We got up again very early (5 AM) and went to the eating hall. On the way we passed by the local Nyalas - a mamma and baby today. See the photo below.
Charlie and I have begun teasing we went for our first breakfast. Coffee, small croissant and juice. By 6 AM we were in our safari vehicle with Gus and Alec for our early morning drive. My error this morning was that I left my sunglasses in the pocket of my jacket. Soon after we took off I realized that I'd dropped them getting into the vehicle. Gus has communication with all the other drivers and the camp itself. One of the other drivers found them. Whew. Clearly, my jacket pocket isn't a good storage site.
We set our and found our first animal of the day, a Wildebeest, a Gnu.
A couple of photos of giraffes we spotted just before we got back to camp.
We set our and found our first animal of the day, a Wildebeest, a Gnu.
He was all by himself. Charlie and I had seen many of them on our other safari years ago in Kenya and Tanzania. But never a lone wanderer like this fellow.
There weren't any animals about for a bit so I took a photo of elephant damage. It is amazing how many downed trees and thin leaved trees are in the forest. One example below
A bit further on Gus pointed to a group of vultures in the trees. Indicators of a fresh lion kill, Gus and Alec hunted about. Several other safari cars joined them. They spotted the stomach contents of whatever had been killed. Then they spotted drag marks of the kill probably dragged away by hyenas. A bit later we came upon the lions. They'd eaten their fill, gone to get a drink at their favorite watering hole. The hyenas stole what was left, and the lions went to sleep off their adventure.
The bird to the right is a white backed vulture. The two birds on the left are yellow billed kites. We had seen this type of bird hunting for things, but they aren't above a little carrion when it's available.
One of a group of resting lions. She could hardly keep her head up.
We then stopped for a coffee and a snack (muffins or filled pastries or oat biscuits) Or as Charlie and I called it - second breakfast.
Alec and Gus setting up the second meal of the day
After our rest stop we drove passed a grassy field and Alec spotted two male lions sleeping in the grass.
The lions know that the vehicles are harmless. This fellow picked his head up for a couple of seconds, then immediately dropped back to sleep!
Our next encounter was a great surprise. A herd of elephants getting some water at a watering hole. One of the other safari vehicles had found my sunglasses. Hurray. We got to see elephants AND I got my sunglasses back.
Apparently, elephants like clean water and will suck up some in their truck, then spit it out, filtering it in a way. One elephant blew the water out in two directions (left and right) like a sprinkler. The photos below show the herd. Note: the babies are kept surrounded by adults.
The youngest to the left was between his mamma's legs.
Two youngsters playing around. Elephants grow tucks at about two years of age. Clearly, these babies were younger than that. Also, elephant tusks are different lengths. The short side is their dominant side.
Once the elephants drank their fill, they set off down the road.
Note: the elephant in front of Alec clearly wasn't happy that we were on their road. She didn't do much but stare. However, she only moved away when we backed away.
We bumped into a few other animals on our way back to the camp.
A nyala male. He's much larger and darker than the females.
A dukar. Small antelope, they mate for life. When their mate dies, they're alone. The only antelope that consumes a bit of meat.
A couple of photos of giraffes we spotted just before we got back to camp.
We returned to camp just in time for our third breakfast. Sigh. I'll pay a over-weight charge flying home on the plane.
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