Savannah Game Drive

Animal Video Stories

Waterberg Biosphere, North Limpopo Province

We really didn’t quite know what to expect that first afternoon Game Drive. Cheesy Natalie had old safari movies running through my mind…Out of Africa, John Wayne’s Hatari, the old Tarzan & African Queen… so, when the actual wondrous animal encounters happened, the reality was none of what it truly was held any comparison to a Hollywood creation. It so surpassed any preconceived notion of my limited imagination. Each connection was a gift…life in the wild with creatures for well past 50 years I’d only seen in a zoo, now in the serenity of nature, their home. We were visiting their world & glimpsing a beautiful & pure existence. Quite extraordinary. Exceedingly extraordinary.

• 

At Mabula, game drives commence at 5:30 a.m. & 4 p.m. each day lasting close to 3 hours & covering amazing landscapes with a photo op at nearly every turn of the rugged varied terrain. There are green thickets with occasional humongous matted trunk rubber trees and tall amber grasslands where colorful birds race just above the seeded reeds. There are lush treed hills to twist & climb reaching vistas that deliver views for miles of more green hills & mountains, yes, as far as the eye can see. It is a banquet for the eyes whether in the fresh crisp chill before sunrise or as the warmth of the day slips into cool evening. All of the senses quicken, invigorate… couple this with the anticipation of that next turn in the meandering often rutted red dirt road revealing some exotic creature, you have a recipe for an escape, new & uncharted, both relaxing & renewing with pumps of adrenaline adventure like no other.

THIS IS SOUTH AFRICA. THIS IS SAFARI.

Surprisingly, I experienced no fear (but there was adrenaline… plenty of adrenaline!!) when encountering these animals in the wild. Our game guide, Frans, explained that as long as we all stayed sitting, didn’t wear anything brightly colored, all of the animals (including the lions) see the vehicles as one large animal & generally do not become agitated. That indeed was the case with each encounter. There was a separate group who had a dicey moment with a herd of elephants one morning who began to charge toward their vehicle. Their guide slowly backed the Cruiser & fortunately the animals relaxed. Bonus… this group were able to capture some amazing photos of the experience (stay tuned… I will share these in the next post ANIMAL PHOTO STORIES.)

---

YOUNG lions ON THE PROWL

We encountered a young female lioness in the field alone. She called for others to come with a strange short repeated guttural roar. A young male, (so young his mane is more like a Mohawk) comes majestically from the trees to join her in the wide openness. He sweetly greets her with a head & tail hug. Not long after, another young female arrives & is given more of the same affection by the young male. The three head through the field together eventually moving in front of the vehicles on the road then continue on. Eventually we returned to find the young male eating the remains of a wildebeest not far from this field. It appears they tell each other when it’s time for breakfast!

---

---

THE OLD GIRAFFE

“Dave’s Spirit Animal”

We encountered a very special large older male giraffe who was hidden in the trees just over the crest of the vista in my favorite landscape in the refuge. The lush greenery & soft grass below the picturesque trees made me immediately think perhaps this is what the Garden of Eden looked like. We were afraid the big guy might be shy & stay hidden. Not so… I dubbed him Dave’s Spirit Animal…. tall, majestic AND very helpful! (:46 video)

The old guy came round to the front of our vehicle then proceeded to literally lead us down the road to a wealth of stunning gray & black Gemsbock antelope just around the bend in a beautiful field. It was one of the most magical moments of the entire safari experience…as though this gentle giant wanted to connect with us & share! We lost him in the brush, but he was my favorite by far. (2:28 video)

---

---

BULLDOZER ELEPHANTS

The felled trees along the road were a clue that we may have found our elephant sighting at last. These three videos are some of my favorites… the pachyderms are playful & busy eating in the first video, but by the 2nd & 3rd show their magnificent power by felling a tree with ease – very little effort at all!!. Rather destructive, but the demonstration of their unbelievable power blew us away & watching their ears flap like Dumbo’s was spectacular! (#1 video 1:09; #2 video :53; #3 video 1:06)

