Elephant Day - Friday Part 3

As you can tell by now, Friday was just jammed packed with adventure! Cara and I had left Thursday afternoon and only 24 hours had elapsed when the rest of the "crew" arrived on Friday afternoon! The rest of the "crew" consisted of Peter and Santi, Mari, Betsi and Cara's friend Stefan. After Cara and I left the Shangaan Village, we met them at a local restaurant. We sat around the table for a while talking about the Elephant Sanctuary (no one had been there yet except for Cara and myself!) and all we learned there and then we talked about the Shangaan Village. After consulting around the table, it was decided that we would take a quick spin through Kruger National Park!

The park was not on the itinerary for this weekend but we were "so close" and the crew does love a drive through the park! Me? I go where the tour bus goes! So we drove out to the park but we only had a few hours to play there. Kruger National Park is NOT "Lion Country Safari" by any means. We headed out to our new lodging for the next 2 nights and checked in, dropped Cara's 4 wheel drive off and all piled into the VW Combi. Very nice for touring the countryside and our driver, Peter, always makes sure he hits as few pot holes as he can! It was no time before we were back on the road again, headed for Kruger National Park! It only took about 30 or 40 minutes of driving before we arrived.

I really have to laugh here because the family has been so very good to me and taken me so many places to see animals in the wild. I think they are more concerned with me seeing them than I am! So far, I'm thrilled at what I have seen and learned! As tour directors, Mari and Cara have been wonderful! Mari is astonishing with all that she knows about the area. I have to admit that she knows more about this area then I know of the area I live in at home! I know cat, dog, horse, squirrel, rat, mouse, cow and deer! (OK at this point there may be a few more that I'm forgetting.) And remember, it's a rare chance that I ever see a deer in the wild, which really isn't in the wild as it were, it just hangs out near the side of the road that I'm driving on!

To give you an idea of how large Kurger National Park is, Peter said it is about 180 miles long and 80 miles wide! Check out the link below for more details and if you look on the right side menu there is a WebCam that you can watch as well! They have cams set up all through the park so you can see what's going on. Just remember the time difference between the US and South Africa. I'm not sure what you would see at night... I just looked at one of the webcams and it's pointed at a watering hole and there does appear to be some light there!

http://www.sanparks.org/parks/kruger/tourism/map.php

We entered the park and before long we had the crew calling the animals... "here giraffeeeeee, here lion, here elephant"! The view of the country was outstanding and the varieties of birds with all of their bright colors kept me quite amused as it was. I guess maybe I just didn't want to get my hopes up but then too, I had just hugged an elephant! How much better could it get?

I have to upload the photos to Picasa first, because they go up there by photo number order. If it wasn't for this I'd be at a loss to keep it all straight in my head! Funny thing is that when I was tagging the photos of Part 3, I had to put in tags that said "Kruger National Park Scenery". Not so much for you, but for myself. I think that on Elephant Day I took close to 500 photos and we were laughing about having to go through the pictures later and say to myself, "why did I take this?". It is true though, at times things are hidden in the photo that you can't see very well. I shoot on the highest resolution that my camera can do so that later, I can go back in and zoom and crop if I need to.

As we entered the park, all eyes were on the bush. We would pass a little stream and Peter would slow down as we followed it as far as we could see it with our eyes. When we found nothing we would move along. At some point someone said "there's an elephant!". So I turn to look and I look and I look, but I don't see an elephant! They would point and say, "look do, you see that tree back there, next to the other tree? See how it's moving?" Ah, no. More pointing and directing but still I see no elephant. They decided that he was really too far from the road and we kind of moved on. Now, here is the tourist, sitting in the front seat of the Combi, high off the ground (it was like mounting a horse to get in the Combi by the way) and she can't see an elephant! What is wrong with this picture! I was beginning to think that this was going to be quiet embarrassing for someone and that someone would probably be me! We found lots of hornbills in the trees, smallish little birds hiding in the branches but I saw that!

