We Won An MZNP Game Drive

[Richprins]

A+ for Peej!

[PJL]

A+ for Peej!

[Flutterby]

A TT and an English lesson in one!

[PJL]

Thanks for all the comments Lis, Flutts, RP, nan, Mel & Pumbaa
I'm not entirely sure how we ended up with an english lesson there

Lovely light and winter colours there...or is it spring or what...dunno how it works in the colonies there?

Interesting ostrich!

Is that a pan or a dam, Peej?

It's spring, but to be honest I'm not sure when they normally get their rain - it's all quite dry there as you drive around, but there's quite a few pans/dams that have filled from rain earlier in the year. That particular spot can only really be described as a man-made pan

[PJL]

MZNP morning gate time is 7am all year round for some strange reason, so it was already quite light by the time we got into the park the next morning. However the weather had turned overcast, drizzly and cold (we were quite glad not to be camping!). We weren't entirely sure where our morning drive would take us but we decided that to start with we would explore the Rooiplaat loop. On the way up there we found an ostrich sitting next to the road trying to stay warm



As we reached Rooiplaat we had our first sightings of blesbok and black wildebeest







The loop around Rooiplaat was relatively quiet - quite a few animals were sheltering from the weather it seemed. Some springbok close to the road made for some nice close up pics



About 3/4 the way round, we spotted some blue cranes in the distance but they were too far away for photos. Just a little further along I slammed on brakes....



"S - look there... isn't that..."

[Lisbeth]

[Richprins]

A lion!

[Flutterby]

I was about to say it looks quite similar to Rietvlei with the same animals....but then they don't have lions roaming around!

[PJL]

Lis, RP & Flutts

It was indeed lion

One lioness was lying right out in the open (despite the drizzle).



As we scanned around more heads popped into view
There was another female next to a male - both very well hidden as they were sheltering in the thick grass



2 young lionesses seemed to be the most active



Whilst this chap was not going to look our direction it seemed



It was almost the whole family - the 2 young girls have a brother as well, but perhaps he had been pushed off elsewhere by the big males. The lions were really flat due to the weather but as it started to clear a bit one of the girls got up for a short wander



A quick check of the weather...



The honeymoon couple then decided to take a walk a bit further away. It looks like more cubs could be on the way soon









He gave his buddy quite a glare to ensure everyone knew who was boss and there were obviously some pheromones in the air

[Lisbeth]

No doubt who is the Boss