---

---

STUNNING ZEBRAS

The zebras (South African’s do not pronounce zebra with a long “e”, but with a short “e” sound… took a little getting used to!) were prevalent & delightful! We encountered several mama’s with baby colts & loved how the zebras always traveled in groups, often grazing with antelopes, but we also saw them among wildebeest herds. They never seemed in a hurry nor startled easily so we were able to get some great footage. The striking contrast of their gorgeous black & white coats against the vibrant greens of the underbrush was absolutely gorgeous to see. One of my favorites in the bushveld… (#1 video :44; #2 video 1:21; #3 video 1:15)

---

---

WILDEBEEST SHENANIGANS

Two young male wildebeest were reeking havoc on the lodge’s horse herd at the stable field. They seemed to be typical teenage boys…delighting in wrestling with one another, showing off & puffing up their muscles while causing as much mischief as they could possible get away with. Our game ranger advised that it would not be long before these two would become rivals for the females & would not playfully engage but rather become aggressive as they compete for a mate. We felt privileged to experience these exceptional moments before their youth moved to adulthood & the fun shenanigans turned to the serious business of growing up. This video is one of my top favs of the whole trip. It is HILARIOUS!! (# video :27; #2 video 2:35)

---

---

IMPALAS CHASING

Back in the ’70’s my folks had a yellow Chevy Impala… never knew it was named for an African antelope, a speedy beautiful antelope at that! We often saw herds of impalas grazing in the distance in the grasslands, their smaller stature a bit more difficult to make out than some of the larger antelopes such as grey Gemsbok or red Hartebeest. Their soft tan coat with beautiful black markings are exquisite looking & look petite, almost gentile yet once they begin moving about you see exactly why Chevy would choose to name a car after them! Speed, agility & beauty of movement… amazing creatures, really. The herds are dominated by one older male who must assert his rule by chasing off any younger males from the herd. We observed this happening several times while also watching an itty bitty young fawn playfully jump about. Observing these animals in the wild was fascinating… seeing their behavior was adorable & I could have watched it for hours! (video 1:50)

---

---

HIPPO FAMILY

Our final morning game drive, just after sunrise, we drove over the earthen dam which shapes a nice size pond of water into a Mabula hillside of red mud & tall yellow grass still matted from a night of grazing by the water’s residents. At first look, there were 3 adult hippos floating about in the water, mostly submerged but occasionally coming up for air with a burst of bubbly blow. We were happy to have finally caught the family at home after missing them twice before at the same stop. Our contentment turned to delight when Ranger Frans recognzied a small wee one on the back of one of the females. An unexpected baby in the midst was a wonderful surprise & we were so pleased to capture the little guy on video. (#1 video :49; #2 video 2:05)

---

---

WILDEBEEST & HIS FRIEND BIRD

One of the best things I learned after seeing South African animals in the wild is that different animals hang out together, not at all like a zoo where they are partitioned off… each kind with its own kind. I absolutely loved seeing the antelopes with the zebras, the wildebeests with the rhinos, & the warthogs with the impalas. By far, however, the cutest example of different animals hanging out together is this wildebeest we found who had a little bird friend right with him on his back. It didn’t seem to both him in the slightest & the two were inseparable the entire time of our encounter. (video 1:30)

---

---

WARTHOGS & GEMSBOK

Warthogs were one of the most commonly spotted animals yet one of the most difficult to photograph. They were low to the ground & quick to move out of our line of sight. The mystery was always if we had found a male or a female… you can tell based up how many warts are on the face. A male has 4 facial warts, a female 2… by the way Pumba in Lion King only had 2 facial warts which made him a HER... oops, Disney! We were constantly trying to figure out if we found a boy or a girl & then it was always too late to get a picture! The 2nd clip is mostly just running down the dirt road with a super quick hog sighting followed by a gemsbok family joining us at the end. (video#1 :18; video #2 1:51)

---

---

GUINEAFOWL STAMPEDE

Nothing is quite as entertaining as chasing (not really on purpose or maliciously) a bunch of skittish South African prairie chickens….

---

I hope you’ve enjoyed trippin along with the safari moments … they were delightful, yet it was difficult to capture the details of the animals so the next post will be still photos to give a better look at the brilliance of the exceptional creatures of the Mabula bushveld. Hope you will return for a closer look!