No guarantees that I'm back for good .... sorry 
Almost half of the trip is on dirt road. Which also means no cell reception. I didn't realize that there are still such huge stretches of the world without the mod comms! But I can't say we were sorry to be cut off and have long periods of sweet silence.
As you enter the Northern Cape, and the border the world is very different. And you see mile upon mile of these incredible community nests. They do vary in size, but are mostly very, very large!
It is fascinating watching these little creatures. Their busy chatter fills the otherwise silent air. Unlike other birds that build small nests seasonally these community minded birds build permanent structures that are used for many years. At least as long as their chosen anchor point can stand it! These little winged architects have a rather interesting choice of foundation - mostly telephone or power lines but often farmers windmills or elevated reservoirs.
All of the Northern Cape is filled with hundreds of these community nests, at different stages of construction. They can house up to 300 birds. Although they are very common in the Northern Cape, the social weavers can also be found in Namibia and Botswana. But we didn't go quite that far!
Sorry for such a short check-in after a very long absence. Watch this space for some more incredible memories and photos of the beautiful red Kalahari and its equally majestic wildlife. And I may just squeeze in an update about our little winter homestead and growing two and four legged family....
