Safari Redux

I thought I’d share a short slide show of images from our safari to South Africa.

Enjoy!

South Africa Safari – Day 10

What day 10 lacked in variety it made up for in quantity. One again we started the day by tracking a pride of lions on the hunt. It was clear that they sensed nearby prey but we never figured out what they were after. We stayed with them for over 30 minutes and they stalked through the dry grass before moving on.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

We explored the veldt for about 40 minutes before coming upon a few elephants at a watering hole. Unlike yesterday the light was good and we stopped to watch these magnificent animals.

We moved on but almost immediately came upon the rest of the herd. For a moment we thought we were going to see a scuffle as two males challenged each other. However, the smaller of the males showed good sense and backed down.

We drove ahead of the herd and parked at a second water hole and waited. Within minutes the herd arrived and began to fill up. Along with the herd was one baby elephant. It was so young it had not yet learned how to use its trunk to drink. It was so cute as the baby got down on its knees to drink water directly with its mouth. The adults kept the baby surrounded at all times in what was clearly a protective maneuver. There was lots of other activity around the water as well. There was some pushing and shoving by some of the elephants. Some waded directly into the water while the others remained on the bank. This continued for about 30 minutes. Then the herd reversed course and headed back into the bush.

The challenge

Face off

Retreat

“and a little child shall lead them.”

With the departure of the elephants we resumed our search. We came across a few Cape Buffalo. I must admit that I find these beasts fascinating.

After about 50 minutes of exploration we found a leopard hidden in the bush with fresh prey. (An antelope or Impala I think.) We watched as the leopard ripped the fur from the carcass and then tore in to the meat. Despite the grisly scene in front of us you could not help but admire the beauty of this animal.

“…and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat”

Our afternoon drive began with more elephants. It was probably part of the same herd that we saw this morning. We grabbed a few shots and moved on.

We decided to see if the leopard from this morning was still there – and she was. She was still working over her prey. A somewhat older cub briefly made an appearance but then quickly disappeared back into the bush.

Mother and cub

As we drove around we spotted a few rhinos but not much else. Finally, around 5 pm, we came across a pride of lions. They of course were doing what lions do best – rest. We watched them lay about and groom each other. Then slowly they started to show some signs of life, eventually heading over to the water for a drink. By this time the sun was down and it was starting to get dark. (i.e.: some of the following shots were taken at ISO 12800) We left them as they were getting ready for their evening’s adventures.

Cranky

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South Africa Safari – Day 8

The morning of October 2nd was to be our last game drive at Mala Mala. After an abbreviated drive  we would move to our final safari destination, Kings Camp in the Timbavati game preserve.

We were out before 6 am as usual and found the usual herd of Impala grazing near the camp. It was quite chilly that morning. Continuing on we came across a termite mound. Between our Kenya trip and this one we had seen dozens of termite mounds. What was unique about this one was that it was clearly active with steam rising from the mound and condensing in the cold morning air.

Click on any photo to enlarge

Active termite mound.

At about 6:15 we spotted a bush buck. We watched him for a while and then came across a beautiful African fish eagle and a male kudu.

Bush Buck

Bush Buck

Bush Buck

Fish eagle

Male Kudu

Around 7:30 we spotted a pride of lions at the “green slime” watering hole. One lioness was pacing at the edge of the water and staring out to the center where an animal carcass was stuck. It appeared to be a Nyala but how it got there I don’t know. What I did know was that the lioness wanted it and was trying to figure out how to get it.

We watched her try to figure out how she could get to the carcass and drag it to shore. Finally, almost without warning, she leaped into the pond only to find herself chest deep in mud. This was a nasty turn of events that clearly displeased her. When we left about a half hour later she was still lying at the edge of the water hole trying to figure out how to get the carcass.

After leaving the lions at the water hole we found another leopard. This handsome cat spent most of the time either under a tree or creeping through the brush. We followed the cat for about a half hour but then needed to head back to camp. On the way back to camp we did get a photo of a water buck. We had been trying to get a good shot of a water buck ever since we went to Kenya.

Water buck

We got back to camp, packed our bags and loaded into a small bus for the 2 hour drive to King’s Camp. The drive was interesting. We were a long way from the urban centers yet we saw a lot of residential construction. Most of the homes are very small and made from concrete blocks. Most were unfinished. Apparently people would buy construction materials as they could afford them and then continue building their homes as they were able to.

