After our first night camping in Kruger National Park at Skukuza Camp, we began our first full day by getting on the road by 7:45 am. It's fall in Kruger in April, and the sun comes up later, but the gates DO open at 6 am. I do not think we ever accomplished starting by that time. If we had, we probably would have seen many more animals. As it was, we saw A LOT of animals. A Red-billed Hornbill perched up in a tree was the first animal we saw this morning.
For the next five hours we kept our eyes peeled for any animal in trees, in open spaces, on a rock, in or under a bush, or up in the sky. Your eyes get buggy after a while.... And when I saw an animal, I would take a zillion photos. Really, I took over 2500 photos during the whole trip. Do you see anything in this photo?
These cute little birds are Natal Spurfowl.
Warthogs appeared next in a small group. If you look closely, you will see an African Grey Hornbill in the middle of the dead tree. At the top of the tree there is the lower part of a Lilac-breasted Roller. And on the left side of the tree is a beautiful iridescent Cape Glossy Starling.
The warthog's tusks are formidable looking.
Chacma Baboons were almost as numerous as the impala.
What do you see here? They stay up in the trees at night for safety.
This young baboon is just waking up.
Impala were often nearby.
There was rocky landscape south of Skukuza Camp.
We hoped to see lounging lions, leopards, or cheetahs. It did not happen for us.
We rounded a corner and came upon these two Klipspringers that like to hang out in a group of two.
In six weeks of travel we only saw one rhinoceros. I never saw its mouth, but I think this was a Black Rhinoceros. It was very intent upon eating and keeping most of its face covered.
A Red-billed Oxpecker sits on the rhino's back.
These Vervet Monkeys are quick. I know because they stole food from us several times. They are the top in-n-out thieves. His blue nether region gives him away.
This large antelope is known as a Kudu.
The impala like to hang out with the kudu.
These are young White-backed Vultures.
Now what is that? Is it a rock covered with turtles? Wait....
It is so important to maintain patience when watching animals. This is one of my favorite photos of our trip.
We finally saw elephants. I could watch them for hours.
It is a group of females with their young.
Oh! Look! There is a Burchell's Zebra.
We headed back to Skukuza Camp for lunch. When in Kruger National Park, you may not get out of your vehicle anywhere except in clearly designated areas that are few and far between. Our to-go lunch consisted of a burger and fries for Jim and Pap with tomato and onion sauce and a Greek salad for me which we ate while looking up and down the Sabie River.
No elephants or crocodiles were visible today.
After a short rest we headed out on a different road towards our next camp. This afternoon we saw our first giraffes. What amazing creatures they are, moving so stately with grace and dignity.
They are shy and do not stick around long.
It is grooming time for these Chacma Baboons.
There is another giraffe!
These elephants are munching grass.
An impala is near a Blue Wildebeest and a group of warthogs.
An elephant is way, way back there.
These two seem to be having a great time in the water.
We are camping at Satara Camp tonight. A big fence keeps out a Spotted Hyena that is looking for quick handouts as it paces back and forth. One of our neighbors had been throwing scraps to it, a big no-no!
The sun sets about 5:30 pm, early here in April during our cocktail hour.
No comments:
Post a Comment