On Safari With Karen and Mark 13 April 2015

13 April 2015 (Karen's Vehicle)

 Another safari started today and this time it is a larger group so we needed two safari vehicles to go on a game drive. As animals tend to walk around we didn't all see the exact same things, but this is the story of our vehicle.

After short introductions at Numbi Gate we set off straight on game drive, where we saw our first animals on the way to Mestel Dam: impalas. At Mestel Dam we were surprised by elephants that were just about to leave and the hippos that were sunning themselves outside the water. We also had waterbucks visiting as well as great white egrets on the opposite side.

A highlight on this afternoon was a surprised close encounter with an elephant herd we had. As the sun was low in our faces we didn't see very well. Then we suddenly noticed the gentle giants that were about to cross and are not too happy with our arrival. We stop a little further on the road to give them space and the elephants settle down again. They continue feeding and some even took a walk down the road behind us. On our first safari it was a great experience for all.

Our second highlight were seeing two giraffes quite close to the road. Even though they were still quite obscured by bushes and trees we had a good look while they were walking from bush to bush. As these animals are iconic for Africa, it is always good to see them on safari.

Other animals seen: plenty of waterbucks, dwarf mongoose, kudus, white rhinos, grey hornbills, a shy tree squirrel, fighting forktailed drongos and guineafowls.