Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Africa: Sabi Sabi evening and morning game drives

Last night and this morning we went on two more games drives. I'm impressed by how close the guide is able to get to the animals. Apparently the configuration of the vehicle with passengers is familiar to them and not threatening. He urged us not to stand up as that creates a new configuration that could be threatening.

We spent some time watching a family of elephants. The babies are adorable especially as they tried to perfect the technique of grasping food with their trunks. One little male was using his legs and feet to aid his trunk in controlling the branches. A mother rhino and her baby and teenager were also enjoying dinner of grass. The baby was playful as it romped back and forth.

Later as twilight turned to night, Lucky the tracker (this is his nickname; his real name is pronounced like Thatha), spotted two leopards - mom and baby running through the grass. I wondered if they were looking for prey but the guide said they were just playing.

This morning we saw a rhino and hippo both relaxing in the bush. Then we were on the hunt for a pride of lions - two males, five or so females and cubs between the ages of four and ten months. We finally found them napping under a tree about 30 yards from an African buffalo kill. The youngest cubs were climbing all over their moms. Back at the lodge, a different group had seen the male lions, so I am hopeful we will see them this evening.

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