Having the Time of my Life revisited (October 2016)

[Mel]

Thanks Mel, I just caught up with this report now. Wow, stunning owl and lion sightings, and I won't even mention Safran
Helping us bide the time till our next trip in 50 nights

Hello Gavin You might want to check here for some more pointers... Although it'll be three months by then. But then again - you'll never know

[Mel]

For sure it is a pity when the leoprads have been chased away by the hyaenas but sometimes that is the way it is
Especially leopard sightings in the wild can be short and annoying when you searched days for a decent picture and same only it posing seconds
At least the hyaena with the carcass shots are fantastic
Mel

Not days, Pumbaa, years But... well... wait and see

Thanks for your kind words

[Mel]

Wow!
Somehow I miss the installments, Mello..
I like the brownie pic, offset to one side. very good!
And a nice camera setup, as BC says!
These hyenas' habit of storing food in water is ghastly...maybe to soften it? the theory is it is to hide it from other predaators...the smell, but I wonder sometimes?

Ja, a bit of a different setup than mobile to binocs

I'm sure the dragging into water has to do with both. I mean, we all know that "wet" food goes down better than dry stuff
But I cannot get the idea off my mind that they cooked up a nice broth

[Mel]

Fabulous brown & spotted hyena sightings
I can understand the leopard frustration but even so, what a magnificent sighting

Better brownies to come, luckily KTP is a good place to see them

[Mel]

Love your naming the juvenile delinquent Ugly Kid Joe
Cool bird in flight pics
A brownie AND a leopard visit with an old friend, Safran - , but then the day continued to get even more interesting. What do the hyenas "do" about all the mud on their meal? Weird.
The jackal potty pic is a stitch! You need to hang it in your bathroom at home.

The mud must be the seasoning like our pepper and salt

Cats in the cradle... so Ugly Kid Joe was rather obvious

And I actually like the idea of the jackal in my bathroom... hope it won't give my guests potty troubles though

[Mel]

Lazy days at Grootkolk would not be complete without watching the small critters

[Mel]

Or the brownie at night.

[Mel]

Or the beautiful sunsets *sigh*

[Mel]

[Mel]

Or an appropriate farewell gift



This time, the hyenas were very welcome. There were actually 7 of them, but two decided to crouch in the shrubs, instead of posing for the cam. Over our past visits we had lions more often than not hanging around in the camp, preventing us from leaving. And we had been on a mission... our last chance to see Safran again. Therefore we meant to be down at Lijersdraai by 8 am which meant we had to leave at 7 am the latest. Had the lions been there again, we wouldn't have stood a chance. But the hyenas moved off once they had polished off what the vultures had left of the dead springbok from the day before. And the giggling and laughing during the wee hours of the morning had been a nice addition to our "close to home" sounds