We left for our adventure from our lodging at about 5:00 in the morning on Thursday and road in a game truck for about 45 minutes to get to the iMfolozi and Hluhluwe game reserve. It was a pretty cold drive because of the cloudy weather but we had blankets so it was not too bad most of the time.
Our guide's name is Lewis. He was a very informative and a nice guy. The trucks we rode in put us higher than normal and was open on all sides so we had a good view of the animals.
We saw all five of the big five African animals in one game drive. This is very unusually.
Lewis has been a guide for 17 years. He told us that he had only seen the big five on a single game drive 10 times. Wow, how lucky can you get!
We sat and watched the leopard for a long time. Then we drove off and came back again later and the leopard was still in the tree protecting his kill. It was interesting to watch as he moved around the tree and then settled down for a long nap.
Talk about an amazing adventure. This elephant family stood in the road and created some exciting pictures and video. The best video was the one I did not get of a young elephant. He was showing off for the crowd as he looked like he was dancing for his audience.
Our guide said the cape buffalo is one of the most dangerous of the big five because he is so powerful and unpredictable.
The lions were a bit far away so the pictures are not the best. We actually got some great pictures on our earlier post when we went on our first game drive. These lions had recently killed and were pretty much sleeping of their dinner.
All the animals were out in full force and the rhinos were no exception. They showed up several times during the drive. Many of them where quite a distance off but these we saw up close and personal. Luckily not too personal.
Zebras stripes were spotted around every corner. Well maybe not every corner but we sure saw a lot. I loved to watch the mother feeding her baby. Zebras have an interesting personality. They do not seem to be too affected buy the truck and come quite near us.
We have had a difficult time getting any pictures of giraffes for Aaron but here are a couple just for you. We had the most amazing day. It was cloudy which caused the animal to be out in greater numbers. We never seemed to drive more that a few miles without seeing some kind of animal. We say many more that I will try to get posted later.
These are by far some of the most ferocious beast we saw all day. They are know as hungry senior missionaries. Actually these are some of the most gracious, caring, hardworking and loving human beings on the face of the earth. I am proud to consider all of them as my friends.
Top left picture is Elder Sutherland, Elder Edington, and Elder Polman. Top right is Sister bird and Sister Carlile. Second row left is Sister Harington (from Safford Az.) Sister Rowberry, and sister Sutherland. Just to their right is Elder Bird and President Johns. Third Picture down and to the left is Sister Zackrison, wife of the mission president, Sister Bird and Sister Carlile. To their right Elder Huls and Elder Snell. Bottom left is Sister Snell, Elder Carlile, Elder Rowberry, Elder Huls (in back) Elder Snell and Sister Huls.
We are rather jealous as we read about your trip to iMfolozi and Hluhluwe. We served in Richards Bay for 15 months in 2009-10 and many p-days were spent visiting these great reserves. We are now serving in the Johannesburg mission and are many hours away from the best reserves in the mission. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
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