South Africa Day 5: The Big Five (almost)

Nyala grazing near our tented camp  

​Today we were up at 5 am for an early morning game drive.  We saw:

• a crash of rhinos

• A dazzle of zebras

• A tower of giraffes

• Many termites

We had a full explanation about termite mounds, and watched guides eat them with smiles on their faces saying they tasted like popcorn  Cheryl was going to try one but couldn’t get past the wriggling legs 

After breakfast, we had went on a bush walk.  Before we started the walk we were briefed on how to behave - single file, minimal talking, symbols for various circumstances - and then the guide took out some huge bullets and loaded his rifle which was never far from his hands. During the walk, we learned about the medicinal properties of various plants, and elephant dung.  We also learned how animals use different plants for their own purposes.  For example, the leopard rolls around in wild basil to cover its scent when hunting.

When we heard an odd sound and the guide said it was a leopard coughing, we did not panic, but quickly reversed our direction.  We all supported his decision to keep the gun handy !  The leopard is the only one of the Big Five we haven’t seen yet (we have already seen lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo), but we were happy to wait until an opportunity for viewing one from the safari vehicle. 

Very soft leaves… used for environmentally friendly toilet paper in an emergency. 

Giraffe pellets : We had a little scatalogical dissertation on the size, shape, content  and uses of various types of animal poo. 

Guide with his rifle.

Rope made from inner bark of a particular tree. 

We took a much needed nap until lunch.  Heaven!

In the afternoon we walked down to the next camp to see birds and animals on the riverside.  We saw crocodiles, a hippo, monitor lizard and many interesting birds.

Crocodile

Hippo

African Fish Eagle

The river

Monitor lizard

For our afternoon safari, our guide was concentrating on making sure we saw Cape buffalo and hippos.  We saw those, as well as two kinds of eagle, some mongoose, and a very cool lion.

Cape buffalo

Wahlberg’s eagle

Herd of impalas and one  with oxpecker eating a bug out of his ear!

Then back to the lodge for dinner.  The security guard said there were elephants and leopards wandering around the camp at night, so we had to be escorted back to our tents at night.  Very exciting!