Nossob

We left Twee Rivieren, having packed up and enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. There was no mad rush to get to Nossob as we had booked Premium Campsites so there was to need to try and get there quickly to find a good site in the main camp.

We had decided that we would drive to Dikbaardskolk Picnic Site and stop there to have a leg stretch and visit the bathroom. We arrived first and when Earl and Helen drove in we noticed that the right rear tyre on Earl’s Everest was flat. He tried pumping it up in the hopes that it was a slow puncture and he could make it to Nossob before having to change the wheel. The ground at Dikbaardskolk is not very flat, so changing a wheel would not be easy. Earl was not in luck! Within a few minutes the tyre was once again flat so it was a definite puncture. He drove the Everest to the flattest piece of ground we could see and he and Alec set about changing the wheel, supervised by dozens of Sociable Weavers and Starlings. A job accomplished in a short time!

Earl and Helen arrive at the picnic site

Earl and Alec start changing the tyre

We arrived at Nossob and were allocated Premium Sites 3 & 4. What a pleasure these sites are. There is a fantastic bathroom with a loo, wash basin and a huge shower with lashings of hot water. Outside is a dishwashing basin and loads of counter space to prepare a meal on. They are all close to the fence and are very quiet.

Premium Site #4 at Nossob

Our view from the campsite

One morning, Earl and Helen had left for their drive and I was brushing my teeth, when Alec came in to say I must come quickly as there was a Brown Hyena outside the fence. Well, I have never rinsed and dried so quickly, as a Brown Hyena is a rare sighting! There he was slowly walking along the fence. I only got the quickest of snaps as I didn’t have my glasses on so I pointed and prayed!

My “point and pray” pic of the brown hyena before it vanished behind Earl and Helen’s van

If you get the chance to book a Premium Site at Nossob, you will not be sorry. They are quite exceptional.

We spent quite a lot of time enjoying the hide at Nossob, which has a number of animals come to drink. Of particular note was the lovely herd of kudu that came down. These graceful animals with beautiful large, liquid eyes, radar-dish ears and long, beautiful legs are a pleasure to watch. The bulls with their spiral horns and stunning stripes are regal as they step across the dry river bed.

A beautiful herd of kudu come to drink.

Just look at this beautiful face

Regal spiral-horned bulls

Also at the hide, we were lucky enough to enjoy the visit of a majestic Martial Eagle. This enormous raptor, the largest in South Africa, stood in the water surveying all the smaller birds that were too nervous to join it at the water. With its speckled chest, dark back, crested head, huge beak and piercing eyes, this bird is truly something to behold.

A majestic Martial Eagle

Piercing eyes and a formidable beak

Compare the size of the eagle to the canary

Another fascinating bird that visited the waterhole was the Namaqua Sandgrouse. These beautiful birds are the sports cars of the bush veld. The males will fly long distances to find water and when they do they wade in chest-deep and allow fine feathers on their breasts to absorb water like a sponge. They then fly at close to 60kph back to their nests where the chicks drink the water by combing the feathers with their beaks. This is truly nature at its best!

Namaqua Sandgrouse

Namaqua Sandgrouse whirr in to collect water

We were at Nossob for five nights so we took several drives both north and south from the camp. The road to the north was very corrugated but there were a couple of lovely viewpoints and only one water hole seemed to have water in it. The southern drive was easier and there were many waterholes from which to choose when looking for somewhere to enjoy a cup of coffee and a cookie.

Lovely views from viewpoints

We found it great to sit at a waterhole, either in the morning with our coffee and cookies or in the late afternoon with a drink and just watch and listen. Often there were several of the larger animals drinking and it was interesting watching the behavior of the various creatures. The Springbok were graceful drinkers but rarely moved to the water if there were larger antelope there. They would stand and wait their turn very patiently. The Gemsbok were very skittish and the smallest thing spooked them. Here size and age were the telling factors and the younger, smaller animals were often pushed out of the way by the larger stronger animals. The bullies of the Kgalahadi were the Wildebeest. When they arrived at the water they simply pushed everyone else out of the way! The Jackals ignored everyone and just took care not to be stepped on!

