Day 25 Sausage Tree Safari Camp, Sunday, Sept 21

Day 25 Sausage Tree Safari Camp, Sunday, Sept 21

QOTD:

Somebody tell me what's the word?

What’s the word: Johannesburg!

Weather: Low to high 60s, no wind, tons of distance visibility, breakfast and lunch on the deck! Clearing in afternoon and a spectacular night sky full of stars and the Milky Way, then haze settled in so no star gazing after dinner

Impala after jackals have had their fill

THB gets up just before the game drive wake-up, so is more alert for the early start. Another great drive: an elephant up close and personal, a spectacular lilac-breasted roller bird (a rare sighting and almost impossible to get a photo with wings expanded, we saw it twice in flight), other rare birds, three elephant bulls dismantling a tree to eat the bark, a running (and rare) side-striped jackal, red-crested korhann (the “suicide” bird that actually has a blue head when just sitting around), and further remains of the impala. Plus Liam and Themba hook up the winch and clear off a tree knocked  by an elephant on to the road in front of STSC.

Blue  testicles a sign of heightened testosterone in baboons

THB and German in same cycle of moon?

It is nice enough we finally can have breakfast on the deck: eggs over for THB with ham and cheese bread toast. And, it turns out the guy of the young newly-engaged German couple is a techie and he proves that THB’s camera problems are NOT with the camera or the cable, it’s something with the Chromebook connectivity software. We’re so close to home, THB will get the pics downloaded there on a different computer and decide what to do with the Chromebook later.

Winch in operation

Breakfast and lunch on the deck today!

Liam anecdotes of the day: a young newly engaged couple is involved in a flight/fight episode and while climbing into the truck the guy pulls on the woman to get into the truck and in meantime throws her out of the truck. No word on whether the couple continued on with the wedding. Second anecdote: some friend gave Liam a dwarf mongoose with a broken leg (or when Liam had a broken leg) and the mongoose hid behind the fridge and would come out periodically and bite Liam. Third anecdote: on his first job, he got lost coming back to the lodge in the dark, and at some point he got out of the truck and climbed a tree where he fell about 20 feet to the ground trying to capture a chameleon. Eventually he got the guests back something like 1.5 hours late, and it turned out that he had broken three bones in his hand from the fall.

Videos (on their side, please rotate head or device): Winching and a 8.4 dismount by drinking giraffe

THB takes a dip in the pool before lunch, it’s nice enough outside and the water is very refreshing (Liam admits in his 15 months at STSC he’s been in the pool only once, when the owner threw him in during some party).

D and M stay on for lunch, STSC comps them, and it is quite nice: some sort of veggie roll, stuffed spaghetti squash and a salad. We say goodbye for the night, they head off to Blue Cottages and a going away dinner with T&T. D spots elephants from the lunch veranda, what big eyes he has! One other American couple departs and a couple from Tokyo comes in.

Before the late afternoon drive, five giraffes come up to the water hole just outside the fence behind STSC and drink and dine on the high leaves. Quite the show! They are big and quiet, and captivating.

Giraffe drinking from water hole behind STSC

On the drive: spot a dead impala in a small pond and a lurking croc; see dwarf mongooses (mongeese?), DB (filling in admirably for D) spots a gorgeous kingfisher, Liam points out a Pel's Fishing Owl, one of the rarest birds in Africa (only 500 left) as it soars down the river, there are free-tailed bats tracking the truck on the way back (in the dark, the lights of the spotter, Themba, attract bugs and bring on the bats), we watch a breeding herd of elephants with at least three newborns, and to get to our sundown snack spot Liam and Themba have to again use the winch, this time to pull the truck up a sandy slope (good news, that allows us to see the rare owl).

Dwarf mongoose (living in termite hill)

Liam with old elephant skin

Guinea fowl, blue heads

Dinner in the boma: asparagus wrapped in dough with pesto, chicken cordon bleu on mashed potatoes, chocolate souffle (very light brownie?) with ice cream and chocolate sauce.

Lone elephant dining in the river

Popcorn with evening drive stop

No stargazing after dinner, the haze has descended. too bad!!!