9 - Looking for the Big Five

Our day started at 5:15 with a wake-up call.  After meeting at the lodge at 5:45 for coffee and a muffin, we boarded the Range Rover for a three hour search for animals in the African countryside.  Today was cooler than yesterday – only got up to 99 as opposed to 108 yesterday  - and we began our schedule of 2 safaris a day.

The guide/ranger and the tracker drove us around, stopping to view animals and providing us with a wealth of information about them. At about 8:00 a.m., we stopped and they served us hot coffee and a snack. We climbed back in the Land Rover and completed the last hour of safari before returning to the lodge for breakfast.   During our first drive we saw giraffes and an elephant herd.

 

 

When we returned for a big breakfast there was another large herd of elephants just outside our lodge.

We had from about 11:30 until 3:30 for a break and caught up on our blog posts.  Briefly, ever so briefly, we jumped in our plunge pool. It was freezing!  Then it was off for the afternoon 3 hour safari tour until 7:00 pm (interrupted by a "sundowner"), then back to the lodge for dinner and sleep! 

We saw more elephants, cape buffalo and the rare black rhino. The difference between black and white rhinos is not their color but in the shape of their mouths, what they eat and whether they hold up their heads or not.  The name for the white rhino is a mistaken translation of the Dutch word "wijde" which means wide and refers to its square mouth.  Both of them are the same color but black rhinos have a hooked, almost beak-like mouth and hold their heads up higher and eat leaves.  White rhinos have a square mouth, hang their heads lower and eat grass.
 

Termite mounds are fascinating, large and are found everywhere!  They are two times deeper (underground) than they are above ground.  They are an ecological wonder, the structure of the mounds can be very complicated. Inside the mound is an extensive system of tunnels and conduits that serves as a ventilation system for the underground nest. In order to get good ventilation, the termites will construct several shafts leading down to the cellar located beneath the nest.  The mounds also attract many other animals who eat insects (termites), snakes who eat the small animals, and larger animals who use them as a high point for strategic purposes or for just lounging around.

Tonight we had an African boma – an outdoor dinner under the stars where the food is cooked on a braai – an African outdoor grill.  To keep the animals away, acacia tree limbs with thorns are put around the dinner area. 

Tomorrow, after our morning drive to see animals, we will go to our second location in Kruger Park , Sabi Sabi.