Saturday, Nov. 11 Remembrance Day.

Up at 5:30 and in the jeep by 6:05. Same routine with blankets and hot water bottles. We don’t see much until we get to the river bed. And there they were, 8 Wild dogs, or Painter dogs as they are also known as. What a sight. They are very difficult to find so we knew that this was a special day. They were crossing the river bed so Lazaro wanted to go find them on the other side. Off we go at a good clip. It was a wild and crazy ride, but sure enough we did find them and got some great shots. We learn from another jeep guide that the dogs had killed an impala, but that a male lion had moved in and stolen it from them. We follow the dogs again and we see two of them fighting over a piece of meat, so maybe they were able to take away something or they killed something else. We watched them as they walked further into the woods and we were no longer able to see them. What a treat. They are incredible.

Well of course knowing that a lion had an impala, it was off to find that. Our guide knew the general area where the lion was, so that was the direction we took. We find him and the kill under a bush. He is no longer eating at this point so we watch him sitting there near the carcass of what was once an impala. What a morning, and it’s not even 8 am yet.

Whenever there is a kill, the vultures are never too far away. We see many Ruppell’s Griffon Vultures awaiting in the trees.

Another sensational sunrise

A Kudu in the morning sun

The pack of 8 Wild Dogs

Male lion robber

Lion with Impala kill

Ruppell's Griffon Vultures

We’re really on a high and don’t care if we don’t see much the rest of the day because that was amazing. Of course we do see a lot more. There is a white browed coucal near a tree with a Cordon Bleu and a Fire bird.

We also go by the two female lions who killed the giraffe. They seem to hang out in the same area a lot.

A White-Browed Coucal

Same lion who killed the baby giraffe

The two females still hanging around

Breakfast is near the river bed so we can still see the lions sleeping nearby.

Our meal is laid out on the roof of the jeep: granola, yogourt, muffins, bacon wrapped egg muffin, toast, sausage, etc.  Always amazing and we are hungry as we are up early and this meal is usually around 9 am.

Back on the road we see some Fork-tailed Drongos, three Wart Hogs drinking, a Goshawk, a huge herd of Cape Buffalo headed to the water hole and a mom Impala and her 4-5 day old baby. What a cutie.

A Fork-Tailed Drongo

3 Wart Hogs drinking

A Goshawk

Giraffe drinking

Elephant tearing the bark off of a Baobab tree. 

Having a drink

This is how close the animals are

  

Cape Buffalo cooling off

 

Mom and babe

We hear of a leopard not too far away to we head out to have a look. They are often sleeping in the trees during the day, so while seeking him out, I spot an owl in a tree. It is a Verreaux’s Eagle Owl. I love seeing owls. Their heads move in such funny positions. We do not find the leopard so we start on the road back to the camp. On the way there are Cape Buffalo soaking in a water/mud hole, we see more Little Bee Eaters, and a Hammerkop in the muddy pond as well.

A Verreux's Eagle Owl

Little Bee-Eater

A Hammerkop

At 11:00 we observe a minute of silence. We explain to our guide why Nov.11 is so important.

We return for lunch at the camp. We have 20 minutes or so to get ready for lunch. New guests have arrived; Cindy and Keith from England. They’re lots of fun, very relaxed, chatty, and funny.

During our down time, we soak in the pool, relax, write this blog, upload pictures and off again at 4.

In the afternoon we see Dikdiks and an elephant in the same area. It’s a huge elephant probably 30-40 years old. We see the usual Impalas. They are everywhere in Africa. They are very graceful and beautiful, but we are so used to them now, that we don’t stop to have a look or take pictures anymore.

Lazaro gets a call about a leopard walking around. It's off to the races. We arrive to see the large cat moving about. We moved with him or tried to, when all of a sudden Ron says that the cat is right beside us. Sure enough, he is walking right beside the jeep. Crazy. The baboons are in the trees going crazy and warning anyone nearby of the dangers. Nature is so cool.

Tea time before our 4 pm outing

Big male 

Getting at the higher leaves

What a treat to see this

Beautiful 

Couldn't believe he was so close

Loved the Baobab trees

 

Herd of Cape Buffalo crossing in front of us

 It’s a quieter evening drive, but nice. We stop for a sun downer and join up with Cindy and Keith. We are having so busy chatting that we don’t realize that the guides have packed up and we are ready to leave.

tonight's sunset

Supper is steak, potatoes, veggies. Another great meal with some sort of cake for dessert. We stay around to talk, do some computer stuff and go back to our tent. In bed by 10-10:30.