The Big Five!

We spent 3 days in Kruger Park and got to see the Big Five!  The Big Five consists of Elephant, Rhino, Lion, Leopard and Water Buffalo.  It was really cool to be back amongst Ellies again, and I was happy that I didn't leave Africa without seeing the Rhino and Leopard!

The Leopard was a bit too quick for us to take pictures, so I’ve included a shot of Evan sleeping.  Which, in itself, is usually something unheard of in the wild. 

We were also lucky to see 6 of the Magnificent 7 (includes Big 5, plus Wild Dogs and Cheetah), narrowly missing this pack of the dogs go on a killing spree.   

They are also sometimes called "the Painted Wolves".  They look so friendly.  Who knew 15 mins later they would be slaughtering Impalas.

And here's a Hyena staring at a herd of Baboons coming his way!

In all we saw:

Hyena

Elephant

Giraffe

Water Buffalo

Wild Dogs

Bushbuck

Waterbuck

Impala (they’re the squirrels of Africa)

Duiker

Clippenspringer

Lion

White Rhino

Kudu

Warthog

Giant Snail

Monitor Lizard

Crocodile
Mongoose (White Tailed, Dwarf, Germaine)
Bataleur
Turtles
Baboons (and several Baboons having sex)

A bunch of different birds (Favorite is the Lilac Breasted Roller)

I know the guys we're really amazed at seeing these animals in their natural habitats vs. the zoos they had seen some of them in before.   All agreed it has been a successful trip so far.

We’ll be heading down the coast over the next couple days to Cape Town, leaving the land for the sea. 

Next up, Whales, Sharks, Penguins, and Seals.  Really looking forward to it.