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Lions and Tigers

September - October 2019
We have been looking forward to a trip to Africa for a long time and we were fortunate to back up the African tour with a short tour of India. So, lions in Africa, tigers in India.... can't wait! Read more
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  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 11

    Kruger National Park - Day 2 morning

    October 3, 2019 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Up early for 5.30am safari drive. Didn't seem to be as much activity as yesterday evening but we did find some female lions doing what they do best - just lyin' around. Saw more rhinos, elephants, giraffes and hippos, plenty of impala, a chilled out baboon,plus a couple of mongoose and ground hornbill birds.Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 11

    Kruger - Day 2 Sunset drive

    October 3, 2019 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C

    The day between drives is spent relaxing. In our case we caught up on some sleep then chilled out by the pool before our afternoon drive. This time we found a couple of lioness with cubs about 4 months old, plenty of zebra crossing and a tree full of vultures which usually indicates a carcass and a predator cat nearby but we could not see what they were interested in.

    At the end of the drive we had sundowner drinks and Brad managed to capture some brilliant African sunset shots.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 12

    We found a lion!

    October 4, 2019 in South Africa ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Final morning in Kruger and we were able to fit in another safari drive before our flight back to Johannesburg...and thank goodness we did because we found a magnificent lion. Took many photos and headed to the river bank for early morning cuppa while watching the wildlife, mainly hippos.

    This ended our Kruger experience. Bus back to Nelspruit and short flight to Johannesburg where a small group of us had booked a Soweto tour. This included a visit to Nelson Mandela's house, the Hector Peitersen memorial (a school student shot by police during student protests in the 1970's), and an after school program for children from 4-14 yo who may need a safe environment to keep them off the streets until their parent/s or caregivers came home. The children grabbed our hands and showed us their veggie garden and art works before joining in a game sort of like"Simon Says". Finally we visited Kliptown (not sure of spelling), which is an informal settlement in Soweto much like the favelas in Rio. It is quite confronting as 1000's of people are living in corrugated tin structures with electricity but no running water. There are open drains and a port-a-loo would serve 5 families. Water for cooking and washing had to be carried from a communal tap.

    A very long day..up at 5am and not back from tour until after 7pm. Didn't take much rocking to go to sleep as we had another early start for our flight to Victoria Falls.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 14

    Victoria Falls

    October 6, 2019 in Zambia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Flew from Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, on the border between Zimbabwe and Zambia. Passing through passport control to get our Visas was horrendous, standing in a queue that moved at snails pace while they manually wrote out a visa for each person Took a couple of hours.

    Visited the falls on the Zimbabwe side before going to our accommodation on the Zambia side. The falls are nice but not as spectacular as the Iguazu falls in Brazil. The Avani hotel is very nice and we were actually able to have a full relaxing day with nothing planned until the sunset cruise in the evening.

    We tackled the local market which was an experience in itself. Each shop owner said they handmade each item... but strangely they all looked the same. Oh well, picked up a few bits and pieces. We were happy, they were happy. Had a quick swim then the cruise where drinks were unlimited and a variety of nibbles provided. Very pleasant and the sun set was exceptional.

    Before leaving the resort we checked out the sister hotel Royal Livingstone and on the way back a staff member asked if we had seen the giraffe. He got us to stand up by a feeding tray while he fed them pellets. Fantastic and unexpected experience.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 15

    Chobe National Park - Day 1

    October 7, 2019 in Botswana ⋅ ⛅ 28 °C

    What can I say, but border crossings in Africa is an adventure in itself. Traveling from Victoria Falls, Zambia to Chobe National Park in Botswana required a river border crossing by ferry. They are building a bridge (since 2014 - probably not complete for another couple of years) which will ease the traffic congestion but at the moment all transport has to cross by boat/ferry. This means they have to wait their turn. Average wait time - 2 weeks! Talk about chaos. We had to ditch the bus, unload the luggage, put it all on a a small boat with ourselves on another boat and cross the river. Load up another bus and off again. We are in Botswana!

    Not too far to Chobe Bush Lodge - again quite nice, where we had lunch then joined a river safari along the Chobe River. This time we saw a few new animals we had not previously seen such as the Cape Buffalo (one of the big 5), Nile crocodile, black sable antelope, and the Marabou stork (one of the ugly 5).

    There were lots of elephants too and at one point a group decided to cross the river, and we, along with dozens of other boats watched the spectacle which I think confused the elephants and they started moving around in circles. Plenty of photos and once again a lovely African sunset over the Chobe River this time.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 16

    Amorous Lions and Boisterous Elephants

    October 8, 2019 in Botswana ⋅ ☀️ 28 °C

    The early morning game drive at Chobe was different to the ones at Kruger. At Kruger it was a private concession area so very few vehicles travelling around the park. At Chobe there were dozens of safari trucks so it was quite a lot busier.

