South Africa, Part Four

Gorah is a truly classic safari camp in the Addo Elephant reserve, with an historic central lodge where we dined before a roaring fire our first night.

The accommodations are very elegant tents on permanent platforms….

The safari drives include open vehicles and refreshment stops, in addition to animal sightings.  Not too many of the latter at this site, largely due to heavy rains just before we arrived.

On to Sabi Sands, with some memorable close-ups with the animals, under the guidance of our first female ranger, Chanyn, who is armed and ready for….. bear, rhino, buffalo, whatever……

We took a little time off from safari for some badly-needed professional grooming.

And lastly to Marakele National Park north of Johannesburg….. our safari vehicle got stuck in deep sand our first evening.

Lots of rhino there….

Zebra and my favorite antelope, the kudu…

The bird life is incredibly diverse, but hard to capture on film….. here is one of the most brilliant birds in Africa, the lilac-breasted roller – caught in flight by our guide Hein, a professional-grade photographer.

Walking safaris and water safaris were also on the menu….

One of the biggest thrills of the trip was coming across a mother giraffe with a baby who had been born less than 2 hours before.  We saw the young one stand for the very first time, take his first steps, and nurse.  Absolutely fabulous…..  (these two photos also being to Hein’s credit)…

If this is to be our last safari drive, at least it ended on a high note.  After so many outings, it’s hard to think that we may not be back to experience again the incredible feeling of this environment and being close to these precious creatures.   We are humble and extremely grateful.

This particular journey will continue, however, with a few days on the beach in Mozambique, then on to the wilds of Madagascar.