Vervet monkey

 

 

They say no visit to South Africa is complete without a visit to Kruger National Park. Our resort offered a little glimpse of what was to come with several hippos in the dam, a herd of impala and a troop of vervet monkeys in the garden.

 

 

 

 

Impala - very cute

We went on two game drives in to Kruger. Both were early morning starts and both offered us the chance to see four of the Big 5 – lion, elephant, rhino, buffalo and leopard. The only one that eluded us was the leopard.  Every safari drive is different. Each one offers up amazing opportunities to see the some of the most amazing creatures on the planet.

Cape Buffalo

 

 

We’d only driven a few yards through the gate on our first morning in the park and we saw the rather handsome Cape Buffalo. Some might say they are ugly but we think they have a certain charm about them.

 

 

 

 

 

Cute - in an ugly kind of way

 

 

 

The buffalo do tend to run from you and then turn around with looks of shock that imply ‘what are you still doing here?’

 

 

 

 

 

King of the jungle - at rest

 

 

 

The king of the jungle is definitely the lion. Our first Kruger lion was sleeping peacefully under a tree by the side of the road.

 

 

 

 

And soon there will be cubs - the King of the jungle in a 'passionate' moment - photo courtesy of our guide,Gavan

 

 

Our second sighting was a mating pair and we were blessed to see the mating! Lions mate 150 times over three days – about once every 20 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

The lioness rests agains the wheel of our truck

 

He was so close we could have reached out and touched him

 

They wander off together

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Protective, loving and huge!

 

 

 

The fabulous elephants – massive in size and filled with love and protection for their young. The dominant females of the herd can be a little aggressive but to watch them wander through the trees and look after the babies is breathtaking.

 

 

 

The elephants have right of way on the roads

We could watch them for hours

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have to do something to stop the poaching

 

 

 

If the poaching doesn’t stop there will be no more rhinos in 20 years. Hundreds are killed each year so Asian men can use their horns as an aphrodisiac – it’s a disgrace.

 

 

 

 

Wallowing in the mud

 

 

 

These wonderful animals are grazers. They enjoy nothing more than a wallow on the mud and munch on the grasses.

 

 

 

 

 

Graceful

 

 

 

We saw gracious giraffes.

 

 

 

 

 

The zebra watched us while we watched them

 

 

 

Cute zebras.

 

 

 

 

 

Only a mother could love it

 

 

 

The rather ugly warthog.

 

 

 

 

 

More people are killed by hippos than any of the Big 5

 

 

 

Hippos snoozing in the waters.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A hornbill

 

 

 

And some incredible birds.