Days 9, 10 and 11

(Dan’s comments are italicized)

When we were staying with our friends Marie and Peter upon arriving in Johannesburg, they had commented that there was much more to see in game parks than the big animals, and that the little creatures were often overlooked. This comment played an important part in our lives over the next couple of days as the larger animals were elusive! Dan, who is developing a keen sense of bird watching, was in his element; not only could he spend time with birds, but also he could use that huge and incredibly heavy lens I’d accidentally bought for my camera!

I was more about landscapes, noticing small details in the landscapes, and appreciating new friends who popped up to say hello.

Speaking of friends, we were delighted that Marie and Peter arrived for a couple of nights; not only are they fun but also they’re extremely knowledgeable about birds and animal behavior. I’ve learned more about birds in our three days out with them than all my years of privately observing them.

This is our second year of going on safaris together, and it wasn’t until this week that I found out that Rhia didn’t know how to use binoculars! 🤣 I have to focus the right right eye to match my left eye, so when she looked through my binoculars, one eye was really blurry. When she discovered how to adjust to her eyes, a whole new world opened up!

Africa truly is amazing as there’s something wonderful around every corner. 

To me, there’s nothing better than seeing a mum and her baby…

To Dan, it’s birds that take the biscuit…

There’s something quite strange that happens as soon as you set foot in a game park as you get butterflies in your tummy when you see any animal, even common ones who are in your garden at home every day like hares and tree squirrels…

…or ones that are pests (this one was dying and would soon be a meal for a bird).

And, when you start noticing the small things, you tend to marvel at nature! For example, why is a grey heron doing a swan impression, and how can five huge hippo look so insignificant.

Even though we don’t have water monitors at home, we have plenty of lizards…

…but I’ve never really marvelled at the mosaic of their scales or the intimacy of their little fingers.

Our friends introduced us to these water monitors. They have named them Larry and Lizzy, and these to have been in the same place for years! We also discovered two new juveniles basking in the sun there, so “Lilly” and “Leo” have joined the family. 

But, of course, I love the more typical safari sightings too…

But I want to end this post with two things NOT to do in a game park…

Firstly, even when you can’t quite get the shot you want…

…you do NOT get out of the car to get a better angle!!

Secondly, do NOT make assumptions about animal behavior. We’d been tracking a herd of elephants for about an hour and parked the car where we reasoned they’d cross the road. The first 3 elephants cooperated beautifully…

…then the other 25 or so decided to cross just a bit closer to us AND WALK UP THE ROAD PAST OUR CAR!

I should have got some fantastic photos but, instead, was rendered motionless with fear. Excuse me, I was the one that was panicked,😨 and you said that you couldn’t get the shot because you were calming me down! Truth is, we should not have been in that position. Having said that, it was quite exhilarating 🤪 Thankfully, we know enough about elephant behavior to keep calm and behave in an appropriate, non-threatening and non-panic-creating way. But we only breathed again when we could, literally, see them all in our rear view window!

Lesson learned, Africa; lesson learned!!