Gaming

Animal Count: wathogs, rhinos, monkeys, hippos, nyalas, zebras, impalas, waterbucks

We walked the wetlands in the morning but did not see the largest concentration of hippos in South Africa as boasted on our literature.  The best we could do was a recent footprint.  And another one from a leopard that was a day or two old.


Hippo



Leopard

We fared better in the afternoon in the Hluhluewe Park, the very first game reserve ever established in South Africa, and at the end of the 19th century too so a significant chunk of land was reserved.  Practically at the gates we met a warthog family, a mother with her four children (interesting fact - warthogs of the female persuasion can only produce 4 children maximum at any time due to mother warthog's feeding capacity.)  Warthogs, even babies, have the sorts of faces only a mother can love. Especially when there are four of them.


Oh hello Mrs. Warthog.  How are you doing?

Oh my - four of them?  Yes, I see the family resemblance. 
How lovely for you. Must dash!

Babies were the theme of the day as we saw a baby hippo standing beside a couple of other hippos lying prone (as they do) during the day. Baby looked a little bemused.  Baby no doubt must get used to sleeping all day or be prepared to get very very bored.

now tell me this isn't cute!!!

Zebra babies are a little cuter but perhaps we are biased towards chic monotone vestments,  A bit of a reality check was a prominent wound on the buttocks of one zebra, no doubt an attack by a leoard or lion, and a recent one too.  The animal did not seem in distress and was walking smoothly so we can only hope that it leveled a whacking great kick at its attacker and was on the mend. Ah Mother Nature, she shows her nasty side at will.

Another baby only cute to its mother have to be the rhino.  I mean feeding time with that horn!  Enough said I think. Ouch!



And who doesn't love a family of giraffes.  Mommy (or Daddy) in front, Daddy (or Mommy) at the back. I don't intend toget close enough to determine gender.  That would be rude in front of the children.

Animals aside, the day still held drama.  As we bumped along the road home in our 4x4, we could see an enormous white cloud in the distance lit intermittently with lighning.  No thunder, just jagged light streaking across one side of the sky.  On the opposite shore of the celestial curve there was a sickle moon tilted like a bowl in this southern hemisphere, with a glittering Venus looking like a Turkish flag sailing serenely beside it.  It's like the two sides of Mother Nature and the space that surrounds her having strong words to each other.  A conversation I prefer to witness than to partake in!