It’s our last game drive at Tintswalo and the weather is not promising. The sky is overcast and it’s still a little cool at 5:30am when we hit the road. We still haven’t seen the honey badger and everyone is ragging on Darren and Foster. Except for me – I’m a nice guy. Where’s the dang hippos you’ve told us about? And the rhinos? Get it together. Zebras are losing their luster as we’re seeing them almost every day. But on our way to chase down the elusive hippos we run back through the Cape Buffalo herd from yesterday. Everybody Read more »

We’re on the road for almost an hour this afternoon before we see 2 cheetahs sneaking up on a big herd of impalas. At this point we’re between them and the dinner they’ve imagined themselves having shortly. Unfortunately for them there’s a small herd of zebras who aren’t going to let these bullies beat up their friends. The two cheetahs move up slowly passing us in the trucks and the zebras separate from the impala herd moving toward these bad boys. The guys in the striped suits are having none of it and look like they’re about to throw a Read more »

Friday dawned crisp and clear with a beautiful orange sunrise and waning moon. We’re on the road at 5:30am and see a lone Cape Buffalo with his own private mud bath. He’s not particularly happy to see us and moves off fairly quickly. On down the road we saw some little ferret type creatures and some zebras with Big Macs. Just down the road, although at the speed Darren was driving it might be a couple of miles, we see our first cheetah! He’s feasting on an impala and it’s quite a sight. He’s out in the open and keeping Read more »

The evening game drive brought several surprises for our little group. The first of these was a warthog family with a youngster. They burst out of the bush about fifty yards in front of us and I had to scramble just to get a couple of shots off. Not surprising really as we were probably doing 30mph with Lynn and I in the back row. They didn’t turn out very good at all but I’ve stuck one in the slideshow anyway. Not long after seeing the warthog family we came upon a herd of elephants with several young ones in Read more »

Getting up at 4am is getting to be a lot like going back to work but I guess some of the sunrises have made it worthwhile. And we’re not the only ones up and moving around. Here’s an old Cape Buffalo bull just coming out of his morning mud bath. Before our stay here is over we’ll see these guys by the hundreds plus something special coming up tomorrow. Now the Manyaleti Game Reserve is about 50,000 acres and quite a bit larger than the area we covered at Sabi Sabi. The other big difference here was the vehicles used. Read more »

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 Read more »

Today we take a last morning game drive before heading to Tintswalo in the Myalenti Game Reserve. And boy did we come across some big game. First off this giant yellow bird who’s name I forget. This little guy will build 5-6 nests for his potential mate to choose from and if she declines he’ll tear’em all down and start over. I’m glad Lynn already had her own house! Found another leopard in a tree this time munching on a small warthog. They take their kills up a tree so that other predators, primarily lions, don’t come around for a Read more »

Tuesday saw us in the Land Rover a little after 6am and it wasn’t long before we came upon a giraffe grazing in the treetops. He was a little too far away for some good pictures but it was nice to watch this graceful creature moving through the trees. The giraffe takes a branch in his mouth and strips away the leaves between his lower incisors and a tough “dental pad” on the roof where he has no teeth. The things you learn in the bush! A little while later we came upon another big leopard. Just to show I Read more »

We’re off for the evening game drive. We’ve got it down now. That’s Tim Trautman on the left with Joe Studlick beside him. Lynn’s in the back and to her right in front is Tim’s spouse Diane . Liz is hidden and I don’t know where Mary is, but we’re all decked out in the recommended safari clothing. Micato sent us great suggestions for safari wear but I swear we were the only group in Sabi Sabi that looked like we were on safari! Too funny to see bright colored clothes, short shorts, and maybe evening wear out in the Read more »

Are these posts getting too long? Sorry, but I’m remembering for my own benefit and for the family who I hope is interested. Anyway… Monday after lunch we took off to visit a local village of some 3000+ people. Dusty dirt roads, red cinder block homes, laundry hanging in the yard, and people lining up to get water to take home from communal taps. In spite of the poverty these are happy people or at least they appear that way to us the tourists. We met a traditional healer who told Liz she would have a happy life with a Read more »