We arrived at Kings Camp, our final destination for this safari, and were warmly welcomed, as usual, by the owners and staff. Unlike Londolozi and Mala Mala, which were unfenced, Kings Camp was surrounded by a wide electric fence to discourage the wildlife from entering the compound and snacking on the tourists! Despite the fence, we were warned not to roam the camp unescorted at night.

It was almost 4 pm by the time we began our afternoon drive. Our Ranger/Driver for King’s Camp was “Remember” and our tracker’s name was Elvis. Almost immediately we discovered a giraffe busy munching on trees nearby. With that long neck and horns on its head the giraffe always appears rather cartoon-like. Continuing on our way we soon came across a pride of lions. They appeared to be tracking some nearby wildlife. They were clearly attentive but unhurried. The largest male had a large abscess or growth on his left front leg. Eventually they settled down in the grass and do what lions do so well much of the time – nothing.

We saw a herd of Cape Buffalo nearby and headed in that direction. After watching the herd for a short while Remember mentioned that there was a watering hole nearby and the herd seemed to be slowly moving in that direction. He suggested that we go down to the watering hole and wait for the herd there. We arrived at the watering hole and positioned ourselves strategically such that we would have good light when the buffalo arrived. Remember was correct. Within 10 minutes the herd was meandering towards the water for an afternoon drink. And we were in the perfect position to capture nature in action.

The Cape Buffalo finished up and wandered off about 5:15 so we took off in search of other animals. In short order we came across a spotted hyena. Hyenas are very odd animals, looking like they were built with left over spare parts of other animals. Some people consider them to be ugly, but I just think they look kind of strange.

As we were driving around I spotted a tree with whitish/yellow roots growing on top of a boulder. I asked Remember what type of tree it was. It was a Large-leaved Rock Fig tree (Ficus abutilifolia), a member of the mulberry family. They characteristically grow out of the rocks with their roots penetrating the cracks, searching for water. The fruit is said to be quite tasty.

Large-leaved Rock Fig Tree

By now it was almost sunset. One thing about southern Africa is that the sunsets are typically spectacular. Presumably this is due to the presence of the Kalahari desert to the west which kicks up lots of dust into the atmosphere. Whatever the cause, the colors are incredible.

Sunset

On the way back to camp we lucked upon another leopard. This cat was definitely on the prowl for its dinner. We followed it in the gathering darkness for about 20 minutes. To our surprise it headed for our camp! When it came to the electric fence the cat was not deterred in the least. With one easy leap he soared over the fence and into the camp. Now I understood the warning about not roaming around the camp unescorted at night!

Kings Camp electric fence

Leopard inside the camp after jumping the fence.

South Africa Safari – Day 7

When we rolled out of bed at 5:00 am on day 7 we had no idea what an exciting and  interesting day was in store for us. As usual, we were on the trail before 6 o’clock. It was a beautiful morning and the light was magnificent. We had barely gotten out of camp when we came across a small herd of impala. Even though we had lots of impala photos the light was so golden we had to stop and snap a few photos.

Click on any photo to enlarge

We left the impala behind and headed down to the river.  As we were crossing the river we spotted two saddle billed storks a couple hundred yards away. We had only seen these birds once before, and that was 2 years ago in Kenya. They are tall, colorful and spectacular. We watched and photographed them for over 30 minutes, although it seemed a lot longer. It was fascinating to watch them catch fish and then toss them down their throats. While watching the storks we also spotted some three banded plovers and Pied Kingfishers.

Saddlebilled Stork

Saddlebilled Stork

Saddlebilled Stork

Three Banded Plover

Pied Kingfisher

Leaving the storks behind we began to explore and see what else we could find. It was only 7 o’clock and the light was still good. As we drove under a tall tree a Vervet monkey issued warning calls. We drove through an area of rocky outcroppings hoping to spot leopards. Instead we spotted something ever less common, a Klipspringer (rock jumper). The Klipspringer is a very small antelope that has adapted to the rocky outcroppings as its home. He was very cute as he stood proud on the edge of a boulder surveying his domain.

Klipspringer

Vervet Monkey issuing a warning call.

