Gecko #81 Goes to Kruger – Letaba

23 November 2019

There was another thunderstorm last night!   We got very little sleep as it was loud!  Eventually, it stopped and we went back to sleep and only woke up at 8 am.

We decided to stay in camp for the morning as I needed to wash the towels and bed linen as well as some of our clothes.  This meant I would have to do two loads.  The Earl went off the get the required coins for the laundromat and I got the clothes done and hung them on the line. I then put the next load into the machine and we went to have breakfast at the restaurant.

 

 

The lovely view that we missed last night

 

 

Mom and baby hippo came into view

 

 

When we returned I took the washing out, put it into the dryer as I felt that would be better than hanging bed linen on the line.   I put in the required coins, pushed the start button – nothing!   Another camper came in and I told her what had happened.  She said she was going to iron but there was no electricity!  So what to do.  I called The Earl and he came to check and when he tried to reset the board it exploded into sparks!   Uh oh.  He went to report it to reception and I just took the washing out and hung it on the line.   I had a feeling this was going to be a BIG repair job.  After our drive, I went to reception and they refunded me the R10,00 ($0,50).  The problem had not yet been fixed!   Well, it was Saturday!

Our drive this afternoon was very disappointing.  All the loop roads were closed!

 

Closed due to flood damage?

This meant we had to stick to the tar roads which don’t give you as much opportunity to get close to the river and the dams.  Also, we’re now in Mopane tree world and it is difficult to find the animals among the trees.

 

We have never had such long periods of driving between sightings.  We weren’t bothered that there were no lions or leopards.  We would just have liked to have had the opportunity to search the more interesting routes, where we were sure we would have found interesting birdlife.   Something interesting usually happens on our drives but today, I’m afraid, was the least exciting day we have ever had in Kruger.

However, as I’ve said before, a bad day in Kruger is better than a good day at home!  And here are the highlights of what we did manage to find!

 

Buffalo and Zebra Bums

 

A few visible zebra

 

Goliath Heron

Red-crested korhaan

 

A crested barbet taking a sandbath

He seemed to enjoy it

Aren’t I a handsome chap

 

Diederick’s Cuckoo showed himself

 

The noisy arrow-marked babbler sat still long enough for The Earl to take a shot

 

The highlight of the day – A painted snipe taking a bath in a puddle on the side of the road