Three Small Dry South African Parks; three visits that were far too brief!

As my more assiduous readers may recall - and I understand that there are a few of those! - in 2019, not long before COVID profoundly altered travel, we made a very special trip to East and South Africa to celebrate a new stage in our life. We were guided (excellently) in Kenya and Tanzania but hired a car and did our own thing in western South Africa. I've reported on aspects of the odyssey here of course, but today I want to share with you three much more modest little reserves in the arid north-west of South Africa. As suggested in the title, we had very little time in each of them and they all deserved more, but even those brief visits were memorable. Maybe more time, another time?

This country is arid, with dunes to the east and vast piles of tumbled granites to the west. Some of it reminds me strongly of parts of inland Australia. We loved it, but were restricted by time and by our little 2WD hire car. Here are three little reserves, two of which were quite unexpected, in which we spent a total of just two nights and all of which we'd happily return to for longer.

From east  to west (the order in which we visited them) W = Witsand Nature Reserve,
G = Geogap Nature Reserve, B = Brandrivier private reserve and farm.

Witsand was completely spur of the moment. We were in Upington for a couple of nights and not especially enjoying it. It is a busy industrial frontier town and at the time cold and rainy. Our search for the 'River Park' ended in a housing estate, and we then and there decided to forfeit the second night of our rather strange accommodation and book a cabin at Witsand Nature Reserve, supposedly only 100k away. Well, that turned out to be only to the little town of Grooblershoop, with another hundred after that. Our GPS - for which we paid almost as much per day as for the car - was incompetent and unreliable throughout the trip, and our excellent Essential Birding Guide to Western South Africa was well out of date for this one (not its fault as I'd bought it 14 years previously). It was a frustrating and stressful trip and we'd pretty much given up on finding the reserve when we stumbled across a sign for the first time after some 70k of signless dirt (encouraged only by a friendly farmer), and arrived late in the afternoon, hours after we'd hoped. As we drove along the park boundary a pair of magnificent Kudu effortlessly hurdled the high fence, followed by a very athletic female who performed a side-twisting leap between the top two wires.and from then on it was all very good.

As the name suggests, this is a sandy landcape, dominated by hardy arid-adapted
plants, and especially by Camelthorn Vachellia (fomerly Acacia) erioloba.

Sunset, above and below; in my opinion nowhere does sunsets quite like the deserts.

Early morning view from the dunes, across the white sands which give the reserve its name
to the distant red sands of the Kalahari Desert.

Rocky hills supported tough succulents.

Euphorbia dregeana, a common and distinctive smooth succulent, found only
in this part of the world.

Perhaps this country is not to everyone's taste, but it definitely was to ours. The accommodation comprised a big living room and kitchen, and bedrooms and bathroom off an open verandah, with braai (barbeque to us) and busy bird bath outside. It was much bigger than we needed, but nothing smaller was available and we enjoyed it. Unfortunately, though unavoidably, we'd already booked our next accommodation (at the superb Augrabies Falls NP) so could only stay a night at Witsand. From the verandah and lounge room windows we watched a family of Yellow Mongooses (including a confusing grey one) and a parade of birds.

Acacia Pied Barbet Tricholaema leucomelas above
and Fiscal Flycatcher Melaenornis silens below at the water bath.
Both common species in this part of the world, and not considerate
of the photographer's needs re the sun, but a pleasure nonetheless.

Familiar Chats Oenanthe familiaris are indeed familiar around dwellings,
chasing insects and generally ignoring us. This one was no exception.

At the foot of the dune, where the photo above of the distant Kalahari was taken, was a hide with another watering point but we failed to see anything there, which was surprising given the general dryness (drought as well as the usual nature of the area) but perhaps recent showers were responsible. However there was plenty of activity around the carpark and on the dunes, including a magnificent Gemsbok which climbed the dune from the other side while we were there.

Gemsbok Oryx gazella, a very large and generally superb arid land
antelope from dry South Africa and Namibia. It is the largest of six
closely related species, weighing up to 250kg. This one showed a mild
interest in us, but not nearly as much as we showed it!

Other less dramatic animals also shared our early morning dune walk.

Kalahari Scrub Robin Cercotricha paena, a flycatcher unrelated to either
Old World or Australian robins.

Cape Glossy Starlings Lamprotornis nitens are widespread and common but nonetheless
stunners, and we never tired of them. This one caught the morning sun beautifully.

