On Safari With Gert From 5 July 2016

5 July 2016

Today we started a new Safari with 2 guests from Canada. Entering the park just after noon, we stopped for a quick lunch break before our Afternoon drive.

Early on during the drive we found a Spotted Hyena close to a den-site as well as another on the move a bit further on. It was a good afternoon for general game as we saw a few different herds of Zebra and also some Giraffe silhouetted against the sunset.

The highlight of the afternoon was undoubtedly a stop at a large waterhole, where a large herd of Elephants were drinking and playing in the water, with another large herd approaching. There was also a herd of Waterbuck with a few large Bulls close by, a Hippo in the water and a large Crocodile on the bank, not to mention the bird life amongst which were Black Storks as well as a beautiful Saddle-billed Stork, a good drive to kick off the Safari!

6 July 2016

After an early breakfast we departed for our Game Drive in clear and rather cold conditions.

It started of very well as we encountered a solitary African Wilddog, trying to find his companions, as he kept running in a large circular route and contact calling. A very exciting sighting as he came out onto the road quite often and we managed to get a very good view of him, although constantly on the move!

Shortly after that we stopped at a new Hyena den where we had a nice sighting of a female with 2 very young cubs suckling.

Then followed our first of two lion sightings for the day.

We found a young male sleeping soundly in a patch of sunlight about 40 meters from the road. It appeared to be fast asleep, except for the occasional flick of an ear. We decided to hang around for a while as it was slowly warming up and only a matter of time before he would get up to move into a shady spot. Eventually our patience paid off as he started getting restless and lifted his head, starting to look around for a cooler spot. He then got up, stretched and walked through a clearing; disappearing into the thicket beyond.

Our next Lion sighting was of a large Male lying in a riverbed, a distant but clear sighting. He made himself very comfortable and by the time we left he was lying flat on his back, paws in the air!

Later on we found a beautiful breeding herd of Elephant, with a high number of youngsters in their midst foraging close to road and watched as they all crossed the road behind our vehicle, a fitting end to a very nice Safari!