October 20, Oh, My, It's Hot Again!

The guest farm packed us a breakfast and we were on our way to the nature preserve by 6:30 this morning.  It was foggy and drizzly, but not cold as we drove there, and for the first couple hours of our walk in the preserve.  By 10:00 it was downright warm, and by 1:00 I was melted!  This preserve has one of the more southern pieces of forested land in South Africa, and consequently some different forest species of birds.  It was frustrating birding the preserve, as there was bird song everywhere (which we unfortunately don't know), and very challenging to find the birds in the tall trees.  We managed to pull out a couple new birds for the trip, but called it a day early and came back to the farm to relax and contact Hertz about a cracked windshield.  We'll get a new rental car tomorrow on our way to Nature's Valley.  We both had bobotie for dinner tonight, the national dish of South Africa, which is a hashed meat with lots of spices and served with rice - quite tasty.  And the appetizer was Camembert served with pepper jelly and thinly sliced smoked kudu - might as well try what they eat while we're here!

The first 2 photos are of Grootvadersbosch Nature Preserve, the flower appears to be some kind of iris and is growing throughout the forest, Tom relaxing on the veranda, a lizard on the wall of the guest farm, a Cape Sparrow, a table full of ostrich hide merchandise.