The First Game Drive

As we headed to the meeting place for a quick breakfast before we headed out on the morning game drive, we found a small lizard right outside our door.  He evidently lived behind that container, or in the stone wall, as he frequently greeted us as we went in or out of the door.

Our first Mashatu game drive was phenomenal....Elvis and Aaron found us all sorts of great sightings....impala, kudu, steenboks, hornbills, lilac-breasted rollers, baboons, a leopard eating part of an impala under a bush, and a pride of lions....a big male and two females who are sisters, one the mother of two year-old female cubs and the other the mother of 5-month-old cubs, brother and sister.

These wildies were not at all disturbed when we stopped to take their picture:

And these wildies and elands were more interested in having a drink of water than figuring out what we were doing at the top of the hill:

Giraffes?  Yes, there were always giraffes, including these two, busily having breakfast:

This giraffe seemed particularly friendly:

And these two seemed as interested in us as we were in them:

And there were always impala and kudu around:

The evening sky was incredibly beautiful... the stars were sooo bright.  My little camera doesn't do very well at night, but I knew Doug and Susan had the evening picture-taking covered, so I could just relax and enjoy.  Check out Doug's gallery for some wonderful pictures of the lions!

On our way back to Main Camp, we saw a huge herd of impalas standing together in the open...Elvis said many of the herds do that to avoid being sneaked up on by predators. We also saw more steenboks, a civet, an aardwolf, and an African wildcat which, when caught in Aaron's spotlight, crouched down and moved toward cover, apparently pretending to be a squirrel or mongoose. He looked like he was walking on his elbows!

When we returned to Main Camp, we cleaned up and joined everyone at the boma for dinner. After dinner, a group of kitchen staff sang for the group. It was lovely, although slightly marred by an overeager guest who had, perhaps, celebrated a little too much before dinner. The singers handled the situation gracefully and received much applause from the audience.

By the time dinner was over, we were all ready to call it a night...Tomorrow was a new day, and we would be going out for Morning Game Drive at 6 AM.

16 Sept 09

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