Two days at Madikwe Game Reserve, South Africa

 Over two days, we were most privileged to visit an eco-tourism lodge smack in the middle of Madikwe, the fourth largest game reserve in South Africa.  It's only about an hour's drive from the Botswana border but felt like another world.  We enjoyed two evening and two morning safari drives with one of the most experienced and skilled game rangers in this provincial park.  Each drive was 4-5 hours long in an awesome Land Rover where there were no bad seats nor views.  Our expert driver knew just where all the game were. He got us within 15 feet of carnivores where he turned off the engine, and we all sat quietly for 20 minutes or so in rapture at spectacular and varied wildlife in the bush, their natural habitat.

What we saw...

                                                                        Cape Buffalo

                                                 

Ostrich. This guy was hilarious. After we drove away, we saw him in the rearview running down the road chasing after us. We pulled over, whereupon he got shy and slowed down. But the visage of this silly ostrich chasing our vehicle was unforgettable.

Elephants galore

They eat dirt for the trace minerals.

This wee pal was pissed at us, so he flared his ears and trumpeted his displeasure.

Zebras in abundance

Impala.  Unfortunately, these guys are the favorite cuisine of lions, wild dogs, and cheetahs.

Wildebeest (think Beauty and the Beast)

                                                                      

                                                                             Lionesses 

                                         This is the momma, a rather old lion at age 16, and...

...these are her two-year old daughters, the last of her five pregnancies.

She's getting ready to playfully pounce on her old momma.

Cheetah;  three rather lazy young brothers

Bush Tortoise

      

Quinea Fowl

Jackals

Giraffe

Lions

Warthogs (Warthogs are so funny; they are skittish and camera shy, whipping their tails straight up in the air as they scuttle quickly into the protective bush)

          A slew of gorgeous birds including hornbills, owls, and hawks.

Wild dogs. These guys are endangered and quite rare, and everyone in our group was most excited to spot them.  They are tremendously vicious, eating their prey before even killing it.  They hunt in coordinated packs and are quite the opportunists. We happened upon the only two packs in the park immediately after they'd made their respective kills, both of which were mature healthly male impalas. Folklore holds that only the old, feeble, and infirm animals become dinner for carnivores. Not so when it comes to pack hunting:  lionesses, wild dogs, and hyenas take down big healthy animals easily.

                                                                         Rhinos

Africa's Big Five are named thus for their difficulty in  hunting, but I will ignore that hideous idea.  They are:  Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Cape Buffalo, and Rhino.  We saw all of them in abundance except for the very ellusive leopard.  Siting one of those guys requires only luck, which our guide says was not with us. I, however, do not feel cheated in the least. This was one amazing safari.

Ruins of an 1860's Catholic Mission,