Kruger National Park Day 1 - Afternoon safari
I'll make a post for each safari as I sort through my photos. If this is too much, let me know and I'll hold off until I've finished sorting them all, and just post the best.
The lodge is located in a concession within Kruger, and therefore the safari vehicles are permitted to drive off-road and at night, which allows some unique viewing opportunities you wouldn't get from driving yourself around Kruger.
Two or three vehicles leave the lodge at the same time, each with its own guide, and each going its separate way. The guides keep in contact via radio so that rarer animal sightings can be shared - and also so that one vehicle can approach a location without too many other vehicles being there.
The start of this first safari was a little grim, with a few skulls and a desiccated corpse pointed out to us! But still all very interesting.
African Buffalo skull:
Desiccated wildebeest carcass:
Hippopotamus skull:
There were, as always, plenty of Impala to be seen:
We then got to see a lion and her cub in the bushes near a dry riverbed:
They then went for a walk to have a drink from a puddle in the riverbed:
It was very impressive to see these animals in the wild. The guide reassured us that we're safe in the vehicle, as long as we keep still. Apparently the lions view the vehicle as one large animal and leave it alone - but movement inside the vehicle allows them to identify the smaller and tastier people! The guide was concerned for these lions as they were looking very skinny (but of course no interference is permitted).
A couple of white rhinos (a mother and a baby) were then spotted munching on the sparse weeds in the dirt. As they continued to 'hoover up' the weeds they got closer and closer to our stationary vehicle - not really raising their heads from the ground, and seemingly oblivious to us. I made this recording (sound removed as people in our group were talking and I didn't want to upload that to the internet):
The baby rhino got so close that it actually knocked its horn on the side of the vehicle:
During each afternoon safari, a break was taken to get out and have a drink (I had a beer) whilst watching the sunset:
On the drive back to the lodge, a honey badger was spotted in the road:
Dinner was great: Watermelon and biltong salad, ostrich steak, and a brownie for dessert.
All-in-all, a pretty exciting first day!