This blog will be mainly pictures to show you some of the animals we were lucky enough to see today. But before that, a few things before we set out.
When we arrived at Kwantu, we were greeted with snacks and drinks (non-alcohol since it is run by a Muslim.) There is a wonderful lodge with cabins and other accomodations around for overnight visitors. In their restaurant for guests staying over is a wonderful wrap around porch on the back overlooking a water hole and great place to watch animals. It would be such fun to come back and stay a few days. They have night safaris and walking safaris as well as the regular ones by landrover.
Because there were so many of us from the ship, they had to get more drivers for the landrovers. We really lucked out. Our guide was the actual manager of all the animals in this reserve. His job was to protect them and their environment. He goes out daily to observe and check on the animals, so he knew where they were. He was like a Crocodile Dundee – more about that later!
Our guide, Bill, on a termite mound. The darker part at the top is the new earth being added. He showed us the termites and even ate one! He offered me one, but I declined.
[Note knife on his belt! But he had no gun]
Here is some of what we saw:
Lion prints in the sand
We saw elephants in the distance – sample of their damage.
This is not ours, but like the one we were in.
The above is just a sample of some of what we saw. Couldn’t begin to include everything!
After the safari, we saw some of the animals they have in their rehab program. We saw white lions (not albino- recessive gene), female lions, a Bengal tiger, and a wild African dog. We also saw the head of the hippo that attacked our guide, Bill. He told us how this hippo started to charge him, knocked the gun he had into his jaw (broke it) and then threw him to the ground (broke his ribs) The only reason he survived was because he landed in a small ravine that the hippo could not get into. Two months later after he got out of the hospital, he went out and killed that hippo. Another story was how an elephant started to charge him, and the only way to get away was to crawl under his jeep. The elephant dragged him out by her trunk (broke his collar bone), and the only reason he survived that was because the elephant burned her trunk on the hot exhaust pipe. Those were the only narrow misses he described to us, but he said he had been attacked by other large animals as well. He is a regular Croc Dundee indeed.
After that we had a wonderful lunch – followed by a show by a local tribe. It was colorful and lively – mainly dancing and chanting to drums. It was a wonderful day, and I hated to see it come to an end.
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