Wednesday, March 14 – Afternoon and Evening
You may remember that we stopped here yesterday shortly after entering the park. Today it is where we stopped for lunch and to check on our evening lodging.
It was busy, so we had to sit at three different tables. Notice Kristen in blue and Jere and Jesse at another table. I took this picture from our table. If I remember correctly, it was here that we met one of Jana’s team members from Muizenberg – with YWAM. They were surprised to see each other.
Jere ordered pizza for everyone. This was our order number.
We checked out our lodging. This was going to be our back yard for the evening.
I am glad there are high electric fences, because there was a report of lions in a nearby field
Our first sightings after lunch were elephants. This guy has seen a few battles. Look at that ear.
It is interesting to watch them eat. They find grass they like and just pull it up out of the ground.
If there is dirt on the roots, they bump it against their tusks to shake it off before putting the grass in their mouth.
.They have long eyelashes which you can see in this picture.
Jesse taking a picture of a giraffe on his cell phone.
Saddle-billed Stork
Kudu crossing
Lilac-breasted Roller
Double-banded Sandgrouse
This Blue-tailed Skink was along the path at our next rest stop.
A few of the animals we saw from the lookout.
Back on the road. Another kudu
A nice male impala
Thanks to our “spotter” Jere, we saw this jackal – which was not easy to see at a distance.
The black-backed jackal is the most common in Kruger and I can see a black mark on this one’s back.
On the way back to our lodge, we went by the spot where people had seen lions. (We had driven by here when we left the lodge after lunch, but they were hiding in the grass. We saw movement, but they did not stand up.)
We were pleased that they were up and moving around.
There appeared to be three or four lionesses.
This herd of wildebeest and zebra were in the field next to our guestroom.
Entering Satara. These gates close at 6:00 each night. I understand that if you are not lodging in Kruger, you must leave the park by 6 pm.
There are Kruger vehicles that will take you out into the park at night – for a price – but you cannot drive a personal vehicle in Kruger after six.
We stayed in Stanley Guest House
Eight of us stayed here. Phil and Jared had a small bungalow.
Cerwin and Jere watching the wildebeest and zebra from our backyard.
Two of the male wildebeest were apparently having a turf war.
I am glad there is an electric fence between us.
Inside our lodge
The lounge where we ate supper. This is one of the rare places in South Africa where we dealt with bugs.
A pretty painting on the wall.
Tomorrow I will begin telling you about our last – eventful – day in South Africa.
Another wonderful drive around the park. I’m a little surprised that you had to stay in different lodging for the two nights, rather than checking in once and staying in the same rooms. Kudu and nyala seem very similar, with their stripes — are the differences in the placement of the stripes, in the antlers? How exciting to see all these animals (and the birds, too) in their natural environment!
The nyala female is a brownish red. The kudu female is gray. The kudu male is a larger animal than the male nyala. We were in different areas of the park for both nights. We didn’t go over many of the roads twice.
Thanks — subtle, but different, they are both beautiful animals! You are very fortunate to have seen so many of the animals in their natural habitat!
We were indeed fortunate.
loved seeing the stork, the lilac-breasted roller and the sandgrouse ~ I can’t quite figure out its head! 🙂
I have seen the blue-tailed skinks in Ohio at our son’s home ~ isn’t that interesting that they would be both places?