[HBannink]

No prizes for guessing where we went the next morning, straight back to the carcass, lady luck was smiling at us and we found mother and child having breakfast. This time there was no doubt, this was palm nut vultures and they were definitely eating carrion, ticked their feathery ass in the back of my Sasol

Palm nut mommy

Next up was another quick squiz at the first bird hide and as expected this provided some great photo opportunities as expected.

Ndumo has two bird hides open to the public but the water level was too low for the second hide to be really productive. Jen did however manage to startle an unsuspecting warthog that responded in kind by running over the board walk scaring the daylights out of her. This park is not like Kruger and one has to walk a fair bit to get to the hides and at this hide there is plenty evidence that the hippo graze here at night. Finding oneself between one of these short tempered steam rollers and the water is not recommended, especially if they are startled

Besides all the waders and waterbirds there were a myriad of other specials around, smaller stuff, drab or multi coloured you name it, it was there and plodding along at idle speed was just the way to enjoy them.

Golden tailed woodpecker

At about 09h00 I decided to make a trip in to the town of Ndumo as I had seen a fairly large spares shop when we came. My overheating problems still bugged me and I wanted to get a new thermostat as well as a new radiator cap just to put my mind at ease.
The 40 odd km high speed run in to town put the pajero under strain again but the temperature did not misbehave,I was not so lucky with obtaining spares though. Had it been a Toyota I would have been able to get just about anything....for a taxi, Pajero... no go. On the return trip the heat gauge started acting up again, nothing hectic, just higher than normal. We decided to give Tembe elephant reserve a miss this time, the thought of looking for Africa's biggest tusker in a vehicle that I was not happy with did not appeal to the weef and I.

Time to say good bye to our little bit of birding paradise at Ndumo

Home from home

Twenty minutes later we were packed and ready to go. Kosi bay called and I did not want to rush with a suspect vehicle.

Ready to roll

The roads in this area are not of the best. Although they are tarred, they are either full of potholes, people or goats and donkeys so one can not drive fast and have to be on the lookout all the time. Every time we had a long incline or a slow section through a village where the airflow was reduced or the engine worked harder the temperature would rise and the run through Emangusi was a proper nightmare. This dorp has no respect for vehicles and people would walk as if the road belonged to them disregarding any cars, we had to crawl through town causing the heat to go higher than before. Just after the turnoff to Kosi bay the thick sand proved too much and I had to stop to get things under control again.

Kasper took a bit more water than before but this time she boiled. In all about half a litre went in to the radiator but I could not ignore the facts any more, I had problems, not hectic at the moment but the signs were there. I did not want to spoil Jen's holiday yet and did not say anything but I had already started working on the best way to get back home. Solo would not be a problem but towing a trailer that probably weighed 1.2 ton was going to be interesting but if I traveled at night and removed the radiator cap I might just pull it off. I have already dumped the 150l of water in the Metalians tanks to save weight but the spare 55l in the back of Kasper should do the trip, besides I can fill it at any garage if needed.

We booked in to Kosi and for the moment I put the unpleasant thoughts in the back of my mind, I had a plan and for now we have some serious birding and sight seeing to do. Kasper was not going to spoil my holiday either.

We told the reception manager that we were birders and not there for the fishing and he gave us a magic site. Private and secluded away from the few fishermen that were still there. Within half an hour camp was set up and we were ready to explore.

[Gemaskerde Tuinvurk]

Excellent report and awesome pics!

What lense are you using if not a bazooka lens?

[CATS]

Great report!!

I am trying to finish my 'Ons Gaan Bossies' trip report but with the quality of your photos I might need to post mine without pics

CATS

Sent from my green robot device using Tapatalk

[HBannink]

@ Karl I use a standard 75 - 250mm zoom on a Canon 40D. With the crop factor it works to about 400mm. I have had the opportunity to use a 400mm and that was pushed up to about a 650 but the result was a lot of camera shake and I had to use a mono or tripod.

[HBannink]

The rest of the day was spent in camp just loafing about. Kosi bay is another of those birding hot spots and boasts with close to 400 species..........if only one could see them , the bush is so dense and the tree canopy so thick that sunlight has a problem in penetrating it. One can hear all the specials but unless they sit right in front of you, you don't see diddly

Southern Bou Bou

With a bit of time on our hands smoked pork belly sounded like a good idea for supper and before long a mouth watering aroma came from the camp oven. While this plodded on it gave me time to have a look at different things around us, things that are normally overlooked and ignored, the goggos

After breakfast on day 2 at Kosi we needed to go into town this was a trip I did not look forward to, Emangusi looked like town square on a market day and this was in the middle of the week. After a long search and a few taxis that managed to sky rocket my blood pressure we found a parking spot at the local Spar. Surprising enough this was a quite a big store and although it catered for the local market it was pretty well stocked and prices were not adjusted for the holiday market. As usual the local spares shop had caught my eye and I popped in, not expecting to find the bits I needed, but I had to try. Luck was on my side or partially so, I managed to get the correct radiator cap but no thermostat.

After a stop and cool off at camp and with a new radiator cap fitted we were off to the mouth, a quick 27k trip and I wanted to see what Kaper was up to. On the tar road I gave Kasper the reighns and let it run, if the temperature was going to climb I would turn back before I reached the off road section and thick sand. On the way there we made a detour just to have a look at the border post and surprisingly it was not as busy as we expected.

