My Trip to Africa, Part Two
There is so much to see in Africa - if you've never been on a safari, I encourage you to make the trip!
In March, Alexis, Jude, Truman, and I, along with our dear friend, Kevin Sharkey, spent nearly two-weeks on a wildlife safari in Africa. We stayed at several camps, and saw a great number of beautiful animals - lions, elephants, hippos, hyenas, and the striking kudu. My grandchildren loved every moment and were so enthusiastic, but my daughter, Alexis, enjoyed it the most - she was so captivated by all the animals. It was such a wonderful journey.
Here are some of the amazing images highlighting the magnificent creatures we saw. These photos were taken by Marlon du Toit, our guide and master photographer from Wild Eye photographic safaris. Enjoy.
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- Here, elephants enjoy the green grasses under a stormy summer sky. Jude and Truman were so great on all our daily trips to see the animals – they were up at dawn and always ready to “rock and roll”.
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- An elephant herd grazes along the Linyanti floodplain. Another smaller herd joins them from the right. These landscapes host an abundant amount of wildlife including the world’s highest densities of elephant in the dry winter months.
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- Less than five minutes from camp, we find this female leopard relaxing up an old ebony tree. She eventually came down to go look for something to eat.
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- This is the sunset on the Okavango Delta – simply breathtaking. The days were very long, but the children just loved everything they saw, and took short naps during the long drives from place to place. They were so well-behaved, curious and fun – everyone adored them.
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- This is a comical pose with serious intent. As the wind changed, this elephant noticed our scent by lifting her trunk high. Their ability to smell is stronger than the most sensitive of dogs.
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- Warthogs are day active only, and at night retire to old termite mounds and burrows such as this one. The burrow was likely dug out by an aardvark, and modified by animals such as hyena, wild dog, honeybadgers and warthogs. Jude loved taking her own photos during the trip, and took several of these warthog burrows.
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- The elephant is feeding on summer greenery – the young animal seems to be feeling a little playful.
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- And, who said one can’t play with your food? Elephants are highly expressive and they often play with their food in this manner!
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- In the tall grasses, this lazy lion keeps a weary eye on us in the vehicle.
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- This striking Kudu bull poses for a moment in a sea of green grass. Summertime in Africa is so different, yet beautiful in its own right.
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- Here, a young African fish eagle takes flight. The African sea eagle, is a large species throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever there are large bodies of open water with an abundance of food.
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- This young Bateleur is keeping an eye on the vehicle below. These birds are the most agile of the eagles, and are common in the skies of Africa.
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- Here is a small group of wattled crane on the plains of the Okavango Delta. At a height of up to nearly six-feet, it is the largest crane in Africa and the second tallest species of crane.
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- A lioness peers at us through the lush summer grass.
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- Here is a beautiful portrait of a watchful lioness.
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- Here, a lioness spots vultures descending to the ground in the distance, and heads over to investigate. Vultures like that could signal a potential dead animal and a free meal. Jude and Truman were never afraid – just so excited to see all the stunning wildlife.
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- And here, the lioness looks back over her shoulder to see if the rest of the pride would follow her to the vulture site.
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- This is a kudu cow feeding on summer greenery. Kudus like to eat leaves and shoots. In very dry seasons they eat wild watermelons and other fruit for the liquid and natural sugars that they provide.
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- This is a gorgeous Meves’s starling on a thorny Acacia. These birds are found in Angola, Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
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- Two large hippos duel it out in a rain-filled pan on Chief’s Island, Okavango Delta. Of all of us, my daughter, Alexis, enjoyed the trip the most – it was her first African safari. She was so enamored by the animals, especially the hippos.
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- A stunning leopardess relaxes up a tree in the heart of the Delta.
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- Eye contact with the same female leopard. It’s very intense, an experience not easily forgotten.
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- This is a young lion looking up – not sure what he sees, but he watches with great focus.
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- This is one of Africa’s most striking birds, the African green pigeon. These birds nest in tree forks with good vantage points of the area. Their nests are made with a weak platform of sticks, collected by the male and arranged by the female.
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- Here is a lovely Malachite Kingfisher perched and on the hunt. No matter what type of animal they saw, the children were always enthusiastic to learn everything about it.
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- We found the striking female leopard on the hunt close to the camp’s airstrip. She was focused and curious, and allowed us close enough for beautiful photography, and we spent about an hour following her in the Okavango Delta, Botswana.
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- The same female leopard as before, stopping for some grooming. They often do this. It allows them to cool off a little, and to listen for any signs of prey in the nearby vicinity.
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- In summer, the grasses are tall and it makes hunting challenging. Leopards will often use logs and fallen trees to gain a better view of their surrounding landscapes, all in hopes of spotting potential prey close by.
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- Here is a tsessebe, Africa’s fastest antelope! These animals can run nearly 50-miles per hour. Tsessebe are found primarily in Angola, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and South Africa.
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- We enjoyed an incredible sighting. African wild dogs chased and killed a young kudu. The kudu carcass was eventually stolen by this large hyena. Notice her massive teeth, strong and powerful and well designed to crush bone.
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- We also enjoyed great views of the flooded Okavango Delta from the air. Here is a small group of red lechwe, another type of antelope found in the wetlands of south central Africa. Truman loved the helicopter ride.
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- Here is a lechwe and an elephant feeding on an island, photographed from our helicopter.
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- Here is a hippo completely submerged and moving along the sandy bottom of a channel in the Okavango Delta. It’s such a unique view of Africa’s “river horse”.
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- One of the rarest antelope in Africa, the sitatunga. We enjoyed spectacular sightings of them on a morning helicopter ride from camp. What a special sight it was!
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- Here, elephants drinks from the Zambezi River.
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- A small group of wildebeest play in the early morning sunlight. Wildebeests, also known as gnus, belong to the family Bovidae, which includes antelopes, cattle, goats, sheep and other even-toed horned ungulates.
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- The African wild dog – the most successful large predator in Africa. They are ever alert and are successful on 80-percent of all hunts. Compare that to a meager 30-percent by lions, and it gives you an idea of just how good they are.
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