Too cold to fall asleep

18th July 2014

Common duiker caught on camera trap

Tuesday 15th July 2014

Jomi and I got dropped off at Mr BB so I could fetch the camera trap. Lots of really good spoor as we made our way up the drainage line so I had high hopes. Once back at camp we got onto the daily chores and then checked out the results of the camera trap. The images were decent, no big cats, but some very nice general game shots. The two EcoQuest groups weren’t due back for some time so we had some downtime to watch an episode or two on the laptop and then run the outer firebreak for forty minutes or so.

After lectures, todays was on wildlife photography with Sean, we went on a short drive to Manqeba Lookout overlooking the Limpopo. Nice setting and good company meant that we weren’t back for dinner until late. It ended up being a late night as we headed out for a three hour night drive after we’d eaten. This was worth it though, a nice elephant bull walking across us in the dark, three hyenas on a zebra carcass and a good sighting of a genet in a mopane tree.

The downside of the drive was that despite wearing a base layer, a shirt, two fleeces, a jumper, coat, hat, gloves, scarf, longs and a blanket I almost froze solid up on the tracker seat. Even once inside my sleeping bag back at camp it took an hour or so before I warmed up enough to fall asleep.