On our second day in Kruger we arose early, got out the gate shortly after sunrise, visited various water holes, drove as far south at the Crocodile Bridge, then looped back up the Sabie River for the best sightings of the day, getting into Skukuzu Camp just before sundown. A marvelous day.
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Winter is the dry part of the year, and it is soon to end; watering holes are the animals' only means of living, and a little patience at these sights amply rewards; the practice in our group is to rise early, make coffee (tea), drive to the watering hole of choice, and have breakfast there, leisurely awaiting whomever shows up |
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A warthog, on the way; tops among the Ugly Five |
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Spotted hyena; ugly and nasty |
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A white rhino--"white" a corruption of the Dutch word for wide, as in wide mouth; a grazer |
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Impalas and a giraffe...incidental scenery now |
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Unidentified ugly thing on a rock by the watering hole |
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Hippos and wildebeestes |
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Impalas too |
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A solitary hyena slinks in, upwind, but he is seen, and everyone else quietly exits for the forest cover |
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Except for Mr. Crocodile, and the hippos |
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Driving on, on a terrible washboard road; we were too see much worse... |
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On which, for some 30k, we saw a turtle and two giraffes; so much for "off the beaten track" |
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Owl helps us identify animals |
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High point of the road: an elephant skull |
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At last, we arrive at the Hippo Pool; many buffalo there too |
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Lots of hippos |
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One out of water |
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Another climbs out for some grass |
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Mr. Crocodile watches with interest |
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Back on the Sabie River road |
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For reasons beyond my understanding, the largest traffic jams were for birds; especially vultures and the like |
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Lovable giraffes |
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More submersed hippos in the Sabie |
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And on the shore |
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Finally..hey, it's been almost a full day...a small pride of lions |
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Keeping an eye on... |
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A herd of buffaloes and a train of elephants, just a few hundred feet away |
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Some of the elephants crossing the river |
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Others, not; not long after this, we stopped for the elephants to cross the road and witnessed a near-collision of elephant and SUV: the SUV swerved, the elephant reared, but then everyone carried on as if nothing had happened |
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Baboon family discussion: "always walk on the side facing oncoming traffic" "always look both ways" "stop, look, and listen" |
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New species: ring-tailed Waterbuck |
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Giraffe traffic jam |
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Perfect end to a great safari day |
1 comment:
Great photos. I assume that those roads are pretty dusty as well as rough.
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