Day 31, Year 6 Kruger, Day 4-Leo the Lion
Date: Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Weather: Overcast and Drizzly
Location: Kruger National Park, South Africa
We drove north on this day, out of bush country and into African savannah. We promised to travel the main road north to Satara Camp where we would check-in for the night and then we would drive further north to Olifants Camp and back. We wanted to experience the open country and hoped to see herds of elephants and more lions. We did see a magnificent herd of elephants in the Olifant River and just at the end of the day, we saw Leo the Lion. So the plan was a success.
As we drove north from Skukuza we entered savannah country. The grass was more off-white than yellow. It swayed in the wind and was punctuated here and there by picturesque flat-topped African Umbrella Thorn trees, a type of Acacia (Acacia tortilis). In our first hour we saw elephants, mongoose, impalas, black and white lapwing birds, Vervet monkeys, baboons that filled the entire road in front of us, waterbuck with that characteristic white circle at their rear looking just like a target, zebra, giraffe, steenbok, rhino, a couple of warthogs, and many of the ever-present graceful impalas. We did take one loop road to see the southern-most baobab tree in Kruger and on the way we saw a small group of Southern Ground Hornbills. These are very large black birds with red skin on their throats and around their eyes. We saw some buffalo and herds of zebra and wildebeest hanging out together. We had an early lunch at Satara Camp, checked-in, and then headed further north to Olifants.
On the way, the grass became more sparse and countryside drier. The animals were more spread out, but we still saw lots of wildlife. We stopped on the Olifants River bridge and watched a magnificent herd of elephants pulling and eating the grass growing in the almost dry river bed. We visited Olifants Camp and then headed back south. Along the way we watched a yearling (not a baby) elephant nursing and found it fascinating the way the baby just flips his trunk up over his head so he can nurse. We also saw nyala, a type of antelope that we saw lots of in Hluhluwe but haven’t seen much of here. When we crossed the Olifants River bridge, the elephants were still there but this time it was the hippos in the water that were putting on the show. There was one big bull showing his authority over a mother and baby by opening that big mouth in front of them. I think he was all show, however, as he soon tired and went on his way. We got back to Satara Camp and picked up our keys (we could check in early but not get the keys), but didn’t go to the accommodations as we wanted to see the last bit of wildlife before coming in for the night. It was a good decision because our final drive of the day produced Leo the Lion.
This male lion that we named Leo was cat-napping, head up, eyes closed, right beside the road. He looked just like the MGM lion. After taking tons of photos of him, sometimes eyes open, sometimes eyes closed, we realized that there was a second male lion back in the tall grass. I got a photo of him yawning just before he collapsed in the grass for his nap. One minute we could see him, and the next he was sleeping in the grass and totally camouflaged. This reminded us to never take a walk in tall grass in Africa! These cats are unbelievable. They are up one minute and then down for the count the next. Leo did the same thing. It looked like he got tired of holding his head up and he just instantly fell over. We drove on down the road for a few kilometers and when we returned, he was still sleeping. While we watched, he started heaving his body and made grumbling sounds and the other male did the same in answer to him. But he never got up. We finally left Leo the Lazy Lion and headed back to camp. What a great way to end our last full day in Kruger.
 |
| 101124 Day 31 South Africa–Kruger Day 4 |
