The Early Bird Catches The Worm

[PJL]

Such a handsome lion...I can only imagine how they struggle in the heat with those manes!

Such a tiny little tortoise!

You would think they would be used to the heat... after all they are originally Kalahari imports

Exquisite!

41 degrees!

Love the tortoise, and the pool shot...nice setup they have there!

And larney flower garden!


Gibson is struggling with overeating too! Very nice sunrays there, Peej!

Thanks RP. That pool is a winner on a hot day

That Gibson boy suffered of the big meal torturing him in form of his huuuge belly

I still can't believe how grown him and his brother are by now

The pool looks inviting!

And the tortoise looks almost as big as the baby ellie in that angle

Yep Mel & Gibson are quite formidable lions in their prime right now

[PJL]

We continued on down to Hapoor where there was still plenty of elephant activity - particularly in the water where one seemed to be trying out backstroke





Meanwhile the youngsters were having fun in the kids pool



Only when we moved a bit did we realise that there was a big herd of buffalo chilling out in a small mud pool behind Hapoor



As is often the case on a hot day Hapoor has elephants all over the place and the parking area becomes a mix of elephants and vehicles. We had never seen a completely open safari vehicle in Addo before
They looked rather exposed to the elephants and some of the occupants seemed concerned



We wanted to get back over to Gorah loop for the evening. Around this time last year we had found a bat-eared fox den and wanted to see if it was being used again this year. There was time for one last sighting of a cute baby ellie before we set off again



Our route back took us past Gibson again... he was still very sleepy but momentarily rolled over as we drove past him



Back at Rooidam we managed to get a brief glimpse of one of the hyena youngsters



Unfortunately Gorah loop had no signs of activity at the den site, and we weren't really keen to sit around waiting in the heat so we continued up to Carols Rest where a buffalo and black-headed heron were eyeing each other out





We trundled back to camp and got the fire lit... it had been a really good day of sightings



TBC

[Lisbeth]

You have a really nice set up there

Hapoor is a fantastic place when there are elephants all over the place and the lil'ones are soooo cute and funny to watch

Lovely flowers

[Pumbaa]

Love the bathing ellies and buffaloes and for sure the lions - Really a lot of stunning sightings, PJL

[Richprins]

Great "backstroke" and hyena pics!

Surely your campsite can't always be that neat? No tea?

Lovely camping area, Peej!

[Flutterby]

Love the ellie doing backstroke!

Lots of ellies around...lovely!

[Mel]

You lot maintain a neat camp site

It definitely had been a great sighting day for you. Great elephant encounters
and the one shot with ellie lying on the back is absolutely awesome!

Was Gibson actually lying right next to the road? There seems to be another vehicle
at the bend behind the lion.

[nan]

what nice pictures in this "Early Birds"

[PJL]

You have a really nice set up there

Hapoor is a fantastic place when there are elephants all over the place and the lil'ones are soooo cute and funny to watch

Lovely flowers

Thanks Lis... there are rumours we might change the setup sometime this year which will require some serious consideration seeing as I like our trailer so much

Love the bathing ellies and buffaloes and for sure the lions - Really a lot of stunning sightings, PJL

Pumbaa

Great "backstroke" and hyena pics!

Surely your campsite can't always be that neat? No tea?

Lovely camping area, Peej!

Nah it's only neat the day we pitch
Tea is there somewhere
These are the caravan sites at the main camp - it's a nice camping area... particularly some of the sites which have shaded areas

Love the ellie doing backstroke!

Lots of ellies around...lovely!

Thanks Flutts

You lot maintain a neat camp site

It definitely had been a great sighting day for you. Great elephant encounters
and the one shot with ellie lying on the back is absolutely awesome!

Was Gibson actually lying right next to the road? There seems to be another vehicle
at the bend behind the lion.

Yes Gibson was literally lying on the side of the road. Whilst travelling along that road another car travelling the opposite direction flagged us down to ask if we had seen lion as they had heard one was along the road. When we were at the sighting they rather sheepishly told us that they must have driven past him whilst he was lying flat and completely missed him

what nice pictures in this "Early Birds"

Thanks nan

[PJL]

Sorry for the delay in continuing this TT... was away on holiday

Throughout the first night we could hear lions roaring not far from the main camp, so we got up nice and early to be one of the first to enter the park. Supposedly the early bird catches the worm, so we figured we stood a good chance of catching the lions. It had sounded like they were somewhere near Rooidam so we headed that direction which was a bit unfortunate as we would later find out that Melvin & Gibson had moved across to Domkrag area and were literally lying on the road

We drove slowly past the hyena den looking for the youngsters. Just as we were about to give up on them an adult popped out the bushes, dashed across the road and then totally refused to look our direction



After playing hyena hide and seek for a while we eventually gave up and headed down to Hapoor where there was a nice buffalo herd grazing along with a few zebra





Mpunzi loop produced a big bull elephant and a magnificent kudu in the morning light





Having managed to miss the lions in the north we had decided to try and see if there was any sign of Josie and her clan in the south. A quick trip to Arizona had all the usuals but no sign of the lions. Heading back to join the main road south again we were treated to a nice size herd of buffalo crossing the road



The loops in the south were all rather quiet but we managed to get a view of the young mongoose by its den on Vukani





The wind was starting to pump by this point - totally different to the heat of the previous day. Back in the north we got to see the flat lions who by now had moved off the road for some shade



Back at the camp the winds were gusting to about 75km/h so people were doing their best to save gazebos and tents