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The year that was, 2021
- lcdp42
- Jan 7, 2022
- 6 min read
A bit late to the party with a 2021 reflection post considering we are on day 7 of 2022…but am pretty sure most of you are still writing the date ending in 2021, so it’s not a distant memory yet.
Looking back on the year that was, it was a year with many gains and as many, if not more losses. Covid continued to interfere with best laid plans and all that. The world continued in a state of partial / full lockdown yet, the year flew by in a blur, again!
It’s been a bit of a struggle to write this, mostly because I haven’t been able to find the words to articulate and recall everything that was 2021!
I won’t dwell on the lows of 2021, but I would be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge them.
So many lost loved ones, leaving a void in their lives, their hearts, and souls. Words are few but know my heart goes out to each and every one of you as you navigate the emotions of grief and loss.
Covid stole the livelihoods of many.
I lost my job.
I doubted myself.
We saw rioting and looting which saw the South African economy tank lower than it already was.
The world lost more than 20 rhinos in 36 hours in December due to poaching – when will the brutality of it end?
2021 Highlights:
We had our first family trip to the Kruger National Park at the end of August where we saw 4 leopards on the same road in less than 40 minutes, one of which was hunting and caught a steenbok only to be chased up a tree by a Hyena.
I had my first encounter with Wild dog puppies and saw 2 cheetah brothers attempt to hunt impala…
I became an aunt, again!
I braved the internet and launched Lara’s Wild Life and donated just shy of R5000 to Cheetah Conservation.
I volunteered at Ashia Cheetah Conservation, working with the endangered cheetah and seeing all that goes on behind the scenes, it was life changing and if you haven’t read about my experience, you can read both posts here:
I assisted with suburban wildlife rescues and relocations with Wild Serve and The Owl rescue centre Wild life in the Suburbs
Went on many adventures in Stormy the Landy and not once did we need rescuing!
I met some incredible people along the way and received so much support and encouragement on this journey of gainful unemployment.
The year ended with a trip to the Eastern Cape. I have not travelled much in South Africa as most of my holiday’s growing up were spent visiting my grandparents in Portugal with the odd holiday spent in Umhlanga/Ballito.
It was so wonderful being a tourist in my own country, visiting parts of South Africa that are simply breathtaking.
Gariep Dam in the Free State bordering the Eastern Cape was our first stop. An incredibly small town that took me back to what I assume life was like before I was born. No electric fencing, no burglar bars on the windows – simplicity.
We stayed at Stoneridge, Michelle was such a wonderful host, and the guesthouse was perfect for our one night stay. We took a drive to the dam wall just as the sun was setting and a storm was rolling in. I had never seen anything like Gariep dam before. Having done the Midmar mile several times in high school, I am no stranger to big dams, but this is on another level.
The next morning as we made our way to Mountain Zebra National Park we stopped in the same spot and with no storm clouds and the morning light, it made for a very different scene.
Our next stop was Mountain Zebra National Park, a gem in the Karoo. A relatively small park and our first time visiting. Not entirely sure what to expect, other than the Cape Mountain Zebra and Bat eared foxes, barely 10 minutes into the park we had seen a number of Springbok, Ground Squirrels and a Secretary bird on the hunt.
We checked in, where an activity caught my eye...Cheetah Tracking on foot, let’s just say no was not an option and after setting up camp in the drizzle, I booked my spot for the next morning’s session.
We spent the afternoon exploring the park, I drove Stormy for a while but being unfamiliar and uncomfortable with the steep climbs, it became apparent that I am NOT the “badass” 110 driver that I think I am and very quickly vacated the driver’s seat before driving off a cliff edge, or worse, breaking Stormy.
The views from the top were spectacular. You could see for miles.
We saw countless Springbok, Ground Squirrels and Mountain Zebra. The bird life was incredible. I lost count of how many Pale Chanting goshawks we saw and the Pale Winged Starlings at the camp site were fearless – as were the monkeys who ran away with our banana’s (amateur error on our part leaving the banana’s unattended).
Our first night we bundled up early due to the storm which brought with it wind I had never experienced before. I did not think our tent would survive and expected to wake up midair being flung into the bush – but that’s just my over active imagination.
The next morning, I woke up before anyone else and sat drinking my coffee listening to the morning bird song. There is something so calming about just sitting and taking it all in. That morning I also saw my first Chestnut Vented Tit Babbler and I had my work cut out to get a photo of it.
I met our guide Des at 7am where we set off in the game viewer in search of the cheetah. We drove for quite some time stopping every so often to check the signal on the Telemetry monitor. We eventually found a strong signal and disembarked the vehicle where we were told to remain in a straight line, quiet and if anything should happen, DO NOT RUN! We were in black rhino territory and well, I believe they are not the friendliest if found on foot.
The area we walked through was rocky and not where I thought we would find a cheetah. After a bit of zig zagging I spotted the beautiful 3 year old Male cheetah named Mike, lying under a tree with a very large, round belly! Des suspected he had made a kill earlier that morning and was now digesting it. Mike was incredibly relaxed and offered some beautiful photographic opportunities. We spent about 15 mins with him before leaving him to digest his meal in solitude.
Our last morning at Mountain Zebra delivered some stunning sightings of some Dugga boys in the morning light – you could see the steam coming off them as they grazed. We made our way to Link Road in search of the Bat Eared fox den – somehow, we missed it the previous day. We arrived to a scene of Mommy bat eared fox being accosted by her 4 pups for milk. We stayed with them for quite a while with no other vehicles in sight. The pups, as with most babies, were a delight to watch as they played and investigated the area around the den. We heard lions roaring in the distance as the mist rolled in. Truly magical.
We packed up camp, somewhat haphazardly and left Mountain Zebra with happy hearts and beautiful sightings in our memory banks as we made our way to Addo Elephant park, another first for me.
The drive to Addo showed me parts of our beautiful country that I had never seen. The rolling hills and winding roads, the changing vegetation reminded me of my time spent in the north of Portugal. Olifantskop pass produced some stunning views but also got my heart racing with the winding roads and the single lanes.
After checking in, we made our way to the campsites as per the map and very quickly understood that there was no way our setup would fit. The camp sites are hobbit sized. Our tent alone would occupy the entire site and then some.
Reception told us we could find a site in the caravan area marked with a T and we set up camp very close to the camp kitchen. We thought we were professionals when it comes to setting up camp, but the winds at Addo made it the most difficult camp set up we have ever done. After a good few hours and a couple of cable ties later we agreed to forego a rushed late afternoon drive and rather recover from the challenging set up.
Stay tuned for my next post where I pick up on our first day exploring Addo…
Until then, stay well!
“You must go on adventures to find out where you truly belong. Sue Fitzmaurice”
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