Well we finally made a game drive with elder and sister Dummer. Not only that but we got to see all the large animals in the small reserve. There are no elephants, hippos or any of the cats. But there are rhinos, wildebeests and other antelope. Also there are a large variety of birds.

Mary was the only one who spotted the rhinos tucked under the trees and lying on the ground. They were white rhinos – which is a strange name for animals who are brown or gray – and so we still have not seen the much rarer black rhino here in Africa. We had to go to Africa Safari in Florida to see the black rhino which is part of the big 5. Most people who think they have seen the big 5 while on a game drive in Africa would be surprised to know that they never actually saw the right rhino. It has to do with their snot – one is pointed and the other is broad.

 

Seeing giraffes is always fun. There were at least 3 of them with two being younger – the color of their spots are more tan tan dark brown – and one older. It is hard to really understand how tall they are by looking at photos because there is nothing to measure them against. But the one of the older one eating from the tree is stretched out at least 20 feet and probably taller.

I was surprised to see a giraffe sitting. We had been talking about this earlier and wondered if they had to sleep standing up or if they could sit or lie down. Well now we know they can sit. I would have loved to see how it got down or to have seen it get up. It can not be easy and it would seem to me to be dangerous. Of course with no predators in the reserve maybe they have become relaxed. I know that before they drink they look all around to see if there is any danger because they have to spread their legs so far apart there is no way they can get up and run quickly.

There were lots of ostriches on the reserve. Normally they do not hold much interest for me but when I saw the one with orange tail feathers I thought it was worth a picture. Later we saw a flock of them close to a herd of zebras.

Zebras are another common animal that we do not get tired of seeing. They are just so unusual and interesting besides being photogenic.

When we first saw this small herd of antelope I could not make out what they were. Then I saw the tell tail (that is a pun) white band around the tail and knew they were waterbuck. This was interesting because the fact sheet they put out does not list waterbuck as one of the animals that you would see on the drive. As we were leaving I asked the ranger about this and he was surprised to see that they had left it off because he knew they were there.

We saw this good size herd of antelope with the very long horns and I did not know what they were. When we got home I googled African antelope and found that they were Gemsbok. They among the largest African antelope and their horns average about 3 feet long.

Wildebeests are kind of like large impalas as far as interest goes. The first time you see them they are interesting but after a while you just say – oh there is another herd of wildebeests.

A few of the birds in the reserve. We saw the Blacksmith Plover almost as soon as we drove through the gates. The long-tailed Widow bird is always a show stopper when it is flying. The tail seems to be twice as long as the body and there is red and white on it’s body that is only seen when it is flying. We saw one almost hovering in the air like it was a predator bird watching for its prey. I do not know the name of the other birds below.