In Kruger Park, this hippo was hanging around the shallows while we sat in the hide nearby. At times it moved from a resting place half-submerged under an overhanging tree to deeper water further down the channel. One time it surfaced just in front of the hide pushing up and aside waterlilies, scattering the ever present Jacanas and flicking its ears to clear water from them. Astounding - and all just a few meters away!
Pied Kingfishers were also present, at times resting on nearby branches, occasionally fishing. They were great subjects while they sat nearby affording wonderful views for sketching and photographing. When I have time I'll get to some larger watercolor paintings of them.
It was extremely hot in the park, 40 degrees Celsius! We drove around with the windows down allowing a slight breeze that made it bearable. Bird life was great with many species seen and photographed. The Steppe Eagle drawn above was resting in the top of a small tree. It drew a crowd as did a recent lion kill. Due to all the rains though, the bush was quite thick so most animals were difficult to see. Still we had great views of a small herd of elephants that crossed the road just in front of us - we missed leopard and rhino though. Still there is always next year!
2 comments:
Missing those animals is good excuse to go back....great reserve, Kruger.
John, I'm hoping to make our visits to SA yearly as there is so much to see. Still have to do Western Cape and Namibia. There are also a lot of areas on the North-Eastern coast that I haven't visited either - could probably spend years exploring! Would also like to take a slow drive through the Karoo, that place moves me in ways that are difficult to describe.
Post a Comment