Wild Eastern and Western Cape, 3 Weeks in South Africa, September 2017 (page 2 of 8)

Cheetah tracking:

MZ offers cheetah tracking. I think everyone gets the idea—we track a cheetah. This cheetah has a transmitter collar around its neck (the myth of the electronic chip that satellites detect… let’s just say it’s either a myth or an exception… we can talk about it whenever you want). We’ve got a good old-fashioned rake antenna and we search. We walk and we search.

Quick intro:

Normally, cheetahs are animals you find in plains or at least in open spaces. That way, they can fully use their only advantage: speed. A cheetah that isn’t running at 100% is a cheetah in serious danger. Cheetahs have to eat their prey on the spot because they can’t move it. Only 1/3 of hunts are successful, and more than half of the prey they catch is eaten by… others. The cheetah is either too tired or too weak to defend its prey, or it’s too risky—against hyenas, let alone lions.

So, normally… the 5 cheetahs reintroduced in MZ should be found in the MZ plains… That’s what the researchers expected… what everyone expected.

But no… The cheetahs are up in the mountains! They barely come down to the plains, just to hunt, then head right back up. They’re almost behaving like leopards (animals that ambush in tight spaces).

So why?

Because the lions are there (a handful of lions)… they’ve settled into the plains and even come up to hassle everyone in the mountain area.

The cheetahs are scared and hide in the mountains as much as possible.

So here’s our cheetah tracking, which I thought would be a gentle slope at worst… turning into mountain climbing.

So, antenna in hand…



Gotta climb up there…



Starting from here…



Yep, you can see the car way down there…

Cheetah tracking:

Getting out of the jeep and safety instructions. There are 8 of us in the group... so a big group... normally we should have 2 guides, but we only have Sitemba. So, we walk in a line, don’t shout, don’t run—especially not—and don’t talk too much. We listen to what Sitemba says, and if he says do A, we do A and save the questions for later! He’s got his rifle and bullets... not a pellet gun. He’s not joking at all during the briefing—he’s not wrong.

The group... Two nationals (Mr. and Mrs.) from an Eastern European country... under 35. In 5 hours, not a single interaction with anyone... just a few whispers at most... A South African family... sporty ones... just our luck. Mr. did an Ironman race, Mrs. runs marathons, and their two teenage kids are champions in all sorts of sports... They’re really nice, in their forties... like many South Africans, they’ve got the bush in their blood... spending weekends camping in the bush, hiking, running, mountain biking... And then there’s us...

Well, off we go... for at least 5 hours... some will end up doing even more.

We climb, and it’s a tough climb...

It’s beautiful, but suddenly...





"Aren’t those buffalos?" "Yeah, yeah... but they’re far away, on the other side, on the opposite slope."

"That’s a good thing because buffalos are the most dangerous animals. Aggressive, unpredictable, relentless—they never let go." "Plus, we’re still climbing... so a buffalo above us would charge... and it would charge easily." "Actually, the higher we are on the slope, the safer we are because buffalos are reluctant to charge uphill." "And in this bushy terrain, sometimes you can’t see anything 10 meters ahead, there’s nothing to climb, so we’re really at a disadvantage."

It’s definitely better that the buffalos are far away.

We keep climbing, struggling (when I say "we," it’s "us" who are struggling).

Beautiful scenery









"Aren’t those buffalos over there?"

One morning at Mountain Zebra NP, I overheard this conversation between two zebras.

- Hey, dude, have you seen your stripes? - What, what's wrong with my stripes? - Your stripes aren't finished—they’re replaced by fur around your ears. - And you, with your clown snout, are you on a pumpkin diet? - Pfft! You’re hopeless. It’s the rooibos grazing that gives this lovely orange tint. - Speaking of colors, aren’t you aware this is the rainbow nation, yet you’re still stuck in black and white? - I think those mixed-up marks on your coat don’t look very clean. - Snout! Have you seen your love handles!?

As usual, once they ran out of arguments, they resorted to hooves... (Just a little story to help remember your zoology lesson 🙂)

@GrandKoudou

Just for info, the brown wildebeest is actually called the White-tailed Gnu or Black Wildebeest.

Black Wildebeest (with an "r," it’s in Zulu 😏)

🙂

"Those are definitely buffaloes"





"They’re not far, right?"

"Not far at all!"



The rifle hasn’t been slung over the shoulder for a while now. We’ll hurry, discreetly and sticking close together to reach the ridge... since apparently buffaloes don’t charge uphill...

Phew, we made it to the ridge.

And it's really beautiful.





But, how to put it?

The cheetah seems to have gone into the other valley...



There are zebras laughing...



The fittest ones start climbing the rock on the ridge. Just to get better vibes.

So, the guide, the two tough guys, Mrs. Marathon and her two kids.

Mr. Iron Man... well, he stays with us... supposedly a bit tired... My eye, the guide asked him to keep an eye on us... That’s the kind of thing that makes you realize you’re getting older...

Not feeling the vibes, so two options... we walk to catch up (honestly, nah!) or we take the jeep (first, we’ve got to find it again, go back past the buffalo spot) and start from the other side (the summit? the summit!).

Second option it is!

And off we go!

