Wet and wild

Unusually for me I was awake, out of bed and bushy-tailed at 5am on Sunday morning, ready for another game drive. But my bushy tail was soon dampened as the rain fell harder and harder. Fortunately most of our party were still up for it, and our driver and guide, Peter, was happy to oblige, though he admitted the weather would make seeing wild animals even more of a challenge.

Only 5 minutes down the track we encountered our first animals, a pair of impala momentarily caught in the headlights before skipping off into the bush. Then we saw a hyena in the long grass at the side of the road.

More impala, not far from the entrance to Hwange Game Park. Aren't they pretty?

These ostriches were just sitting in the long grass.

We stopped at this hide for coffee, and from our elevated position, overlooking a water pan, we could se three kinds of animals.

These zebras grazing under an acacia tree.

A big crocodile resting in the shallows.

And a family of hippos surfacing and submerging in the water.

Moving on, we passed a herd of wildebeest.

Some waterbuck, looking as if they were lined up ready for target practice 😄

These crested cranes are so beautiful.

A herd of buffalo.

Giraffes having breakfast.

Suddenly we spotted another safari vehicle parked near a thicket several hundred meters away, a sign that there was something interesting going on. Then we saw them. Lions!

They had killed a young giraffe and were resting, their tummies nicely full from their meal. The rest of the pride retreated to the safety of the thicket when our vehicle approached, but if you look very closely you might see a little face peeking out.

Again we returned to the camp without seeing elephants, but the lion kill was excitement enough. What a fantastic start to the day!