Friday walks up in the mountains. 

Bucks.

Antelope play a huge role in the ecosystem out here, and are under-rated as far as I'm concerned. Here are a selection of shots I captured while working on Thabo Tholo of the some of the different antelope residing on the reserve.

Rare: Hartebeest (Left) and Blesbok (Right). I only saw these two species twice each in the whole five months I was on the reserve.

Huge: Gemsbok (Left), with their incredible horns, and Eland (Right), the largest antelope weighing up to a ton. 

Common: Impala are one of the more common antelope found in South Africa, with males capable of making extraordinary calls during the mating season which sound like something a lot more dangerous!! They have a nickname of "Bush McDonalds" due to the M on their behind and the fact that despite their impressive speed, are fed on by most of the larger carnivores, particularly during lambing season.

Solo: Bushbuck lead a quiet, stealthy life in thick bush, well most of the time. Stories of males (Right) being hyper-aggressive during the breeding season mean they're definitely not to be taken lightly! The spots on their coat, see prominently on the baby with it's mother (Left) help break up their bodies outline and help camouflage them.

Thabo Tholo: Translates to Kudu Mountain, and they are everyone on the reserve!! Males can get huge, and their horns are so impressive, although surely a huge pain when moving through the bush. Their coats have stripes, which help break up their bodies outline to act as camouflage. 

Dimorphism: No antelope exudes greater sexual dimorphism than Nyala. Adult males (Left of the picture at the top) develop dark manes and large horns, while young and females (Right of the picture at the top) have much light coats, and are adult females are much smaller. I was lucky enough to hand-feed some of the Nyala on the reserve (Bottom Left). Nyala combine both spots and stripes to help break up their bodies outline (Bottom Right).