Up ahead we saw something on the road, it was a tortoise racing down the road! For a little guy with short little legs, he was doing a fair clip down the road! Luckily for us, he was in the other lane of traffic, it would have taken him a while to cross the road and you are not allowed to endanger the wild life in any way, shape or form! The speed limit in the park is a sizzling 30 miles an hour, they have speed cameras in place not to mention a phone number/email address to report speeders etc! We waved good bye to our little friend and continued down the road. From time to time someone would shout out for Peter to stop because they thought they had seen something but it was only a rock or a tree! I got really good at spotting trees! Ha! That's really funny but what happens is that the tall brush moves with the breeze and it would make stationery objects appear to move!

We came across a few lakes, streams and creeks and took a close look for wild life having a cool drink in the sun but no luck there! Finally, someone from the back seat said to stop and there hidden by the brush in a little meadow there was an elephant! He really wasn't that easy to spot behind the bush among dead trees! Ah, so, the day did get better! As awesome as it was to be up close and personal earlier in the morning with Kasper and Kitso, seeing the baby in the wild was just beyond belief! Wow! He wasn't that close to the road but we could see him and watch him as he sauntered through the bush at a very slow pace. I think the tortoise we had met was making better time! The elephant appeared to have to place to be anytime soon. It's hard to pull away from him and move down the road, but there were 7 smiling faces in that Combi (van) when we did!

Moving down the road slowly we came across an Impala buck with his nose stuck in a bush having lunch. He was a beautiful animal! His antlers tilted slightly towards his back (I can see why Chevrolet named a car after him!). He's sleek and built for speed, his eyes are constantly moving to keep an eye on his surrounds and he's always read to dart off should he feel threatened. Sitting on his back was a Yellow Billed Oxpecker. The Oxpecker stays near these herds and feeds off of the ticks that attach themselves to the Impala's body. The Impala doesn't even realize he is there because that's where nature intended him to be. As we scan the surrounding area we find several more bucks grazing near the side of the road, they look towards us and find no danger so they go back to their grazing. Interestingly enough, with all of the Impala we saw that day all were bucks (males) and no does (females).

We ride on for a while and then on the right side of the Combi we see another elephant. He is well camouflaged by the dead branches of near by trees, but we do see him... no, there are 2 there! Wait a minute, is that 2 babies we see with them? We're up to 4 now! But look, over there, there is another one! 5! WOW! What a sight to see! Those babies are sooo small compared to the adults standing with them! I have no idea how old they are but they are already using (or trying) to use their trunks to pick up grass and find their mouth with it! They seem so small and helpless out there, even with the adults around them! The adults are very aware of their surroundings and they will defend those babies with their lives. Lions will rarely attack an adult elephant, they tend to go after the babies in the herd. Although the elephant has his tusks to defend himself, his size is his greatest defense he has. The 2 adults nearest them keep the babies between them and they seem to be constantly moving and herding the babies to keep them safe and near them. There was a little ravine near the road where we could see and bushes moving but we never really got a good view of the elephant(s) that were down there.

Creeping down the road again, there was a bird in the tree, I'm not sure what kind of bird he was, we just called him "Birdie"! Cara's friend Stefan had a bird book but he was busy watching the bird! Honestly, I'm sure someone told me what kind of bird he was but remember that senility issue! On the other side of the road we spotted yet another elephant! Since we hadn't gone too far from the "family" sighting, he was probably from the same herd. Now, without an up close and personal visit with the elephants it's hard to tell the boys from the girls! Both sexes have tusks (surprised me too!), so for my purposes they were all male but I tend to doubt that and would never swear to it! We stayed in that area for a while to watch the elephants there. If they were aware of our presence, they never showed it.

Moving along we saw more Impala and other antelope type varieties and finally we saw a Kudu. He is a unique kid. He is larger than the Impala and he has an interesting hump on his front shoulders. He moves with a gait very similar to the camel and he lumbers along, almost as if it takes him a great bit of energy to move and get those legs working together. But I have no doubt that he can move when he needs to. These deer/antelope type of animals are prime prey for the lions, leopards and cheetahs. They have to be fast or they would not survive in this world.

Finally, the tourist gets to show her animal spotting skills! A giraffe on the left side of the Combi! It was my turn to tell Peter to stop and back up! (Yeppie! 1 for the tourist!) He was only a short distance from the road and he lumbered on his course that took him across the road to the other side. Following after him were 4 zebras! They seemed to be traveling together as a group. I don't know why I found this so surprising really but I did. They wandered across the road; at a medium pace, not slow and not fast, just a leisurely gait across the road. The giraffe nibbled on the leaves of a throne tree while the zebras grazed on the grasses growing on the ground. Our little giraffe friend had a large scar at the bottom of his neck, near the shoulders from where he had been injured at some time in his life.

