After breakfast you have about five hours before we head out at again at 3:30pm. I took a shower to warm up after a cool morning. PS: the entire giant bathroom has underfloor heating. My footsies were so warm…. I skip lunch (it’s so close to breakfast) and do basic camera cleaning followed by moving all the pictures I took to my laptop. That usually left an hour or so to do some basic photo editing for the better shots and sharing them among the group of eight cruise passengers on this trip.
Something I forgot to mention: Shamwari is a private game reserve that has been stocked with wildlife over the decades. All this land used to be farm land – mostly given to veterans for free. But just because you can military doesn’t mean you can farm, so many went bust. A couple of decades ago Shamwari starting buying farm land and restoring the balance. From what I’ve seen they are doing a good job.
Our afternoon started with warthogs. They are so cool, usually zipping around with their tails held high. On the other hand, they are lion snack food (FORESHADOWING!!).
Here I got my first good picture of a springbok. They seem to fill the same role that Thompson’s gazelle does in Kenya. The coloring is similar, but the springbok has smaller antlers.
We then found some adult blesbok.
Now, I know this bird seems fake. We all called out when it flew around our vehicle before landing nearby. But the Cape Starling really is this blue and shiny and has those shocking orange eyes.
From across the valley we spotted a family of southern giraffe. Trivia: the name for a group of giraffe changes with what they are doing. Standing still? They are a “tower”. Walking around? “Journey”. English is weird.
Here is another new antelope to me – Mountain Reedbuck. They look the closest to North American deer that I have seen. However, from the side their heads look like space aliens. This is the only time we saw them.
Now, for the new lions. I can’t call this a “pride” yet, it’s just the two of them. Shamwari brought in the younger male to provide some options, as the male we saw this morning is getting old. Our other vehicle spotted the couple during some… um… “quality time”. The male is escorting the female in case the opportunity arrives again.
Here’s a shot that shows you how close the animals can get to you. The smaller herd animals seldom get this close.
Here they settled down on a cliff edge, overlooking the valley. All the below animals noticed them, but I don’t think they were hungry. At least not that kind.
Cue the “Born Free” music.
A herd of African buffalo walked to the water hole at the bottom of the cliff. They are a bit much for just two lions, but that didn’t stop them from keeping an eye out.
I realize that I only showed you male waterbucks last post. Here you go. They still look hairy.
We closed the day with some white rhinoceros in the wild. I was concerned that the only rhino’s I’d see were in the rehabilitation cages. I was quite surprised by the length of the horns.
The sun was setting as we drove between two sets of hills on the way back. The background clouds was a consistent field of haze. The blue-green of the tree tops were spooky as the sun dips below. What a great day. Weather report says tomorrow will be warmer.
