The day started as it had done yesterday; with me roaring to get out of the gates at 6AM. I drove slowly north on the gravel road to Matjulu Dam. I crawled through the early morning twilight, desperate for a sign of cheetahs; even wild dogs at a pinch. Nuffin'. There was also nothing at the dam, but on the way back I spotted a small rhino sleeping not far from the road.
This little guy was the embodiment of "just five minutes more". His eyes were open, so he was awake. His ears were going back and forth, so he knew we were there. A big safari coach parked and blocked my view when he finally got up, but they soon left. He stood for about five minutes, freaking out a couple of times at the little birds that accompanied his every move. Then he slowly keeled over in the grass, determined to get a few more winks.
I know it's morning, but I want to sleep longer.
Awake, but not liking it much.
Just a few winks more...
Zzzzz...
After this, I went east on the S110 for a while. I soon found myself in a big herd of ellies. I stayed with them for at least twenty minutes, taking pics of them; especially the three babies I saw. They were the cutest things, especially the first one I saw. He was rubbing himself lovingly against mommy's leg and stumbled forward every time she moved. I'm a sucker for cute babies, be they dogs, kitties or ellies. I loathe the bald, stinking, ugly little human versions; they're hardly even amusing until they're at least ten. Ugh.
Totally adorbs.
This little one was as tired as the rhino.
A bit camera shy.
Sometimes you gotta get down to find the good stuff.
Anyways, the rest of that road was taken at a very slow pace, but the only things I saw were impala upon impala. Oh, and some more ellies far up on a hillside. The road was bumpy but went through beautiful, hilly terrain. At a junction, I took the S120 north to enter the H3.
I decided to take a late breakfast/early lunch at Afsaal again. Delia greeted me with a big grin and even remembered my drinks order from yesterday. The mixed grill was good and we talked some more. I told her I was leaving the park tomorrow and going home to Norway. She said two of her siblings had gone there on a brief visit during school; apparently, she was in kindergarten back then. She didn't say if her siblings had gone during high school or university, but I gathered they'd gotten some form of scholarship or stipend for the trip. As I paid my bill, I tipped heavily, gave her my email address, and told her to contact me if she ever got the chance to go to Norway.
Delia dropped a tray of leftovers and the residing birdbrains were thrilled.
Now, I thought there were fewer vervet monkeys around this year so I asked Delia, and she told me that one had bitten an employee and the authorities had put down seven or eight (monkeys, not employees). As I was leaving, I noticed a couple with two kids who were having fun putting out little biscuits for the cheeky little fuckers (again, the monkeys). Now, I fully understand the impulse to do so, and they're cute and funny little critters (really?), but there is a reason why there are rules in place.
This one fed himself.
Feeding a wild animal makes them connect humans with food and when that food at some later point is not given freely, they may become aggressive and bite or worse. That ensures the animal's death. I explained this as politely and friendly as possible and the people nodded and put away the food, praise Jeebus.
His table manners leave a little something to be desired.
This picture could have been used in an ad for the youghurt producer.
One of the babies soon took over.
Nom, nom.
After a good photoshoot with the monkeys, I traveled on. Soon, I came to a small waterhole. Here, everything was a pastoral idyll. Not a predator to be seen, impala and nyala grazing. A family of warthogs crossed the road with their little radio antennas straight up and off in the distance, two elephants were drinking from a concrete dam. As I was leaving, one of the elephants started walking towards the road, so I followed at a slow pace. Halfway, he stopped to have a good scratch against a tree, which shook vigorously.
Pastorall idyll.
Radar love.
First one side.
Then the other.
Then behind the ears for good measure.
Later, at the road to Numbi, I photographed a klipspringer, then took the S65 north again, desperate for predators. At the waterhole, there was a giraffe and an elephant, so I dutifully took some pics. I think maybe I've found the reason why there's sometime a drought on this continent. The amount of water an elephant wastes every time he takes a sip is astonishing. Speaking of water, at the only waterhole along this road, I photographed a big group of hippos. They were mostly sleeping, but every now and then one would emit a loud snort or bellow, followed by some replies before everything fell silent again.
Klipspringer from behind.
Oh hai!
Sleepy hippos.
I checked in at Pretoriuskop, had a so-so late lunch at the accursed Wimpys, then set off for one last desperate attempt; this time to find cheetahs. Sadly, none was to be found anywhere. I even passed a small traffic jam where they apparently had seen a leopard somewhere in the grass; it didn't matter. Nothing mattered now; I'd already gotten my lions and my leopards but it felt as if I wouldn't find happiness ever again until I'd bagged a cheetah. Sadly, I once again had to go to bed without so much as a whiff of one.
