Africa 22

#GVIfans   Today was a day for Waterbucks some days we see everything on the reserve while on others it seems like the creatures take in turns to appear. It allows us to get valuable photo opportunities and to sharpen our photographic skills. Waterbucks appear to be solitary animals you do not really observe them in herds but more of groups of up to 4 of by themselves. They are a long haired antelope that moves around permanent water sources as they need constant moisture due to having more sweat glands than most antelope. They are dusty grey in colour with a white ring surrounding their back end and a nose that looks like it been dipped in white paint. They are also called the African reindeer with a shiny heart shaped black nose.    

  #GVIfans   It was a Sunday afternoon and optional drive but Amelie's first drive. The rest of the group said no thank you to the drive, they were all tooo tired, so it was just Amelies, Adam, Aimee and I. Tonights drive was amazing we started by heading northwards we were heading round a bend and towards an open area and stumbled into the elephants. We got to see a few of the herd as they headed towards the river. We got to see a majestic female with an aged and distinguished looked about her. Along with Phumbe one of our big bull elephants he has slightly smaller tusks than Flipe but greater in body size. We even got to see tin tiny it was sooo cute smaller than the adults tail. It only reached the knee of the mature female and was smaller than her cousin next to her who was about 12 months old. The size differences were incredible to capture, we were on awe of tiny tiny's size thinking she will be as big as her aunt someday. They gradually walked off to the river as we wa...

  #GVIfans   So today was quite a quiet drive looking at tracks and birds. We then went through twin rock open area where we spotted KFC our cheetah girl. She was frolicking on a warm sand patch, she looked like a kitten rolling over in the sand legs flexed up in the air. She didn't care that we were even there just acting like a home cat enjoy the pure sunshine. She looked majestic like a queen and extremely relaxed as she rose and continued on her way. The rest of the drive was very smooth as, we don't get to see KFC like that or as close every day so we enjoy the rewards receive.   Below:- Black Sparrow hawk     Above: Hippo tracks Above:- KFC the female cheetah   This afternoons drive we were also rewarded with a special sighting of KFC sitting underneath a Black Monkey Orange tree. She was looking cozy in the little shade patch hiding from the sun bearing down. We were able to walk towards her little hide away and take photos from about 3 metres a...

#GVIfans We had a bright clear morning and headed down south to find the cheetah, today she just popped out of the bushes and walked ahead of us. It was the first time I got a chance to see her, other times she had been deep in the thickets. She walked just ahead of our vehicle and when we stopped, she stopped looked back at us and pretty much said follow me. She ended up walking into the bushes to the right and gradually disappeared. She looked so peaceful as she casually went about her morning stroll. attached is a video:-  https://youtu.be/DA3LQf4EmtQ

#GVIfans The morning was nice and clear not told cold today we saw rhino yippee, I hadn't seen them yet. It was a mother and her calf with another rhino. The rhinos get dehorned every couple of years to hope of deterring poachers. The mother we saw has had two calves when they have the 2nd one they push the older one away so they can give the younger one their full attention. Her first calf has been stubborn and does not want to leave mum she had to physically push it away.   The mother had a terrible cut just under her horn that was weeping. We are unsure at this stage how she got it so Zoe took a video and sent it off to the vet. The rhino looked happy otherwise and were enjoying a good scratch off a flakey bark thorn, these thorns are about 1 inch in length and quite sharp and solid or at least they are for us. The rhinos looked like they were enjoying themselves. We stopped for phuza at pride rock which looks over a section of the reserve, there we spotted some nice flame lil...

#GVIfans Heather took us on a game drive to focus on mega herbivores, we were hoping to see the elephants, giraffe, hippo or rhino. We started with some colourful small birds such as the little bee eater, red back strike as well as a ground bird called the crested franklin. We then moved down the road and found a giraffe posing perfectly for photos, clear skies and green foliage standing side on and then working up along the drive path with us. It was a male giraffe; we know this by not having hair on the turrets near his ears. We also drove by some zebra that were casually out in the open, we just missed the elephants as the lodges have priority over GVI game drives, lodge guests are only here for a few days while GVI peeps are her at least 2 weeks mostly times 1 month. It was getting late, so we started on route to base. Little bee eater Red backed strike Crested franklin   We are driving casually and slowly as we are on a rocky road, we spot a small shadow in the distance and re...

#GVIfans   13/01   Game drives vary from seeing not much to seeing many things from colourful birds,  bugs, giraffe, hyenas or lions. Many drives have been very quiet but the scenery is superb, it changes from dense shrubland and becomes open to slightly forestry with a section having a small amount of Canopy. On this particular day the drive was full of adventure. We started off with some mild weather and learnt the process of collecting camera traps.   Camera trap process Writing the camera trap site number down Removing the 8 batteries and placing in fresh ones Recording the SD card number we are removing Recording the new SD card number Resetting the camera so it is armed and active to start taking photos again the batteries last about two weeks   Camera traps are activated by movement during the day or night. It is normally activated by animals passing by, the creatures do not even know the ...

  #GVIfans Our 1st game drive was on the 9th of Jan starting at 3pm. We were shown how to check the tyre pressures, oil, brake fluid, coolant and transmission, we then headed out on safari. Our game drive was quiet in the sense we didn't see any big carnivores but we did spot a Dassie (rockhyrax). This creature looks similar to a Caperberry but has the closest relationship to the elephant. We saw a male and female Giraffe, the way you can tell the difference if through the turrets the females have hair on like pompoms while the males are bald. We also saw Zebra, Wilderbeast, Impala medium sized antelope. Kudu or ghost antelope as they dissapear into the scrb very easily even though they are soo big. The Kudu largest antelope they have amazing massive ears with a red tinge. As the afternoon turned evening we saw a jackal it was cute and looked quite fluffy.