It's hard to leave these animals once you've spotted them. They are so beautiful and regal... Albeit that their rat race is quite different from ours, they are still in a race for their lives every day. We worry when we are in the inner cities (New York, Los Angeles or Chicago for example) that we are going to get robbed or worse, where these animals live is much more deadly for them. The lions major predator is man, he has no equal in the wild. Though he does take his life in his own hands when he attacks say an elephant herd, he doesn't fear walking through his neighborhood. If it were simply man against lion there would be little doubt who would win that contest, man takes a major advantage when he has a weapon to use against the mighty lion!

There are several places within the park that you are allowed to get out (at your own risk mind you) to look out over the bush. We stopped at one and everyone is getting out of the Combi. The tourist is one of the last ones who decides to crawl out, asking the ever popular question, "is it safe here?" I loved the answer, "yes, unless you get chowed..." It's as safe as it's going to get in the wild, the stop was located on a rocky hill. Lions and elephants don't get up in those areas and the animals who can get there either won't hurt you or they are more afraid of you than you are of them. Snakes don't count here... Since there are so many poisonous snakes, not only in the country of South Africa but on the continent in general, you're always on the look out for those critters! I decided to stay away from the sides and just steer a dead ahead course for the area that over looks the park!

You can see for miles from there and as far as the eye can see, it is all a part of the Kurger National Park! While we were out there enjoying the view and the breeze that came with it, you could see the birds high in the sky, soaring on the wind currents. Cara saw movement in the trees and got the binoculars and found a giraffe in the bush but it had to be at least a mile away! On the album, number 50 of 51 you can see 2 trees clearly in the mid ground of the photo, but you can't see any detail to show you what we saw! But he was there, I promise!

Exit time at the park is 6:30pm. Every guest is counted and accounted for at the end of the day. You sign into and out of the park. Those who are tardy leaving the park end up with a very large fine! I can't say as I blame them for that really, you don't want to get stuck out there after dark! I saw lodging inside of the park, but I think that's a little toooooo far out for me!

As we headed out of the park, one of the last photos I shot was of the vultures in a long dead tree against a fading blue skyline. How fitting was that? There were 5 vultures sitting in this tree alone, different varieties who all have their different jobs in life! We'll get more into that in the next blog, "Birds of Death". But if you think this day was over, just because the sun was going down, you're mistaken! The "braai" (BBQ) was the final adventure of the day.

We had planned a picnic under the stars for Friday night but there was still a stop at the grocery store on the way. Santi, Cara and Stefan (Cara's friend) went into the store while Mari, Peter, Betsi and I stayed outside and talked about the day and the area. Once the shopping was done, we headed back to Onsplek to braai and end the day.

It was a clear night and Santi showed me the Southern Cross in the sky. I hadn't thought about it before but being a half a world away and at the "bottom" of the world, the sky does look different! Onsplek (our lodging) was out away from city lights so there was a beautiful view of the night sky in all of it's splendor! Dinner was a community affair as all braais I've been to are. Stefan and Peter handled the grill work while the ladies prepared the veggies and salad. It was such a wonderful dinner, but I think by the end of the day we could have been eating zebra and would have loved it! Our evening ended and we headed out to bed.

Of note here, there is a river that runs along side of the lodging. There are many sounds of the night creatures clearly heard in the distance. It is so relaxing to sit there and listen to the sounds of night and the river flowing by. Before I headed off to bed, Cara and Stefan were doing a final check of the braai area to make sure we had tidied up nicely and the night secruity man told them that there had been a hippo who wandered onto the grounds on the back side of the sleeping room! The hippo lives down near the river somewhere and does come out to visit from time to time. Hippos can be a little cranky around humans, espeically at night when they are feeding, so I'm not all that disappointed that I didn't get to see him that night! But a little later, I did hear something chowing outside of my window, I'm not sure what it was, I was so tired and didn't have the energy to even go look out the window! LOL

And there ends, "Elephant Day"...