We awoke before dawn on day two. It had rained overnight, and was still drizzling. Our guide had insisted there was no time for breakfast or showers. We had to get going quickly because the animals are most active in the early morning. After some hurried tea and biscuits, we sleepily climbed onto the bus as dawn was beginning to break.
Our haste was immediately rewarded. Less than two kilometers from our campsite, a female lion came walking along the road towards us, with her two cubs. We stopped, and they walked right by the bus, apparently unconcerned with our presence. About a minute later, the male lion walked by about three meters from the road, a bit ghostly in the grey morning light.
As the first rays of sunlight began to colour the landscape, we drove by several Cape buffaloes lying in the tall grass with their legs tucked under them. A little later we saw a herd of about forty female impalas, guarded by a single male. Several guinea fowls with blue iridescent heads walked through the long grass. The morning wore on and we stopped several times to see a topi (antelope), a waterbuck (another antelope), some distant hyenas, and a troop of baboons on the road. We saw a family of vervet monkeys (small, cute, with black faces) in a thorn tree right beside the road. We saw two female giraffes less than twenty meters away, calmly browsing on an acacia tree. A group of bachelor impalas looked warily as we passed. As we returned to the campsite for lunch, we disturbed a family of warthogs who took to their heels as we approached. They dashed away, adults and young, with their tails held straight up like antennas.
After lunch we headed off again. Our destination was a large hippo pool. After some time, we saw a herd of 20 elephants about 30 meters off the road. There were 2 very small babies among them. The mothers were nervous of us, and herded their babies further away from the road, then the whole herd moved off. About five kilometers further along, a solitary bull elephant stood looking directly at us about ten meters away. It seemed to be trying to figure out what, if anything, to do about us. It stood contemplating us for several minutes, slowly fanning itself with its ears, before it turned and wandered slowly away.
A little further along three jackals were walking through the grass, doing nothing in particular, it seemed.
We arrived at the hippo pool after some more time on the road. It was an amazing sight as 75-80 hippos bathed and submerged in a large, stinking pool which was in a dry river bed. They ranged in size from smaller animals about the size of a large chest freezer to monsters the size of a minivan. Hippos can weigh up to two tonnes.
Some of them stood placidly still in the water, lifting their heads occasionally to breathe, some submerged entirely, and broke the surface with their heads to breathe, and some were a bit more active, lifting their heads above the water, opening their mouths wide, then disappearing below the surface of the fetid water with their mouths still wide open. The pool was stagnant, and the hippos did not get out to defecate, so they were effectively swimming in a pool of their own dung. The place smelled accordingly. Hippos feed on land at night, sometimes causing seemingly wanton destruction to crops and other vegetation. They are quite aggressive and very dangerous to humans when encountered on land. Two large crocodiles, who shared the pool with the hippos, wisely spent their time sunning themselves on the adjacent mud flats, rather than swimming in the water.
The hippo poll was the high point of the afternoon, but we also saw more elephants, and a group of about seven giraffes quite close to the road. These large animals move with a stately elegance, quite graceful despite their large size and seemingly ungainly shape. Their loping run looks like it is in slow motion, but they can cover a lot of ground quickly if threatened. They appear quite calm, moving through the acacia and thorn trees to browse. Their enormous soft eyes and long eyelashes make them look intelligent and somewhat vulnerable, although our guide says one kick from their powerful legs can break a lion’s jaw. (The lion would then starve to death).
We also saw many more impalas and, near the end of the day we spotted a leopard in a tree, at some distance but clearly visible through binoculars. Late in the day we stopped at a luxurious lodge, a high end place for people who can afford to fly in to see the animals. It was quite elegant, built around a huge granite boulder. We had a drink in the bar before heading back to the campsite for a wonderful dinner of batter fried fish (locally caught Tilapia) and a glass or two of good South African sauvignon blanc before turning in.
Our haste was immediately rewarded. Less than two kilometers from our campsite, a female lion came walking along the road towards us, with her two cubs. We stopped, and they walked right by the bus, apparently unconcerned with our presence. About a minute later, the male lion walked by about three meters from the road, a bit ghostly in the grey morning light.
As the first rays of sunlight began to colour the landscape, we drove by several Cape buffaloes lying in the tall grass with their legs tucked under them. A little later we saw a herd of about forty female impalas, guarded by a single male. Several guinea fowls with blue iridescent heads walked through the long grass. The morning wore on and we stopped several times to see a topi (antelope), a waterbuck (another antelope), some distant hyenas, and a troop of baboons on the road. We saw a family of vervet monkeys (small, cute, with black faces) in a thorn tree right beside the road. We saw two female giraffes less than twenty meters away, calmly browsing on an acacia tree. A group of bachelor impalas looked warily as we passed. As we returned to the campsite for lunch, we disturbed a family of warthogs who took to their heels as we approached. They dashed away, adults and young, with their tails held straight up like antennas.
After lunch we headed off again. Our destination was a large hippo pool. After some time, we saw a herd of 20 elephants about 30 meters off the road. There were 2 very small babies among them. The mothers were nervous of us, and herded their babies further away from the road, then the whole herd moved off. About five kilometers further along, a solitary bull elephant stood looking directly at us about ten meters away. It seemed to be trying to figure out what, if anything, to do about us. It stood contemplating us for several minutes, slowly fanning itself with its ears, before it turned and wandered slowly away.
A little further along three jackals were walking through the grass, doing nothing in particular, it seemed.
We arrived at the hippo pool after some more time on the road. It was an amazing sight as 75-80 hippos bathed and submerged in a large, stinking pool which was in a dry river bed. They ranged in size from smaller animals about the size of a large chest freezer to monsters the size of a minivan. Hippos can weigh up to two tonnes.
Some of them stood placidly still in the water, lifting their heads occasionally to breathe, some submerged entirely, and broke the surface with their heads to breathe, and some were a bit more active, lifting their heads above the water, opening their mouths wide, then disappearing below the surface of the fetid water with their mouths still wide open. The pool was stagnant, and the hippos did not get out to defecate, so they were effectively swimming in a pool of their own dung. The place smelled accordingly. Hippos feed on land at night, sometimes causing seemingly wanton destruction to crops and other vegetation. They are quite aggressive and very dangerous to humans when encountered on land. Two large crocodiles, who shared the pool with the hippos, wisely spent their time sunning themselves on the adjacent mud flats, rather than swimming in the water.
The hippo poll was the high point of the afternoon, but we also saw more elephants, and a group of about seven giraffes quite close to the road. These large animals move with a stately elegance, quite graceful despite their large size and seemingly ungainly shape. Their loping run looks like it is in slow motion, but they can cover a lot of ground quickly if threatened. They appear quite calm, moving through the acacia and thorn trees to browse. Their enormous soft eyes and long eyelashes make them look intelligent and somewhat vulnerable, although our guide says one kick from their powerful legs can break a lion’s jaw. (The lion would then starve to death).
We also saw many more impalas and, near the end of the day we spotted a leopard in a tree, at some distance but clearly visible through binoculars. Late in the day we stopped at a luxurious lodge, a high end place for people who can afford to fly in to see the animals. It was quite elegant, built around a huge granite boulder. We had a drink in the bar before heading back to the campsite for a wonderful dinner of batter fried fish (locally caught Tilapia) and a glass or two of good South African sauvignon blanc before turning in.
I used to adore Hippos....
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