Camp critters in the Cederberg .

[mark stotesbury]

So I decided to take my brother to the Cederberg mountains in the Western Cape for a bit of hiking and relaxation in the middle of summer when he popped over from the UK it was really great being in the outdoors even though it was a toasty 43'C and peaked at 46'C . Got really close to the wildlife esp if you don't listen the first night to keep your tent zipped closed even if you just pop out for a midnight leak huge fun to hear the whole campsite getting woken to blood curling screams.


Sun spiders / Solifugae love to hunt at night under your torch light and have a nasty habit of following you into your tent if you don't kill the light before you zip up .... and they are fast .

Karoo desert toads .

armoured lizards in all the caves .

plenty big mountain tortoises , this ones a baby still .

 

[crosslandkelly]

Great photos Mark, thanks for sharing.

 

[Toddy]

It's very interesting to see, Mark but I'm kind of glad that the only thing that bothers us camping are the midgies and the occasional bustling hedgehog.

43C ? I'd just melt

Thank you for the photos

cheers,
Toddy…..in a sodden wet and muddy 2degC Scotland

 

[Mesquite]

LOL... I can well imagine the screams that signify the discovery of one of those beasties

Thanks for sharing it with us

 

[John Fenna]

I loved my visits to the Cederberg - I am glad I did not meet some of those critters though!

 

[mark stotesbury]

You know you in the wilds when you see this sign .

Its a big area to explore or get lost in .

Plenty bushman paintings some easy accessible like these others you really got to befriend the farmers before they share the locations

 

[John Fenna]

I visited the Arch and the cross, played Snowballs while wearing T shirt and shorts, saw numerous Bushman paintings - but only saw leopards on the Orange canoeing down from the Augrabie Falls area and in St Lucia (where one stalked us - the authorities upped our Game Guard escort from 2 to3 after that!) and nearly walked into two Buffalo bulls in thick bush in St Lucia! I love South Africa!

 

[mark stotesbury]

View from one of the many caves .

15cm Cape gilded lizard this male was not afraid to challenge any thing sitting on his rock .

Sand lion larvea and my leather kuksa put to good use hiking .

The closest we came to rain , all the toads were out 7 drops of rain huge electrical storm .