After a short 15 minutes flight from Sabi Sabi to the Manyaleti Game Reserve we land on a short dirt  strip near Tintswalo where we are met by our new ranger Darren and Foster our tracker. Tintswalo has seven suites and Lynn and I are in the Burton suite named after Richard Burton the English explorer. Talk about posh – outdoor shower and hot tub secluded from our neighbors. Of course we’re again admonished about going outside after dark. Leopards aren’t afraid of water apparently. Anyway, we grab lunch and go for a quick nap before heading out on the evening safari.

Ho hum, we find a group of Cape Buffalo lazing about in a mud puddle, a very colorful blue bird flying by, and a lone elephant. Now here’s something new – say you’re in the bush and you’re having sinus problems or an upset stomach. Darren and Foster stop to show us a native cure all. Lighting up a dried elephant patty Darren passes it around for us to inhale. Don’t bogart that joint Joe! Not to be outdone Foster shows us how to cure that upset stomach. Frankly I got a little nauseated just watching him stuff a big dry pile of elephant dung in his mouth. And it gets worse later in the trip!

Next up are a couple of lazy boys lying in the shade of a tree. King of the jungle, huh. Our kittens at home are definitely related to these guys. We sat and watched these guys for half an hour before another truck showed up and we were off looking for more game.

We found another pack of Painted Dogs who were fascinated by a group of hippos in the water. They were running around like crazy – very fun to watch. This is the first time we’ve been relatively close to to the hippos but my lens isn’t quite long enough for a good pic but you’ll see them in the slideshow.

Once again, the tracker sitting up front with a spotlight as we head back to the lodge spots something hidden in the trees – a little owl. Again not the best lens and hard to focus in the dark to get a good shot but I did get one keeper.

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