The Big Five!
Up to today we have seen four of the big five: leopards, lions, elephants and Cape Buffalo. So, all that remained for the grand slam was rhinos! So, in search of Rhinos we went! We set off at 6:30 am and we got about a half a kilometre from the camp when we spotted a leopard! Leopards are very elusive and generally don’t stick around for long and this guy was no different! Two of our groups all got to see him one of the groups arrived too late. I got a mediocre picture, which is better than the shot that I missed the first time we saw a leopard.
We pushed on to the area where our guides hoped to find the rhinos. Rhinos are almost extinct in Botswana, so with very few remaining it is very difficult to find them in an area this large. We hadn’t gone very far when we spotted lions! Again! This time they weren’t a mating pair. We actually got to see six lions from the same pride, two females and four males, just under two years old! It just amazed me how the guide can pull our jeep alongside the lions and, as long as we remain quiet and still, they are not bothered by us. They walked along in the grass and then settled in to relax in the shade beside a tall termite mound. Unbelievable!
After MANY photos, we moved on and came across six ostriches out in the field, 3 males and 3 females. They are very skittish so we couldn’t get really close to them but we did get some pictures.
Our guides were anxious to find us rhinos so we carried on to the area where they hoped they would be. When we got to the area they were disappointed to realize that they couldn’t find any fresh tracks to follow them, so they knew it was going to be hard to find them. Suddenly, a call came on the radio that another jeep had found them. Our guide told us to hang on and he sped over to the area where they were. There was a lot of bouncing and giggling going on, a real adventure!!
We were so fortunate to get to see two white rhinos, a male and a female. They were a bit further away from us and then they laid down. As our third jeep arrived, they stood up and actually started to move toward us! It was like they were posing for a photo shoot as they came close and then showed us several sides of themselves! I couldn’t believe what we were seeing!! We even saw the male urinating to mark his territory and the female projectile pooped!
After MANY MANY pictures, we left and found a spot for our morning coffee break. We had a toast and a high 5 to seeing all of the Big 5!
At our coffee break we also discovered that the lion group was lucky enough to see two hyenas and were able to get pictures of them!
We were feeling very fortunate as we headed back to camp for lunch. As I sit and write this, a hippo walks out of the water right in front of our tent and grazes on grass 10 meters from our deck. An elephant came walking through on the other side of the water and wart hogs appear and disappear as they graze. This place is remarkable!
Around 3:00 pm, three elephants came into camp to drink by the river. They were right outside of our tent. They put on quite a show as they drank, bathed, and frolicked by the water. One of them was quite frisky and seemed to be hassling the other two. What a show! Then we realized that there was a big elephant grazing right beside one of the tents. Dave and Laura had to sneak away from their tent to come to the lodge. When we got to the lodge, we had another amazing sight! There were 30-40 hippos grazing alongside the river! Unbelievable! When we were heading to our jeeps for our 4:00 game drive, we realized that Carol and Roy weren’t there. They showed up and told us that they couldn’t leave because the big elephant was standing on the path so they had to wait until he moved away!
We set off on our afternoon safari. We just got going when one of the guides spotted a leopard, so the search was on! He was hiding in an island of trees and our guide drove right into the thicket. We saw the leopard hunkered down in the bush but he got away before we could get a good picture. Again!!!
We carried on seeing more wildlife and then our guide spotted a hyena off in the distance so we raced over there to catch some very good shots of her. We were enjoying our afternoon drive, knowing it was our final one. Suddenly our guide stopped the jeep, hopped out and announced that we had a flat tire! So, we all bailed out of the jeep. We had a total of 5 men in our jeep so they all pitched in to change the tire while us gals took advantage of a piece of bush that didn’t have any cats hiding in it! (I checked) As the afternoon was winding down we got the call.....one of the jeeps spotted a pack of wild dogs. The race was on again! Zulu, our guide, would say to us....”ok, they found wild dogs (or whatever the case was at the time) but it is a bit far, are you ok with that?” Of course we would say yes so then he would say “hold on” and away we would go. That was always an adventure that we loved!
As we were racing to the spot, the guide was hearing on the radio that their group saw the dogs take down an impala! OMG! We arrived in time to see the feeding frenzy of about 15 wild dogs eating up what was left of the antelope. They paid us no attention as they each fought for their share of the food. It is extremely difficult to see wild dogs, this was a first for all of us! What an unforgettable experience!
The sun was starting to set as we left the scene of the wild dogs and made our way to the river for our sundowner. We had a lovely surprise waiting for us! Some of the staff from the lodge had set up a table with snacks and drinks! We toasted to a fantastic day and a fabulous experience. We sang some songs together and there were definitely a few tears shed. A staff member thanked us for visiting their country and explained to us all of the things that we have helped to fund by travelling to their country. It was very touching!
Comments
Post a Comment