We woke up this morning to gale force winds and impending thunderstorms. Since that didn't stop them yesterday, we grabbed an early breakfast and went to the meeting spot for the 8am drive. Unfortunately our game driver said the weather was only going to deteriorate further so everything was postponed until later.
We took the opportunity to get some napping and reading done as well as explore the grounds a little before it started raining harder. The crocodiles were out sunning in the lagoon that is about 50 feet from our front door. There was a lot more of them in there than we expected - we counted 7 just on our side alone. We also walked over to the outer area where the tented rooms are. There was a herd of Nyala and zebras just walking around! After a few pictures and both of our hats blowing off we retired in the room until the storm passed.
At noon we went out for the first of two drives today. We got to see the cheetah and her two cubs napping under a tree! The ranger let us get out of the truck and walk right up to about 20 feet from them. The cubs are still all fuzzy. They all laid down together for a nap as we left - it was adorable. After we saw the cheetahs we rounded the corner to a tower of giraffes (as we learned they are called). They were absolutely stunning.
After the giraffes we drove around for about an hour looking for the elephants. The game range we are on is small but they 3 elephants as well as rhinos, giraffes, tons of Nyala and zebras, water bucks and a handful of other large animals. We weren't successful in finding dumbo but we did find some dung beetles! I am surprisingly entertained by these bugs. We saw one ball of dung that was being rolled by the male while the female just hung on and went for a ride. Then we saw another dung ball that two males were fighting over. They were both trying to push the poo-ball in opposite directions which just resulted in hilarity.
After lunch, we went back out and found the elephants! They were deep in the range and it was kind of sketchy getting there. At one point we got stuck with only two wheels on the ground and we all had to move to one side so we didn't tip over. They were very beautiful and really humongous. They are kind of aggressive though so we didn't spend too much time there. We made our way back out and came across two baby giraffes, a bunch of zebras, more dung beetles, a herd of water buck, a wildebeest, and a bunch of birds that the guide pointed out.
We are now back at the resort for dinner and off to bed early. We are leaving at 530am to head to Sodwana Bay for scuba diving tomorrow. We have two dives scheduled. I hope we see some whale sharks! And that I am not too terrified to swim with them!
Animal count for today:
Giraffes
Cheetahs
Nyala
Zebras
Water bucks
Wildebeest
Dung beetles
Crocodiles
Elephants
Lots of birds
Hi!! Me again!! Your little Lizard friend is GHEKO (sometimes GEKKO .... but he doesn't care!!) My Apartment has loads. They are fascinating to watch. They catch little flies & bugs -- usually on the ceiling. Their bodies are quite see-thru and if you get close, you can see his Dinner inside his belly. They don't have teeth! They fight with eachother all the time and it's very common to see one with only 3 Legs or no tail. The ones with a leg missing don't do too well on the Ceiling!! It always amazes me that the Elephant is one of the Hardest Animals to find!! I drove around Hluhluwe for 3 days without seeing one -- TONS of steaming, fresh shit tho!! Then on the last day, we came across a Herd of about 30!!! It'd be lovely if you could get to see some Lions before you leave -- they're not called "King of the Jungle" for nothing -- very Noble and Elegant Animals. I've never been to Sodwana, I believe it's fantastic. Apart from Ostrich, what else have you tried?? Boerwors? Biltong? Warthog? Crocodile Tail? Buck? Mielie Pap? All great stuff -- no messing, honest!!
ReplyDeleteMaybe now you're beginning to see why I love it there!! Away from Cities -- J'burg, C'town, Dbn etc -- in the bush or on a beach ....... simply the best!!!