It’s still cold this morning (about 3 degrees) at Tswalu, but the wind has dropped off considerably, so it’s a good morning for meerkats sunning themselves. This particular colony of meerkats have 5 tiny kits that haven’t been sighted as yet.
There has also been a cheetah sighting – we are in position on the track to see the dominant cheetah brothers strolling across the road. They stroll to the base of the rocky mountainside and leisurely pick their way halfway up the mountain to a shady tree. Unlike the Phinda female cheetah and cubs, these two have obviously fed recently and well. A dazzle of mountain zebras keep a close eye on the brothers as they get closer to the herd, but rapidly lose interest when it becomes clear that the cheetah are there to sleep off a meal, not pursue the next one.
One of the cheetahs is wearing a tracking device so that they can be located – a useful thing to be able to do, given that a leopard has scaled the electric fence this morning and has been found on the main road. He was promptly darted and returned to within the fence.
Tswalu is also home to a set of petroglyphs or rock carvings. They are on very exposed rocks in a natural watercourse, and of course have been added to be more recent graffiti, which seems to be restricted to people carving their names or initials into the rocks. Oryx and eland feature prominently in the carvings, as do giraffe.
This afternoon it’s time to saddle up for another horseride, before heading to The Malori for a sleep-out. Today’s mount is another grey gelding, called Galaxy. It’s a gorgeous afternoon for a ride…it’s warmed up considerably. We encounter a completely fearless jackal going about its business as we ride past. The jackal has a long look at the horses, the horses have a long look at the jackal, and everyone continues on their way.
Tswalu guests have the option to (pay extra) to sleep out at The Malori. The Malori is a tented arrangement similar to that of the tented camp at Ngala, just out in the middle of nowhere, with an external bathroom a short walk away. It is forecast to be a balmy 3 degrees Celsius overnight, so it’s going to be on the cool side!
The stars are amazing – it is cold and clear, with no clouds obstructing the view. I spend a while outside in the cold trying to photograph star trails, and conclude that I should stick to photographing animals. My best effort was pretty poor!
The wind whips through the tent every hour or so during the night, but it is not as cold as I was anticipating. At one stage, a laughing series of barks wakes me up – Margaux (my guide for 5 days) thinks it might be an aardwolf when I describe it to her the next morning. Listening to the sound this aardwolf makes, I think it’s an aardwolf too.
