Bushveld

Animal count: giraffes, Chacma baboons, elephants, black backed jackals, zebras, kudus, impalas, 1 scrub hare

When we woke up we realized that our tent was very close to the others, although when we arrived last night it seemed like we were all hundreds of metres apart.  In the new moon, we needed torches to follow the path, and were told that if we encountered any wild animals we were not to run (food runs) and if we encountered monkeys or baboons we were not to look into their eyes (them's fightn' eyes).  Well, there was no dawdling on the way to bed I can tell you!  And it was with joy that we found a fully furnished bathroom behind a flap at the back of the tent.  Now that's living!

 

 

Our first game walk was a lot of old poop.  No seriously, it was all about old poop.  And fresh poop.  and the difference between one kind of poop and another kind of poop.  This may sound distasteful but it was the kind of information that could hlep us in a tricky fix.  We learned a lot about the animals around the area, but it also told us just how many there actually are wandering around within inches of our tent.


wild game walk

explaining the difference between white rhinos and black rhinos

After lunch, we sat on the deck (too cold for the pool) and watched giraffes and baboons wander down by the watering hole.

A night drive took us close but not close enough to a leopard, but we were lucky enough to see elephants and zebras threading their way through dinner (not us!)

Tracker Vusi in the hot seat



elephant in the setting sun

 

impalas

Martin near a leopard that we can't see but is really there,
honest!

giraffes at the watering hole

sun setting on the bushveld

Driver, Guide and Cook Griffiths

zebras in the spotlight

Not your average saturday.