Saturday, September 2, 2017

Safari in Kruger

We usually manage to post our blogs very close to the day but it just has not been possible in Africa. It is ages since we were in Kruger National Park so this is the first of the wildlife of Africa.

                             
                                  Our first photo in Kruger. The giraffe is one of our favourites.



                          Wildebeest and Impalas. They keep on the lookout at all times.


Mother and pup. The hyena is one of the most feared animals. This pair were looking harmless but we saw them in different mode as well.


This was the only Klip Klinger that we spotted. It is like a mountain goat.


A White Rhino. Our first of the "Big Five". We did see a lot over the few days in Kruger. They are the same colour as the Black Rhino! The name has nothing to do with colour. White Rhino are grazers whilst the Black Rhino are browsers so the lips and mouth of each species are different. The Black Rhino has a wide mouth for eating grass and early Europeans mistook wide for white!


Our second of the 5. The male is proudly framed whilst the lioness is a little shy. We saw a few on this first day.


 Crocodiles and a Blue Crane. We also saw Hippos at this waterhole that was a bird hide. It was the only time we could get out of our 4 wheel drive as the walk down to the hide was enclosed with a fence. It was a long time between comfort stops.


A Buffalo. Another of the big 5. Over the days in the park we saw lots and large family groups.


The Impala. This seems to be the bottom of the food chain! They call them the McDonald's of Kruger and that is why they have a "Golden Arches" pattern on the rear.


The 4th of the 5.We saw lots with large herds and solitary males. Very majestic and graceful.


                         Down to the river for a drink. The area was in drought. This was a huge group.


                                                    Close enough to give it a pat!


Several times they crossed the road in front of us or wondered across a narrow dirt road demanding the right of way.




Hippos in the water. They spend most of the day in the water but come out at night to feed.

We had a long day departing our accommodation in the dark and stopping for both breakfast and lunch in the park. We had hoped to tick off the "Big Five" but managed 4. We do another drive tomorrow. The park is larger than Wales with thousands of kilometers of roads and tracks.

3 comments:

David said...

some amazing photos

Miss Di said...

To be fair Wales is smaller than the Hunter Valley by quite a lot. (about 20 500 km squared vs about 29 500 km squared).

Amanda said...

Amazing photos.
Stu says he likes the impala, can he have flies and a snake with that please.
Kids favourite animal was the elephant, they enjoyed those very much and made great trumpeting noises.