5 March 2016
We departed
early for our morning Game Drive, amid slightly overcast conditions and a
beautiful morning it was as the sunrise turned he clouds various shades of pink
and orange!
Our first
highlight of the morning came when we found 6 young Spotted Hyenas, about 5
months old, running down the road between den sites! They were quite skittish
though and continued straight into the den and out of sight as soon as they got
there.
Shortly after
that we encountered a large herd of buffalo, a good few hundred strong, on both
sides of the road and crossing. It was a mixed herd consisting of large males,
many females and a high number of very young calves. We also encountered a high
number of Elephant Bulls, some solitary, others walking together and in one
instance also found a White Rhino in close proximity to some of the bull
Elephant.
One of the
other highlights of the morning was finding a pair of Lions, male and female,
rather lazy, but lying only about 20 meters off the road. Even though they were
hiding in the shade, the male had his head up for the most part and looked in
our direction often enough to get a few shots and some good views!
After a stop
at a nearby viewpoint, it was time to return to camp for a late breakfast and
some relaxing time during which the pool proved quite popular, as the day had
warmed up significantly by now.
In the
afternoon we visited a couple of waterholes, where sightings was dominated by
elephant, as we found 2 breeding herds and a variety of males near the herds.
We also found the first Hippos of the tour and a good variety of water birds,
including Saddle-billed, Wooly-necked and Black Storks! Other birds we found
during the course of the day, worth a mention, was a family of Southern
Ground-Hornbill as well as a Secretary Bird on the prowl for unsuspecting prey.
