(written by Maureen)
Thanks to everyone who has commented on our blog! Since we may not have internet access very much, we have changed the settings so that now comments won’t need to be approved by us and so should appear immediately.
We have decided to name every day of our trip. Day one was obviously “Aardvark arrival”. Today was “Baboons behaving badly”. Here’s why: 
We have arrived in Springbok, and our first internet connection since Upington. Springbok seems to be a prosperous town, trading on its status as the flower capital of South Africa. Every year the Namaqua region is transformed by the arrival of rain into a colourful tapestry of spring flowers. We are here at the leading edge of spring, which probably accounts for the elevated prices of accommodation. In the end, we chose to stay at the Old Mill Lodge because it has wi-fi. As you can see, it’s not exactly budget! 
Our accommodation at Augrabies cost much less and included a luxurious bath for two. Although it does have the dubious distinction of having the first restaurant to serve ice with a bottle of ruby cabernet (“some people don’t like it warm”).
The Augrabies National Park is mostly jagged broken-veldt landscape. Being the dry season, the famous Falls were a bit feeble. But we were there to see the Augrabies flat lizard, jewel-bright reptiles only found within a few miles of the falls. We saw them easily enough. So did the pygmy falcons – one snatched up a lizard in a flurry of wings right before my eyes! 
At the falls, we walked the 5km Dassie trail twice to look for otters. We didn’t see any, though there were fresh spraints everywhere (we knew it was otter poo because it contained crab shells). The trail would have been lovely but for the incessant flies. Later, we saw people wearing special fly-veils, which is eminently more sensible than my bandit-of-the-desert approach.
Having spent the last week or so focused on wildlife, I am now looking forward to being back in civilisation for a bit. Oh not to have to get up at 6 in the morning! Tomorrow we head towards Cape Town.
One last note: Matt deletes all photos of himself. But here’s one he has grudgingly allowed me to keep. 
Related Images:
Stunning! Absolutely stunning! And the commentary, hilarious! You two were MADE for this trip. Great pics. MWAH.
Loved the cheetahs. And the lions. And all the wonderful wildlife photos.