16 October 2015
The beginning
of a new safari and a pretty cold overcast day which turned into a very wet day
as the skies opened up!!!
The afternoon
seemed fairly quiet but when you add up all that we saw maybe it wasn't as
quiet as first thought!!!
The highlight
was a lovely family herd of elephants we found at a drinking hole. About ten
individuals we had all different sizes and age ranges including a baby less
than a year old.
We watched as
they drank and then, possibly, the matriarch led them away out of sight.
We also had a
nice sighting of three warthog boars next to the road. Not always the most bold
of animals but these three were not put off by our presence and continued to
dig for any tasty morsels right next to the car.
We also found a
leopard lying in the grass, seven very sleepy hyenas, buffalo, Impala, Nyala
bulls, bushbuck, steenbok, klipspringer, giraffe, zebra, kudu and hippo.
17 October 2015
Another
overcast morning but with a few spots of blue we hoped to see the weather
improve.
This morning
we hoped to complete the big 5 by finding some lions.
Well it took a
while but we eventually found some after getting a tip off from Mark.
We found two
sightings just two hundred meters from each other. The first sighting a
courting couple who by the looks of it had courted enough as they didn't even
have the energy to pop a head up.
The second
sighting another courting couple who although didn't mate while we were there
did sit up and roll about giving us the opportunity for some decent photos.
Our second
highlight was a brief but nice sighting of a honey badger. Too often these
sighting are short but on this occasion it was long enough to get a good look
at the badger before it moved off.
We also saw
two leopards, hyenas, baboon, vervet monkey, elephant, buffalo, white rhino,
zebra, giraffe, warthog, kudu, Impala, steenbok, bushbuck, hippo and crocodile.
Birds included a
lappet faced vulture, Goliath heron, grey heron, Maribou stork, red billed
oxpecker, yellow billed hornbills, bataleur, helmeted guineafowl and tawny
eagle.
18 October 2015
An extremely
wet start to the day ended up being an extremely hot day by the end and also an
extremely good day!!!
Picking just
the two highlights is difficult on a day like this but I think the first one
has to be our lion sighting.
We initially
found a pair right next to the road just relaxing. They then got up and walked
across the road to sit with four other lions, three of them smallish Cubs a few
months old.
Then out of
the bush walked another two females and a male. Then as a whole pride they
stood up and walked right next to our vehicle across the road again to be
greeted by three more females.
An absolute
beauty of a lion sighting especially the interaction between the male and the
Cubs who climbed all over him.
Our second
highlight was a small group of elephants down at a drinking hole. Five in total
but the smallest one stole the show.
The youngster
looked no more than a month old but on closer inspection maybe just days old.
Still shaky on its legs it struggled to keep close to mum.
It even
slipped over into the shallow water with mum quickly giving it a helping trunk
to get it back on its feet.
We watched as
mum kept the youngster close by protecting it from the sun and any other
threats.
Another great
experience!!!
We also saw a
wonderful leopard sighting, buffalo, white rhino, Impala, kudu, waterbuck,
warthog, giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, dozens more elephants including a lot of
fighting bulls, sable, hippo, vervets, baboon, crocodile, banded mongoose,
common duiker and common reedbuck.
Birds included
southern ground hornbills, African fish eagle, pied kingfisher, blue waxbill
and lilac breasted rollers.
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