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Published: June 17th 2017
01 Damage
The elephant came back during the evening or early morning and continued to damage the gardens.Geo: -28.5306, 30.8958
As I drank my very early morning coffee on the deck I heard a noise below. Looking carefully into the bush, I saw an elephant. It is probably the one that has been in camp lately. He was quietly breaking branches and then eating them. A great start to the day's sightings! This morning we left for the game drive at 6am. On the drive out of camp, we noticed that the destructive elephant had been back and caused more damage as he ate its way through the gardens.
Driving in an open area we saw a herd of wildebeest in the distance, scenic views of the surrounding hills, a lonely eland, a few new birds to tick off, zebras and a white rhino that was too busy eating to put its head up.
A little while later we were driving along a hill when on the opposite hill we spotted a small herd of breeding elephants. For me it was a strange sight to see elephants on a hill, I had expected to only see them on flat ground. They were barely visible, from the naked eye they looked just like rocks.
They were standing around and eating.
02 Wildebeest
A herd of wildebeest on the hill. Looking around we noticed another very small herd on another hill. The two small herds seemed to be walking towards each other. We stayed for a while to watch them and then continued on. Paul's plan for the morning was to drive along the reserve's 4x4 track.
We arrived at the start of the 4x4 track and crossed a small river. Further along we stopped to watch a small dazzle of zebras as they grazed among the burnt bush. The track led us up into the hills. From here there was a great view of the surrounding hills. When looking down we saw a dazzle of zebras.
More grassy hills were now just burnt grass. We were now above most of the other hills in the reserve and there were no other vehicles in sight. Luckily we had not yet encountered any one else on this track – at times it would have been a bit squishy for more than one vehicle. The only sign of human life was the track that wound around the hills.
We then arrived at the end of the track and were on the top of one of the highest hills. From here we enjoyed
03 Wildebeest
One of the herd that was close to the track. a fantastic view of the bush. We could see Phongolo River and still there was no visible sign of civilisation. Once we had taken our photos and finished admiring the view, we drove downhill and towards to river.
Near the river we scared a couple of kudus. I don't think the animals in this area are used to seeing many vehicles. At the Phongolo River we took some time to stretch our legs and have a mid morning coffee and biscuit break. The river looked quite tempting on this warm morning with its clear water. Although there was no way I would go in there, being a game reserve there was a very good chance of crocodiles and hippos living in there.
Unfortunately and luckily we didn't encounter any animals as we went for a little walk in this area. The drive back went very quickly and at about midday we were crossing the river indicating that we were now back on regular roads in the reserve. As we crossed we noticed a couple of impalas grazing by the river.
As it was after midday, we drove straight back to the lodge for lunch and a rest before heading out for
04 View
A scenic view of the game reserve. the afternoon game drive. Along the way we saw a couple of zebras. As we drove through the camp to our lodge we saw the cheeky, destructive elephant – he was back/still here! Luckily for us he wasn't blocking the road, so we quickly drove past as we didn't want to be held up. There were also a few Vervet Monkeys in camp, hope none of our windows had been left open!
Greeting us at the entrance were the lazy, resident dassies. We spent the next few hours having lunch and then resting.
Feeling much better after having a rest, we were off again. We left for our afternoon game drive at about half past three. Firstly we saw a giraffe and then spotted a variety of animals in the distance. We drove closer and observed four white rhinos that were busy grazing. Behind the rhinos were a few warthogs, also busy grazing as they slowly walked along. On a nearby hill there was a trio of ostriches.
The area we drove through this afternoon was a relatively flat part of the reserve. The scenery seemed so dry here. On an open plain wildebeests and zebras were eating grass and a
05 Wildebeest
More of the wildebeest herd. herd of impalas crossed the track ahead of us. We saw a herd of Red Hartebeest walk along the top of a hill, near them were elands, a young giraffe and impalas.
The sunlight at this time of the day was beautiful. For the next hour an hour, we saw more giraffe, impalas, wildebeests and red hartebeests. These animals were all active now and grazing, as the temperature had cooled down considerably since the middle of the afternoon.
As we drove through the camp, once again we came across the destructive elephant. He was walking towards us as he broke branches off the trees to eat. Then he walked along the path leading to the reception area. Here we managed to scare a few people with a mock charge by running towards them as he shook his head. We drove on before he had a chance to block the road.
This evening was our last night here, as tomorrow we were going to another game reserve. It was another perfect evening meal on the deck with the sounds of the bush in the background.
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