African Safari

As this was our first-ever Safari, I was not quite sure what to expect. Wildlife, of course. But not the extraordinary beauty of the beasts or the savanna environment. It was just breathtaking, with stunning beauty in every direction, every day, at all times of day, especially at sunset. The pictures — both of the wildlife and the scenery — simply don’t do justice to the scale of what we witnessed, or to the majesty and beauty of the animals. Since the pictures speak for themselves, I mostly organize them by topic/type below. I hope you enjoy!

Thornybush Nature Reserve: The nature reserve where we stayed directly abuts South Africa’s Kruger National Park, famous for having the “Big 5” game: Elephants, Lions, Black Rhinoceros, Cape Buffalo and Leopards. More about the big 5 shortly. Thornybush is 33,000 acres and there is no fence between it and Kruger, so the wildlife from Kruger and Thornybush traverse the area of both places freely. Here are pics of the grounds of Thornybush Nature Reserve:

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Waterside Lodge: There are multiple “Thornybush” lodges — ours was Waterside Lodge, which was located near a watering hole, had 20 bungalows (40 people total) and wonderful common areas for relaxing, meals, and nature viewing on the grounds. Here are pics of the place:

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Our Safari & The Big 5: We have been told by a number of people that you have to be very patient on safari — some days you might see numerous animals; other days, very few. We were extremely fortunate, as we saw many of the Big 5 multiple times: 20+lions, dozens of elephants, 5 buffalo, 2-3 black rhino and another 5-7 White rhino, and 3 Leopards, in addition to many other beautiful others (more on that later). Here are a number of photos of the Big 5:

Lions:

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Elephants:

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Black Rhinos:

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And white rhinos (which are not a different color, as much as a different size (larger) with a different head/neck structure):

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Cape buffalo:

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Leopards: Hands down, one of the coolest animals to watch is the leopard, particularly when it is protecting its territory and guarding its prey.

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Other Safari wildlife & critters: in addition to the Big 5 we encountered many other beautiful animals while on safari, including Impala, Wildebeast, Kudu, hippos, Monkeys, Warthogs, Giraffe, Zebra, Waterbuck, Hyenas, Jackal, Baboon and Cheetah! (and possibly others I cannot recall). The Cheetah sightings were most exciting, as there are only about 300 left in South Africa, and our guides haven’t run across cheetah for about 9 months or so.

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The Birds: In addition to all the beasts, we saw a variety of birds — too many to identify, though we were able to ask/learn a little about Wideback vultures, Yellow-billed hornbill (the “Zasu” bird from Lion King), Lilacbreasted roller, Helmeted guinea fowl. I’ll update with photos of these later… taking pictures of birds from a distance is difficult, and even more so with an iPhone camera instead of a real camera… The exception are the vultures, who are pretty easily identified — it was fun watching them stalk the lions’ prey, waiting for the lions to be finished so they could pick at the remains.

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Nice touches! Among the experiences we enjoyed most were stopping along the safari route for a coffee and snack (morning) or a nice frosty beverage in the evening, before heading back to the lodge. Our tracker, Elvis, and our guide, Sydonea, were awesome, knowledgeable, friendly, and really attended to our goals/desires from the safari (trying to track animals we hadn’t yet seen). Also, super friendly (picture below):

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Overall, the Safari experience far far exceeded my own expectations. I think Jackie would say the same, as would Zoe. Max, with his practiced “teenage indifference” is harder to read. I think he will remember it as awe-inspiring and amazing, though he seems at the moment dedicated to revealing as little excitement as possible.

If any of you are “on the fence” about whether to do a safari, I highly recommend it! It is something I hope never to forget — and it was definitely among the greatest highlights (so far) of our adventure.

Up next: Victoria Falls, Zambia!!