A Quiet Day

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Geo: -24.9854, 31.6018

This morning's first stop was at a dam. We here sat for a while in the hide and observed the scenery. An elephant appeared, it had a drink and then walked away. It was a bit of a miserable morning as it was overcast and raining. I enjoyed photographing the white and yellow water lilies which were growing near the hide. There were a few varieties of birds around the dam. The most interesting sighting was watching the African Jacana walk on the water lily leaves with its long thin toes. I think there must be an art to walking on the leaves without sinking into the water!

Next we stopped to watch a hyena that was walking along the side of the road and then sat in the ditch. We didn't see anything for a while, and then we spotted a couple of elephants that were busy eating and two male impalas that were play fighting with their horns. We stopped on a bridge above a partly dry river. From here we saw a few different bird species.

Continuing on the drive back to camp, we just saw a small herd of female impalas. Back at camp we did the usual – rest, eat and shower. A few hours later we left for our afternoon game drive.

An elephant bull was our first sighting, followed by a snake that had been run over and was now dead. A little while later we saw a white rhino mother and her calf. They were just by the side of the road grazing. We slowly drove along as they walked while eating. Rhinos are such a special animal to see. As they ate, Red Billed Ox-peckers were sitting on them and eating any insects that were on their skin.

Last stop for the day was a dam where we saw a few birds and one hippo glaring at us. Today had been a quiet day for animal sightings but I still enjoyed the day and the amazing surroundings.

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Photos

01 Elephant
The elephant that appeared on the other side of the dam.

02 Walking Along
The elephant as it walked along the dam.

03 Bird on a Branch
At the top of this branch is a Pied Kingfisher.

04 Rain & Flowers
Flowers growing in the dam and falling rain.

05 Drinking
The elephant on the other side of the dam is drinking.

06 Looking at Us
The elephant took a break from drinking and looked at us.

07 Dam
View of the rest of the dam.

08 Nests
Many weaver nests are hanging above the dam.

09 Open Wing
The Goliath Heron has opened its wing.

10 About to Drink
The Goliath Heron about to have a drink of water.

11 Trio
A trio of Pied Kingfishers at the dam.

12 Kingfishers
Four kingfishers sitting on the dead branch.

13 African Jacana
An African Jacana walking on the leaves.

14 On a Leaf
The African Jacana standing on a leaf.

15 Bright
A brightly coloured Malachite Kingfisher.

16 Kingfisher
The Malachite Kingfisher sitting on a dead branch above the dam.

17 Flower
A pretty water lily growing in the middle of the dam.

18 Hyena
A Spotted Hyena coming out of the bush and into the open.

19 Sitting
The hyena then sat down for a while.

20 Eating
An adult elephant eating grass.

21 Elephants
Two elephants near the road.