The campsite is always till fast asleep when we leave at about 6.20am each morning.
I think this is because the official gate opening time is 7am – but the automatic gate always opens when we arrive there so we take advantage. We sail up the Klipspringer Pass with its magnificent valley spread out behind us.
We come across a small herd of hartebees that welcome the sun with some pure “joie de vivre” – happiness of life.
From the summit we begin the descent on the far side and stop at a lookout point which takes in the whole sweep of the valley to the west.
This loop takes one 45Km which is rather far so we double back. Immediately we come across a Secretarybird – always of interest.
After a while he takes off and circles into the far distance.
This is the rocky ravine next to the road at the head of the Klipspringer Pass. Rugged in the extreme.
After a morning of non-stop activity we make our descent.
I leave Renette in camp and go hunting down some birds. I am delighted to find the very difficult and beautiful Fairy Flycatcher which always moves so fast that it is difficult to photograph.
A brisk south-west wind comes up in the afternoon but we still go out at 3.30pm – quickly up the pass again and then quietly back down. There seem to be a lot of Kudu about this evening.
We end off the day with a lovely meal in the restaurant and wonder at the huge attraction of these Cape Parks. Yes, Kruger has the Big 5 and a vast variety of real Africa. But Mountain Zebra and Karoo National have breathtaking scenery and a solitude about them that is oh so appealing. And their management is so good as well – everything clean and in good order.We have now spent almost three weeks in the Cape and loved every minute of it.
