TO THE COLONY
Claire Keeton and Marianne Schwankhart hike up for a spectacular view of the largest group of Cape vultures in the world
BLOUBERG Nature Reserve in Limpopo could become as famous for its vulnerable Cape vultures — the largest colony in the world — as False Bay is for its endangered great white sharks.
The cliffs of Blouberg have roughly 850 breeding pairs of Cape vultures, according to the latest count.
The whirlwind flight of hundreds of vultures above your head, soaring, floating and diving, lifts visitors into another realm. You hear the air swish past their giant wings as they swoop close to the rocks where you perch.
Their acrobatics epitomise a freedom of which we earthbound folk can only dream.
Not that these vultures don’t have responsibilities — they do. The survival of this rare species depends on their success in nesting, feeding and rearing their chicks.
Cape vultures are endemic to Southern Africa and are the only species of the nine in the region that roost close together.
During the hours when they flew in high spirals — they were not hunting and didn’t appear to be seeking favours or pulling rank — they showed the spirit you feel among dolphins surfing the waves.
“Many large birds become more active in terms of flight in the late morning in winter, when the air warms up and thermals start to form,” says Andre Botha, the Birds of Prey programme manager for the Endangered Wildlife Trust.
“Birds ‘thermaling’ often observe each other and may move off in a certain direction where there may be a feeding opportunity discovered by a number of individuals from the colony.”
These vultures live on the cliffs of the eastern Blouberg mountain, on the western edge of the Soutpansberg mountain range. To reach the top is a steep hike ascending about 400m.
Led by field guide Johna Turner, we started at dawn, entering the Rampanyana’s kloof and following a buffalo path.
Johna had left his rifle at camp since we needed to scramble up. He warned us to be alert for buffalo and move quietly. When I spotted a dark shape in the bush, I assumed it was a buffalo and was ready to leap across the stream.
False alarm: the movement was from a drift of bush pigs. A big male with a blond mane, not unlike Rod Stewart, bolted out of the bush when he heard us, with four more of these nocturnal creatures in his wake.
Leaving the kloof, we hiked up through a
tangle of trees and rocks to the top, taking about three hours. The rough trail requires some bundu bashing and effort but, if you enjoy walking or have a fascination with these raptors, it is worth every step.
To protect the vultures, hikers are not allowed near the cliffs during the breeding and hatching season, so we stayed away from the edge. The chicks are expected to hatch in the next few weeks.
Traditionally, vultures have a bad reputation. In popular culture they have been cast as indecisive scavengers — remember The Jungle Book? But when you see vultures at close range, you know they have been unfairly portrayed.
They are imposing when they fly close to each other in formations of two or more, with wings spanning more than 2m.
As Johna says of his first encounter: “There were hundreds of vultures everywhere. Above us, below us and at eye level … It was amazing behaviour, so different from the squabbling at a carcass and so much more intimate than following them as mere specks in the sky.”
With Johna, we had observed the vultures from the base of the guano-stained cliffs the previous day and were astonished at the number in the sky.
But the experience of being close to them is unparalleled.
BLOUBERG TREES
The Blouberg Nature Reserve has a remarkable diversity of trees and birds within its 9 300ha. On a walking safari, Johna identified 28 tree species, including the Shepherd’s Tree and Sycamore Fig.
The reserve has more than 200 buffalo, game, including sable, and we also heard baboons. But the prime attraction is the Cape vulture colony and they have a vulture restaurant next to a hide. We saw vultures in the trees with outstretched wings but, on the three occasions we visited it, they did not come down.
Instead, baboons and jackal came to drink at the waterhole next to putrefying carcasses. Vulture restaurants — where these endangered creatures are offered a safe and ample feast — are essential to their survival, given diminishing wildlife numbers, domestic stock mortality and
poisoning.
MODUMELE WILDERNESS CAMP
The bush camp where we stayed at the base of a dry kloof is peaceful. A small, open shelter acts as a kitchen and it has a long-drop, bucket shower and fireplace to braai in. Water and wood are supplied at extra cost but you must bring your own camping equipment. The reserve also has a tented camp and brick chalets. Tamboti tented camp, which has showers, looks great for a group of friends.