We had to stop close to the edge of the country road this morning to let a larger vehicle pass. As I was the passenger, I had the opportunity to look at the vegetation for a few moments: fynbos, a patch of bright yellow flowers and a tangle of bush – nothing out of the ordinary. Except … I spied movement within the depth of the foliage: a Southern Boubou was skulking around in the branches. I could hear a boubou calling on the other side of the road … this one remained silent. It scuttled around some more, going ever higher in the bush until it called in response – beautifully clear notes from deep within the bush.
What is remarkable about all this, you may ask. Perhaps nothing other than the fact that when the boubou called, I knew where it was even though I could no longer see it.
So?
So – we were about to set off when my attention was caught by something unusual on the leaves of the fynbos closest to the vehicle. “Hold on!” I opened the door slightly for a better look and reached for my cellphone at the same time. This is what I saw:
Isn’t this beautiful? It is a Hawk Moth caterpillar (Temnora pylas). I would never have made its acquaintance if we had not stopped at that particular spot for a minute or two.
A short distance further on we stopped again to confirm the sighting of three water buck on the side of a hill ahead of of us. Another vehicle approached – this time the country patrol vehicle of our local security company. It slowed down to pass us on the narrow dirt road and then stopped next to us: the driver wanted to know if we were okay. Thumbs up and smiles all round. Yes, we were fine, yet I felt happy that the man had asked, for when I checked my cell phone I saw that we had no reception in that spot – what if we had not been okay?
Sometimes chance meetings can make a positive difference to one’s mood for the day.