    We are looking for the elusive leopard, the only one of the big 5 we have not seen yet, and the guide thought he had seen leopard prints on the track. Still no leopard but we did come across a pair of mating lions... and when I say mating, I mean we caught them in the act (along with about 20 other vehicles). No wonder he was quick about it - too many eyes watching him. (I have video but edited it somewhat)

    Moving on we came across herds of elephants along the river front when suddenly three or four teenage male elephants came rushing out of the bush, trumpeting and generally being boisterous . One of them had a go at a herd of impala, charging at them, waving his trunk and flapping his ears. Quite a sight. Every time we go on safari we see something different.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 16

    Elephant drama

    October 8, 2019 in Botswana ⋅ ⛅ 36 °C

    Our final day in Chobe and we elected to do another wildlife cruise. It was all much the same as the previous day, a few hippos, some kudu antelope, monkeys drinking from the river edge and fishing eagles among other things. Then, the guide noticed a baby elephant fall into the water, only about a week old, and he couldn't get back out. There was only us and another small boat that witnessed the mama elephant trying to get the baby to climb up the bank. Unfortunately elephants don't climb very well, especially baby ones. There was nothing we could do but watch the mother, obviously very stressed, try to wrap her trunk around her baby but ended up guiding him to a shallower bank. Fortunately there is a happy ending as the baby managed to climb out. Check out the videos.

    This ended our visit to Chobe and also our Southern Africa part of the tour. The next day it was a bus trip back to Victoria Falls and a flight back to Johannesburg. Of the group of 28, only 10 of us were continuing on to Eastern Africa (Kenya), so we said our goodbyes and prepared for our flight to Nairobi.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 19

    Amboseli National Park

    October 11, 2019 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    After arriving in Nairobi we only spent the night before being loaded into 2 safari vehicles (Landcruisers) for the 4 hour journey to Amboseli National Park. The drive was an experience as road rules seem to be merely a suggestion as cars pass where there is oncoming traffic plus a lot of trucks. Still, they only travelled around 80km/h with trucks much slower. The last hour or so we had an African massage as we left the main road and travelled into the park on very corrugated, dusty roads.

    The Amboseli Serena Safari Lodge where we are staying is very nice with Mt Kilimanjaro as a backdrop. We have been very fortunate because often the mountain is shrouded with clouds. On our afternoon drive we were able to get the classic (perhaps not the greatest) photo of an elephant with the mountain in the background. Apart from elephants, zebra and giraffe, other animals we saw that we haven't seen previously are the Thompson gazelle and a solitary hyena.

    Our drive ended at Observation Point - a bit of a climb but not too hard. Great views over the park and sundowner drinks & nibbles while we watched the sun set. A very pleasant day.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 20

    Maasai village visit

    October 12, 2019 in Kenya ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Amboseli is not the greatest for wildlife compared to other game parks but it is close to a traditional Maasai village and that is where we visited this morning.

    The village is enclosed by a fence made from the spiky acacia tree which offers great protection from the wildlife while keeping their cows (I think the breed is Zebu), and sheep and goats secure. We were met outside the village by the men and women dressed in all their finery with a welcoming song and prayer or blessing or chant.

    Inside the village boundaries they did the Maasai dance where the men in particular were able to spring up in the air without any real effort. We observed them making fire from 2 sticks, and no, one of them wasn't a match. We looked inside their huts with mud and dung walls and thatch roof. Very tiny, no windows, no power, no water. They have members of the tribe who are the medicine men and using natural bark, roots etc. can cure anything from malaria, to headache, stomach upsets, or arthritis.

    The children then demonstrated how educated they were by reciting the alphabet, days of the week, months of the year and some math problems. The children attend school which is just next door.

    The Maasai live a very simple life, tending their livestock, gathering sticks and making souvenirs. Guess where the last stop of the tour was...The souvenir shop. All the women had their wares laid out and is probably the area I'm not that comfortable with . "You like this?" "How about this?" Anyway, we purchased some items after some tough bargaining (they start very high) and we have probably done our Africa shopping now.    Read more

  • Brad and Mandy PearceLions and Tigers
    Day 21

    Another day, another park

    October 13, 2019 in Kenya ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    After 2 nights in Amboseli it was time to move onto our next park - Lake Nakuru. We boarded a 12 passenger Cessna for the 40 minute flight to Nairobi. Not really that fond of small planes but the flight was really quite good (and probably better than the 4 hour drive to Lake Nakuru)

    Along the way we stopped at a viewpoint to see the Great Rift Valley, a 6,400km crack in the earth crust stretching from the Lebanon to Mozambique. Much of it is found in Kenya, where it has literally cut the country in two. A great view!

    Arrived at Lake Nakuru Sopa Lodge and oh my goodness, this place is amazing. The rooms are large with fantastic views over the lake. Surprisingly, I thought it would be stinking hot since we are almost on the equator but the temperature has been quite mild. Not complaining!

    I shall cover the game drives in the next post - just a few photos of our journey here and the lodge.    Read more

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