Saturday,
May 13th.
Matt,
Bruce, Koert, Elaine and I were up and off for another trip to Kruger National
Park early this morning. We booked a different company as everyone was unhappy
with Andrew last time. We arrived at the gate at 6:00 and drove for two hours
not seeing much other than a couple of zebra, a rock dassie (hyrax) and one
ostrich. It was very quiet. We stopped at a picnic spot with our driver at
Lebata and he provided us with a boxed breakfast of a sandwich, yogurt, power
bar and drink. Then we headed south where we hoped to see my wildlife in the
more open savannah area, rather than the mopani bushveld of the north. The
whole day did remain very quiet but we did see many of the usual animals:
zebra, elephants, impala, kudu, waterbuck, giraffes and some birds. We stopped
at another picnic area by a view of the river (with no animals) and had a
prepared box lunch. The highlight of the day was a sighting of a pair of male
lions. They were both laying under trees a little way from each other and were
hard to see. But, as we watched one got up and walked slowly towards the other
where he immediately collapsed. Then our driver did something unexpected and
drove off the road to within 50 feet of them so we could have a better view of
them sleeping on the ground. The last stop we made was at a waterhole where
there were a family of elephants having a drink. After that, fittingly we drove
into a beautiful sunset on our way back to camp. We had dinner and then I
packed most of my stuff before loadshedding time. I went to the bar and had a
beer with Neo and had another good talk with Leon who owns the place. He wanted
a picture of us. Bruce and Matt came over and we had a good time with Neo and
his cousin. I finally went to bed at 10:30.
Very fitting that you should have such a perfect sunset on your last outing. Your photos are really so good it's hard to pick a favourite. The zebras I think... but the lions and the crocs are not far behind. Thank you for all these posts.
ReplyDeleteAll good things must come to an end. Glad you had a wonderful time, met great people and learned more about your camera. Now on to your next adventure!
ReplyDeleteThat hyrax is so cute- face indicates "attitude". I have never seen one of those little creatures.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos as always Joe. Africa has definitely gotten under my skin and I love being reminded of its beauty and intrigue through your photos.