South African Travels, Day 5

When I look back over how early I woke up the last two days, it makes me laugh- if only because today, I had to wake up at 3:45 to be ready to go by 4:30 AM. That hour later certainly looks pretty good right now!

We all got up, got ready, and went to breakfast. At 4:30, we loaded up the bus (minus our 3 people who went back to Lydenburg) and headed to Kruger National Park (side note: the bus was much more comfortable with the extra space!).

On the way, when it was starting to get a little lighter outside, we suddenly stopped on a bridge. I thought we were just taking in the serene view of the water and the mountains, with the electric backdrop of the houses around, in the early morning light.

So peaceful

Then, I looked over the bridge to a sandbar in the water.

I wonder if they are hungry hungry.

There were hippos. And a crocodile. And I thought the bayous in Katy were filled with scary things? (PS, they are- there are alligators and snakes).

We continued on and got into the park shortly before the sun came up, which meant that a lot of animals were out enjoying the cool morning and looking for breakfast.

Impalas hanging out

As the rainy season was going on, the vegetation was lush, which made finding critters a bit harder.

There could be anything out there...

As we drove around a corner, we were met by several impalas that seemed to be running for their lives. We stopped, watching them disappear into the brush, wondering if something was chasing them. Suddenly, Poemie, our driver, shouted "Wild dogs! Wild dogs!" and hit he accelerator, charging further down the road.

There are only about 300 wild dogs left in the wild. They are incredibly rare to see, which is the reason for his excitement. Spoiler alert: we ended up seeing about 30 today. Amazing.

There were four standing in an open space right next to the road. We parked and turned the engine off and just watched them for a while.

What do you hear with those big ears?

Beautiful

What are you looking at?

Suddenly, some invisible cue was given, and they were off on the hunt:

Oppan border collie style

We drove back to where we had seen the impalas, and we saw the dogs run by, but they disappeared back into the brush. We headed in the direction they had gone and came upon these guys:

Just some grass hanging out of my mouth, nothing to see here

These are Cape buffalo. They may look docile, but these guys are some of the meanest guys on the planet. They have been known to stalk people hunting them, even if they are injured. Go to YouTube and watch "Battle at Kruger" and you will see how persistent they are (you will also see lionesses fight over a buffalo calf with a crocodile). We wondered if we were going to see another battle at Kruger, but this time between the buffalo and the dogs.

The buffalo moved on, and we went back to where we had last seen the wild dogs. They were back, but we had missed their kill. They had gotten an impala and were enjoying being full/gnawing on the skull. And they did NOT care about all of the cars and people watching them.

Just our every day routine

Nom nom nom

Hanging out with me

 We eventually moved down the road and found our buffalo hanging out how they do:

So picturesque...

Sup.

We continued on and stumbled upon more impala (a common theme in Kruger). But suddenly, elephants!

You picked the wrong neighborhood

Back off!

The elephant above kind of circled around us, and, even in a van, I was very aware of her power should she decide she no longer wanted us so close. Fortunately, after giving us a few hard looks, she disappeared into the trees.

Throughout the trip, we stopped for many birds. I have a ton of pictures of them, which I am not going to upload here. But, there are many beautiful species living on that great continent that were certainly fun to see. During one of our many bird stops, another jeep pulled up next to us, and a girl asked what we were looking at. Someone replied, "Birds", to which she responded, "Birds?!" and then drove off. Oh well.

We saw many zebra, including this cute guy:

Mommy said don't talk to strangers...

Even more impala:

Excellent camouflage skills

 This rhino:

Hey guys, how's it going?

 Wildebeest (my favorite):

Classic livestock pose

Sleepy heads

And kudu, but I'll save them for later. We stopped at a little rest area that had shops and bathrooms, and it was there that I made a discovery. In Texas, we have pigeons and crows pilfering our picnic tables. In Africa, they have these:

Bad Zazu!

We left there and came upon giraffes:

Being one with the trees

More kudu:

My, what big ears you have!

And waterbuck (Rebecca decided these animals had no business in Africa due to the white target they have on their butts):

Pretty boy

We then arrived at a look out point in the park where you could get out and take pictures of the fantastic views:

"NAAAANTS INGONYAMAAAAA!"

 Upon leaving the look-out, we stumbled upon these fun looking vervets:

I think the middle one is considering using the top one's tail as a swing

But then, a little bit further, the decision makers of the jungle:

Terrifying

 I'm serious, a group of baboons is called a "congress". Lololol.

This guy is really cool, so I'm including him here:

So noble

And who doesn't want to see a hippo out of water? Me, unless I'm in the safety of a vehicle.

I'm like 'em chunky.

We ran into more giraffes, zebras, and elephants, but I'm starting to fear that blogger may call me on a picture limit here. So, if you would like to see more of those, just ask :)

As the day progressed and it got later, our attention was drawn to the fact that if we were not outside the park when it closed, we would be spending the night there. We decided to be a little speedier and only stop for "worthy" animals, such as these guys:

Sunning.

It was amazing to me how whenever we found crocodiles, there were usually hippos nearby, and vice versa.

But our plans to go quickly were thwarted by these jerks, who had to hang out in the middle of the road:

Just sit still while I pick bugs off you (I would be a terrible candidate)

These baboons got close- too close. One was right outside the window. I shut my window, not wanting to lose my camera/face.

It wouldn't have been a success if we had not seen any Pumbas:

Slimy yet satisfying.

We managed to get out of the park before it closed, where we pulled over and had a bathroom break at the facilities. There was a hog of some sort- either a warthog or a bush pig- hanging out by the gate, because apparently someone had thrown an apple core near the fence. His desperate squeaks and squeaks as he begged for the apple core were both hilarious and gut-wrenching. I just wanted to feed him!

We got back to the farm shortly before dinner, where we learned that the other party was just leaving Lydenburg. They did not get back until maybe 10:45 PM. Dr. Logan and I waited up for them, and when they finally arrived, they were beat. We played a little with Wallace, the resident Scottie, then went to bed, ready for another day of work tomorrow.

What do an eland baby and an adult rhino have in common? Stay tuned to find out!