Wild Places and Open Spaces

Day 20

5:30am Safari

We were sure nothing could beat our evening drive last night where we saw the leopard kill (see Day 19 post below), but again, somehow Patrick and Tyrone ‘upped the ante’.

First off, a giraffe. Wow, it was right out of the movies, watching this giant right in front of us was unbelievable. Unfortunately, the light was still low and our pics are not terrific of him, not that pictures would do him justice anyways.

Next, wild African dogs had been spotted in the area, and when Patrick heard this, he was on a mission to find them. First let me say, Patrick is an amazing driver. He gets us up close and personal with everything. Secondly, he is very passionate about wildlife and a true nature lover. When he learned of the dogs, he got very excited, because they are so rare to see. In all of Kruger/Sabi Sand area, there are only around 250, and they are difficult to find. However, when we found them, they were on a kill, and we watched them tear apart an impala in a matter of minutes. The dogs are very strange looking – they almost look like a cross between a hyena and a dog; it is the second largest canid in the world, next to our gray wolf. We watched and listened to them tearing apart the flesh and crushing bones – we even watched one of the dogs carry around the impala skull in it’s mouth as if it were a trophy that it was showing off. And, wherever there is a kill, there are hyenas. They skulked in and and out of the scene, picking up every morsel that may be dropped by the dogs.

We left the dogs to their business, and then spotted another male leopard. A beautiful large male, with a wound on his rear left leg. Patrick explained that this wound had been much larger, and was healing nicely. At this point we should say that all the animals we have seen thus far, have had beautiful, shiny, full coats of fur. We had read that at this time of year (fall) the animals look their best (albeit are harder to find) and this sure is the case. Every animal has been stunning.

Off to have our snack on a beautiful bank of the Sand River. We spotted with our binoculars two men in what looked like army fatigues/guns walking along towards the bank. We told Patrick and Tyrone, and they explained that they are part of the Rhino Anti-poaching team. There are about 15 of these anti-poachers that patrol the large expanse of land, watching for poachers. Patrick and Tyrone spoke to them across the river and offered them some cold drinks. One of the team crossed the river (took off his shoes, rolled up his pants and walked across – yes, the water has crocodiles in it!!) and retrieved his drinks. Nice!

Looking forward to another great drive this evening!!

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