Game Drive #5, Sept 10, 2011

While my fellow board member's from Pheasant's Forever were slaving away at our annual banquet, I was having one my top 4 moments from the entire trip.  I told the guys I would think of them, but the fact is, I never did until days later.  (My bad!)  This was the night I won the shot gun while on a fabulous won trip.  Life is GREAT!  Hope you enjoy!  (This is a long one, sorry.  I "culled" it down as much as I could!)

Do you see the baby in this one?

Buzzards...they are huge in the bush.  But then, as Manny told us, everything is huge in the bush!

This was just freaky!  These are flesh eating storks and vulcher's.  The storks were giant!

They were in the midst of migrating and not normally at Zulu.  Welcome was very concerned they were there.  The next day we went back to check to see if they were there, but to his relief, they had moved on.

This kill was not there the day before.

I don't remember what this bird was.  It was not one of the storks, however.

The Mr.!  And just what will we see tonight?!?!?!?

The river that runs through Zulu Nyala.

Hippo's are SOOOO cool!  There were a total of 8. 

You can tell the bull by the "flap" at the base of his neck.  It's a little intimidating seeing these guys watch you from about 15 feet away knowing that they are the single most deadly animal to the natives.

Fever trees.

OK, I tried to search google to remember what this guy is and I think it is a steenbok.  It was the only one we saw the whole trip.  Not quite as small as a dik-dik.

Coral tree.

The storks and vulchers were still around after we went and looked at the hippo's!

This is a really nice nyala buck.  "Bang!"

And while we were chasing down the perfect sunset picture (this is not it) an INCREDIBLE sight was taking place.......

A BRAND new baby rhino!  This was Bill's top moment from the entire trip!  This guy was still trying to get his feet under him when we arrived on scene.  I can't narrow my top 4 down to THE top, but this is def-in-ate-ly one of the top 4!

Nursing for the very first time.......

Please don't be grossed out.  Mama had not even gotten up and cleaned herself up yet this little guy was so fresh.  You can't buy seeing such incredible sights!  You are simply smiled on to be lucky enough to be in the exact right spot at the exact right moment.

I don't remember what these birds are either.  I'm sure the bird ladies from drive #1 could tell me though.  LOL

And on the way back to the lodge we found the ever elusive elephants!  How can something so huge be so hard to see????

The moon was incredible. 

I'm sorry this post was so long and I probably over did on the baby rhino pics, but, come on.  How often does one get to see a brand new baby rhino EVER, let alone in the wild?????

Around the Lodge at Zulu Nyala

I took some time after lunch on day 3 to take some pictures around the lodge and of the grounds.  Everything was kept in immaculate condition! 

These flowers closed up every night, then re-opened once the sun hit them.  They were all around the grounds.

Sofie likes men far better than women.  When I tried to pet him, he growled at me.  I told the guides, they told me giraffe's don't growl.  The he** they don't!  Bill heard it; I wasn't hearing things.  The lady next door told us he banged his horns on her door one night she had the light on when she reading until she turned the light off.  Is he livin' the life or what?!?!?!?!

This was our maid, although I never caught her name.  She was ALWAYS happy and ALWAYS had a smile on her face - including when she was chewing us out for not locking our room!  LOL

It was spring time when we were there, so flowers/plants were small. 

An aloe vera tree amongst other flowering plants.

This dude was hanging in the fish pond by the restaurant.....One had to do a double take the first time they walked by it!

The view from the pool.  Pictures just don't show how vast it is.

The entry way to the patio (where the fish pond is) to the restaurant.

I don't remember what this purple-ish colored flowering tree was, but the mature ones were really brilliant!

The world's sorriest looking lilac tree in the world. 

Also the world's most fragrant lilac tree.

I almost have the pictures from the next game drive ready to post.  Should have them up by the end of the weekend!

Hunting with my Little

Hunting season has started and everyone that knows me, knows how much I enjoy being out in the great outdoors.  Fall is almost as great a season as summer!  I promise to take some time this week to get back to our Africa pictures to continue to share those with everyone, but first, I want to share last night's hunt with my little......

Tonight had to have been one of the most awesome deer hunts I have ever been on!   Last year was kind of a tough year on my little for hunting so to watch the excitement renew in her was just as exhilarating for me as I believe it was for her to have so many deer around her, she literally couldn't contain her excitement to settle down to take a shot.

After re-situating several times (in the same spot) as the deer were funneling in on us, she finally turned around and says "I'm nervous!!!!"   Of course, this statement is said with a grin from ear to ear.   Finally I told her to come up next to me, go easy, you still have a dozen deer watching you.........

K comes up next to me so I could ask her why she was so nervous...   Her response, "I don't know!" (Still grinning ear to ear.)   This couldn't have anything to do with ALL these deer literally surrounding you?   "Well, maybe."   OK, time to settle down, take a deep breath, relax, set up again, when you see the deer you want to take, put the cross hairs exactly where you want, squeeze off the shot.   Take your time, make the shot a good one.

So we go through this whole routine of deer funneling in on us again, and every time she is just finishing getting the rifle up and situated, the deer turns and she loses the shot again.   I don't know how many times this happens, but far to many to count!   OK, now the deer are a little on to us, lots of snortin' happens and everybody leaves.   Time for plan B.

All right, now we're going to work the edge of the trees and see what we can see. But wait......look up ahead of us in the meadow....that's where they all went.   Time to do the sneak and stalk.

I am so proud to be her Big right now, my chest if bursting with pride!   She made a text book sneak on these deer; doing the "squat walk", the belly crawl, all while handling her rifle in a safe manner.   Same routine, get up and situated, the deer turns and she loses the shot and eventually runs out of daylight.   Doesn't matter.   She conducted herself as a true sportsman tonight - never rushing the shot, taking her time to have a solid shot and being comfortable prior to pulling the trigger.   No deer was harvested tonight, but an excitement was rekindled and a responsible young hunter never pulled the trigger on an "iffy" shot. 

This is what hunting is about; sportsmanship, commeradery, spending time outdoors, watching the animals in their environment.   I am honored to have been along to watch the whole evening unfold and I am excited to go out again with my Little - we have the whole rest of the season to fill her tag!

My Little making banana bread for the landowner generous enough to allow us in to hunt on his land.

Game Drive #4, Day 3 (Sept. 10, 2011)

Our 4th game drive was just as fascinating are our previous 3!

A camellia!

Given all the signs around the lodge, I expected to see far more monkeys than we did!

This day we could really notice a difference in how the vegetation was really starting to turn green.

The giraffe's weren't near as easy to pick out with all the leaves on the trees!

Another rhino sighting!

The baby!

Yes, it really was this close and really was looking like it might want to take the jeep out.

Some how we got between the 2 adult rhino's.  They are basically blind and "see" by poo-ing, then stepping in it and the other rhino follows it's scent.  We were on the scent trail.  Once everyone quieted down, it was all good.

Mean while, I look to the other side of the jeep and 2 of these guys are coming out of the brush.

Have you ever heard of a caracal?  Neither had we!  These guys will take out an impala!

Meanwhile, the rhino's haven't exactly left yet.

But once then we were able to start heading back to the lodge we saw more wildebeest!

These three guys look like they are playing ring-around-the Rosy!  LOL

Doe and fawn nyala saying "See ya!"

You guessed it......stay tuned for more!