Advertisement
Lion coming through the woods
One of three we saw as night fell Last you read we were sitting in a Jo'burg hotel. The following morning, Wayne (our "guide") drove us to Pilanesburg. The drive was not very remarkable, with the exception of a platinum mine and several non-metropolitan, more truly African towns. The disparity between the cities and the countryside is unbelievable. When we arrived at our lodge, we were greeted with a nice welcome lychee juice. The place had been billed as the Akeru of the northwest, and while it fell short (just not as personal, had electricity, couldn't follow the animals offroad), it was still beautiful, relaxing place.
Our first drive started at 3:30 that afternoon, and we saw several new animals. We spotted a black-backed jackal, a bushbuck, a brown hyena, and some tesebe. The area had a cold front come through, as well as the first clouds in a month, and we nearly froze. However, it was nice to be back out seeing animals.
The following morning we took another drive, where we saw our first hippos out of the water. It had been so cold there, that the hippos didn't even need to be in the water at 9:00, usually very late for them to
Another lion
They are just so intimidating be out. The best part of the sighting was the baby hippo. While very cute, the baby was big enough to inspire a little fear and respect (picture coming). We later saw the bull hippo on the middle of a mountain side, very far away from any watering hole. It was like hippo twilight zone. We also may or may not have spotted a leopard breathing. Whatever it happened to be was very uncooperative and refused to lift its head high enough for us to see it completely.
The second night drive may have been the highlight of our trip. We ran into a troupe of hippos trekking across the park (more on this in a bit), a breeding herd of elephants (also more), and FINALLY came across three big, scary lions. We found the hippos by a dam, and actually saw one of them walking the dam wall for a while, but couldn't quite get the camera out in time. We drove past them and not too far away could spot lions far out in the distance. Our guide Steve (thanks, Steve, for the great sightings!) decided we would head over for our sundowners and come back when
Happy hippos
Mama and baby hippo at a watering hole the sun was further down. His timing was perfect, and as we drove back, we saw the hippos taking a DIRECT LINE for the lions, then watched the lions as they stood up and started walking. Steve threw the car in reverse and drove to where we thought they were heading. After a few minutes, the lions emerged on the road and WALKED ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CAR. They were within 6 feet. It was unbelievable. When Steve got a little nervous and told us to be still and quiet, Danika may have soiled herself. It was nerve-wracking (fuzzy picture coming). About 30 meters away, the hippos were waiting to cross. Unfortunately, the two groups never crossed paths. Just when we thought we had seen it all, Steve found a breeding herd of about 6 elephants right on the side of a dirt road. We watched for a while as the two young bulls play-fought, listening to the ivory tusks banging against each other. At one point, Steve turned off all the lights, and Danika re-soiled herself. She may not have watched the rest of the elephant affair, but was certainly paying attention when we got between a baby and the rest of the herd, because the big mama gave a loud trumpet and expressed extreme displeasure with us. The tires struggled to hit the ground as we tailed off.
Later that night we met Eric and Jeanine, a hilarious couple from Cape Town. We had a blast and stayed up late with them, though the next day was a bit more painful as a result.
Our final morning drive was more sedate, though we did come across another elephant in musth. Fortunately, he was eating and didn't seem too bothered with us. We saw a few smaller animals on the way in, and as our grand Au Revoir to the park, we came across a slender mongoose (that's what it's called, not a commentary on its physique).
Later that afternoon Wayne picked us up and took us to the Jo'burg airport, where we left Africa forever. We are so grateful for having had the opportunity to visit South/southern Africa. The people we met were amazing, the country is beautiful, the animals spectacular, and the experience unforgettable. Thanks again to Mart, Barbara, Tham, Wayne, Eric, Jeanine, and the many others who made this a great trip for us. See you in 2010?
As our adieu to Africa, we thought we'd give a final tally on the mammals we came across while we were there:
African wild cat
Black-backed jackal
Blue wildebeest
Brown hyena
Buffalo
Bushbuck
Chacma baboon
Common duiker
Elephant
Giraffe
Hippopotamus
Impala
Kudu
Leopard
Lion!!!
Nyala
Plains Zebra
Scrub hare
Slender mongoose
Steenbok
Tesebe
Tree squirrel
Vervet monkey
Warthog
Waterbuck
White rhinoceros
We can't wait to get home and tell everyone our stories. But for now, it's off to Europe. Stay tuned...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.096s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 7; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0534s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Kara
non-member comment
Thank you for sharing your adventures. I look forward to hearing more.