Not far from camp we saw our first Kirk's Dikdik who live in semi-arid savannah habitats dominated by acacia scrub and bush clumps. They have adapted to survive in areas with limited drinking water. They live in monogamous pairs.
Further along the road we sat and watched a family of Vervet Monkeys foraging and enjoying an early morning grooming session.
Above is a Bushbuck which was feeding close to the track. She was very nervous but continued to feed oncce the engine was turned off.
Along the dry river bed we saw a family of Impala using the water holes dug by the elephants over night. The elephants are able to dig down to the water table below and once the elephants have left the other animals come down to the dry bed and drink from the water holes.
Although the impala were the most common animals we saw they really are beautiful animals with lovely faces.
Above is Nightie collecting the elephant dung to put in our Testse Fly burner. Apparently burning the elephant dung acts as a deterrent to the tetse flies. It certainly seemed to work as when the dung ran out the flies came back!!
A beautiful White Headed Vulture which is less common than the White-backed Vulture we saw on numerous occasions.
We were also really luck to see this beautify Dark Chanting Goshawk really close up
Breakfast was served under a beautiful Boaba Tree. These huge, broad trunked trees are unmistakable when they lose their leaves in the dry season. It is then that they suit their nickname of 'upside down tree" as their bare branches resemble roots. Boabab trees are amonst the oldest forms of life with some specimens at well over 1,000 years old. The smooth bark and soft pulpy fibre is relished by elephants which can destroy even the largest specimens by stripping the bark. The huge showy white flowers open at night to be pollinated by fruit bats Mature boababs typically have many holes and crevices which provide homes for bushbabies, owls and many other creatures. They are numerous in the Ruhau National Park. They reminded us of the Whomping Willow tree in the Harry Potter films
After breakfast we headed off to search for more animals, it wasnt long before we got a call to say there was a cheetah family who had been seen feeding on a kill not too far away so Victor told us to hold on tight and we had a high speed drive to the area. Unfortunately after much searching the ony thing we saw were remains of an impala leg and we headed towards the river disappointed.
It was down by the river bed that we came across a family of elephants feeding on the very strange Sausage Tree (below). Thus us a large deciduous tree that favours riverside habitats. The extraordinary fruits may grow up to 2 feet in length and hang in clusters from the outer branches. Baboons also eat the pulp inside the fruits and so disperse the seeds. Interestingly the sap from the fruits is used as a skincare product.
We were just heading off when we received another call from one the Mydonya cars to say they had located the cheetah family so we headed off again to see if we could see them...this time we were lucky. They were on the move but Mowledee and Nightie decided we could go "off-road" for a little while to follow them. There was a family of four, a mother and three older cubs and they were absolutely stunning but extremely difficult to photograph as they continuously moved and hid in the long grass and bushes.
We then headed out across the open savannah and had some great views of the wildlife including my favourite the giraffe. The giraffe in Tanzania are the Masaai Giraffe and their makings are different to the Rothschild Giraffes I have seen at Longleat and Marwell. They almost look like they have been splodged with a paint brush.
I have to say Ostriches are one animal I didn't expect to see in safari and initially I thought they were rocks shaped like ostriches but no they actually do live in the Ruhau National Park and are often seen with the zebra and giraffes.
We headed towards a picnic area for lunch but heard that their was a lioness close to the area who looked like she was preparing to hunt. Unfortunately Nightie was feeling unwell so asked to be dropped in the picnic area and Mowledee drove us a little way up the hill to watch the lioness. Mowledee explained that this was a group of lions that had split from a larger pride and were not the best of hunters and were probable quite hungry. The lioness appeared to be on her own and not long after we arrived she started to stalk a herd of giraffes where there was a young calf. I have to admit it was fascinating watching her crawl through the long grasses and her patience was amazing but I wasn't sure I wanted to see one of my favourite animals killed even though it is the natural circle of life. We were really surprised to see the giraffes come towards the lion even though they thought there was something around.
We were just getting to part where the giraffe was really close to the lion when we got a call on the radio from Nightie to say that there were lions in the picnic area and he needed us to go and help him!!!! Mowledee quickly started the engine and we tore off down the track back towards the picnic area. In the picnic area there was evidence that Nightie had started to lay our table for breakfast but he was not there, we thought he may be in the toilet so Mowledee called him but he didnt come out!! Just as we were getting worried a car appeared from the top of the picnic area with Nightie sat in the back with the passengers...one of them was a very cross French lady who seemed very cross that we had abandoned Nightie in lion country!!! Nightie explained that he had set up our table and was resting on one of the benches and out of the corner of his eye he saw two lions walking behind him and then heading down towards the river. He said he laid like a stick until they had passed but he could also see movement in the bushes on the other side of the area and suspected it was the rest of the pride. He said he managed to walk to the other vehicle very quietly but it was definitely the closest encounter he had had with lions...especially hungry ones!!
They then decided we should go and see if we could see the pride. We found another lioness drinking from the watering hole near the picnic area.
The rest of the pride were resting a little further away and Mowledee drove us into the area and at one point we were surrounded by the pride. He continued to reassure us that we are safe within the vehicle as they only see the box and providing you sit still and don't move outside of the vehicle you will be perfectly OK.
Some of the pride were certainly thinner than others we had seen and we heard on the radio that the lioness had been unsuccessful in her hunt so they would need to continue to try but they did not appear to be working together at this stage.
After a while of watching them we headed back to the picnic area to retrieve our picnic stuff and headed out to a safer picnic site just grateful that Nightie survived!!
En-route we saw this bull elephant who was stripping a tree. It was amazing to see him devour the branches and bark by using his trunk to manipulate the plant material
A giraff resting in the midday sun
A beautiful bull elephant. They have such beautiful eyes and are such majestic animals.
We were heading across the open savannah when we came across some of the Bushbuck Pride who had killed a buffalo. Mowledee thought that they had killed earlier that morning. The male lion had finished feeding and was watching over the two young lionesses as they fed overlooked by jackals and vultures who were eager to have their opportunity to join in.
WARNING: The following photos are not for the faint hearted and I have not put the most graphic ones in the blog
Wow look at that full tummy!!
A jackal waiting her turn to feed
Vultures also waiting patiently
After watching for quite sometime we headed off and came across a lovely herd of elephants with a number of young in the herd including this very cute baby who could still walk under it's mum and so was under a year od.
We were starting to head back towards camp when Nightie suddenly stopped the car and pointed and whispered. Nightie moved the vehicle really quietly until we could see this small cheetah like cat. Mowledee explained that it was a Sevral which is a long limbed predator who favours areas of tall grass often close to water in savannah and montane grasslands. Rodents are their main prey but ground birds are often flushed and seized on flight as they take off.
I have to say I had never heard of a Sevral before but she was one of the prettiest animals we saw.
After such a fantastic day we didn't think it could get any better, we were heading back towards camp when we came across this stunning male cheetah relaxing in the evening sun. He was so relaxed and we happily sat and watched him as the sun started to set.
After what seemed like ages he very casually got down from his rock and headed off down the track towards the river bed.
He then climbed a tree to hunt out a tree hyrax. It was amazing to see how such a large animal can balance and move around the tree branches. After playing in the tree for about 15 minutes he headed off down the river bed and we finally headed for home.
A very happy Graham after a great day on safari
And the sunset wasn't too bad either!!!
What an incredible day Mrs B! I am loving your photos, cannot wait to see more!
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