04 November 2024 - Qwabi Private Game Reserve; Day 2
We slept very well and were up early for the pre-dawn coffee and muffins before heading out on our morning drive. Most of the others opted to sleep in, so it was only Gill and I on the drive.
We picked up the Cheetah family not far from the Lodge
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| Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) |
However, the highlight of the day, was finding a lone Honey Badger foraging for food on one of the cut-lines on the mountain. We sat quietly watching him working his way down the road, hoping we would walk right toward us. Unfortunately, he had other ideas and cut-off into the bush. What a special sighting and it was the first for our ranger at Qwabi
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| Honey Badger (Mellivora capensis) |
European Bee-eaters were quite vocal and found a couple that were still roosting in the cool of dawn
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| European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) |
We eventually found an open area for our morning coffee and were treated to a few Swallow-tailed Bee-eaters
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| Swallow-tailed Bee-eater (Merops hirundineus) |
A single Little Bee-eater framed by two Zebra
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| Little Bee-eater (Merops pusillus) |
and a distant Lesser Grey Shrike, which highlighted that the migrants had certainly arrived back on the summer wintering grounds
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| Lesser Grey Shrike (Lanius minor) |
Back to the Lodge for a delectable breakfast and then to chill around the lodge and our room for the rest of the day. I had a Spotted Fly outside our lodge
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| Spotted Flycatcher (Muscicapa striata) |
We had a short afternoon drive, finding a pair of Yellow-billed Hornbill
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| Southern Yellow-billed Hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) |
Then a gorgeous sunset, show-casing the Waterberg
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| Glorious Waterberg |
Over sundowners, the stars and crescent moon put on a show, before heading back to the lodge for another sumptuous meal
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| Starry, starry nights |
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