Going on a Bush Walk

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Geo: -24.3904, 31.725

This morning we were going on a guided walk with the field guides and we had to meet them at the camp office just before 5am. There were about a dozen of us doing the bush walk. In an open safari vehicle we were driven a short distance and then got out. The two armed field guides briefed us on the rules and then we started our walk.

Where we walked was an open area. Doing a bush walk is more focused on seeing the smaller things in the bush and not the Big 5. On our walk we saw; a very old tortoise shell, wildebeest and a small herd of elephants. We stopped on a large rock and had a small breakfast. Continuing on we saw giraffe, another elephant and trees damaged by elephants. We arrived at a waterhole. Nearby were some wildebeest and then as we looked around we noticed two heads emerge from the water. A pair of hippos were looking as us. Luckily we were standing on a low wall and felt a bit safe. The hippos didn't seem too happy to see us. We didn't stay for too long.

We saw more elephants in the distance and then climbed up some huge rocks. From here we had a great view of the surrounding bush and saw more elephants. There were also waterbuck and impalas spotted on the walk. Our walk went really quickly, before we knew it we were back at the vehicle. It was about 8am. On the way back to the rest camp we stopped to watch a couple of giraffe. There were three of them and they were close to the vehicle. Each giraffe was a different shade of brown/orange and each were different heights – they seemed to be a family. At one stage they were all looking at us, then walking one behind the other and then they stood in order from tallest to shortest. I really enjoyed this sighting.

The guides also stopped for us to see four old male buffaloes. Which I'm glad that we didn't see on our walk – they looked so grumpy. Just before arriving back we also saw impala and four more giraffe. At about half past 8 we arrived back at camp.

We spent the next few hours relaxing around camp. At about 2pm we headed out for our afternoon game drive. We saw an ostrich, a very muddy tortoise, a male nyala with young females and then nothing for a very long time. Finally we saw animals again, a small herd of impalas with lots of young ones and a few more small antelopes.

Then at 5pm our patience paid off and we were rewarded with an amazing sighting of a male cheetah. Another car of tourists told us that there was a cheetah in the area, so we carefully drove along looking for it. Then we saw him, he was walking parallel to the road, so close to us and not bothered by our presence. Fortunately he was walking in an open area which gave us great visibility.

Paul slowly drove beside the cheetah as it frequently stopped and looked around. It had been about five minutes now that we have been following it. The cheetah then sniffed around a large rock and jumped onto it. Standing on the rock he continued to sniff it and also used it as a look out post. He then marked his territory on the rock. He stayed on this rock for about five minutes and then jumped off it and continued walking parallel to the road. It was such a beautiful sighting and we were lucky to have it all to ourselves. The cheetah then walked off into the bush and out of sight, so we continued on our game drive.

We stopped to watch a dazzle of zebras slowly cross the road and soon after we arrived back in camp. We had a very short rest and then met with other tourists at reception for our night drive. We were looking forward to the night drive, as it was a chance to see nocturnal animals, since we were not allowed to drive ourselves at night.

Firstly we saw a Spotted Hyena, some variety of owl, a pair of hedgehogs, scrub hares, jackals and nothing else too exciting. The night drive lasted a few hours with the highlight for me being the pair of porcupines, as we had not yet seen them during our stay.

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Photos

01 Tortoise
An old shell of a tortoise.

02 Wildebeest
A couple of wildebeest in the distance.

03 Small Herd
A small herd of elephants in the distance.

04 Elephant
Another elephant that we saw on our bush walk.

05 Giraffe
A pair of giraffe watching us as we walked past them.

06 Damage
Some of the damage caused by the elephants looking for food.

07 Waterhole
A waterhole that we walked past.

08 Wildebeest
A couple of wildebeest watching us walk past them.

09 Not Happy
The two heads that emerged from the water when we arrived.

10 Waterhole
Hippos and wildebeest closely watching us.

11 Poo
The field guide teaching us about elephant poo.

12 Breakfast
Paul and I having a breakfast break during our walk.

13 Elephant Behind Me
An elephant behind me as we walk through the bush.

14 Scenic
The scenic view during our walk.

15 Scenic
The scenic view including two elephants.

16 Skull
A skull of a male kudu.

17 Us
Paul and I sitting on a rock with a strangler fig tree behind us.

18 Fig
The strangler fig tree growing through a rock.

19 Lookout
One of the field guides on the look out for any dangers.

20 Antelope
Impalas and waterbuck were also seen on our walk.

21 Former Buffalo
A skull from a buffalo.