Kudos to the Kudus

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Today began epecially early, with a 4:45 wake up call. We barely had time for coffee before departing the hotel for a morning Safari. The intent today was to hunt (photo hunt) for cats. Though we did see some lions from a great distance a couple times, today was mostly the day of the kudu.

Our first site of the day was the rise of the sun over Kruger Park. Think lion king. The sun came up among mostly above acacia trees and possibly some marula. Mary-Anne did an excellent job positioning our van throughout the day to get amazing shots of this picturesque scene and many others. (Visitors to Kruger Park are strictly prohibited from exiting their vehicles.)

As we made our way through the park, we encountered a number of species, not limited to the following: nyala bull, kudu, hippopotamus, dwarf mongoose, elephant, blue wildebeest, black-shouldered kite, monkeys, baboons, violet-eared starling, magpie shrike, martial eagle, water buck cow, dugga bull, and dozens of impala (antelope). We stopped at a shelter area to eat from our breakfast packs. A pack of monkeys showed up. While one distracted everybody's attention, another group quickly descended in a grab-and-run assault on a bag of chips just a few feet in front of Jake. They then retreated to a nearby tree to enjoy their feast, which was devoured within seconds.

Random knowledge from today about proper descriptions of groups of animals (that might be great band names): a crash of rhinos and a parliament of baboons.

We continued on for more sites and sounds of the park, stopping at a camp for some water and souvenirs, and for a picture outside Kruger Gate with a copy of the Lansing Journal. Though we were scheduled for an evening sunset safari ride, we were just too exhausted and, following our early morning, opted to return to the hotel for some rest ahead of this blog time and with another full buffet dinner to follow.

Tomorrow is a 4:30 wake up as we head back to Kruger for one last drive and then its off to a Swazi village before a long drive to return to Johannesburg.

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