1st April Pretoria

1^st April Pretoria. Sorry about the lack of photos, still trying to sort them out

Back in Pretoria ready for an onslaught on the embassies before the Easter break.

The Pilanesberg NP was a refreshing break. Less than 2 hours from Pretoria it is a mid size park encompassing most of an ancient volcano. It has been a national park for less than 40 years and with the aid of Project Genesis where over 6,000 animals covering 22 species were relocated here, it is now an ideal place to immerse yourselves in the African experience. The park has many drives, loops and links meaning there is a good chance the visitor will encounter a good variety of wildlife and also birdlife. Over 350 birds have been noted in the park. Less than an hour into our first visit we had come upon a pride of lions around a wildebeest kill. One lioness posed for the visitors, satiated from her feed. Others still tore at the carcase while two black backed jackals patiently waited nearby. Surprisingly no vultures were present.

The park is hilly, Australians would call it mountainous, but in the late afternoon light the hills glowed with a light unique to Africa. A scene that would bring sighs and tears to the eyes of expat South Africans.

But apart from the vistas and animals you encounter over here, it is the people you meet that will leave a more lasting impression. Rus, at Dries Berge Campsite. A birder who was what you would call an overseer at the park. Into his 70s he was offered the job when he was staying there one time. 'What would I do in Johannesburg now that I'm retired' he said 'wait to be robbed, or killed. Have my house broken into' He loved the birds and helped with the identification of a bird that I had snapped around the van. It was a rose-ringed parakeet, the only parakeet in Africa and usually in the Sahel below the Sahara. It was the first time it had been photographed in the area we were. There are a few feral populations in parts of Sth Africa.

Richard we met at the end of a wild finfoot chase. Coming back from the park we saw a sign for the Finfoot Reserve. This was the bird we hadn't seen at De Rust Camp. 18 kms on we came to a gate for the Eland Game Reserve that encompassed the Finfoot Reserve. The gatekeeper would not allow us in as we didn't have a booking. It was morning tea time so we pulled up next to the gate on some grass, raised the roof and proceeded to make a cup of tea. The guard's inquisitiveness got the better of him and came over to see what was happening. His name was Richard and we shared a cup of tea learning a bit about him at the same time. Aged 48 he had worked for the same crowd some 20 years. Married with two grown up children he had seen five of his school friends die of AIDS. He had strong opinions on older men taking on a younger wife and how that leads to marital disharmony. We had a pleasant half hour chewing the fat. Africans love to laugh and sharing a joke with them is an enjoyable treat. They have a very dry subtle sense of humour.

At De Rust caravan park we met up with two great couples, Ingerborg & Helmut, and Paul & Edith. All of Austro/German extraction, Ingerborg had been brought up in present day Namibia. She was going back to visit Namibia this year but refused to visit the area she lived as a child, she didn't want to see what was left of the homestead. A lovely assertive woman who loved a whiskey and soda at 11am. Helmut was 82, they lived in Pretoria where they went against the negativeness by having no electrified fences, guard dogs and such. In fact they had even forgotten to lock their house for their weekend away.

Such is the unexpected treats of travelling on your own.