Africa.Jungle and veldt by Caravan and Sedan chair.

[drron]

We spent some time with the lions-

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[drron]

Notice how large the stomach is.They have recently had a good meal-

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They walked straight past mrsdrron.

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[JohnM]

Notice how large the stomach is.They have recently had a good meal-

May be pregnant?

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

May be pregnant?

No ! Mama lion is teaching them to hunt, they have eaten so much in the last week they could hardly walk ! And I could have put my hand out of the jeep and patted them as they walked past - they were so close !!

 

[drron]

We keep following the lions.More will be revealed soon-

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Then daddy appears from under a small tree-

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the others keep walking-

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One of the young males has obviously overindulged-he had a little vomit-

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Then we see another male lying beneath a tree/Apparently the younger brother of the other.He is hiding a little secret-

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They had brought down a zebra last night.

 

[drron]

Not much left of the zebra-

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Big brother arrives.What will happen?

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Nothing at all.He sits down,rolls over and goes to sleep-

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So time to move on.Another falcon which sits still for us-

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Then morning tea on the highest point on the property-

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This is where they bring all their celebrity guests.Michelle Obama was here a couple of years ago and a while before that Laura Bush.Darren was one of the guides for Michelle and her crew.There was a big difference in the visits of the 2 First Ladys.Laura was here probably when we were in Botswana and George W was in Livingstone painting a woman's hospital.She only had 3 extra people-2 secret service and the place ran nearly as normal.
When Michelle arrived the upstairs lounge was taken over as a communications centre and many secret service personnel.All staff working at that time had a security clearance and had to wear a security tag when working.Darren forgot his one morning and as he was walking in noticed a red spot on his chest just to the left side.Fortunately they asked first and he never forgot the badge again

 

[drron]

Back to the lodge at 0845.Greeted by the monkeys-

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Time to freshen up before a full brekkie at 0930.An hours nap,some internet time ready for lunch at 1330.Always a buffet of 3 starters and 3 mains.today I liked the Thai beef salad and lamb chops.Back to the room for another kip before afternoon tea at 1600 and then off on the afternoon drive.
Now Darren tells all his guests he is thinking of doing a book of photos of animals backsides he feels should be called the A*** End of Africa.I don't think he has met someone like me who has the same twisted sense of humour as he.On hearing this I set out to help him.the first animals we saw were zebras-

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They were amongst a lot of other common animals-

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We then set of across the river to the National Park.Saw this bird on the rocks-

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He was sitting just behind this fellow-

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[drron]

Now when you go into the National Game Reserve it is a good bet that something interesting has been sighted.There are I think about 13 lodges in the National Game Reserve and another private lodge.All the guides talk to each other but they use the Boer or local words for the animals so the guests are unaware of what's in store.As soon as we went of road I knew what was ahead.After all we were at Makanyane lodge and Makanyane means wild dog.so here they are-

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Beautiful animals but very efficient killing machines.So off again and more birds-

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[drron]

We crossed over the East Madikwe airstrip with the terminal and waiting plane-

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Just of the strip more zebra-

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A bit further up the road this large male kudu.He probably features later-

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Not much further and we meet this fellow-

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He's having a good feed-

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[drron]

Off he trots but turns towards our vehicle-

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But walks across the road in front of us-

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We were heading for a place to have sundowners.As luck would have it the selected spot was already occupied-

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[drron]

Mrsdrron loved the giraffes and kept taking pictures.Certainly the changing light created some lovely shots.

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A few zebras stumbled in to our sundowners-

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sunset was beginning-

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Whilst Darren and I waited to start the sundowner experience-

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[love_the_life]

.......

