Watery Ways

Next week this time I'll be back in the Eastern Cape. The past year I've been helping my mother finish the retirement home they started building before my father passed away. This December will be the first time we are going to stay in it and I'm very excited to experience the (almost) finished product :)

Some finishing touches are still needed, but at least it doesn't look like this anymore...

I've been a little concerned about my camera traps recently. The previous time I was in the Woody Cape I decided to take some risks with a few of my cameras because I was under the impression that I'll be back two weeks later. I was planning to receive the truck with furniture from Johannesburg, however my mom was able to fly down and do it herself, so there was no need for me to go as well.

It is now over a month and a half later and I hope I find them where I left them...

As some of you might have noticed the Woody Cape has been a somewhat "slow" location. I was glad to finally get another new species during my last visit. Hopefully I'll be able to spend more time during my next visits to explore new locations I couldn't get to during my house building trips.

A Marsh/Water Mongoose (Kommetjiegatmuishond - Atilax paludinosus) at the Woody Cape

Not the greatest photograph, but I'll take anything at this point.

It has been raining heavily in the Eastern Cape during the time the cameras where out. The photograph below shows a dune that was washed away by the small temporary stream that turned into a small river after some heavy rains. The water normally stops towards the back of the photo, in the thickets, and never runs all the way to the see as it did during this visit.

The heavy rains at Cannon Rocks resulted in the spring going into flood and washing away a large portion of the dune

Maybe a better way to illustrate the heavy rains are the following selection of images. The photos were taken by the same camera as the Water Mongoose above, but about a week later.

A young Bushbuck (Bosbok - Tragelaphus sylvaticus) next to a temporary puddle/stream

You can see the ditch in the ground has filled up. The next image was five days after the one above.

Aaaah, nothing like a foot-spa to work up an appetite

By now the ditch has turned into a stream with water everywhere!

But all of the rain didn't dampen the spirits of the resident animals. One of the other cameras got some interesting photographs of two Bushbuck males getting a little frisky.

A Bushbuck male raising the long hair on his back in response to the other fellow approaching in the background

If we can get the internet sorted out at the new home, and if I'm in the mood I'll try and do some posts over the holiday period. If I don't get around to it: Have a great holiday time and rest well.