Unfortunately I was unable to lay lens on the ever-busy Dusky Sunbird Cinnyris fuscus
which was feeding on the mistletoe, but the flowering plant is worth admiring in its own right.

And in the carpark was an excellent example of one of the most amazing bird nests in the world, the huge colonial structures of the whizzing little Sociable Weavers Philetairus socius, which I also find hard to get an acceptable photo of.

These little weavers build the largest nest of any bird, containing up to a hundred families.

Other animals were easy to see along the reserve tracks...

Springboks Antidorcas marsupialis of course are the animal emblem of South Africa, but
are only found in the arid west of the country and north into the Kalahari. This one looks
quite sleek on very little forage.

Scrub Hares Lepus saxatilis are restricted to southern Africa

Steenboks Raphicerus campestris are more widespread, extending to East Africa. They are
a small antelope, standing no more than 60cm high. By now the light had almost gone!

... and around the Visitors' Centre.

The White-browed Sparrow Weaver Plocepasser mahali is a handsome weaver
which, like other weavers, nests colonially (but, unlike the Sociable Weaver, in separate nests).

The Crimson-breasted Shrike (or Boubou) Laniarius atrococcineus is a truly spectacular
bird and the national bird of Namibia. Indeed we were so excited to see it as
we were leaving the park that I managed to leave my faithful field guide on
the roof of the car, and didn't notice its absence until I needed it later that day at Augrabies Falls!
Luckily I was able to replace it with a newer edition later at Springbok.

Even the drive out provided a couple of worthwhile stops on nearby roads.

Namaqua Sandgrouse Pterocles namaqua. I'm a big fan of the desert-loving sandgrouse,
and these gorgeously patterned birds were a delight.

Striped Ground Squirrel Euxerus erythropus, which was sun-basking by its burrow
and popped back after we pulled up to admire it. This one is found over virtually
the entire continent, and was our last animal sighting for Witsand.

Had we known about Witsand earlier we'd have booked a couple of nights there in our original planning, but  such discoveries are what travel is about and our evening and morning there were well worth the angst of getting there!

From Witsand we drove to Augrabies Falls and after an excellent stay there drove another 300k further west to the delightfully named and busy town of Springbok in Namaqualand. I'd visited the nearby Goegap Nature Reserve on my previous visit in 2005, and wanted to show Lou this wonderful semi-desert rocky landscape. We had only a couple of hours before it closed but time enough to do the 13k all-vehicle loop (and how I'd love to do the longer 4WD circuit one day). The 15,000 hectare reserve was proclaimed and fenced in the 1960s, and some of the original wildlife was reintroduced.

Spring in Namaqualand is famous for its flowers, but we were there in June - and in drought. Some aloes provided colour though. 

Typical Goegap landscape - it's always dry of course, but not this dry.

I'm not sure of the identity of this aloe, but it looked magnficent among the Goegap rocks.

The real highlights however were both mammals. Just after we entered the reserve a couple of little heads appeared above a bush in an especially open sandy area; I assumed they were spurfowl but then, to our delight, three Meerkats Suricata suricatta burst into a gallop across the sand with tails in the air and vanished into a culvert under the road. They were the only ones we saw for the trip and we were thrilled.

The other mammal highlight was much bigger and more relaxed about us, and equally exciting.

Mountain Zebras Equus zebra are zebras of the hot dry rocky mountains, surviving in isolated
scattered populations mostly in Namibia. There are less than 3000 left in the wild. This was
the third zebra species (of three altogether) that we saw for our trip, which pleased us greatly.
These differ from the far more common Plains Zebra most obviously in the unstriped belly.

From here it was a short drive south along the highway to our Air BnB at Brandrivier. We were originally going to just stay in Springbok, but this promising-looking accommodation on private property popped up during our search and we crossed our fingers and booked it - good choice!

The walls are canvas, but you wouldn't call it a tent! It is set high above the highway which goes through the pass below. You can hear trucks sometimes, but they feel pretty remote. The magnificent verandah looks out over the valley one way, and up into the rocky hill behind. There's an excellent gas barbeque on the verandah and an outside shower among the rocks (plus a good indoor bathroom). Solar panels provide lights and there's a fridge. It certainly warranted more than a one-night stay!

Looking over the valley - the highway runs in front of the hills - above and below.

View of the rocks behind (and the barbeque).

From the balcony we watched the local wildlife.

