Giraffe and baby feeding

Today has been another exciting day. The days are so action packed that I have to look at my photos at the end of the day to remember what we saw and what we did! We started our early morning game drive just after 6am, warmly dressed with blankets and hot water bottles on our laps - when the sun came up, it warmed up it and reached a scorching 35C today. The temperatures here are extreme, going from cold to very hot quite suddenly.

We saw rhino this morning, followed by towers of giraffe. I loved this mother feeding her baby in the early morning light. Then we heard that two male lions were seen in a certain spot so we headed off to find them. They were totally relaxed, just lying there and ignoring the vehicle as it drove up. See extra for the male lion, he was a handsome beast. Sadly most of the buffalo in Southern Africa get bovine tuberculosis, and as that is the main meal for a lion they too get it from eating the infected meat, and this is consequently having a negative effect on the lion population.

We then went to a water hole - the water was covered in water hyacinth so it was wierdly green - where we watched the hippos playing in the water. We set up our morning coffee there and we were soon joined by an elephant that came down to the water hole to drink (see last extra). We were planning on doing a bush walk but then heard that two male leopards were having a territory face-off, so we decided to postpone the walk and go see the leopards. It was very interesting watching them as the one chased the other off the area just by using threatening growls and advancing in a menacing way. This area has the largest leopard population in Africa, so we have seen leopards every day here. By now it was very hot so we went back to the lodge for a late but delicious breakfast.

Some of us went to the gym and others relaxed, but the time passed very quickly until lunch time. We had a late lunch as we had eaten breakfast so late, so after lunch it was time for our afternoon game drive. We saw many buffalo, elephants, rhinos, hippos and then we went to the hyena den and watched the mum and her cubs as they were feeding. We decided to skip the sundowner drinks and rather drive over to the other side of the reserve to see the male lions we saw earlier in the day, as it is quite exciting seeing them at night when they are more active. By now it was dark and I was surprised how the lions do not seem to notice or mind the beam of light shone on them so we could observe their behaviour. Certain animals cannot tolerate the light - antelope for example - but others can due to the certain rods and cones in their eyes. The lions were right next to the vehicle and yawning and showing their enormous teeth - then they suddenly got up in response to a call from a female lioness and walked off to go meet her. They walked right next to us in the open vehicle, I could have reached out and stroked them - it was a bit of a scary moment! We followed the lions for a while but then decided to return to the lodge as it was getting late. On the way back we saw a puffadder snake, they are very attractive snakes but deadly.

When we arrived back at the lodge we were in for a surprise as the staff greeted us with a singing and dancing performance. We were then invited into the boma for a delicious supper around the fire - the food here is exceptional. Our ranger Fred hosted the dinner and entertained us with stories of his adventures and escapades in the bush which was so interesting.

Now it is off to bed for another very early start tomorrow.