Day 40, Year 6 A Little of This, A Little of That
Date: Friday, December 3, 2010
Weather: Overcast with Drizzle All Day
Location: Tuzi Gazi Marina, Richards Bay, South Africa
Our day started with a walk to the dam that forms nearby Lake Mzingazi. Hebron led the way along the dirt road which is part of the official Zululand Birding Route. Chris and Geoff of Shambala, Ed and Lynne of Constance, and Peppe of Far Niente all went along. It was a great walk, but the group moved too fast and was too noisy to see many birds. When we got to the dam, Peppe and I separated ourselves from the crowd and did manage to see the beautiful little yellow weaver birds at work and I got to see the bird I have been dying to see. It is the Southern Red Bishop which is a bright red bird with a black face, black chest, and brown wings. The red feathers on the head are all puffed out and it is quite striking. We also saw many of the bushes and trees that we have seen from the car at Hluhluwe-iMfolozi and Kruger. It was great to be able to see them up close as it is springtime and most are in bloom. When we got back to the marina we found out from Hebron that his sister Witness was waiting for us on Windbird. We had arranged for her to come to polish the stainless on the boat. It was certainly not the best day for the work, but she persisted through the drizzling rain and got the job done. While she was doing that, Mark was working on Atlantic crossing planning and I was working on vacuum-packing the rice and flour we purchased recently and then I continued working on the photos and logs from Kruger. We had dinner on Far Niente with Peppe and Bob and shared our information and photos from Kruger with them. Hopefully I’ll get the Kruger logs and photos all on the website by Sunday, but my goal for tomorrow is to write a long overdue letter to family and friends. I started the letter on the passage here from Madagascar but somehow an entire month has slipped away without a minute to get back to that letter. Maybe tomorrow. On a brighter note, all the photos from our time in Madagascar are now posted.
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| 101203 Day 40 South Africa–Zululand Birding Route Walk |