Kosi Bay borderpost

We turned around and took the gravel turnoff to the mouth, this was where I could test the engine. At the entrance gate I deflated the tyres while the attendant checked the permits and did his thing. The area was dry and the sand loose and powdery and at first I had visions of me doing some gardening with the spade, not so, the Pajero did not even wag her tail and handled the thick sand and mud without the slightest hiccup. Visitors to the mouth need a gate permit and only 16 are issued every day, locals on the other hand can come and go as they please as they use the old traditional fish kraals to sustain themselves. The mouth reserve is a 4x4 only area and unlike Sani pass even the locals have clapped out 4x4s, the terrain is a mixture of loose sand and muddy tracks with a fairly steep dune at the start but nothing impossible.

After spending the best part of the afternoon at the mouth we made our way back to the parking area where I checked the water level this time it needed about a liter to get back to level, I checked the oil but this was clear and the level was normal. When I turned the starter the engine sort of hesitated and then turned over. I did not like the sound of this, it was too much like hydraulic lock and it scared me. going back to camp Kasper climbed the dune without any sign of problems, no power loss or overheating and the rest of the trip was equally uneventful until we hit the gravel section on the last 6km to camp, the temp. climbed again, Kasper clearly did not like working hard and the loose sand was just doing that

I did not say anything and back at camp we prepared supper and went through the nightly routine. Just before we bedded down for the night I went to go and check the vehicle "for the next day" she took a lot of water about 2 l and this time the oil level had risen on the dip stick, no white foam on it as yet but more than it should have. I stuck the key in the ignition and turned it, the engine turned and almost immediately got jammed. I had problems, whether I wanted to accept it or not this was a blown head gasget and I was at least 30 odd km from civilisation in the bundu

[HBannink]

Breakfast the next morning was a different mood, somehow the cacophony of bird calls was not as sweet as before and the beauty of the surrounds had been replaced by a scary realisation that we were in a spot of bother between somewhere and nowhere. I had my plan in place, pull the spark plugs and clear the water that was causing the hydraulic lock from the cylinder and get as much water from the oil in the sump. Theory says the oil should float on top and the bit that was left behind would evaporate soon enough when the engine started heating up. If I removed the radiator cap the cooling system would not be under pressure and would not force more water in to the cylinders, hopefully I could limp out closer to civilisation and even get back to Joburg if I took it easy and slow.

Cellphone reception is almost non existent but that morning the communications gods smiled on me and I managed half a bar signal on the koppie. I phoned my eldest to let him know what had happened and to stand by if I should need assistance on the road back. He convinced me to hang on for a day or two just to give the last holiday makers time to get back and hopefully the road would be quieter.

We were pretty well stocked and could go on for at least a week or two so with a solution to the problem we explored the area on foot. For the next two days this was our forte. Being on foot gave me an excellent opportunity to get up close and personal with one of my favorite raptors, the African fish eagle

The dense bush also forced my focus in a different direction and I looked closer at things that one would normally ignore

Kite spider

Mom with a zoo of young

Gloriosa superba

Every so often one would be reminded that you are in the bush and had to keep ones eyes open, walking off the jetty I heard a rustle in the undergrowth an was just in time to see a Gaboon viper disappearing in the bush and on a different location having one of these fellows crossing your path is a wake up call.

Cheloctonus jonesii

The bush still provided for those specials like the Livingstone's turaco similar to the knysna but with a white crest and limited distribution

Livingstones turaco

Sunsets are always something special and in Kosi it was no different, add a few clouds to the mix and it can only be beautiful

A full moon over the lake is also a sight to experience

Sitting down for our mid morning cuppa and a snack we heard a diesel fighting the thick sand patch down by the bathroom area. This spot had provided us with a few laughs over the past few days with people misjudging their vehicle's capability and getting a good fright like the one I would remember for a long time, a youngster took his fathers 2x4 and got nailed by the sand while the vest clad boeppens beer swilling toppie ran alongside shouting "gee hom duf lok"

Next thing was a white Vito bouncing in to our camp site and my two eldest sons getting out When they opened the back door of the Vito they had a full field workshop in there as well as all the spares to get the Pajero back to health. I was told to sit down and keep out of their way while they stripped the engine down and in two ticks #5 piston was identified as the culprit. The heads and block were cleaned and a straight edge was pulled out to check the heads, this method is crude but if done carefully it can give one a good indication of the condition of the heads, these were OK.

With everything cleaned and prepared it was time to reassemble and this is where the next problem popped up. I have an extensive library in the pajero, about 12 bird books, mammals books, a book on spiders ,scorpions, snakes even frogs but I had not packed the pajero manual. Luckily I managed to get an urgent email to admin and Simon was quick to respond with the torque settings for my baby. This was one of those instances that should have been captured on photo but I was too busy checking that the "laaities" did not take short cuts that I had completely forgotten that I had a camera, at least Jen got a pic of me welding the RR with batteries

A quick trip back to the mouth the next day proved the Pajero was back to her former self with more oomf than before

I was mentally prepared for a looong trip back, this was not expected but I am grateful, proud and privileged to have sons like I do

[Butch Robertson]

And so you may well be be proud of your sons Henk! Well done to them and glad your story had such a happy ending!