Continuation on Barry trip to Namibia............

From Epupa, the long road "home" to Phalaborwa, begins firstly by retracing our route back along the C43 road and on to Opuwa, which is a major Himba center, together with some traditionally dressed Hereroes too.  Opuwa is the first town to stock up at since Ruacana village.  Still on the C43, heading south, and skirting to the west of Etosha Park, the road runs through the Joubert Mountains with impressive scenery and lots of baobab trees each side of the road, we saw Brown Snake and Martial Eagles along the way.  The scenery soon changes back to mixed Mopane and grassveld which then changes to acacia savannah around Sesfontein.  We took the short turn off road into Sesfontein, stopping off at the old fort, now a modern lodge/hotel, for a cold beer.  Continuing south to Palmwag, the veld becomes dryer, but is still very scenic, and springbok and gemsbok appear in increasing numbers.  Sesfontein and Palmwag are popular tourist destinations for people wanting to find the desert rhinos and elephants.  Camping at Palmwag Lodge at N$90 p.p.p night is reasonable for the good facilities.  Having permanent water around, there is plenty of bird activity, and a Bokmakierie was calling loudly from first light.

The Limpopo Honorary Rangers hosted a Birding Weekend at Mapungubwe National Park on the week-end of 5th to 7th September 2008. It has been one of our ambitions to visit Mapungubwe for many years. In fact it dates back to spending a convivial evening at Punda Maria with the young couple who were preparing Mapungubwe for opening to visitors. This was on one of our visits from the UK during our period of  exile!

Progress on the project continues to accelerate with 13.5% of the  country having been atlased at least once. The number of active participants  has reached 265, up from 181 at the end of the year.  The number of new pentads covered is increasing at 180 per month.

The areas of concern continues to be the Eastern and Northern Cape which are progressing at a slower rate than the rest.

In Limpopo we have now reached 15.1% coverage at an average of 62.8 species per survey. This is the highest species rate of the South African provinces, and gives some idea of the birding paradise we live in.

Unusual species which have been recorded in the Province over the passed three months are Grey and Orange-breasted Waxbill, Senegal Coucal and Purple-banded Sunbird.

Kapiri Ranch is a 2000 hectare game farm bounded by the Rubbervale to Leydsdorp road and the Gravelotte to Leydsdorp road. The giant Baobab tree is on the farm. One boundary of the Ranch is the railway line from Gravelotte to Leitsetele. The house nestled between two koppies and looked out over a typical mixed bushveld habitat. The veld was very dry but the garden around the house was a green oasis with its flowering knobthorn and leafy trees providing a magnet for insects and birds from the surrounding area.

Phalaborwa Club is different: in essence the Club is about enjoyment via birds, and our meetings are relaxed affairs where everybody, whether expert, novice or social is welcome. We cater both for the social birders and for those who do not mind getting up at 04h00 and climbing up steep hills to wake the vultures.