Happy Tuesday!
One of the our favorite things about staying at a private camp before we did our own self drive safaris in Kruger was that we weren't in a hurry anymore. We got really lucky and actually saw the big 5 (lions, buffalos, elephants, leopards, and rhinos) within the first day and a half that we were at Umlani. So when we got to Kruger National Park, we weren't chasing (well...except for rhinos)...we drove at our leisure, relaxed, bird watched, and did whatever we wanted!
One of the our favorite things about staying at a private camp before we did our own self drive safaris in Kruger was that we weren't in a hurry anymore. We got really lucky and actually saw the big 5 (lions, buffalos, elephants, leopards, and rhinos) within the first day and a half that we were at Umlani. So when we got to Kruger National Park, we weren't chasing (well...except for rhinos)...we drove at our leisure, relaxed, bird watched, and did whatever we wanted!
A gloomy day at the bird blind but oh so peaceful.
Letaba restcamp has a very neat small museum called the "Elephant Hall" and has a cool collection of specimens and great information about the animal. I've always hated the notion of poaching but seeing the traps and tools people used to poach (in particular - the block of metal with a spike that was dropped directly onto the elephants' heads) made it even sadder :( It is so cruel.
Day 6.
(NOTE: collage above - it's the first adult male lion we've seen...we saw male cubs earlier in the trip. ICM found the error and said he wants to make sure he keeps me honest. Blah!)
Anyways, Day 6 was a special day! We left Mopani early in the morning to head down to the Olifants rest camp where we would stay two nights. Late in the afternoon, I saw a warthog and several warthog babies - they were so young that they were still pink!! At first, I was in awe and for several seconds, I was like "what are those??" It wasn't until I looked at the adult warthog next to the babies and saw similar features that I realized they were little babies. And because I was staring, I didn't press the shutter fast enough, so I have no photos to show you. Sorry?! BUT THEY ARE SO CUTE! I love baby warthogs, ahh!!!!
Viewpoint at Olifants Restcamp
ICM took this photo below! He was somewhat obsessive with photographing this crocodile...we went back at least twice. hehe.
During our drives within the park, it was so cool to see the changing landscapes and ecosystems. We'd be on a savannah-ish area one second and the next we might see something like the photo above...yeah, I sound like a nerd.
My eyes are tired and my back is hurting. Am I getting old?!
Time for bed, more photos tomorrow! I mean, I only have 18 days of SA trip to cover...no sweat!
Good night.