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 |
