Right as we started our drive, we immediately come upon these cuddling rhinos.
We switched from our van to an open air vehicle! Which, alas, was more open than I thought... by the end of the day I was down one shoe.
We also got to start our morning with a quick lion sighting! We were very lucky as we were the first to see her so there was not a huge rush of cars and people. We got to just watch as she decided on the best place on the rock to nap. This sighting prompted our first real showing of what Clive wanted to do- which was to see the animals for himself. When we asked if we could move the car back a bit so that we could see better he replied "But then I won't be able to see the lion!" We soon learned that Clive's comfort was the true priority of the trip.
We also stopped for a big breakfast at the Skukuza Golf Club.
While eating bacon and eggs (bacon's legal in South Africa!), we watched hippos play in the water and kept our eyes open for crocodiles...
And other dangerous animals...
One of the coolest sightings was a huge venue of vultures (I googled this) eating away at what seemed to be an impala carcass.
But right as we squeezed through the traffic, we saw a hyena sneak in from behind them.
He quickly ran in, grabbed what was left and ran away, all in about 10 seconds. Hyenas will eat almost all of an animal as their jaw can crush bone, so they can get nutrients from the marrow.
"Wait- what happened?"
As we hit around the 6 hour mark, a red bull was very necessary.
We took a side trip to see a huge baobab tree. Unfortunately, Rafiki was not there to tell us any wisdom.
As we turned the corner to view a huge grassy plain, we spotted some wildebeest. But as we drove on, we realized we were not the only ones to see them.
Cheetahs! They are very rare in the Kruger and we were lucky enough to spot a couple lounging in the shade.
I think of them as ferocious, fast beasts, but then I would remember that they really are just big cats, as they often would just roll around on their backs.
We had to hurry back to a pit stop so that Clive could get a cold drink.
Our day started bright and early at 5 AM, and we headed back to camp around 5 PM. As we headed back after 12 hours on the road, we heard from a passing group that there were lions up ahead! They were pretty far, but you can see them lounging in the shade.
After getting back (and realizing I had only one shoe left), I took a nap (surprising!). Chase wandered around and found a very pretty lizard.
We ate dinner at the lodge and quickly passed out.
No comments :
Post a Comment