The Koa Dunes

 I wonder who else hasn't heard of this place, apart from us! There is a special place in the Northern Cape where the first evidence of the red dunes of the Kalahari hides down a gravel road outside Aggenys. These are the Koa Dunes, and if you obscure the surrounding landscape, you will think you are in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park with its distinctive iron-rich red sands and sparse grass. The Kalahari stretches from Namibia all the way across the Northern Cape as far as Kimberley and surrounds and is the largest continuous stretch of sand in the world. The dunes run in the same direction and a scan of the area on Google Earth will reveal the fascinating topography.

Our target in these dunes was the Red Lark, and we spent a very pleasant few hours out in the wide open spaces observing a multitude of birds in their habitat. It was clear that nesting time approached, as the males were doing their best to attract the females, or had already paired off and aerial activity was lively. A great treat was a sighting of the vulnerable (ecologically) Tent Tortoise, so called because each of its scales eventually forms a raised point as it matures. This one was young and very shy and scuttled off as soon as we moved away. Such a privilege to see, as we only have an opportunity if they happen to be in the road.  

A particularly special experience was the appearance of a Black-eared Sparrow-lark - my bogey bird, as I have never seen it even though everyone else did! They are nomadic and not territorial, and can arrive unannounced in an instant. We were treated to the special attention of a male who repeatedly flew overhead, rising into the air and flapping its wings butterfly-like as it descended to land on the ground and shuffle around before repeating the display. He kept returning to where we were, and it was almost as though he was performing for us. There were no females nearby. So another one on my list, which is now 468 species - not bad for not being a birder and merely travelling in the slipstream of the Frazzled Birder. As a willing slipstreamer, I am able to study geology, botany, meteorology, astronomy and geography along the way, so the benefits are enormous!

The sight of the red dunes made me long for the quiet of the Kalahari, a place where the silence feeds the soul and all those who have experienced long to return to. One day.

The Koa Dunes offered so much in the way of birding that we were lured back the next day, despite the distance from Springbok, and I am sure future visits are on the cards.