I Spy With My Little Eye.....

Africa » South Africa » Mpumalanga » Kruger National Park
April 22nd 2013

Published: April 22nd 2013

...Animals Extraordinaire! We just spent 10 glorious days in the bush (well, fairly civilized camps that are fenced in areas with a store, cafeteria, etc, but we only showered once!) in our little green tent. We were even joined by a pumba outside our tent on our last night....a momma, poppa and baby must have liked our patch of grass. We were less keen to see a hyena outside our tent the night... Read Full Entry

Photos are below

Photos: 53, Displayed: 21

quintessential oliphant

love these guys.

Baobab

...little prince anyone?

Looking for our next meal.

white backed vultures. Did i mention that being veggie is good?

Hello!

Impala girls

Mid morning nap time

being a cat seems fun - i like napping.

Where's waldo?

lilac breasted roller

colorful! apparently the males roll in mid-flight to impress the ladies.

making friends

hey - where'd my friends go?

water buffalo baby.

Hornbill

every bit as silly as portrayed in the Lion King.

wildebeast

bum to bum

olifants river

not sure if the panorama will show up here.

tortoise in our camp

apparently the fence doesn't keep a lot of animals out.

chewing

giraffes were favorites of ours - so gentle and majestic.

PUMBA!

siblings

vervet monkeys, at our camp. One jumped on Steve and tried to steal his muffin.

It just rained

...and someone is not very pleased about it.

hyena pup

less ridiculous looking than its adult counterparts. but it's coming.

22nd April 2013

Tara
non-member comment

Amazing pictures!
Liz and Steve, These images are gorgeous! Looks like you guys are having a good time!! :) Tara

23rd April 2013

ABM
non-member comment

Clever Girl
I remember the segment on African wild dogs from "Planet Earth". They are s.m.a.r.t. Vicious of course, too. But smart, extremely social pack hunters that coordinate and work together like the best team of soldiers you could imagine. Neat that you got to see some of them IRL.

23rd April 2013

Liz and Steve
Elizabeth Sinclair

good memory!
they are super smart and will hunt in a relay or tag team kind of way - very co-ordinated and pre-planned. we saw a pack of about 8 of them....one of most special experiences in the park. interestingly, they are not territorial with other wild dogs. we haven't been able to figure out (yet) why their numbers are so low. we had a mammal guide book with us from 1984 and it said they were quite common. Our guide was not sure why they have declined, but siad that in the past few years, their numbers are increasing. sightings have to be reported to the park authorities so they can track how they are doing. simply amazing to see them interacting with one another.

23rd April 2013

ABM
non-member comment

wow.
Uh... kind of like the moose of Africa? ;)

23rd April 2013

Liz and Steve
Elizabeth Sinclair

...but more endangered :(
almost 700 were poached last year in Kruger park alone...fueling TCM. At least it is getting national attention here - we have read quite a bit about the poaching issues in the media and in the national park publications. we met many lovely white rhinos during our trip - these guys just sat there for about 5 minutes until our driver nudged them along. they did a cute "little" skip jump when they decided we actually wanted to pass by them.

23rd April 2013

ABM
non-member comment

You could say he...
... needs a gnu umbrella.

23rd April 2013

Liz and Steve
Elizabeth Sinclair

groan
groan groan groan!

23rd April 2013

Chris & Max
non-member comment

Hi Steve and Liz!!
You guys are having an amazing adventure! Keep up with the blog postings (and the photos!). Can't wait to hear stories when you get back!

23rd April 2013

Chris & Max
non-member comment

Hi Steve and Liz!!
You guys are having an amazing adventure! Keep up with the blog postings (and the photos!). Can't wait to hear stories when you get back!

23rd April 2013

ABM
non-member comment

THUMP
I'm trying to picture that "cute little skip jump", and failing. But yeah, rhino poaching is possibly one of the planet's stupidest and most evil activities, especially when you consider what drives the market for the horns. It's one of the things that will make people of the future look back and say "what the hell was wrong with them then?"

23rd April 2013

Dev
non-member comment

Pushmepullyu
I think this is really a pushmepullu!

23rd April 2013

Claire
non-member comment

I seriously doubt...
that Jack would make friends with them!!!

24th April 2013

sharon soderholm
non-member comment

You two must be in your glory..... That is an amazing array of wildlife. Thanks so much for sharing the journey! Sharon

24th April 2013

Johan
non-member comment

Great times in the bush!
Glad you are having a wonderful time.

25th April 2013

Alanna
non-member comment

Insane!
Pumbas are real?

10th May 2013

Liz and Steve
Elizabeth Sinclair

Yes!
and i love them.

28th April 2013

H&J
non-member comment

So I read puma and Jonathan had to correct me to pumba. And give me a geography lesson. Jboy also tells me you have a super wicked awesome camera! We are thrilled about your adventuring, and loving the pics. Have you asked your rangers yet whether they have seen a rhino stomp out a fire...? :)Heather & Jonathan

Tot: 0.086s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 8; qc: 29; dbt: 0.0473s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.1mb

Do not copy images or text from this page without requesting and receiving permission. All rights are reserved by the author and photographer.

Contact Elizabeth Sinclair (Liz and Steve) - a lack of a response does not mean that you have permission to use material from this page.

I Spy With My Little Eye.....

Copyright Notice: All Rights Reserved