Notice the darker colors of the older giraffe?
Tuesday, September 18
We were escorted back to the main area at 6:00 am for a continental breakfast. The pastries were good, but the allotted time was too short and I had to make do with only three cups of coffee. With the cessation of growling stomachs, it was back aboard the land cruiser for the morning game drive. We had hope the lions had made a kill during the night and headed straight for them. In real life most lion hunts are unsuccessful and the pride was still hungry when we found them. They had not moved far from where we left them yesterday and getting in close for pictures was not difficult. In the back of my mind a little thought was growing, no matter what I did to try and suppress it. Hungry lions, open safari truck, close proximity kept threatening to fan the little flame warning of danger into a full blown forest fire. We have a saying in the south that more young southern men die after uttering these words “hey y’all watch this”, and I could swear someone was about to say exactly that. All my angst was for naught as we soon had our fill of the pride (rather than the other way around) and moved off to find the lioness with the young cubs. We found them well and happy and after snapping a few more pictures we moved off a short ways for a “bush coffee break”. Seeing the thermoses of coffee and hot water for tea brought a smile to my face. We stopped under a shade tree beside the road and everyone had some morning libation. The tree was out in the middle of everything to afford better game viewing with a broad field of view. Problem was that after now five cups of coffee, my eyeballs were starting to float. It took some walking, but I found a patch of vegetation sufficient to afford a little privacy. As soon as I proved it safe from predators and made it safely back to the Landcruiser (how shall I put this?) “a steady stream of others made to the bushes and back”. After the bush “potty” break, it was back into the truck and more game viewing. I have to hand it to Savute. They promise lots of animals, and that is what they deliver. The drive back was filled with elephants, giraffes, impala, wildebeest, tsessebe, and birds by the dozens. My favorite was a very, very old giraffe. When a giraffe ages, the tan patches on his coat darken. This fellow was so old, he was just about black. It was a treat to see him. When we got back about 11:00, there was a big breakfast/brunch waiting for us, consisting of bacon, eggs, waffles, fruit a whole smorgasbord of breakfast and, yes, more coffee. After trying unsuccessfully not to ruin my figure, it was back to the chalet for some rest and an attempt at staying out of the heat.
The color difference is even more striking when they are close together.
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