Safari Part Deux...

Jake and Emily and the giraffe.

We asked this guy if he would take a photo of our family...he gave Dave the camera and got in with us instead.  Cheeky buggar!

White rhino...super duper amazing to see in person.

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Bathing elephant.  No privacy for these animals!

The cheetah...chillaxin under the shade tree.

Two lionesses and their bloody dinner.

Braii (BBQ) with our guide, Stacy.

The Safari at HluHluwe iMflolozi was really out of this world!  Like I said in the last post, we had to leave by five that morning for the hour drive to the park.  We arrived at six and started right away.  It was going to be a scorcher so it was imperative that we see as much as possible before the heat sent the animals fleeing for shelter.  I can't remember what we saw first, but we saw it all and then some!  The giraffes were so cool, just chillin and eating leaves with their big eyes and long lashes.  We got to see a bunch of them throughout the day and they were one of the favorites...we even saw them running from afar which is just the coolest!  The park is known for its large Rhino population (Rhinos are endangered and are still being killed at an alarming rate, even in the parks) so we were able to see many White Rhinos and quite a few up close.  They are super prehistoric and impressive looking.  Jake said they looked like they were wearing armor. We had to be calm and quiet as they moved slowly past our vehicle...but believe me our hearts were racing because you do not want to tick those guys off!  They did not try to tip our car over...just wanted you to come back and read the post:)  

The lions were incredible!  At one point we came upon a pack of wildebeests who were fleeing from something...that something proved to be a teenage lion and lioness.  They ran across the road in front of us and hid in some bushes.  All the animals in the vicinity were freaking out, making high pitched warning calls to one another.  It was the coolest!  They soon ditched us so our guide, Stacy, took us to a “hide” which is a small building with narrow windows where you can watch the animals at a watering hole but they can’t see you.  There were restrooms nearby, but Stacy was very nervous to let us use them since the lions were still in the area.  It was a stressful toilet experience!  The boys were already down in the hide and by the time we got there we had just missed seeing an elephant bathe and drink in the watering hole!  Bummer!!!  The lions had been there earlier too.  It was a super cool place to see many animals up close, interacting with one another.  A huge pack of zebras and some bucks came in and it was fun to watch them for a bit.

We had a lovely BBQ lunch on a hilltop with our guide and fellow tour mates, Babette and Sebastian.  Naughty monkeys, guinea fowl and warthogs joined us as well.  The day was getting extremely hot at this point and our time was over half way up so we were eager to get back on the road.  We got to see some more Cape Buffalo up close after lunch.  One of them had a little bird living on it (symbiosis) that spent time cleaning out its nostrils and ears of bugs and other parasites.  I wish I had one of those things for my home!  I know Jake could use one right about now!  At one point during the afternoon one of the kids turned to me and said “I would have never learned any of this stuff at school’…yup…made my day!

One of the most memorable sightings happened late in the day when we had stopped next to another couple of jeeps to talk animals.  One of the trucks took off with a bang and spooked a cheetah out from under some nearby bushes!  We did not think we would get to see one since there are very few in the park (it’s been two months since our guide had seen one).  Jake was extra pumped since he is in the process of writing a report on them.  It ran to a nearby tree and sat under the shade while we stared at his awesomeness.  Wow!

We saw lots of babies…rhinos, giraffes, warthogs, zebras, monkeys, to name a few…the kids loved to see them!  Before we left the park we sighted three huge male elephants walking along a nearby ridge and a couple of female lionesses chillin in the shade. One of the lionesses was pregnant and they had recently killed something because there was a bloody carcass right next to them.  We got pretty lucky on our safaris to get to see all that we did.  It was such an awesome experience…just unforgettable!!! (you were right Julie Trammel and Julie Brasher)  I could have enjoyed a couple more days just like it…but my butt was dead after only two (from sitting and going over so many bumpy roads)!  The kids won’t let me live down the fact that I stopped the truck on several occasions thinking that I had spotted an animal, only to have it be a tree stump or small bush…whatever!

On the drive back, the African children were just getting off school so they were yelling greetings to our truck as we passed.  At one point Jake asked “why does everyone know us here?”  Hilarious! The people here are so friendly and fun!  That evening we shared another lovely dinner with our Swiss friends and hotel owner, Laurence.  We were all just fried from the heat and wind so we walk into dinner and sat around a fire pit…we were dying!  He had us wrap dough around a stick and cook it over the coals…it’s called stick bread. When it’s done, you pull it off the stick and throw some butter and honey inside.  Wow!  Dinner was fantastic too!  So much awesomeness for one day!!!

That night the heavens opened and it started to pour.  There’s a cyclone off the coast and we got the tail end of it.  It rained lightly in the morning as we took the last of our adventure tours, a hippo and croc cruise on the waterway in St. Lucia.  We got to see several families of hippos just laying all over each other in the water.  The babies are the cutest and they are protected in the middle of the sleepover by all the moms.  So cute!  No sightings of crocs though…they only come out with the sun.  Oh, and beware of the bubbles that pop up next to the hippos…toxic gas! 

Cape Buffalo with his little bird friend.

Dave and some buck or impala...can't tell which.

Cute homes like this dot the hillsides of SA.