After flying into Johannesburg we spent a night with family in Pretoria and then headed east. The next few days we spent near Kruger Park so we had to book ourselves a safari aka game drive.
Kruger National Park is a humongous game reserve where animals can thrive safely. It’s 2 million hectares and sits on the northeastern edge of South Africa. They are well known for having the BIG 5… lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalos. The landscape over this vast area includes plains, mountains and even tropical forests. LEARN MORE
We were up before the butt crack of dawn and were picked up by our guide and watched the sunrise over the mountains as we drive to the park. As the tour through the park starts, we see a herd of zebras. The driver slows slightly but says “Don’t worry. I have something really nice for you ahead.” A few minutes later we pull up next to a gorgeous lion who was waking up. He was right next to the road! So amazing…
Unfortunately we didn’t get to check off the BIG 5… no rhinos, and buffalos BUT we did catch a glimpse at a leopard resting in the tall grass. Our guide told us that the vets had been looking for it because it had a snare on it’s neck. He said it was probably from trying to escape thru the fence but it was probably poacher assholes.
We saw so many young male elephants. Luckily they were all chill and didn’t want to head butt our vehicle. Our guide told us that the reason we can get so close to the animals in the trucks is because the animals see it/us as one large animal. We were told if we broke the silhouette by standing up/reaching out, that we would be in danger. Crazy!
There were so many animals that I had never seen before and those I had only experienced in zoos. It made my heart happy to see them doing there thing in their native space.
So the guides chat over a radio while driving around so they can fill everyone else in on where the animals are. Even competitors helped each other out, which is pretty rad. Our guy brought us over to a mating couple of lions that were chilling on a street. I was shocked at how thin they were!!! Come to find out they were at the tail end of a week of doing nothing but smooshing. We were told that “his seed is weak” and therefor they have to do it a lot and skip everything else including hunting/eating. Come to find out the couple was in this spot for hours. I think she was trying to give the male the hint that she is DONE and needs a nap and a snack.
There were so so many birds that I have never seen before! I wasn’t able to shoot most of them cause they are fast lil buggers but my favorite is this first one… a violet breasted roller. In love.
Here are a few of the animals I got on video… enjoy.