All in the pink!

There are some sights here that might me smile every time I see them: some because they’re just plain funny, and others because they give me such pleasure. One of the latter is the view of Oldien Bay that you get as you drive onto private land (legitimately of course!) of the pink mass on the water that is made up of thousands upon thousands of flamingoes. Even more pleasure is derived when, sometimes for no apparent reason, one sets off the alarm, and they run on the water, then take to the air, the sound of their wings overtaking the chuntering sound that they make as they dabble in the shallow waters. As they circle around, necks straight ahead, legs straight behind, the air becomes speckled with their pink and white bodies, the flash of brilliant pink on their wings then becoming particularly visible. Whilst walking close to the lakeshore, there appears to be a ‘Red Sea’ type experience, the seemingly ever-present throng of pink parting just at the point of the walkers. Strange to think that the first time I visited Oldien Bay in 2004, there wasn’t a single flamingo there! Lower water levels, and therefore a more concentrated alkaline solution has perhaps attracted them. I’m not sure what the hippos make of these rather skittish and noisy neighbours though!