Day 6 - 21 August, 2010
6th
Day – 21 August, 2010
We
had set our alarm for 5:00 AM, so by the time Jason came knocking on the door at
5:30, we were semi awake and I headed off for the lodge for coffee.
Then out to board the game drive vehicle.
Thomas and Jason had graciously supplied it with blankets and hot water
bottles, as it was very nippy before the sun came up.
Speaking of which, while everyone was getting settled, I snapped this of
another S. African sunrise!
Shortly
after getting underway, we came upon a small herd of Cape Buffalo
who
weren’t too keen on letting us use “their” road.
They did finally move off to one side, though not without a dirty look
from this guy.
Around
7:30 we came across Black Tip again, without his girl friend, but with his 3
brothers!
At
first we only saw him, but then some movement beyond and to the right turned out
to be Smudge Bum (closest)
and
Pretty Boy (to the rear).
Smudge
Bum is so named because of a dark patch on his butt, and Pretty Boy because he
has the fewest battle scars. The 4th
brother is called just “Smudge”, though I’m not sure where his smudge is,
since we never really got a good look at him.
Keep in mind, these are not official names, just labels that the rangers
have put on them, so that they can identify the individuals in conversation.
Before
we left the sighting, Black Tip got up and moved up the road a hundred feet or
so to lay down with the 4th brother, Smudge, who was pretty well
hidden in the brush.
He
looked so majestic moving through the grass – truly the King of Beasts.
If
it appears from these pictures that all lions ever do is lay around and sleep,
that’s not too far from the truth. On
average they sleep 20 hours a day, doing their hunting at night.
Here
we’re stopped
while
Jason and Thomas serve up our morning coffee, tea or hot chocolate.
Since
we were cautioned about wearing overly bright clothing on the drives, we
wondered why they supplied us with these fire engine red blankets??
After
coffee, we returned to the lodge, and while we were waiting for breakfast to be
served, Jen and Spot (one of the resident dogs) played tug-a-war with a stuffed
toy.
When Spot finally won, then dropped the toy, Milo dashed in and took possession of it, as if to say, “Mine, mine, mine!” .
After
a hearty breakfast, I went off to reception to buy a Nkorho Bush Lodge hat.
Jen snapped this pic when I was on my way back to the Chalet wearing it.
Jen
and Chris went for a bush walk with Peter, and they found this baby monitor
lizard curled up in a hole in this dead tree.
Not
far into the afternoon drive, we came upon Mafufunyane a large male Leopard.
He
stayed in the open for a while, but was obviously hunting,
and
we soon lost him in the bush.
We
watched this small group of Common Dwarf Mongoose for a few minutes.
They
take up residence in termite mounds, staying for a few days, then moving
on. They are Africa’s smallest
predator, weighing about a pound and achieving 10-12” in length.
Though they look cute and cuddly,
most
assuredly they would remove your fingers, should you try and mess with them.
As
the sun was going down, we encountered this family of Rhino who had been
drinking at the pan at Kudu Corner. The
large male agreed to pose for us, but the other two wanted nothing to do with
us.
Here
we have the moon over Sabi Sands. Spectacular!
As
darkness fell, suddenly in the middle of the track in front of us was the grand
old lady herself, Safari, a 18 year old female leopard.
She
is blind in her right eye, the result of a spat she had with a male leopard,
Mafufunyane, I believe. And though,
she may have lost a step or two, she is still an accomplished huntress.
Some of the younger girls hassle her from time to time, trying to steal
her kills, but for the most part she holds her own.
So,
this brings us to the end of another day in the bush.
We saw 4 of the big 5, Buffalo, Lion, Rhino and Leopard, only missing
Elephant. But tomorrow’s another
day!
THE
DAY’S SIGHTINGS: ANIMALS
Buffalo
Lions
Black
Backed Jackal
Steenbok
Spot
& Milo
Baby Monitor Lizard
Leopard
Dwarf Mongoose
Rhino
THE
DAY’S SIGHTINGS: BIRDS
None noted, though we must have seen some!