Thursday, October 25, 2012

Watching Elephants, Feeling Smug


For this morning's drive, we headed off into the mountains, in search of elephants.  It looked a bit dreary, but Jack and I were ready with our rain jackets and everything.  Off we go!

Just after starting down the road was this eagle.  It was perched with one leg up, we had a great view.   

Wahlberg's Eagle
A few giraffe, we didn't stop for long, because we had such a long drive in front of us.  There is a baby giraffe behind the tree.  Yes there is!  :-)
Giraffe 
 Oops, a giraffe that was not so lucky.  It's quite a bonanza for the vultures!  They still squabbled.
African White-backed Vultures
 Nearby were some rhino.  I like when they make funny faces.
Rhino

Rhino
 Still speeding towards the mountains, with a brief pause for a mousebird.
Red-faced Mousebird
 This longclaw was just off the road, a few feet from us.  This picture is not cropped.  It's quite a bit cooler up here on the mountain!
Yellow-throated Longclaw
 At last we are in elephant country, and look at what we saw!  It was worth the drive.  Gorgeous!
Elephant

Elephant

Elephant
 A quick fly-by.
White-faced Ducks
 There were several elephant babies, trying to figure out how their trunks work.  So cute!
Elephant

Elephant
 This mother had her trunk on the baby affectionately.  Look what happens.........
Elephant
 She rolls it over to caress the baby!  This was so cool, I didn't know they did that!
Elephant 
 Once we left the elephants it started raining.  Like, raining.  A light rain really, but more than a drizzle.  And in an open vehicle driving along, even a light rain feels pretty serious!  We were so happy to have all of our gear - rain jackets, ball caps, light sunglasses, ponchos on our laps, and a plastic bag for the backpack.  I figured out how to have my scarf wrapped around my head inside my hood.  We were cozy and happy, and I felt so smug - my prep work was worth it, and we were experiencing the benefits on that drive!  The other folks in the car were not as prepared - and not as happy - as we were.  I mean, I felt for them, sure, but I also felt........ Oh, let's be honest, I felt pretty smug!

Muzie directed Sam to turn for no apparent reason, and we got another treat - cheetahs in the rain!
Cheetah 
They looked slightly disgruntled.  But they just kept laying out in the open, not going under a tree or anything.
Cheetah
 We just drove and drove quickly back towards camp, with it raining the whole way.  There was a bonus martial eagle just before we made it to camp, and then there was a big, hot breakfast!
Martial Eagle



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