During our sabbatical year I wrote extensively about all the places we visited. I have undertaken to not repeat anything mentioned before about any places we subsequently visit, with some exceptions of course! The Karoo National Park is one such exception. Reason: rare sightings (for us) and the fact the this was the first time we were able to sleep in the park; it had previously been fully booked.
As we entered the park we noticed a park official fussing around a snake. It seemed rather odd as the snake appeared to be dead; it was a Cape Cobra. It turned out to be severely stunned after being caught up in the electric fence, with what appeared to be some damage to its tail section. Fortunately, the gate guard realised that something was wrong when he heard the fence ‘ticking’ and switched it off before alerting the park official. We spent some time waiting for it to recover and move, rather slowly, into the bush; just in case some motorist did not notice and drove over it.
We got some rather curious looks as we drove into camp; in the middle of an exceptionally dry Karoo landscape with a Hobie in tow! You know the sort of look: ‘Do these people know something we don’t?’. Anyway, while checking in we decided to go on a night drive seeing as we have never spent a night in the Park.
What a good decision. The guide and his tracker were informative and communicative and in no time we saw Aardwolf; another tick on our list of must-see creatures. In fact, it was at a den and hence not just a fleeting sight, with quite a lot of movement. Sadly, the photos we managed to get are not good enough to publish.
The other really cool sighting was of a Cape Eagle Owl. It was nesting and had a chick so we undertook to return in the morning as Roger wanted to be sure the eyes are really orange!
Owls sleep during the day so we spent a long time observing the nest the next morning. Just as we were about to leave, with no more than pictures of a sleeping owl, a last click of the camera delivered the indisputable proof: it opened its eyes!
Then, after leaving the Park on Sunday I got the news that a very dear friend had passed away during the night. I was deeply shocked and terribly sad; we were scheduled to go and visit Lorrainne and John in Worcester, as we always do when we come to the Western Cape. Lorrainne and I had been friends for more years than what I can remember; this was so unexpected…
We stopped for lunch in Laingsburg where we paid a visit to the Flood Museum. What an interesting experience! We now understood for the first time what happened, thanks to a long chat with the curator. It was actually not a flash flood or a burst dam wall. There were a series of heavy downpours over the two days prior to the 25th January 1981 and the water dammed up against the railway bridge which caused the town to become flooded. The extensive damage and high death toll was caused when the embankment gave way and the town ’emptied’. You can read more about it here http://www.infolaingsburg.co.za/index.php?p=25
Worcester was on our route so we stopped by at John and Lorrainne’s house. Not the visit that we had planned but at least we were able to be there and spend some time with the family. How devastating to lose a friend, partner, mother and grandmother; so young and with so much still to give. May she rest in peace.
We arrived at Jonathan and Debbie’s house in Somerset West at about 8:30 pm. After catching up over a glass (or two?) of wine and a bowl of soup we spent the night in Ufudu, parked in their driveway.