I'm nearly certain the ranger called them Baha zebra but have come up with nothing like that on Google. Zebras are social animals that spend their time in herds. Each zebra's stripes are as unique as fingerprints.
Sable Antelope are rare according to the ranger. Their stance is regal.
While we were watching the sable antelopes someone spotted a bird which the ranger, with the aid of binoculars, identified as a Brown Snake Eagle.
And then there were Waterbuck:
The ranger reckoned that the Waterbuck were the last animals to get in the ark. As there was no space for them they had to sit on the toilet and that's why they have the mark of a toilet seat on their rear!
This is a Blacksmith Plover also known as a Blacksmith Lapwing. These birds are usually monogamous (unlike the President of South Africa!) and are very clever and very good at defending their territory according to our ranger.
In the distance we saw a hyena. Seemingly there was a baby hyena too but I couldn't see it. It's at times like this that I despair of my short-sightedness!
At this stop we also saw a blue starling and a forktailed drongo but they were too fast for the photographer!
Driving along our group got very excited as we saw, on the left, an elephant. We were all saying (not too loudly because we had been told not to make much noise) "elephant, elephant"!? We couldn't understand why the ranger didn't stop but then we saw this. Directly in front of us on the roadway!
It was a huge bull elephant! The ranger warned us to be quiet because he could see the elephant was in musth (a periodic condition in male elephants when their testosterone levels can be as much as 60 times greater than at other times) and so was very dangerous. He reckoned it was about 40 years old.
We saw lots of impala but the ranger wouldn't stop for us to get photos because they are so common a sight and very numerous. He calls them "fast food for lions"!
Next to be sighted were Kudus. These are a species of antelope with fantastic long spiral antlers (the male) which have long been prized in Africa as musical instruments, honey containers and symbolic ritual objects. They have stripes and spots on the body and rather large ears. Carol maintains that the kudu is Brian's spirit animal. I wonder why! It could just as easily be called the Mc Cosker spirit animal!
Aren't those horns fantastic!
At this stage the ranger could see 3 cheetahs in the distance but I didn't catch sight of them. I think Jim did but they were too far away to get a photo. Then buffalo.
Following the buffalos we came across another group of giraffes. This time they were Burchell giraffes according to the ranger.
This baby was about a week old!
And then Charlotte spotted a tortoise - the ranger hadn't noticed it but identified it as a Leopard Tortoise. We all saw it but Jim did not manage to get a photo.
After that there were lots of impalas and it was more than time to have breakfast which we all kept calling lunch! We stopped at Skukuza Camp, the main camp in Kruger Park and its administrative headquarters. It is situated on the southern banks of the Sabie river.
While Jim was busy taking photos of the Sabie river, Charlotte and I spotted this Blue Head Agama Lizard. He arrived back in time to get photos before it scuttled off.
Sculpture at Skukuzu Rest Camp.
On this administrative building are the busts of the three founders of Kruger National Park - Piet Grobler, Paul Kruger and James Stevenson- Hamilton. James Stevenson-Hamilton was Irish! Born in Dublin on October 2 1867 he served from 1902 to 1946 as first warden of South Africa's Sabi Park which was expanded during his term and became Kruger National Park in 1926.
Back we got on our open-topped vehicle and off we went on safari again. Our first sighting was of 3 female kudus.
Isn't she beautiful! Most kudus have a chevron of white hair on the forehead between the eyes. Female kudus are a good bit smaller than males.
Our first giraffe! The name comes from Arabic meaning "the one who walks swiftly. Their favourite food is acacia. It was very beautiful to watch - so elegant!
We then saw a beefeater bird but it was too fast to photo.
We got to talking about trees and the ranger pointed out an Amarula tree which elephants are very fond of. It makes them drunk and they go blundering about among the trees often knocking them down! The fruit of the amarula is used to make a spirit called Amarula Gold and a cream liquer called Amarula. It is similar to Baileys Cream though I thought it had more of an alcoholic taste when we tried it.
Next were more impala and then some velvet monkeys.
They looked like a prehistoric family getting on with their daily chores.
Then we came upon a Hamerkop's nest. A Hamerkop is a type of stork - hence the size of the nest.
Another elephant but much smaller than the last.
Mud, mud, glorious mud. Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. Hippos wallowing!
We also saw a crocodile in the distance and a bird called a longtailed shire and more zebras. Am I getting a bit blase here?
Breeding buffalos and buffalos crossing the road.
Elephants bathing.
Our final sightings were not photographed - crocodiles, hippos, waterbuck, a Steppe Buzzard and, of course, lots of impalas. The only disappointment was that we didn't see a lion but we had had more than 6 amazing hours in Kruger National Park and it was only 1pm.
Back at the hotel I had to take a lie down to recover from all the excitement while Jim wandered about taking a look at menus in the restaurant and sussing out the craft shops.
I wonder was the bobotie as good as the one I made for Arthur and his wife before we went away?
75 rand is just over 5 euro - cheap!
Just like here, lamb shank is much more expensive and I remember a time when our local butcher would almost give them away free.
We had been offered an evening safari but we three decided that we were too exhausted. Because most of the group opted for the evening safari dinner was scheduled for 8 pm which was a tad late for us. However, in the restaurant they were quite happy to serve us earlier which suited us fine. Charlotte arrived at the restaurant before us and seemingly. as she sat down on the seat on the veranda, the seat collapsed and her with it. The waiters were very attentive and fixed the chair but she refused to sit again until one of them tried it out. One of them did and when we arrived she was secure and sipping a glass of wine. I'm really sorry we missed the scene!
As it happened, during the last 5 minutes of the evening game drive, they saw a beautiful male lion. Ah well!
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