Elephants, Cheetah, and still no hippo

Second morning safari, we woke up around 04:30 and then turned off the alarm clock at 04:50 and answered the wake-up call at 05:00. Luckily, our room/tent has a Nespresso machine, which makes getting up easier and ensures that Helena doesn't get cranky (I speak from experience).

We had a quick tea in the main house, Jason and our Swiss companions were already there, and we left around 05:20. We passed by the obligatory waterhole, but no animals were there that early. We continued to the west of the reserve. On the way, we saw owls, giraffes, and various antelope.

In pursuit of the elephants, we followed a kilometer-long dung trail until we caught up with the pachyderms. We passed them and then got out in front of them, about 50 meters from the Land Cruiser, and took a seat on a small hill.

Jason really wanted to see them head-on before the western gate, so we raced at breakneck speed, on the established road, around the gate (you never just drive through the area but move on the specially constructed nature tracks). It was enough, and the elephants passed very close to our vehicle.

After this highlight, we headed to the middle of the reserve (near the Gondwana settlement) where we kept an eye out for the female cheetah. The cheetah lady (she is the mother of four cubs) had been sitting on a small elevation for the last 12 hours, observing the surroundings. As you can see in the pictures, she then started moving and went hunting. The cubs are hidden on a mountain in a cave, waiting for their mom to organize their meal.

Finally, we drove to the reservoir to see some hippos, but they were not home. We didn't find them on our little walking expedition either.

The afternoon drive (with new Swiss guests) took us to the north of the reserve, where we searched for the mountain zebras that were relocated the day before. But first, by chance, we saw a black rhino (black rhinoceros), albeit from a distance, but with binoculars or a telephoto lens, it was clearly visible. Shortly thereafter, we saw the five relocated mountain zebras in front of us, from a safe distance; they are currently very shy towards vehicles (relocation). Jason said that we were probably the first ones to see the mountain zebras in their new environment.

Afterwards, we continued, and on the way, we saw giraffes in the distance and decided to have sundowners near them. There were not only the giraffes (6 of them) but also a whole herd of buffaloes (with calves) nearby. After the sundowner, Jason safely took us back to the Dwyka Tented Lodge where we enjoyed dinner.