Three Excursions and Some Shopping

Today started early: We had to leave at 4:45 am for the Elephant Interaction at Jabulani. I was still a bit tired from yesterday, and it was a bit of a challenge to stay awake during the drive. But I knew that the elephants would be totally worth it. And they were!

Sami tossing feed into Jambu's mouth

Rebecca takes a turn while Allyssa watches

Allyssa and her friend

Sami meets Jambu

We left the elephants (and bush pigs), and had a little time before we were due at Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center (HESC), so we picked up a couple of grocery items and shopped for souvenirs while we waited. The students were a bit timid about bargaining in the street market, but all eventually attempted it.

At HESC, we learned about various endangered species, and viewed some of the animals that were currently at the Center. It was wonderful to see rhinos, cheetahs, painted wolves/wild dogs, and other animals up close.

Esme the young rhino at her feeder at HESC. She was rescued as an orphan and will be raised here until she is big enough to be safely released.

The Lion Sleeps To(day). This male lion was sleeping peacefully just like a huge kitty cat.

A painted wolf, or African wild dog. Gorgeous colors and enormous ears!

The alpha male with female. Just after I took this photo, he came up to the open vehicle and put his nose right on Luke! With a 95% success rate when they hunt, he was nervous!

Vultures circling above: There are 5 species native to this part of Africa

Vultures descend upon meat scraps left over from preparing the diets of the carnivores

Young female cheetah at rest. Not only are they the fastest land mammal (70 mph), but they purr like cats, but have non-retractable claws.

A purple starling, iridescent in the sun. This guy wasn't a patient at HESC, but was sitting less than an arm's length away, so I grabbed a photo.

Rhinos at rest.

We posed with a cheetah!

On our way to Moholoholo, we made a quick stop at Wat en Beitje, where I still regret not getting a piece of her fabulous lemon meringue pie! At Moholoholo, they no longer permit us to touch the animals, but we got to see cheetahs, lions, leopards (including a black leopard), a wild dog, and many birds. These were also very close up and amazing to see. 

A beautiful African raptor at Moholoholo

With the cloudy weather, the sunset was spectacular.

Back to the Lodge for supper, followed, for me at least, by BED! Tomorrow we will be target shooting with Rita's rifle, then shooting from helicopter. I'm not sure what else is on the schedule, but I am really excited about the helicopter again!