6 June

To say that it was freezing cold when we got up that morning must be the understatement of the year……it was %$#*& cold. Moaning was not going to make it any warmer so I made a beeline down to kitchen to make some tea. Disaster…some little camp critter had got into our kitchen and feasted on my packet of papayas. There were bits of papaya all over the kettle, the stove, the flask and mugs, the sink as well as the floor. I had bought these slightly unripe papaya in Upington and had nursed them all the way. I had taken them out of the fridge the night before because I like to eat them at room temperature ( although at Urikaruus room temperature takes on a different meaning!). This little camp critter had decided that he would eat half of each one therefore spoiling everybody else’s fun…. Anyway I washed the kettle and then put it on for a desperately needed cup of tea. I reached into the fridge and Disaster…the milk was frozen. Not only that the potato salad , cheese and dips were frozen. As a matter of fact just about everything that was not in the door of the fridge was frozen.. ..not a good day. I then looked at the grocery box and wondered whether it was safe to put my hand in there for some more long life milk. But all was safe and the thief obviously just fancied my papaya. Anyway SO turned the fridge down…I cleaned up the thief’s mess and we still managed to hit the road by 7h30.
We drove south and our first sighting of the day were some ground squirrels. They were just coming out of their burrows and were quite obliging when it came to posing for the camera.





We went on to see a secretary bird hunting along the top of a dune. ....we also noticed that there was a jackal watching the secretary bird. Perfect picture opportunity. I love taking photos of creatures along the top of a dune. I always feel that they look so majestic !!! Disaster…my battery was dead, finished , flat BROKEN..I could not believe this was happening. I grabbed the video instead and SO tried to pacify me by saying that he would try and fix it. Either the battery was not holding it’s charge or it was not making contact properly.

http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=6cxofw2

We then came across some lion tracks so we followed them to the next waterhole and scoured the area but no such luck. At least I knew that there had been a lion in the area. One step closer I suppose. We had coffee up at Auchterlonie …drove further south , turned around at Houmoed and then started making our way back to Urikaruus. We saw loads of gemsbok and a pygmy falcon. I tried the camera again and managed a few shots before it died .






When we arrived back at camp I questioned the tourist assistant about our midnight thief. He said it was most probably a spotted genet. The wind was very cold in the afternoon and I did not feel like sitting in the tent with the flaps closed so I went and sat in Monty. I had a bit of a view of the waterhole and I spent a pleasant hour or so watching and waiting http://video.tinypic.com/player.php?v=6czzl9d