Pilanesberg!
Wow, what a start to our game drive, what with 5 Rhinos welcoming us (my colleague Madhu Kongovi, his son Rohan, and yours truly) as the first game to kick off our tryst with wildlife!!
A couple of Giraffes, followed by Wildebeest or Gnu, Impalas by dozens, and an odd couple of Zebras made up for the rest of the game.
Over a distance sat a couple of lionesses, well camouflaged by tufts of dried grass, and our guide was in no hurry as the waiting game started as to who would blink first.
Needless to say, the pair started slowly getting up and slyly moving towards a couple of Impalas, who sensed danger and dashed to a safer distance.
Nowhere to hunt, the pair started walking towards us lazily while searching for food.
There were a lot of private and safari vehicles loaded with tourists who were waiting patiently to catch a glimpse of this majestic pair.
Finally, there they were, although it had to maneuver through and it did successfully, giving all of us a very good sight!!
Everyone had their fill of the sight of this majestic pair as they slowly went into the highveld, not to be seen again.
Our guide said that we wait for some more time as the Lions would normally follow the lionesses... But not today, as our wait was a futile one.
On our way back, there was a call by another Ranger of a Leopard sighting, and by the time we reached there, the place was inundated with safari vehicles... All share the same frequency for wireless communication.
It was pretty dark by then, and we couldn't sight the elusive Leopard, though the Ranger swore that he was lying flat on the ground camouflaged by flora.
No Elephants or buffalo, which could have completed our sighting of the Big 5, as they refer to these.
On our return, close to the gates of the reserve, this Rhino was swaggering like a drunkard zigzagging the road. The Ranger was swift to put my thoughts to rest by explaining the weird behavior. It is normal for a Rhino to swagger in the night, as they have very poor eyesight and are therefore finding their way.
In a nutshell, Rhinos welcomed and saw us off the reserve.
It was just like old times for me.
Love to repeat it anytime, and time again!!
Some of the pics from that trip!
.jpeg)
.jpg)
2 comments:
Amazing pics of the South African wilds.. You sure would have enjoyed the trip. Very well captured both in word and pics. Reminds me of my visit to Kruger
Nice, had a first hand view of African deserts, would have been nice had u sighted those elusive buffaloes and elephants and also leopard
Post a Comment