Friday, July 29, 2011

Our tour guide, Gill Taylor is wonderful!  She knows everything and takes wonderful care of us.  We had a picnic lunch onboard so that we could get to Sitara Lodge in time to check in, rest a bit and depart on our late afternoon/evening venture into the bush. The accommodations thus far are lovely, clean and modern, but lacking in many amenities (like Internet!)   On the drive in and during daylight in our open-air rover in the evening, we saw many giraffes, zebras, water bok and a host of other exotic animals.  What a delight to see four of the “big five” (which are cape buffalos, lions, elephants, leopards and rhinos) on the evening trip.  However, the biggest thrill of all while shining spotlights into the jungle looking for eyes of animals, was the discovery of a male and female lion in the middle of the road, apparently mating.  They proceeded to walk around for 10-15 minutes while the bus moved at different angles to view them, finally walking with dignity into the velt (grassland). Marilyn got wonderful  pictures , even in the dark.  We did not get to see #5, the leopard.    We arrived back at the Lodge for a late dinner and early bedtime as tomorrow starts at 6 a.m.  But that is another day!

Joe