The engaging furry-tailed Dassie Rats Petromus typicus loafed on the ledges and hid in the
rock crevices just behind the cabin. They are ancient Africans, the only member of their entire
family, found in arid rocky sites from here north through western Namibia to Angola.

This one fooled me for a while, until I discovered that the Mountain Wheatear
Myrmecocichla monticola, which I know as a black and white bird, also
comes in grey!

Layard's Warbler Curruca layardi, an Old World warbler which is relatively uncommon,
though quite widespread. I'm not sure if it was searching the flowering shrub
for insects or fruits - either is possible.

This is the lovely flower of the shrub above. I assume that it's in the Mytaceae family,
but beyond that I have idea - any assistance welcomed!

And the activity didn't end with nightfall, even in the cabin. Unfortunately I have no way of identifying either of these little residents, so if you can do so I'd be glad to hear from you.

This little chap came out to clean up the barbeque even before it cooled,
and before I had a chance to do so. I'm pretty sure it's not a House Mouse,
but I don't what the options are there.

Meet Bibron's Thick-toed Gecko Chondrodactylus bibronii (thanks to Roman below for pointing me
in the right direction). This beauty appeared after dark on the window frame,
though we don't know where it was lurking prior to that. It's a big gecko and apparently
relatively common across southern Africa.

So, three very different little reserves, each a treasure. This is one occasion when I'd be a bit surprised (pleasantly of course!) if anyone reading this has visited any of these reserves. If I'm wrong please let me know of your experience there. Otherwise, if you get the chance to visit any or all of them, try and give yourself more time in each of them than we did on this occasion - they, and you, richly deserve it. 

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 26 MAY

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Shaba National Reserve; superb 'outback Kenya'

For the natural history aficionados among us (and surely that's anyone reading this blog), Kenya calls  loudly and clearly, even if we can't answer the call at the moment. Amboseli, Mount Kenya, the Maasai Mara and Tsavo are all eagerly sought destinations, but Shaba? Or Buffalo Springs? Perhaps not quite so much, but I'm hoping that in a small way I can do something about that. 

The green-fringed Ewaso Nyiro River flowing through a semi-arid volcanic landscape at Shaba.

Shaba is one of three adjacent reserves safely right in the centre of Kenya, though tours that do go there usually describe it as in the north; that's only relative to the bigger attractions though. 

The red arrow points to Shaba; note that Maasai Mara, Amboseli and Tsavo
are all down on the southern border with Tanzania (though you'll probably have
to click on the map to see that detail).

Shaba, along with adjacent Buffalo Springs and Samburu, was declared a reserve in 1974; Shaba is the largest of the three, at 23,900ha. Despite the designation of national reserve, it is actually managed by the local county council rather than the very experienced national parks service. I'm sure there's some political history there but I'm not aware of the details. 

The vertical red line is a major highway leading north from Nairobi to Ethiopia.
The Ewaso Nyiro River forms the northern boundary of Shaba and more or less
separates Samburu and Buffalo Springs.

I was going to write a single post about the whole unit, but there are obvious differences between the landscapes of Shaba and the western parks, and too much for a single post, so I'll leave Buffalo Springs for later (we didn't get into Samburu). I love the dry country of Australia, and so was very excited to be going into this different semi-arid landscape, which was the furthest north we went in East Africa, and with strong elements of the Horn of Africa among the animals, which caught my imagination when I first read about the trip. (I'd been a bit further north in Uganda, but I think of that as Central Africa, and it was very different again). 

 

Our lodge on the river was really more of a resort, and seemed a bit incongruous in the setting, with swimming pool and lush lawns; I think it was just outside the reserve. Our impression was that many of our fellow guests didn't venture far from the (excellent) buffet and the pool. It was a lovely setting on the river though.

Walking to breakfast pre-dawn (us that is, though the baboon was probably crossing
the river to try his chance around the restaurant). The Marabou was happy in the water.

At the lodge, big Nile Crocodiles come up on the bank at night, under lights, where doubtless they are fed. They are impressive animals.

 

They lie just below the path, with guards keeping an eye on them (and us, I imagine).

We did a couple of excellent drives, in late afternoon and early morning, and again as we left in early afternoon to cross the road to Buffalo Springs. The sandy plains are dominated by steep-sided volcanic plugs and ridges; the sand is comprised of eroded material from these outcrops.

These Umbrella Thorntrees are either Vachellia (formerly Acacia) elatior or V. tortilis;
both are present and look pretty similar from a distance.