This is where they bring all their celebrity guests.Michelle Obama was here a couple of years ago and a while before that Laura Bush.Darren was one of the guides for Michelle and her crew.There was a big difference in the visits of the 2 First Ladys.Laura was here probably when we were in Botswana and George W was in Livingstone painting a woman's hospital.She only had 3 extra people-2 secret service and the place ran nearly as normal.
When Michelle arrived the upstairs lounge was taken over as a communications centre and many secret service personnel.All staff working at that time had a security clearance and had to wear a security tag when working.Darren forgot his one morning and as he was walking in noticed a red spot on his chest just to the left side.Fortunately they asked first and he never forgot the badge again

Probably more a comment on how the world has changed in the past few years.

 

[drron]

Laura Bush was there just 2 years before Michelle Obama so more a former First lady against a current First lady.

But back to the sundowners.Interesting highlights on this zebra-

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The sunset-

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More zebras appeared out of the bush.On the ground it was quite dark but mrsdrron's HX90 was excellent.

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[drron]

So now to the sunset.The clouds were rolling in from the south.

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As the light disappeared we headed for home.We were a long way out.On the way another sighting of the wild dogs.on the hunt-

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We saw several animals in the spotlight including another jackal.Back at the lodge it was champagne on arrival.A nice kudu fillet for dinner then off to a deep sleep.

 

[drron]

That night there was thunder and lightning all night and about 0300 it poured rain.The couple who were spending the night at the hide radioed in apparently at 0200 to be brought back to the lodge.A great decision as there you are sleeping under the stars and they would have got quite wet.It was still raining on the Friday morning so we declined the morning drive.The ones that went admitted it wasn't pleasant but they did see the lions with another kill-an impala.Boy they must be full.Fortunately they didn't see a leopard.

By the time of the evening drive it was sunny so we set off.The monkeys were back-

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First another roller-

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Then the usual suspects-

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Then the lions resting after their banquet-

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[drron]

They first noticed us and then the other lodge vehicle-

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A little light relief-

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Then we turned towards the river.A young water monitor trying to eat a crab.mum was nearby-

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On the other side some mongoose cross the road in front of us-

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These birds always run down the road in front of the vehicle-

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[drron]

Having crossed the river once again there must be something special.well it wasn't these fellows-

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We soon found out-

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A pair of white rhinos.Though they weren't the only thing at the lagoon-

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But that's not all.On the other side are 3 male white rhinos and we get close and personal-

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[drron]

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The older of these 2 objected to where the younger one put his horn.so a lot of jousting.
The down side is even here there is poaching.They had lost 2 rhino to poachers in the last couple of months.Darren told us a few stories of Chinese tourists.One gentleman wanted a sample of rhino horn.Darren thought he was joking until he produced a saw and was going to get out of the car.After a couple of other incidents the group was taken back to the lodge with Darren saying he was not going to take them out again.The manager backed him up saying the group could leave but if they stayed there would not be another game drive.

 

[drron]

The youngsters kept at it-

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The older one gives the youngster a taste of his own medicine-

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And a final shot for Darren's book-

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[JohnM]

Not wanting to hijack your thread Drron, but for folks following along that you may have stimulated to think of a gorilla trek in Rwanda or Uganda here is a news flash I just received:

[TABLE="width: 100%"][TR][TD][/TD][TD]Rwanda Doubles the Cost of Gorilla Permits
[TABLE="width: 100%"][TR][TD][/TD][/TR][/TABLE]Gorilla Tracking Fees have doubled in Rwanda with immediate effect, from USD $750 to USD $1,500.
[TABLE="width: 100%"][TR][TD][/TD][/TR][/TABLE]If you have already purchased a permit however, this will be honoured.

Ms. Clare Akamanzi, the Chief Executive Officer at Rwanda Development Board said:

“Gorilla trekking is a highly unique experience. We have raised the price of permits in order to ensure sustainability of conservation initiatives and enhance visitors’ experience. We also want to make sure that the communities living near the park area receive a bigger share of tourism revenues to fund development projects and empower them economically.”

Uganda remains unaffected by this price increase and stands to benefit due to the fact that the cost of a gorilla permit in Uganda ranges from just USD $450 to USD $600.

[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]