Big bull elephant

A game drive anywhere in the Addo Elephant National Park, even if its in one of the concession areas and on the other side of the mountain, isn't complete without actually seeing an elephant.  So I was understandably getting a bit anxious when we were more than halfway though our morning game drive at Kuzuko and hadn't seen any yet.  But suddenly as if out of nowhere this big, well more like huge, bull made his appearance.

He appeared out of the bush and started ambling down the road towards us, not showing any sighs that he will divert from his coarse.  The ranger started backing away and reversed down a side path to allow him more than enough space to pass ahead of us. 

Not a thank you from him.  Not even a proper side way glance.  He just moseyed along.  But that's probably your right and privilege if you're his size.

Game drive or flower drive?

The wonderful winter rains we had in the Eastern Cape have turned dry arid areas into a spring wonder land.  On our game drive at Kuzuko Lodge we saw the most beautiful wild flowers growing in areas that are usually brown and dry.  During this specific drive we passed through a low lying area where the grass was lush and there was literally a carpet of yellow flowers. 

Cheetah's ostrich kill

Warning: The pictures in this post my offend sensitive visitors

On our game drive at Kuzuko Lodge the ranger told us that the two cheetah on the reserve hadn't eaten for probably a week so the chances were good that we could encounter a kill that morning.  The cheetah have collars on so we were able to track them down quite easily.  The two of them were feeding on a ostrich which they must have killed less than an hour before we got there.  They were stuffed already with tummies looking like big round balls with one lying in the shade a couple of meters away and the other still picking at his food.

I know the pictures are a bit gruesome, but I love them.  They are a bit different from just having a cheetah walking along in the veld or lying in the shade somewhere.  Pity we didn't get there like an hour earlier cause I would love to have seen them pull the ostrich down.

Reaching for the sun

There are a number of exotic trees in Settlers Park in Port Elizabeth that has been ring barked so that they can die and probably be cut down at a later stage.  On a walk through the park I thought this makes for a nice picture with the tree's branches (arms?) reaching towards the sky and in particular the sun.

Black Rhino

After spotting lion on our evening game drive at Kuzuko Lodge, the next member of the Big 5 that we encountered was a Black Rhino about 15 minutes into our drive the next morning.  I haven't seen a black rhino for ages, the last one being years ago in Addo Elephant National Park.  What a privilege to see this beautiful animal in its natural environment.  So sad that some idiots in the Far East think that it's horn, which is made of exactly the same material as your nails, can be used for medicinal purposes and now drive the demand that leads to these animals being illegally poached for their horns.

Colours of nature

Purple vygies, green grass with white(ish) and orange moss growing on the grey rocks.  Pity I didn't get more yellow flowers in the shot like those on the left.  Isn't nature and its natural colours amazing?

Sunset at Kuzuko

After watching the lions at Kuzuko Lodge for a while we headed up to a lookout spot to enjoy a drink while the sun sets.  We met up with the other vehicle out on the game drive and everybody were showing off their lion photos to each other... 

... while waiting for the sun to go down