Score!

We spent 17 hours in the overnight hide last night, sleeping in shifts so as not to miss anything.  We were settled in by 3 PM and our first visitors were a group of 4 young male Cape buffalo, followed shortly by a family of warthogs.  The buffalo promptly chased the warthogs away, but the crafty little 'hogs came back.  Pretty much the only visitors overnight were various small groups of the buffalo who would emerge out of the darkness like some otherworldly beasts.  Things perked up in the morning when several species of small birds came around and then two large wooly-necked storks showed up.  All were after the various small bugs that drowned themselves in the watering hold overnight.  A short lull after sunrise followed by the arrival of several more buffalo with a contingent of oxpeckers, one of the bird species I'd hoped to be able to photograph here.

Oxpeckers are fascinating little birds that spend their time picking ticks and other insects off the various herbivores, such as buffalo, rhino, giraffes and elephants.  They are very skittish so it has been hard to get any usable photos from the game drives as they fly off when we approach.  However, they were only about 10 feet from us in the hide, so perfect for photos as they picked insects off the big Cape buffalo.  I picked this shot because I like the say the oxpecker seems to be looking right into the eyes of the buffalo.

It was a full day and as we were ending our game drive before sunset tonight, our driver took us to the big lagoon (where the hippos hang out).  There was a wonderful set up of snacks, wine, cocktails served by several of the lodge staff.  It was great fun and a wonderful way to wind down the trip.  I've made some new friends on this trip, and accumulated some amazing memories.  And there is still one game drive left in the morning before we leave for Durban, so stay tuned!

chocolate tart for dessert!

xo
Debbi