The Doum Palms Hyphaene compressa (though some describe these as H. thebaica) are
characteristic of the park, and of many hot East African landscapes. Both species
are widespread and it could be that both are present.

The Doum Palms mostly grow along the river or near soaks. The branched form is
typical of the genus; most other palms are single-stemmed.

Succulents such as these big euphorbias are another feature of the plains and slopes.

Also characteristic are the huge and knobbly termite nest 'castles';
presumably, as in the Australian tropical savannas, the termites are reliant on the grasses.

As is often the case in Africa it's hard to say whether the birds or mammals are more exciting. I don't feel a need to take sides, but let's start with some birds, and in particular with one I was really looking forward to seeing. Until recently it was accepted that there is only one species of ostrich, but we now know there are two, with the Somali Ostrich Struthio molybdophanes replacing the widespread Common Ostrich S. camelus in the far north-east of Africa.

Male Somali Ostriches have distinctive blue-grey necks and legs, in contrast to the white neck
and pink legs of the Common Ostrich. They also lack the white ring around the lower neck and
like scrubbier country than the generally grassland southern species.

Here are some other north-eastern Africa specials which I was especially happy to see.

Female Buff-crested Bustard Lophotis gindiana; a bird of the arid bushlands,
about which not a lot seems to be known. It is beautifully patterned.

Black-faced Sandgrouse Pterocles decoratus. I'm a big fan of sandgrouse, though
I've not had many opportunities to get to know them. We regularly saw these attractive
birds on and by the roads. Again it seems that not a lot of work has been done in
this part of the world, which is perhaps not surprising.

Vulturine Guineafowl Acryllium vulturinum, a truly spectacular big bird -
the largest of the guineafowl - also restricted to the Horn of Africa and
adjacent countries. Like other guineafowl it congregates in big flocks,
but strangely we only saw two birds, and both were among the much more
familiar Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris.

Male Eastern Violet-backed Sunbird Anthreptes orientalis, a truly
lovely little north-eastern special. Click on the photo to see the delightful
violet highlight on his back.

Eastern Yellow-billed Hornbill Tockus flavirostris. Previously there was just
one widespread species of Yellow-billed Hornbill recognised, but now the
north-eastern birds are separated. One obvious difference is the skin around
the eye - black here, red in the southern species. And I do like hornbills!

Red-bellied Parrots Poicephalus rufiventris (which should by rights be called
Orange-breasted, but you can't see it in this photo anyway) are yet another
bird of the arid and semi-arid north-east. Acacia seeds, which these may have
been snacking on before we distracted them, are an important food item.

Other Shaba birds that we enjoyed are more widespread in Africa, but I never tire of them so I hope you don't either. 

Black-bellied Bustards Lissotis melanogaster are found in grasslands across much
of sub-Saharan Africa. This is the male (she lacks the snappy black waistcoat).
I love that slightly manic stare.

Cinnamon-breasted Buntings Emberiza tahapisi have a similarly widespread
distribution but, like this one, are generally found on rocky hillsides.
However it had hitherto eluded me, and I recall it fondly as being my hundredth new
bird for this glorious trip.

Purple Roller Coracias naevius, yet another widespread African bird which I'm always
glad to see again, though it's not as colourful as many other rollers. It typically sits high
in thorn bushes (or on wires) in order to pounce on insects, spiders and small reptiles on the ground.

Rosy-throated Longclaw Macronyx ameliae. To an Australian, from a continent
with just one pipit, very sombrely clad, pipits such as longclaws are an exciting
revelation. They also sit up in bushes and hold singing contests.

Tawny Eagle Aquila rapax. This magnificent predator is found across Africa and India,
and scattered in the Middle East. They hunt hares and small antelopes, large birds such as
hornbills, bustards and guineafowl, and lizards.

White-throated Bee-eater Merops albicollis. Bee-eaters are another favourite group
of mine, and this one is well up there. It has an interesting life history, breeding
(when it rains) right across the southern edge of the Sahara, then flying hundreds of
kilometres south to spend the rest of the year in the tropical forests of central Africa.

The mammals, as I've noted, are equally impressive, in numbers and diversity, and for the presence of species not found much further south. As we with the birds, let's start with the biggest.

