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Shhh… don”t tell. We started our day feeding all the camp birds bread, well they actually helped themselves to Erica’s peanut butter sarmie first and then we helped them the rest of the way. It was so nice having these little birds hopping around our feet, they really are tame and obviously well used to handouts. The Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill is so full of spunk and attitude, we had four strutting there stuff for us.

The days been very long, we left our chalet at 9am and returned at 5pm, besides a half

lunch break in an open picnic site we have been in the car all day. The roads are so bad, its like driving over a corrugated roof, we have been jiggled and rattled beyond belief, except for one stretch of road where I managed to reach the parks maximum speed of 50km, we crawled at a spectacular 25km the whole day, we did 180km in 7 hours. Now there really are benefits to creeping through nature. You would never spot a little striped field mouse at 50km, but we did and we watched it mousing about for a few minutes. Very very sweet and I must admit to liking the smaller things in nature just as much as the big attractions like the big cats.

Unfortunately the big cats still elude us, we did see a wild cat, a little bit bigger than a domestic cat, very interested in us but also very skittish and it didn’t stick around for a good photo moment.

The black backed jackal were my favourite today, they were everywhere, lying in the shade just chilling. Running next to the car with us, not fussed at all, the little thing stuck its nose in every hole. One stood across the road and just watched me, while I took the most amazing photo’s, what amazing eyes, such a peaceful moment, which quickly passed as this little opportunity grabber chased after a Southern Chanting Pale Goshawk, who had landed in the grass about a 100 meters from us. Seriously this little jackal tried to get up the tree the hawk was in.

Another awesome moment sticks out amoung all the rattling, three Tawny Eagles were perched in a dead tree, they were talking to each other and then much to our delight two mated, and we caught it on camera.

We watched a secretary bird battling something in the long grass, we couldn’t see what, but the something won today.

Gemsbok, Blue Wildebeest, Springbok and Red Hartebeest abound, there is certainly enough food in this park to sustain the kitties. They are everywhere and we had opportunity to watch them sleeping, eating, butting horns, at the watering holes and just chilling in  the shade.

Two black birds of prey, we could not identify them had caught something small, a mouse maybe, an aerial battled ensued and the winner was a Huge Tawny Eagle that bullied them into dropping there mouse. The eagle swooped down quickly and claimed his prize, just in time too because a black backed Jackal was running full speed to the spot the mouse was dropped.

We spotted three bat eared foxes, what beautiful creatures, very elusive and seriously not fond of cars and people, a treat to see.

The Cape Ground Squirrel was everywhere, so incredibly cute.