Rhino having a rub. Image by Angele Rouillard.
Sometimes you see what you expect, sometimes something quite the opposite comes your way. While on safari with Camp Linyanti, we encountered so many elephants that we grew to expect them around every corner, but we had to stop and take a look at one particularly wrinkly old female. She didn’t have any tusks, and her ears were folded over, shapelessly hanging on each side of her head. She stared for a while and then shook her head at us, releasing dust from between these unfamiliar crevices. What a strange beauty she was…
An elephant out of the ordinary. This female elephant seemed to lack cartilage in her ears, and she also didn’t have any tusks, but her unusual features didn’t make her any less of an elephant, and she soon ordered us to get out of her way! Image by Chloe Cooper.
Odd ears, but no less confrontational. Image by Chloe Cooper.
At a buffalo carcass on the Linyanti swamps, a disturbing number of vultures and marabou storks gathered, waiting for their turn to feast on the remains of the beast. The lion standing guard gave them space when he lumbered off lazily to the water for a drink. Next to one very energetic sneeze, the walk to the water was about the most energetic thing he did in 3 days.
The scavengers gather at a lion kill site. Image by Chloe Cooper.
Bless you! Lion caught mid-sneeze in the Linyanti. Image by Chloe Cooper.
All puffed up. A Cape glossy starling visits guests at Camp Linyanti. Image by Chloe Cooper.
Further south from the Linyanti in the magnificent Chobe National Park, Camp Savuti produced great, grassy plains, fossilised trunks of trees, and muddy marshes that were celebrated by thousands of giraffe, birds, buffalo, and zebra. The sight of the Savuti brands itself in one’s mind, demanding to be remembered as one of the most wildly beautiful regions of Botswana.
A giraffe in the evening light. Image by Chloe Cooper.
A rufous-naped lark putting on a show in the Savuti. Image by Chloe Cooper.
Zebras come in the thousands in the Savuti. Image by Chloe Cooper.
A Savuti elephant profile. Image by Chloe Cooper.
A hamerkop struggles to swallow a frog in the Savuti marsh. Image by Chloe Cooper.
An exhausted pride of lions take advantage of the dappled shade in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve when we were visiting with Haina Kalahari Lodge. The second largest game reserve in the world, the Central Kalahari is largely unexplored and is home to some weird and wonderful desert-adapted species, living in peace in their pride lands, which is an arid dust-bowl until the arrival of the rains.
Nap time. Mother and cub enjoy a siesta. Image by Chloe Cooper.
Entertained by the butterflies. A pride of lions relaxes in the shade after a big meal in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. Image by Chloe Cooper.
Haina Kalahari Lodge waterhole attracts all sorts of animals throughout the day and night. Here, a kudu and an impala pause in the sunlight. Image by Kevin MacLaughlin.
A northern black korhaan striking a pose. Image by Chloe Cooper.
Back in South Africa, Umkumbe Safari Lodge in the Sabi Sand has been showered with safari blessings. Guide and photographer, Angele Rouillard, sent us the following update from this past week:
We have been spoiled with a variety of sightings that have included new life, and the inevitable circle of life, both around and away from camp. General game has been somewhat sparse the last few days but of those sightings, the impala lambs and the warthog piglets have proved to be “ahhhhhh” moments for our guests! The sighting of the week, however, must be the large breeding herd of elephant that crossed in front of the lodge and delighted our guests for most of the afternoon. During the afternoon drive, we relocated the herd and they proceeded to come out of the bush ever so quietly to surround our vehicles and wow us into silence. Of course, no week would be complete without updating everyone on our predators. Although we experienced a 15 day leopard drought, we were treated to lions on kills, lions mating, lions calling and lions just being lions, as well as two fantastic cheetah sightings. Am happy to report that as of last night’s drive, the leopards have returned! Until next time, happy sightings!!! – Angele
A very young elephant moving with the herd. Image by Angele Rouillard.
A brown-headed parrot. Image by Angele Rouillard.
Elephant ivory. Image by Angele Rouillard.
A giraffe silhouette in the Kruger National Park.
A lion in the dark. Image by Mariana de Klerk.
Meanwhile, in the Kruger National Park, Nokana Safari Camp has also been enjoying their share of elephants. Paying no mind to the rules of the road, this big bull crossed in front of Nokana’s guests, providing wonderful photo opportunities and memories to last a lifetime. Yesterday, being International Cheetah Day, felt like an appropriate time to take guests to see cheetahs on foot. At Karongwe game reserve where Nokana conducts game drives, guests can get out on a guided walk to approach a pair of cheetah brothers in the wild.
Making an exit. An elephant heads for the bush after stopping traffic in the Kruger National Park with Nokana Safari Camp.
Spots in the grass. A cheetah chills out in the Kruger Park on International Cheetah Day yesterday.
Getting up close. Safaris with Nokana Safari Camp enjoy close encounters with cheetahs.
A giraffe silhouette in the Kruger National Park.
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