African Bush Elephants Loxodonta africana are well known as the largest living land
mammals; a big male can weigh ten tonnes. Tragically they are now listed internationally
as Endangered, but the Shaba park system supports an apparently healthy population.
Elephants - eg in Namibia - can live in desert situations, but in this dry land they have the
invaluable resource of the Ewaso Nyiro River. More on that when I post on the
other part of the reserve system, where we watched a herd drinking and bathing.

Reticulated Giraffes; these strongly-patterned giraffes are a sub-species
of the Northern Giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis. Giraffe taxonomy is still vexed,
but the knots are unravelling with the help of ever more powerful tools.
The existence of three species is now widely (but not universally) accepted;
my go-to reference for mammal taxonomy is the mighty Illustrated Checklist
of the Mammals of the World, published in 2020 by Lynx Editions..
However a very recent study (2021) using whole-genome analysis
suggests a fourth species - this Reticulated Giraffe, which would be Giraffa reticulata.
These things might seem of little practical interest, but in terms of conservation they are
critical. There has been a tendency to say 'well, it's just a subspecies, we can afford to
lose it if necessary'. I think that's fallacious anyway (a subspecies is evolution in action)
but it becomes catastrophic if the population is really a full species..

And on that general theme (though less controversially), while we often think of  'the Zebra' there are actually three zebras, two of which have limited ranges. One of them, Grevy's Zebra Equus grevyi, is found only in Kenya and Ethiopia. Fortunately for me its range includes Shaba, and this was another exciting moment for me.

Grevy's Zebra is an Endangered Species, but we later saw herds of them over the
Highway in Buffalo Springs. This was the first one for us though. Note the white
belly and narrow stripes on the rump, which distinguish it from the other two zebra species.
See here for more on this (but note that the discussion on giraffes there was written
before the recent publications).

Yet another Horn of Africa special that I'd looked forward to was the Desert Warthog Phacochoerus aethiopicus. The familiar Common Warthog P. africanus lives across most of the rest of the continent, but the story's not quite that simple. Until the 1860s another population of 'Desert' Warthog lived thousands of kilometres away in South Africa.

The key differences from Common Warthogs are in somewhat obscure features like
teeth, but one clue in this picture (at least if it is enlarged) is in the curled-back ear tips.

As you might expect, antelopes dominated the larger mammals in terms of species (and numbers). Many of these too are restricted to north-eastern Africa.

Galla Oryx Oryx gallarum. The oryxes comprise a group of big powerful antelopes, lovers
of arid lands. This one lives only in northern Kenya and adjacent Uganda.

Gerenuks were also high on my wish list for this trip. They are ridiculously slender and graceful antelopes, extended to browse shrubs out of the reach of other species (except giraffes). There are two species. The Northern Gerenuk Litocranius sclateri lives in a tiny area in Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden. The Southern Gerenuk L. walleri has a larger range, but still only from north-eastern Tanzania to Somalia. 

Southern Gerenuk females in the Shaba landscape.

Male Southern Gerenuk, a wonderful animal that made my heart sing.

Guenther's Dik-dik Madoqua guentheri, yet another Horn special!
There are 14 species of dik-dik, diminutive antelopes (this one weighs less than 5kg)
each occupying a small range, scattered across Africa, mostly in the east.

And finally of the north-east African antelope endemics, the Northern Kudu Strepsiceros chora is every bit as handsome and imposing as the other three kudus now recognised.

We intercepted a small group of Northern Kudus walking along the river bed while going
to drink in the heat of the day as we left.
Male above with the superb spiral horns, female below.

Compared with all these, the Ellipsen Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus is very widespread, extending through east Africa to South Africa. I'm always pleased to see them though.

Male Ellipsen Waterbuck taking a break in the limited shade available.

And with all these grazers there are bound to be predators. Lions and Leopards are both present (Joy Adamson's book Born Free was set here), though we didn't encounter any. Our one cat though was much rarer than these!

Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, also seeking thorntree shade near the road.
We saw these lovely animals, a prize of any African trip, in no less than four parks
in the course of our three weeks. We were very fortunate indeed!

And we felt very fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit this wonderful off-the-track park with its wealth of restricted range species that would be hard to see safely elsewhere I imagine.

The Marabou in the predawn river isn't at all hard to find, but it's one of the images of Shaba that I'll treasure for the rest of my life. If you're able to get to Kenya in the future (and if you can you certainly should) be sure to incorporate Shaba-Buffalo Springs into your itinerary. It's special.

NEXT POSTING THURSDAY 5 AUGUST

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