At Mundulea

Yesterday we had a little confusion at Otjiwarongo. I went to the supermarket and told the receptionist to pass on the message should Graham turn up. I took what I could carry and walked back to the hotel with my shopping. The receptionist told me that Graham had been but had now gone to the supermarket looking for me. Oh well, eventually we found eachother, I invited him for lunch at the hotel. Tommy, one of the workers at Mundulea was with him but declined. We talked about a lot of things, Graham is a nice man. Fairly old, he was once the ranch manager for the first president of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama.

We spent last night at a hide by a waterhole. It was about a 20 minute drive from the house, across a large grassy plain where large herds of springbok, oryx and wildebeest were grazing - quite a sight! Before it got dark, we tied one of the camera traps to a tree overlooking the water, and attached another to a small log on the plain, and then we waited. Eventually a black rhino named Muddy appeared, ambling across the plain toward the water before stopping; he smelled something odd and ran back before stopping again. For hours he stood there and walked up and down unsure whether to approach before moving away. A lone wildebeest bull started drinking before suddenly sprinting off and alarm calling. A herd of eland came past and frolicked at the water side, though after 20 minutes they too sprinted off in a panic. Finally, a black rhino with a calf came past (Nina), and walked right up to the water. The calf panicked and began to squeal and ran away with the mother following.

Looking at the direction of the wind, we deduced that all these animals had smelt the fabric on the straps of the cameras. Returning this morning, we still managed to get at least 6 photos of rhinos inspecting the cameras, and a few of other animals; so we hope that masking the smell will give us better results. I've so far soaked them in a solution of crushed aloe leaves.

The house is inside a fenced 'compound' with a workshop, and another house. Its on a hill with a view for many miles across the reserve to big hills and canyons and it is absolutely beautiful.