Sept. 11 – Rhino Safari Camp

Again we saw wildlife almost as soon as we left Malelane Camp. This time it was a large herd of elephants. The diversity and large number of wildlife in this camp continued to amaze me.  Already my zerizut (enthusiasm) for impalas was waning as they became more common than mule deer in Conifer. After all, there are some 150,000 of them in Kruger. Wait a minute!  Elegant, lovely impalas on all sides!  Better stay impressed and enthusiastic. This is once in a lifetime.

On our journey up to our next stop, the private Rhino Safari Camp, we spotted (striped J) our first zebras though the promised leopards remained elusive.  I had a wonderful private suite with deck (where I sat and wrote this blog as a small lizard ran back and forth in front of me.)  My outdoor shower was surrounded by a high wall made of log poles, so I have full privacy while cleaning up outside!

After lunch and afternoon tea (sandwiches, salads and sweets) we headed out on an evening safari with our guide, Bonga (which means “thank you” in Zulu, an appropriate name for a wonderful man!) More giraffes, kudu, elephants and of course impalas. Bonga helped us discover a rare sighting of honey badgers, then got a radio call that there was a lion feasting on a water buffalo kill. We raced to the site to see the lion and about 10 cubs enjoying their “dinner.”  The female was nowhere in sight.

We returned to camp for our own dinner – South African sweet potato soup, which tastes  and looks more like pea soup; blesbok (tastes like steak); and orange basil sherbet with coconut pudding.  Beats Cape buffalo any day.