Hluhluwe round two

Our second trip out to Hluhluwe started much earlier. We were on the bus at 6:15 and on our way to the park shortly after. The early start was due to our scheduled 3:00 PM departure from Richards Bay, but it worked well for us as we figured earlier is better for wildlife viewing.

We were at the park and in our vehicle a little after 8:00. With cooler temperatures and fewer people on the roads we thought we’d have better chances at animals, but the drive started out very quiet. Gradually we started having some success, generally repeats of animals we’d seen yesterday. We were still really looking for elephants, but no luck. As time ticked by I was preparing myself for the disappointment I knew that DJ was going to feel if we missed out. Finally we did glimpse a pair of elephants on a distant hillside. We got OK views through binoculars, but I could tell DJ was not satisfied. I had resigned myself to this being the best we were going to get, but with just over an hour left on the drive we saw an elephant cross the road ahead of us. And then she was followed by at least 45 more, including a bunch of babies. Baby elephants are about the cutest things imaginable, and the whole experience was really incredible. You could see the older elephants guiding the others along, keeping everyone in line and on the move toward whatever destination they had in mind.

Shortly after the elephant encounter our driver had a radio conversation with one of the other guides, and then he started hightailing it to another part of the park. We didn’t know what was up, but assumed it was something good because he was clearly on a mission. The draw turned out to be lions: three of them, two males and one female, who were moving around. Seeing lions on the move in the middle of a warm day was a rare treat. The female walked right next to our car, with the males coming along after her in the nearby grass.

That pretty much wrapped up the game drive as we headed back to the park entrance. Everyone was thoroughly pumped up and we swapped stories of our experiences with people who’d been in other vehicles. Then it was time to head back to the ship, meet with South African immigration, and say farewell to this beautiful country.Read more