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Published: June 17th 2017
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01 View
The view of the game reserve from our deck. Geo: -28.4719, 29.9399
I was lazy this morning and choose to have a sleep-in instead of getting up at 5:30 and going for the morning game drive. I got up at a bit after 9, made a cup of tea, had a look at the view outside (in case there were any animals visible) then drank my tea in bed. Eventually I got up, I didn't want to still be in bed when they returned from the game drive. It was now 9:30 and they should be back soon.
While I waited, I sat on the deck, read some of my book and observed the many different birds hopping about. In between pages I noticed a colourful male Tree Agama with a blue head. Then I put my book down and began to stalk it with my camera. At first it was on a tree trunk and not doing anything, so I only took a few photos. Looking out into the distance I noticed a dazzle of zebras not too far away - who needs to get up early to go on game drives!
The agama then walked along the ground, climbed up another tree and was now out of view. Looking around
02 Bird
A little black and white bird I saw from our deck. I then saw another agama! This one was climbing the outside wall of our room. It was really nice to see it close up, such amazing colours. The other agama then came into view as it sunned itself on a rock. Photographing the agamas kept me busy and soon after the others returned from their morning game drive.
They had enjoyed their morning drive and I had no regrets that I didn't go. I enjoyed my morning to myself. We ate another huge, delicious brunch. A little while after brunch Paul, Juliane and Max left the lodge as they were going to the cheetah rehabilitation centre. I went there last time and was not interested in going again. So for the next few hours, I continued to relax. Some of this time I spent at the lodge and also in our room. They arrived back early in the afternoon.
We all met up again at half past three for afternoon tea and left at four for our afternoon game drive. At first the game drive was very quiet, but as always the scenery was beautiful and enjoyable. A little while later we saw a Bushbuck, a small herd of Mountain
03 From Our Deck
The view of the reserve from our deck. Reedbuck and a Red Hartebeest. The Mountain Reedbuck camouflaged really well against the rocks and dry grass.
At about a quarter to six, we stopped at a scenic viewpoint for our sundowner drinks and snacks. I really hoped that our drive would improve, as so far it had been pretty boring! We got back on the vehicle, as it was starting to cool down I put the blanket on before I really got cold.
After about ten minutes of driving, we heard on the radio of a nearby lioness sighting. Now I was getting excited! As we got closer we could sort of see her in the distance. She was surrounded by tall grass. Before we knew it, she was chasing a nearby kudu and then it was down. The lioness had used the nearby reserve fence to her advantage. We drove closer and stopped near her. The sound of her eating was audible and every now and then Kingsley would shine the spotlight on her. The spotlight now had a red filter on it. This was so the light was less likely to bother her.
This was a great way to end our stay by seeing a kill. We stayed
04 Tree Agama
A colourful male Tree Agama. for a little while and watched her eat. There didn't seem to be any other lions around for her to share with. It was then time to move on as we couldn't see that much and she was now just sitting next to the kudu.
It was a very chilly drive back and upon our return we enjoyed another delicious meal. I was positive that I had put on weight during this trip!
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