Thursday PM Game drive - 100 degrees - probably more. The prediction was for 107 degrees
Almost before we left the Lodge we saw a male Kudu. When we stopped to see him we also saw his doe and newborn baby. The baby was still wobbly and needed help from its mother to move into the brush. It was very likely less than 2 hours old.
At one of the waterholes we saw a pair of Saddle Bill Storks. They are reportedly quite uncommon - and very colorful.
As we were driving along looking for game a Rhino popped out of a dry creek bed and into the road in front of us with a cloud of dust. We stopped quickly enough that we did not hit him - but it was close. We followed him for a while and saw him spraying and dumping to mark his territory. At one point he appeared to be unhappy about us following him. He charged toward us but pulled up short of hitting us.
We also saw Giraffes and a herd of about 200 Buffalo. On our way back while travelling in the dark to the Lodge we saw a Scrub Hare. We see them most evenings while we are returning in the dark.
After dinner we were again escorted back to our unit because Lions had been heard or seen nearby while we were eating our dinner. By the way: most of our dinners are 4-course dinners of gourmet food. I think the definition of the word "Safari" has changed in the last half century - like the words "gay", "thongs", and "camping", etc.
Friday AM Game drive
We returned to the site of the previous day's carnage by the 5 Lion brothers. One of them was still nearby. While we were there he got up and headed away. Cedric suspected he would be trying to reconnect to his four brothers. We intercepted him when he was about half way to them. We heard him calling his brothers and we followed him as he joined them. Back at the scene of the previous day's kills there were vultures - lots of vultures. They were working the carcasses from the outside and inside. Among the vultures there was a Lappet-head) Vulture. Cedric had not seen any of those in a couple of years.
We also saw the usual suspects: a journey of Giraffes, Elephants including young ones, multiple groups of old Buffalo bulls, and a Lilac-breasted roller (bird).
A Cheetah was spotted in the distance. I was never able to see it. It was on a property on which our lodge does not have permission to enter.
During breakfast about a dozen Elephants came to our waterhole to cool off. They rolled and played. I got some great video. I will share it when I figure out how. At the same time in another part of the waterhole two Hippos were doing races and creating a lot of foam in the water with their surprisingly fast antics.
After breakfast I went on another nature hike and learned a little bit about scat (poop) and footprint identification. In the meantime, my wife was unable to get back to our unit for about a half hour because there were Elephants in the way. Some were also drinking from our pool again. After a while a ranger escorted her to our house.
Male Leopard - late evening
Oldest member of the coalation
Mama lifts baby Elephant
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