Wildebeest are bullies at the water!

Gemsbok are skittish

Shy Springbok patiently wait their turn

Jackals ignored everyone

When there were no animals at the water, it was great to just sit and listen, especially in the late afternoon. There was the twittering of the sparrows, canaries and other small birds and the doves would come in waves with that distinctive whistling sound from their wings. They often perched in trees nearby and added their soft, melodic cooing to the evening soundtrack. Then the sandgrouse would arrive in their dozens with whirring wings, drink quickly, and within a few seconds with lots of whirring they were off! Crested Lapwings added their distinctive cries as they ran with stilt-like legs around the edge of the pan searching for insects. As the sun started to set, the Barking Geckos would add their voices and in the distance, one could hear a jackal howling. Nature’s soundtrack is something else altogether.

A beautiful canary

Mossies chitter away all day

The doves stayed to add their soft coo

Crowned Lapwings always let you know they were there

On each drive we found the usual suspects, wildebeest, gemsbok, springbok, ostriches and jackals but there were some lovely birds around as well. We found this beautiful Tawny Eagle on several drives, sitting at the top of a tree staring out over the landscape. There were dozens of Pale Chanting Goshawks that must have kept the rodent population in a constant state of hysteria! We also saw many Kori Bustards, as they too stepped arrogantly through the veld. These are the largest flying birds in the world and they certainly seem to know how great they are!

Gorgeous Tawny Eagle

Pale Chanting Goshawks by the dozen

Majestic Kori Bustard

On one drive we were lucky enough to come across a pair of Bat-Eared Foxes out foraging in the middle of the morning. These beautiful, little creatures eat insects and small invertebrates and are wonderful to watch as they bustle about, smelling the ground to find tasty nibbles. It was a treat sitting watching them forage.

Fabulous Bat-Eared Foxes

Another drive turned up a Spotted Hyena, sloping along having just enjoyed a drink. These much-maligned creatures have gained a small place in my heart since learning more about them and their family units from Wild Earth and Africam. They are not the evil creatures that I was raised to believe but effective hunters, caring mothers, as well as being the garbage collectors of the bush veld.

Spotted Hyena sloping along

Before I close I would just like to get a few peeves off my chest.

The first is toilet paper. I can understand that at Kgalahadi, the picnic sites are few and far between and inevitably someone will get caught short while on a drive. Relieving oneself on the side of the road is one thing but why must you leave the toilet paper festooning the roadside plants? Surely people who visit these parks are nature lovers and should know better than to leave toilet paper in the bush.

The last two are reserved for SanParks.

In this day and age, it is incredible that there is no reliable means of communication within the camps. With the wide array of technology available today it is inconceivable that SanParks cannot provide robust communication in the camps. At Nossob you can indeed buy Wi-Fi vouchers (R75 for 400MB!) but most of the time when we tried to connect, you could sign on to the network but there was no internet access! I know that we all deplore the modern habits of being glued to a smartphone, but people do like to keep in contact with their families and it is frustrating to not be able to contact them. Friends in the camp had a very ill sister-in-law in hospital and they would have loved to know how she was doing but could not get connected to find out.

Lastly, the roads. I am not sure why we pay good money to visit the park and then rattle car and caravan to pieces on corrugations the size of the Fish River Canyon. Is it not possible to keep these roads maintained? Again I know that visitors with incorrect tyre pressures cause some of the problem, but that old excuse had passed its sell-by date. Regular maintenance is vital to keep these roads in good nick, improving the visit for everyone. Come on SanParks, get your act together!

In spite of the irritations, a visit to Nossob is always a treat especially since getting a booking takes luck and has to be made months in advance.  We enjoyed our time there and will be back at some time in the future. Now it’s on to Mata Mata for the next leg of our Kgalahadi adventure.