Believe it or not, we were on the road by 5:30. Well, strictly speaking not actually on the road because the man who unlocks the camp gates couldn’t! Eventually, after two trips back to the camp for spare keys he returned with an assistant and a pair of bolt cutters.We had planned to drive up to Mata Mata – a camp right on the Namibian border and about 120km from Twee Rivieren. With a 
park speed limit of 50kph, coupled with gravel/sand roads, we reckoned this would take us about 3 hours – allowing for stops to ogle the animals, assuming we were lucky enough to see any! In the event we saw, and stopped for so many that after 4 hours we had covered only some 70 of the 120km. The girls (junior) informed Gill and me (by what they called an “executive decision”) that rather than pressing on just for the sake of it, we should turn around and head for home. Which we duly did.
We saw quite a few animals today – Sprinkbok by the hundred, 
Blue Wildebeest (Gnus to Flanders and Swan fans) by the dozens, Gemsbok aplenty, several Ostriches, 4 Black Backed Jackals, 4 Giraffes, a solitary Steenbok – but no Partridge in a Pear Tree. On the bird front there were several Eagles and Vultures, a couple of Kori Bustards (at up to 19Kg, the heaviest flying bird in the world), several Crimson-breasted Shrikes and Forktailed Drongos, a Secretary Bird, numerous Sociable Weavers and Doves, and hundreds of what, in the ornithological world, are referred to as LBJs (Little Brown Jobs).
Sadly, no signs of Lion, Leopard or Cheetah – but you can’t win ‘em all. All in all a most enjoyable day. Not to mention relaxing, once we got back to the camp.
The rest of the day has been (and will continue to be) full of frenzied inactivity, intermingled with more Steven King, splashes in the pool, and a couple of splashes in the glass for good measure.
Tomorrow morning we head off home – 
although the plan at this stage is to call in at
