Full Day Safari - Day 3
(Day 2 was spent lounging around the lodge, chillin' with curious wart hogs, and taking a sunset river ride. Don't forget to read the Day 1 post below!)
We woke up dark and early for a dusk to dawn safari of Kruger with Bushwise's guide Ludovic (yes, how delightful is his name!). We jumped into our safari vehiclele, bundled ourselves in hoodies, beanies, down jackets and woolly blankets for a crisp and windy hour drive to Kruger National Park's southern entrance. Even Ludovic who described himself as "not a sissy man" bundled up.
Safari Vehicle:
Don't worry moms! It was only cold in the morning. The rest of the day was perfectly sunny.
We watched the sunrise and listened to Ludovic passionately point out every winged, hooved, predatory (and non) creature he knew of. He included tidbits about dung, insects and other things that I (Noosha) probably missed (meaning forgot ;))
Having been schooled that game viewing is part knowledge and part luck we seemed to have a fortuitous morning. Big five citings included elphant, buffalo, the rare black rhino, and even lions!! It was amazing!!! The lion strutted right next to our open window vehicle. It was closer than you could get at a zoo! If we lacked sense, we could have reached out to touch him!! SO exciting! After a while the lion wandered away from the road when inconsiderate drivers were cutting him off for pictures. Nothing attracts a massive group of cars in the vast Kruger Park (think size of Portugal) like a feline sighting.
Ludovic cooked us a hearty, traditional, and yummy South African breakfast of eggs, bacon, fried tomatoes, onions and toast which we ate overlooking Kruger from a Lebombo mountain viewpoint. Its worth noting that we also had the most delicious aromatic papaya. A clever but misguided Vervet monkey tried to steal food from the picnic-ers (word?) We know it shouldn't have been there, but it was so small, jumpy, and cute!
Other animals we saw:
Elephant (Big 5)
wart hogs are Noosha's favorite for the it's so ugly it's cute factor
and the ubiquitous but essential Impala
Tangent: Why did Chevy name their car after a common and ordinary antelope? Bad call Chevy. Bad call.
Tangent 2: Did you know that the antlers of antelopes are actually called horns for African antelopes.
After a very long, but seriously awesome day we watched the sunset around 5pm and made our way out of the park which closes at 5:30pm.
I forgot to mention the many birds we saw. Let's try and remember their names! There was the kingfisher, the franklin quail which looked plump and tasty, several species of eagle/hawk/vulture, and the bird called Zazu in Lion King. :) Real name currently unknown!
Anyway, if you ever get the opportunity to have a safari experience, we strongly recommend it. Spend several days watching the animals and go with a knowledgable guide. We had a great time with Ludovic. It was a surreal and amazing experience.
Noosha & Brian