Shortly thereafter we came across another pride of sleepy lions. We watched for a short time and realized that this group had no intention of moving anytime in the near future so we left. Our ranger Ross mentioned that a rhino had been killed by a poacher the day before and the rhino’s horn sawed off. We asked if the rhino was nearby and if we could see it. We took off for a short drive. We spotted conclusive signs that we were getting close.

We arrived at the rhino carcass and got to witness first hand the horror of poaching. The rhino was killed, the horn sawed off and the animal left for dead. It also appeared that one leg had been cut off, for reasons unknown.

688 rhinos have been killed in South Africa in 2013, half of those were in the area of Kruger and Mala Mala.This one made it 689. To find out a bit more about this incident take a look at my blog of October 14th.

The rhino carcass had already been partially eaten by scavengers. When we arrived there were just a few vultures present. Then a leopard showed up to help himself to a piece of rhino flesh before heading off to the bush. With the leopard gone the vultures moved in with a fury. It was fascinating to watch nature at work. As the following photos show, there were times when so many vultures were fighting for food that you couldn’t see the carcass.

If you would like to really see what a feeding frenzy this was you can check out some video of the scene on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbfbbSrrMJ4

We spent over an hour at the site. It was one of the most meaningful and relevant experiences of the trip in many ways. But it was time to move on.

As we started exploring again we came across a waterhole with an Egyptian goose and a hippopotamus immersed in green slime. Not real photogenic so we moved on. We also found some wildebeest, an elephant and a male and female kudu in the brush.

Male Kudu

Female Kudu

Our next discovery really impressed me. I am always astonished at how good our rangers and trackers are at spotting hidden animals. As we were driving along the trail at a pretty good speed, Ross all of a sudden pulls over by a tree and holds up his hand for silence. He takes out his binoculars and stares intently into the tree for a few seconds and then turns to us, points and says “white faced owl”. And sure enough, hidden in the branches of this dense tree was a smallish owl. The owl flew from place to place in the tree before settling down. It took us a bit of maneuvering to finally get in position where we could get a photograph of it. It was gorgeous with white and grey feathers and bright orange eyes

Southern White Faced Scops Owl

.As we started to make our way back to camp we came across a herd of Cape buffalo. These animals are interesting. In the two trips that I’ve taken to Africa the Cape Buffalo has shown the temperament of a cow, yet it is renowned to be among the fiercest of animals. I guess I should be happy I haven’t seen that side of their personality.

We had seen a record number of species during the morning drive. Fifteen different animals by my count. We had also seen nature in action as the vultures moved in to clean up the rhino carcass. Could the afternoon possibly keep pace?

Shortly after taking off we “bumped” into a grazing white rhino. You can get pretty close to these guys as long as they are not defending turf or females. This is why the recent announcement by the Dallas Safari Club that it was going to auction off the trophy rights to kill a black rhino (endangered, only 5000 left in the world) makes no sense. It takes no great skill to kill a rhino. You drive up to it and shoot it!

See also Black Rhino to be Killed by Dallas Safari Club

After leaving the rhino we sighted a herd of elephants in the river bed and headed off in that direction.

The herd included elephants of all ages and sizes. One was so young and small that it had not yet learned to fully control its trunk. Mom was going up the bank by the river and junior was trying to follow but couldn’t quite make it. Mom had to turn around and pull him up the bank with her trunk.

Mother pulls baby up the river bank with her trunk.

There were a number of large bulls that looked menacing and some teenagers that tried to look tough. We did see a couple of males fighting over a female. It wasn’t a death match but it wasn’t play time either.

Big Bull

Testy Teen

Mom and baby

Fighting

After leaving the elephants we spotted a leopard, who for the most part was content to just lie in the grass. We watched and tracked it for about an hour before moving on.

Even though we had seen a number of male kudus we hadn’t yet captured a really great photo of one. It was just about 5 pm, an hour before sunset and the light was great, when we spotted a beautiful male. We started to follow him and managed to get a great shot that took advantage of the “golden hour” lighting. We also captured another lilac breasted roller in this same light.

Lilac breasted roller

Male Kudu

In the morning we found a pride of sleepy lions. We decided to check up on them before returning to camp, hoping that they were awake and ready for action. While we caught a few nice portraits in the golden evening light, most of the lions were still catching zzz’s.

Thus ended day 7. As the sun went down we caught one last photograph in memory of a great day.