Saturday, October 4, 2008

So I'm in Africa

After a year in South Africa, I have finally been on my first daytime safari in the Pilanesberg National Park in Northwest Province. It was awe-inspirinig. We left Johannesberg at five in the morning to arrive at the park shortly after it opened. At first, we saw nothing, then in the distance a few wildebeests appeared in the early morning sunshine. The trick on safaris is not to look at the bush, but to look through the bush.

Our next sight was a warthog who decided that it liked to travel on the dirt path rather than the bush. It's family was a little bit further on, little wart-hoglets? following a larger hog. The car slowed and we caught glimpses of zebra through the high grasses. Little did we know how many more zebra we would see.

My first sighting were three kudu on a ridge, which was magnificent because there were no trees in the way and we could watch them adeptly manuever up the mountainside.

After a turn, we stopped as my friend has seen an elephant. Upon closer examination, there was an entire herd of them, including two calves being lorded over by there aunt.. or so I was told.










































And nearby in a place called predator world: