South Africa 2016
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Soweto
Soweto, or SOuth WEst TOwnship outside of Jo-berg, is one of the shanty towns where millions of the poor of SA live. Things are a little better as the roads are mostly paved, there is electricity and running water, and the current government is striving to replace huts such as these with more permanent housing
On the way to Kruger National Park...
...we stopped for a couple of days part way to stop at the Iketla lodge, seeing several sites along the "panorama route" from Jo-berg to Kruger Nat'l park to the east. Here Barbara looks out over the country side a little ways from the porch outside our hotel room (with outside shower!)
Toward Kruger
Kruger Nat'l Park is the crown jewel of SA parks, an area the size of New Jersey in the eastern part of the country that is open to the migration of animals. We spent the next several days in this park, though we didn't quite stay IN the park itself (see next). The descent from the highlands around the Panoramic route and gold country down into the Kruger area is beautiful
Tree stork
A Marabou stork sits in a bare branched tree. These storks are large (up to 5 feet tall) and their unique look gives them the nickname of "undertaker stork"
One of the Big 5
Cape Buffalo is common and one of the most dangerous animals to humans. The animals that are the most dangerous to hunt, due to their understandable tendency to hunt those who are hunting them, are called the "Big 5"- cape buffalo, elephant, lion, leopard and rhino.
Hornbills
There are several species of hornbills, and this one was flirting with a nearby female
Yep, open vehicles
In Sabi Sabi, we ventured out in open vehicles with a driver and tracker sitting up in front. For reasons that are still not clear to me (but am grateful for), all of the animals, even predators and "Big 5", don't seem to see the humans sitting out in the open truck as snacks or meals. These lionesses are doing what they do for most of the day
Bachelor giraffes
Here a couple of young dudes stand in mirror image to each other. Other than an occasional fight, it does not seem that the giraffes paid much attention to each other
Male giraffe
We were told that the way to tell females from males is that the latter have larger horns (well, and sometimes the usual parts hanging between the legs if you can see their bodies). I think that this is a male
Hitchhiker
Many of the animals have their own groupies of birds that clear them of insects (and sometimes lap up blood from skin wounds)
Sheldon is packing
Our drivers and guides were excellent. They also packed rifles with bullets large enough to stop whatever could come at us. They are happy that in all of the decades the lodge has been there, not once has one of these bullets had to be used.
King of beasts 1
The local male champion with his lady snoozing in the morning. I love the series of photos with their limbs intertwined- seems much like what human couples do in their sleep also
Rhinos walking
Soon after seeing the lions, we came across a trio of rhinos walking across the grass just out of some local pond (hence the two toned look). Here the mother on the right walks next to one of her offspring
Upset birds
The rhinos had the usual contingent of birds on them, like the giraffe photos before. However this particular animal had a group of birds that were not getting along
Rear leopard
More leopard sightings, and even from the rear the tail and foot pad are something to see
In the late afternoon sun, this male leopard spots a herd of waterbuck in the distance and sizes up his chances on stalking them
The elusive lion cubs
Lionesses are very careful about putting their cubs in hide holes during the day to keep them safe. At dawn we come across this rare sighting of 3 lionesses and their young cubs
hippo at dawn
This guy was wandering across the grass, far from water. Hippos feed mainly during the night, sometimes wandering far from water. They and cape buffalos kill more people than any other animal (other than humans themselves). They can run up to 30 mph, running down people in their path back to the refuge of the water hole
