The Rhythm of My Story: Elephants, Elephants and More Elephants

Phanny called to us through our door this morning at 5 am that it was time to gather in the lodge. We had set our alarms for 4:45 am so we could throw on some clothes and meet the rest of our group. I didn’t sleep well. I think it was a combination of jetlag and worry that we would miss our alarm. In the lodge I managed to down two cappuccinos before Phanny herded us off to the Jeep. I dressed for the cold but I was still unprepared for the chill in the air. Gayle and I bundled up on our perch on the back seat but we still froze.

We started out with a sighting of a yellow billed Hornbill. I have wanted to see one of these birds ever since I read an article about them. They are monogamous birds. Before incubation the male and female bird begin to seal up all but a small hole in their nest. Then the female climbs through the small hole they have left as an opening. Then the male bird transfers food through that small hole to the female and eventually the chicks. It is a protection device.

Next we came upon a small group of baby hyenas. The adults leave them protected in one of these holes while they go scavenge. I never thought I would think hyenas are adorable but one can change her mind.

While we were there the adults returned and reunited with their offspring. A couple of them walked right up to our Jeep.

We saw several animals we saw the night before but then we came upon a herd of over a hundred buffalo.

Phanny kept trying to impress upon is just how dangerous these animals are to humans. I felt like they wanted to engage in staring contests.

After several hours of driving we stopped for coffee/tea and biscuits.

We always stop near a watering hole.

Rifos walked away and didn't come back. We loaded up and started driving again. It turns out that Phanny and Rifos had heard their was a leopard in the area and Rifos had walked off to try and track it. We saw the leopard tracks but we never found the elusive leopard.

But we were alerted that there was a pride of lions in the area. There were four and they were resting. They hunt at night and sleep during the day. We were able to get relatively close to the dominant female...

And a juvenile male and female.

We finally returned to camp after four hours of driving through the bush. We were met with a warm wash cloth and told to meet in the lodge in a half hour for brunch. Every meal here is exquisite. But I was very tired and eager to head back to my room when I was done eating. I was gathering my things when one of the guides pointed to a herd of elephants who came walking to the area in front of the lodge viewing area. There were 32 of elephants in this herd. Some went to the watering hole

and some came to drink out of the pool on the lodge deck. It was magical.

Back to the room I took a long nap. Then I tried out the outdoor shower. It was so awesome it made me want to install one at my house. Gayle and I got ready for tea at 3:30 and out next game drive at 4. We keep the same ranger and tracker the whole time we are here. I'm glad. They are excellent.

On this game drive we saw many of the same animals we have already seen. I don't say that because I'm bored. I could sit and watch animals all day. But we did some some new animals tonight.

Warthog

Hippo

I was hoping to see a leopard but Phanny said that was unlikely. Then he spotted one up in a tree. My photos aren't very good because she was well camouflaged and came down fairly quickly. She headed into the bush. We tried to track her but she got away. So we watched the sunset, had our sundowner drinks and then headed back towards camp with Rifos looking for wildlife with a spotlight. He found us a bushbaby in a tree. Then we heard there was a male leopard in a nearby tree eating an impala. What an incredible thing to watch. The sound of him chewing bones was so weird. Two grown hyenas sat under the tree waiting for any scraps to fall...and some did. Here is a photo although it is hard to make out what you are seeing.

We got back to camp and were greeted with a wet towel to wash our faces and told we had 15 minutes until dinner. When we got to the lodge they had set up our meal down on the ground level where the elephants had congregated earlier in the day.