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.
Hello Brian and Shirley
Been thinking a lot about your adventure and dreaming a lot of our sailing adventures to come. We were blessed to meet you.
Craig & Shelley
Underberg
KZN
This looks fantastic. You two are making me very jealous.
Your animal photos were excellent. Loved the sleeping lion!
Brian and Shirley,
It was lovely meeting you at Zulani Guest house, St.Lucia and we hope that you will get home safely !
Terry & William Crawford
Cape Town