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After the
Cape-Karoo-Cape loop we flew to Durban, from where we drove to Pietermaritzburg, a pleasant town in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province where Rockjumper's office is based. Adam Riley showed me a Black-headed
Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion melanocephalum), an endemic with a very
restricted distribution, living in his garden.
 Black-headed Dwarf Chameleon
We made several stops on our way to the
mountains. The beautiful valley in Umgeni Reserve
near Pietermaritzburg has a nesting pair of African Crowned Eagle, and I
had excellent views of a perched bird. Apparently there are several pairs of
these magnificent raptors nesting in the Pietermaritzburg residential suburbs,
feeding largely on domestic cats. The reserve has also a good variety of big
game, like my first Blesbok, Red Hartebeest and Nyala.
Wattled Crane
Doreen Klerk Private Reserve had a good variety of
forest birds, among them White-starred Robin and Chorister Robin.
We also saw the skulking Orange Thrush at the private Benvie Ranch, together with a number of forest
species.
In order to drive into the hilly terrain of
the Karkloof range after the recent heavy
rains we needed a 4-wheel-drive. A long search
through the muddy dirt roads finally produced a family group of Wattled
Crane (male, female and full-grown chick), an endangered bird in South Africa reduced to a few pairs, mostly in private farmland.
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| Umgeni Valley |
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| African Crowned Eagle |
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White-starred Robin |
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| Wattled Crane habitat |
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We reached Underberg
at the end of the day, and the next morning we started our drive up into
the Drakensberg Mountains, through Sani Pass into Lesotho. The night had been literally
freezing, and the sunrise light created an almost surreal contrast between the
frost and the burning sun on the distant hills. A perched Lanner Falcon
added to the beauty of the morning.
 Gurney’s Sugarbird
Near the South Africa-Lesotho border we saw
Olive Woodpecker, Swee Waxbill and a flying flock of Southern
Bald Ibis in the distance. We reached the Drakensberg's foothills, and on
the grass-covered slopes we started seeing mountain birds like Buff-streaked
Chat (in reality a beautiful Oenanthe wheatear), Gurney's
Sugarbird, Verraux's Eagle. By then the road had turned into a
winding dirt track, made worse by the late rainfalls, and the landscape was
truly spectacular. After an hour or so of uphill driving we reached the top of Sani Pass, an alpine area surrounded by imposing
peaks, and the eastern gate to the little mountain kingdom of Lesotho.
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| Lanner Falcon in the morning light. |
Olive Woodpecker |
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Buff-streaked Chat |
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Grassy slopes on the way up |
Sani Pass summit |
Sani Pass seen from the top |
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Southern Bald Ibis |
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