Today began at 0445 and then off we went for a Game Drive. Before we even got to Makalali we saw a hyena, crocodile and a waterbuck.
We arrived to the reserve and off we went. We saw a jackal, not for very long though, he was just running off into the bushes. We saw a giraffe, a hippo and some storks. Next we saw a couple of really cute squirrels and a really cute dwarf mongoose too.
We then headed off on a bit of a Ferrari safari to see some wild dogs. They are so beautiful, they look marbled. We spent quite a long time sat watching them, drinking by the river and then chilling in the shade. When other cars wanted to join we went off and carried on with our drive.
We saw a lot of giraffe, zebra, impala, waterbuck and a couple of kudu too. Sam noticed a squirrel wagging its tail so we stopped to watch that and noticed that there was a dark chanting goshawk sitting there too. We sat there for about half an hour watching a couple of squirrels teasing the bird. In the end both of the squirrels got away safely and then the bird flew away too, giving us the chance to get some good photos.
We arrived back at camp just in time for brunch, which was pancakes today. It was provided with mince, which I didn’t get. I went for the option of sugar – much better!
After lunch we had a feedback session with Sharin. We gave general course feedback and then had a chance to say anything about each other that was bugging us. Then we had individual chats with Ben, one more chance to complain about anything or say things we liked and then start talking about what sort of thing we would like for our placement.
This afternoon’s drive was epic, and the two drives together make for one of the best days ever. Our first sighting of the day was a huge bull elephant he was having a nice browse of some trees. We headed down to the waterhole and saw a whole herd of elephants, in the watering hole having a nice midafternoon swim. It was a simply magical sight, they looked so happy having a nice swim and then rolling in the mud, spraying water over their backs andjust having a fantastic time too. I loved the noises the make too, all the trumpeting. Then they vanished off into the trees and were gone.
Also in the waterhole were some hippos, it was difficult to count them because they would come up for a breath and then disappear again, but I think there were about seven of them.
Then another elephant arrived for a cool off, it was so special to watch. He came so close to us on his way past and then had a lovely time splashing about. We all wanted to join him.
We left the water hole and found a nice shady spot on the clearing to have a phuza stop. After that we were heading down to a dam when two of our group spotted two cheetahs by a different water hole. It was a mother with her one year old cub, watching the interaction between them was so lovely and such a privilege to watch. The cub was so lively and full of energy and the way she greeted her mum was lovely, bounding up to her and jumping on her.
The sunset was stunning as well, and there were some really cool cloud shapes.
We then headed to the dam we were originally heading for and saw a herd of impala – at least one hundred of them and a few zebra having a nice drink from a puddle, bounding about and just enjoying the last of the light.
Just as darkness was setting in another elephant arrived, he was in the distance but he came close and closer and ended up being about 4m away from us! It was stunning to watch. As if that wasn’t exciting enough in the water hole there were a couple of hippos too and two of them came out of the water. That was one of the cutest things ever, they walk in such a funny way – so beautiful to watch.
We left them to it and headed back to camp (stopping briefly to see a hyena and a chameleon) watching the stars and even a shooting star.
We got back to camp to find that there had been a power cut, so we ate dinner by torch light (beef stroganoff, rice and vegetables). As there was no power there was also no water which meant no showers. A few of us went up to the pool for a quick cool down swim – it was so lovely. I took my dive torch and it was like having pool lights which was quite cool. The power came on just as we were going to bed so at least the fans worked for the night – mine and El’s cabin is like a sauna without them!
Then it was time for bed after a fantastic day – so many elephants! We are all so lucky, having this as our ‘office’, the animals, the scenery, the stars – what more could you want?