The descent is easy...

Well, not so much in the middle of the rocks, on the slope!

Especially since the buffaloes are in the area...

So, a silent descent, following the guide’s orders with his rifle in hand.

Regularly, he leaves us behind to "scout" what’s ahead.

We clap our hands, throw rocks down the slope and into the bushes.

In short, we’re not acting tough...

Nothing happened to us, but...

Caution during game walks or hikes isn’t a joke.

There’s a reason most organized game walks are dead quiet.

You cross paths with a buffalo = disaster, a rhino too close = disaster, an irritable elephant, same thing, a lion, same...

The guides aren’t crazy—they’re not going to risk your skin or theirs... so a game walk that isn’t calm isn’t... intentional or desired.

It can happen:

To a forum user who asked,

"in Namibia, what shoes should I wear during the day for the car, and what should I wear for hiking or walking?"

I had replied

"at minimum, sneakers for the car (because you’ll definitely step away from it at some point...) and hiking shoes when you’re walking (the kind that protect with a sturdy sole and ankle support)."

No matter what anyone says, I confirm and stand by it. Flip-flops are for the beach, and sneakers aren’t for bushwalking.

Why?

During our trip, in a landscape very common in Namibia (like in Namtib, for example)... The guide, luckily in the lead, barely escaped a puff adder bite—a very dangerous snake, in this case about a meter long and quite thick. He escaped thanks to his hiking boots (leather) and pants... So...

And I can assure you, he wasn’t proud—just relieved! !

I remember writing in my travel journal that this cheetah tracking didn’t seem like a walk in the park at all—quite the opposite! 😉

Cheetah tracking, the end:

We went back down, got back in the jeep, and drove up the other side.

So we made it to the top by car, yes!





The cheetah... would be over there...



Over there, okay. But like, at the bottom of the valley, near the edge?



We go down a bit... I keep a close eye on the elevation change and how to get back to the drivable path without too much trouble.

Okay, going down is fine, but we’ll have to climb back up afterward...

Without us, guys... even Mrs. Marathon is scared of wrecking her knee and gives up with us.

The others are going!!!!



Way down at the bottom, I can only see them with my insane zoom!



It’ll take them over an hour to climb back up, exhausted, without having seen the cheetah.

They’ll cut through the elevation to reach the 4x4 path, and it’s Mr. Iron Man who’ll make it back to the car to pick everyone up (‘I would’ve done it, but without the guide’s permission, it’s tricky’).

As for us, we chatted with the South African lady about this and that...

Final thoughts: No cheetah, a game walk that was a bit scary, an aggressive puff adder, beautiful landscapes, great encounters, and a good story, right?

Good evening,

It’s more than just “didn’t seem”...

It’s “definitely not”...

Good point, I should’ve read more carefully... though, knowing myself, I would’ve gone anyway!

I think this trip was totally worth it. It wasn’t at all pre-packaged, and that’s what made it great! 😛

If I ever go back to the area, I’d definitely do it again. 🙂

If I had to do it all over again, I’d do it without any hesitation.

First, because who knows—next time, it might be... in the bush, who can say?

And also, it was the first time I saw a guide freak out so much and the story still ended well... and was actually interesting.

White-tailed wildebeest?

Baboons, Izimfene:

In MZ and generally throughout the trip... Often numerous, big, and as loud as can be...



But they always flee when we approach. Act confident, clap your hands!









Baboons are very intelligent. They’re often a real nuisance... raiding trash cans, breaking into houses, even opening car doors and chasing you out, killing dogs or cats... and more.

Feeding baboons or getting them used to humans is extremely dangerous—for both humans and the baboons (who often end up shot). In CT, there are anti-baboon squads in the peninsula and along roads, etc... Their job is to chase them away with sticks, stones, slingshots, or worse...

In the MZ accommodation, on the fridge door!



Crystal clear!

Where are you staying tonight?

Not at the MZ campsite, apparently not bad, inside the enclosure with the fence. Not in the mountain cottages (isolated in an unfenced area if I understood correctly), not in the guest house in the park. We’re in the lodgings near the restaurant and reception!

Classic:

The chalet













All the way at the bottom of a valley:

Game drive

This morning we left early to head deep into the park and then take the ridge road.

Beautiful landscapes, quite a few animals...



















Little by little, we climbed... we ended up at nearly 2000 meters!

Ridge Route:

It's truly stunning, and the photos don't do it justice.

A picnic, what a great idea!

Whether in MZ or later in Karoo NP, it’s clearly stated that: You get out of your car only "at your own risk," with caution and only at designated spots ("points of view" or "picnic sites").

Point of view



Picnic site

Well-equipped with clean toilets, small spots under the trees, and braai areas, of course.



A pool that looks more like a pond this season...



No trash cans—that’s why!



The area is secured by a fence that’s not very impressive, a low electric fence, and an entrance gate opened with an electric control.







Besides, the rules are clear:

No cheetah, a slightly scary game walk, an aggressive puff adder, beautiful landscapes, great encounters, and a great story, right?

Indeed, a great story full of twists that kept us on the edge of our seats, but luckily it ended well 😉, like all great stories 😛. Thanks again for letting us enjoy it.