Tex and Pictures Peter Chadwick. Article from the December 2013 issue of Country Life Magazine.
Superb specials await in the Southern Cape, at the world’s only Big Five fynbos reserve
It was a welcome break for my wife and I to be heading for the easily accessible Gondwana Game Reserve, not far from the freeway near Mossel Bay. A total of 11 000 hectares in size, it’s the only fynbos reserve in the world that is home to the Big Five, as well as numerous other endangered species that include the black rhino and the Black Harrier.
Within metres of the gate, we were watching Crowned Lapwings and Red-capped Larks hunkering down in huddles among the carpet of yellow to white freesias that had erupted in the open fire belts along the roadsides. Orange-breasted Sunbirds used the wind to hover in flashes of colour above flowering red ericas, dropping briefly to probe their curved bills deep into the energising nectar.
We drove deeper into the reserve and headed towards the lodge, passing herds of springbok, impala, Burchell’s zebra, blue wildebeest and gemsbok that relaxed in the open, with enough space around them to make a hasty departure should one of the reserve’s lions appear from a thicket.
At the lodge, a half-circle of domed huts overlooked a deep valley that led to the Outeniqua Mountains. Mike Fabricius, our guide, welcomed us and, as he walked us to our chalet, we passed small flocks of Helmeted Guinea Fowls and Cape Spurfowls scratching for seeds and small insects in the shrubbery. Near our entrance, a family of relaxed zebra grazed on the short grass, one bearing a deep, jagged and very recent gash on its rump from an encounter with a lion – a reminder to us not to wander from the confines of the lodge.
After lunch, Mike met us for the afternoon game drive in an open Land Rover. He explained to us that he had been at Gondwana Game Reserve for six months and had a particular passion for reptiles and amphibians, but really enjoyed exploring every aspect of the reserve.
He said he had been setting up remote cameras that had already captured rare images of aardwolf, caracal and honey badgers. Our first stop was at a small dam where a lone Grey Heron watched over a pair of African Black Ducks, a Common Moorhen and a Reed Cormorant that had clambered onto a dead log and was vigorously flapping his wings to shake off water.
In the surrounding trees, a troop of adult vervet monkeys watched us and chattered insults, while their youngsters were more content to bully one another. Short grasslands around the dam showed African Pipits, Cape Longclaws, Common Fiscals and a pair of African Stonechats (5 on the checklist).
A shy Denham’s Bustard took to flight as we rounded a bend, but this luckily flushed out a Black Harrier (6) that had been resting in the long grass. The harrier, a real special of the fynbos, is one of my favourite birds and I really enjoyed watching it on the hunt, quartering backwards and forwards across the grasslands, making short stoops into the undergrowth to catch prey.
With the grasslands behind us, we entered a beautiful patch of mature fynbos that was thick with protea bushes. The flowers glowed in the late afternoon light and were the launching pads for displaying Cape Sugarbird (4) males with their long tails. Green Malachite Sunbird males chased one another between the bushes and Karoo Prinias, Neddickys and Grey-backed Cisticolas crept through the fynbos, occasionally popping out onto the crowns to call briefly before continuing to search for food.
By now the sun was casting long shafts of light through the gaps in the Outeniquas, and we stopped on a high ridge to take in the scene and enjoy the peace. A Forest Buzzard flew casually overhead, followed by an adult Jackal Buzzard with its two recently fledged chicks calling loudly as they flew behind it. Familiar Chats and Cape Rock Thrushes sat on a nearby rocky outcrop and a displaying African Goshawk (3) called from high overhead.
Clear dawn skies followed a night of the distant calls of Fiery-necked Nightjars and the rumbling of lions. Mike led us into a deep valley and, as the sun crept over the horizon, animals and birds crawled from the shadows to absorb its warmth. We saw a Secretary Bird (1), Rock Kestrel, Karoo Scrub-Robins (10), Cape Robin-Chats, Cape Bulbuls, and klipspringers, red hartebeest and three massive eland bulls that browsed on the hill slopes.
All around us, water flowed through the boulder-strewn riverbeds, and four, inquisitive giraffe peered at us through thick eyelashes as they chewed on their breakfast. As the sun rose, the protea and erica stands came alive with Lesser Double-collared Sunbirds, Streaky-headed Seedeaters (7), Cape Weavers (8), Cape White-eyes, Brimstone Canaries and Cape Buntings. Pairs of Spur-winged Geese and Egyptian Geese quarrelled raucously in mid-air, and an eruption of small insects saw scores of Rock Martins, Alpine Swifts and Barn Swallows swoop backwards and forwards with wide-open mouths.
We passed through open grassland as we left the valley, where black wildebeest, bontebok and Cape mountain zebra were grazing. From the back of one of the zebras, a Fork-tailed Drongo made repeated launches after insects, irritating the beast which aggressively chased after a little sparrowhawk that flew off into the trees.
On our way back to camp for breakfast we saw two hippos grazing in the open. Just behind them in a stand of proteas, two African elephant bulls were selectively plucking the flowerheads and chewing them contentedly. But they startled a Cape grysbok that, in turn, flushed a Common Quail from the undergrowth, a fitting end to an exciting morning of game and bird viewing.
Checklist 10 specials to try and spot in Gondwana Game Reserve
1. The Secretary Bird (Sekretarisvoël) is a large distinctive raptor that mainly kills its prey by the well-aimed stamping of its feet. Its varied diet includes insects, reptiles, small mammals and birds’ eggs.
2. Although mainly a granivorous bird, the Streaky-headed Seedeater (Streepkopkanarie)also relishes the flowers and nectar of flowering aloes and will return repeatedly to a flowering stand.
3. A juvenile African Goshawk (Afrikaanse Sperwer) has a pale belly and speckled plumage. A common resident of dense woodland and forest, it either ambushes its avian prey from a shaded perch or by flying at speed through the forest.
4. Distantly related to the sunbird family, the Cape Sugarbird (Kaapse Suikervoël) is an endemic of the fynbos. The tail of the male is far longer than the female and is used in waving displays.
5. The African Stonechat (Gewone Bontrokkie) is a common resident, arriving from cooler highlying areas in winter. It is usually seen in pairs, with variable plumage distinguishing the male and female.
6. Listed as vulnerable, the Black Harrier (Witkruisvleivalk) is an uncommon endemic usually sighted as it quarters low over vegetation, and occasionally makes stooped dives towards mostly small mammals and reptiles.
7. The Black-headed Heron (Swartkopreier) hunts mainly by stealth, finding a suitable opening in long grass or shrubberies, and using its dagger-like bill to stab its prey.
8. The Cape Weaver (Kaapse Wewer) breeds in small to large colonies in reeds or tall trees and builds a large neatly woven nest with a short entrance tube.
9. Mainly active at night, the Spotted Thickknee (Gewone Dikkop) relies on its cryptic plumage as camouflage during the day, when it lies near the base of a bush.
10. The rather drab Karoo Scrub-Robin (Slangverklikker) has a long white-tipped tail that is often held cocked upright. It is endemic to the Karoo scrub and strandveld
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