We had this special sighting last night during the rain. Tortoises drinks water freely when available and they can survive for long periods on the water present in their food or by drinking dew. What you are seeing here is light rain forming on the surface of the carapace. After a short while the tortoise will straighten its back legs to their fullest extent. The drops of moisture will join up and began to run down the grooves on the carapace towards the front of the shell and they will direct water to their mouth.
So clever!
Seen at
16/11/2021
• Petroglyphs •
Look at the AMAZING Petroglyphs we've found at Zeekoegat Country House! Crazy to think that these animals were once in the Karoo! If you know where to look for the etchings they can be easy to find.
1. Eland
2.Giraffe
3. Eland with hunter to the right
4. Elephant (although hard to see)
Stay at Zeekoegat and join us for a rock art and veld walk.
14/11/2021
Cinnamon-Breaster Warbler
(Kaneelborssanger)
Status of bird: Uncommon
We are so excited to get a proper sighting of them on the farm! We knew that they were here, but they can be tricky to find! They creep among boulders and disappear into crevices.
We also saw
Short-Toed Rock-Thrush, Cape Eagle-Owl,
Ground Woodpecker,
African Rock Pipit,
Layard's Tit-Babbler and Grey- Winged Francolin.
Stay at Zeekoegat Country House and come birding with us!
14/11/2021
• ZEEKOEGAT •
Country House
This is the place to be!! I'm telling you! Beautiful accommodation and delicious, home grown food! Amazing petroglyphs, a breakfast in the veld, karoo plants and great hospitality. You're not going to want to leave!
Ryan talks about the bullfrog, the largest amphibian in southern Africa. Males reach a mass of 1.4 kg. They live underground, even inhabiting dry parts of th...
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Our Story...
Formed in late 2018 by husband and wife team, Ryan and Jana Tippett.
KarooPlains is situated 40km North of Carnarvon on the farms Loiuevale and Brak. These working sheep farms adjoin each other and are owned by Jana’s Parents, Nicol & Marlene Jacobs. These two farms provide large expanses of natural Karoo Veld for us to explore, with diverse landscapes and habitats.
Ever since Ryan and Jana first met in Northern Kwazulu-Natal, Jana had spoken about her desire to one day move back to Carnarvon, in the heart of the Northern Cape. The Karoo had always been her home.
Ryan grew up in Kwazulu-Natal, but didn’t need a lot of convincing and agreed that they would one day settle in the Karoo. He had been to various parts of the Karoo before and fell in love with the open landscape and stark beauty of the region. Ryan still holds many fond memories of those times.
In the middle of 2018, the opportunity came for a fresh change and we were soon packed up and on the road to the Northern Cape.
GET TO KNOW US:
Ryan Tippett is a well-qualified and experienced field guide and guide training instructor. He has spent the last 17 years in the guiding and tourism industry. He has attained the F.G.A.S.A. Level 3, SKS Birding, Lead Trails Guide and Marine guiding qualifications. Ryan has been a keen birder for 28 years and maintains an interest in all aspects of nature. His interests are varied and include Birding, Dragonflies, Scorpions & Spiders, Frogging, Plants, Photography and experiencing big game on foot. Ryan’s passion though, has always been for the smaller creatures. He is an enthusiastic citizen scientist and has contributed many important and interesting records of fauna & flora.
Jana Beets-Tippett is married to Ryan. She has attained her F.G.A.S.A. Level 1 guiding qualification. Jana has nearly 10 years’ experience in the guiding and tourism industry. She has been a keen birder for a number of years and gained her love of birding from Ryan. Jana is the creative one and spends much of her spare time working on her arts & Crafts. She does most of the business admin and helps out with activities whenever needed. As a couple they make a great team!
Together they created and ran a similar guiding business in Northern KZN, called Ukuhamba Guiding. Running for four years, they specialised in the smaller things with their evening Spider & Scorpion walks being very popular.
