May 10, 2007-Visiting Bush Camps in Africa

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Elephant on the move

George slammed our Hyundai “safari” car into gear and we sped up the road, dust flying, looking in the rearview mirrors at the big bull elephants charging over spot where we were sitting just a moment earlier.

We got out of there in time but it was too close for Judy and Ellen who were beating on George’s seat back and shouting, “Go, Go” while I, hanging out the window with my camera, was yelling, “Not yet, not yet, just one more shot”.

George settled the debate and we beat feet.

But it was exciting. We’d followed this herd of a hundred or so elephants up a river, we on one side and they on the other, part of the morning and we been in this clearing on our side of the river as they lolled around in the water on the far side for half an hour or more. A few elephants ventured further into the stream and we thought they might cross but they didn’t seem to be in any hurry so, other than turning the car around for a quick get away, we stayed put.

Then they started swimming, and the first ones came onto the shore on our side, about 100 yards from us, but mostly out of sight on the embankment below.

When they started to meander up the trail and we knew that our car was right in their way Judy was the first to get nervous. “Let’s go” she said, but the elephants weren’t moving very fast and I reckoned we had a few seconds more and I knew the shots would be good once they came into sight so I insisted we wait. The other three in the car weren’t happy.

But suddenly the big bull emerged from the front of the pack and decided to get us moving. He came up at us waving his trunk and ears and making quite a scene and a couple of his buddies were right behind him. It was a great photo opp but I couldn’t keep him framed as the car bounced over the ruts and out of that place.

Great fun.

We spent three days driving around Hluhluwe-iMfolozi game preserve (pronounced shoee shoee meflozi) looking for, and finding, wild game. It was great. We didn’t find the lions (or, should I say, they didn’t find us) but we saw plenty other exciting animals.

Click any image to see more animals at wingssail.images

Elephants

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Rhinos

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Impalas & Nyalas

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Wildebeasts & Cape Buffalo

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Wildebeasts & Cape Buffalo

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Birds

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Monkeys & Baboons

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Girraffes

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Zebras

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Warthogs & Bush Pigs

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Landscapes

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Our Bush Camp & Our Friends

You can click any image above to see more photos or click here so see all of them.

Tomorrow we head off to Kruger to further our quest.

Stay tuned.

Fred & Judy, SV Wings, South Africa