This little guy was the embodiment of "just five minutes more". His eyes were open, so he was awake. His ears were going back and forth, so he knew we were there. A big safari coach parked and blocked my view when he finally got up, but they soon left. He stood for about five minutes, freaking out a couple of times at the little birds that accompanied his every move. Then he slowly keeled over in the grass, determined to get a few more winks.
I know it's morning, but I want to sleep longer.
Awake, but not liking it much.
Just a few winks more...
Zzzzz...
After this, I went east on the S110 for a while. I soon found myself in a big herd of ellies. I stayed with them for at least twenty minutes, taking pics of them; especially the three babies I saw. They were the cutest things, especially the first one I saw. He was rubbing himself lovingly against mommy's leg and stumbled forward every time she moved. I'm a sucker for cute babies, be they dogs, kitties or ellies. I loathe the bald, stinking, ugly little human versions; they're hardly even amusing until they're at least ten. Ugh.
Totally adorbs.
This little one was as tired as the rhino.
A bit camera shy.
Sometimes you gotta get down to find the good stuff.
Anyways, the rest of that road was taken at a very slow pace, but the only things I saw were impala upon impala. Oh, and some more ellies far up on a hillside. The road was bumpy but went through beautiful, hilly terrain. At a junction, I took the S120 north to enter the H3.
I decided to take a late breakfast/early lunch at Afsaal again. Delia greeted me with a big grin and even remembered my drinks order from yesterday. The mixed grill was good and we talked some more. I told her I was leaving the park tomorrow and going home to Norway. She said two of her siblings had gone there on a brief visit during school; apparently, she was in kindergarten back then. She didn't say if her siblings had gone during high school or university, but I gathered they'd gotten some form of scholarship or stipend for the trip. As I paid my bill, I tipped heavily, gave her my email address, and told her to contact me if she ever got the chance to go to Norway.
Delia dropped a tray of leftovers and the residing birdbrains were thrilled.
Now, I thought there were fewer vervet monkeys around this year so I asked Delia, and she told me that one had bitten an employee and the authorities had put down seven or eight (monkeys, not employees). As I was leaving, I noticed a couple with two kids who were having fun putting out little biscuits for the cheeky little fuckers (again, the monkeys). Now, I fully understand the impulse to do so, and they're cute and funny little critters (really?), but there is a reason why there are rules in place.
This one fed himself.
Feeding a wild animal makes them connect humans with food and when that food at some later point is not given freely, they may become aggressive and bite or worse. That ensures the animal's death. I explained this as politely and friendly as possible and the people nodded and put away the food, praise Jeebus.
His table manners leave a little something to be desired.
This picture could have been used in an ad for the youghurt producer.
One of the babies soon took over.
Nom, nom.
After a good photoshoot with the monkeys, I traveled on. Soon, I came to a small waterhole. Here, everything was a pastoral idyll. Not a predator to be seen, impala and nyala grazing. A family of warthogs crossed the road with their little radio antennas straight up and off in the distance, two elephants were drinking from a concrete dam. As I was leaving, one of the elephants started walking towards the road, so I followed at a slow pace. Halfway, he stopped to have a good scratch against a tree, which shook vigorously.
Pastorall idyll.
Radar love.
First one side.
Then the other.
Then behind the ears for good measure.
Later, at the road to Numbi, I photographed a klipspringer, then took the S65 north again, desperate for predators. At the waterhole, there was a giraffe and an elephant, so I dutifully took some pics. I think maybe I've found the reason why there's sometime a drought on this continent. The amount of water an elephant wastes every time he takes a sip is astonishing. Speaking of water, at the only waterhole along this road, I photographed a big group of hippos. They were mostly sleeping, but every now and then one would emit a loud snort or bellow, followed by some replies before everything fell silent again.
Klipspringer from behind.
Oh hai!
Sleepy hippos.
I checked in at Pretoriuskop, had a so-so late lunch at the accursed Wimpys, then set off for one last desperate attempt; this time to find cheetahs. Sadly, none was to be found anywhere. I even passed a small traffic jam where they apparently had seen a leopard somewhere in the grass; it didn't matter. Nothing mattered now; I'd already gotten my lions and my leopards but it felt as if I wouldn't find happiness ever again until I'd bagged a cheetah. Sadly, I once again had to go to bed without so much as a whiff of one.
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