March 12, 2023
An elephant uprooting a tree or baby lion cubs? The highlight of the day was tough to choose. I went with the elephant as it was a unique experience to actually see an elephant completely uproot a tree from start to finish. It then began feeding on the sweet roots which were its objective. There is a video later in the blog that you can watch.
The day began in Port Elizabeth. We left the ship and headed for the Amakhala lodge to begin our three-day overland journey from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town.
While checking into our room, some vervet monkeys made an appearance, gazing down on use from the lodge roof and foraging in the trees.
They made their way down to the lodge, sneaking into the dining area and onto the chairs. It was not wise to leave any belongings unattended.
In the trees, we were watched by a trio of streaky-headed seedeaters. They eat seeds and bugs and like to hang out together in small flocks. They used to be called streaky-headed canaries.
On the way to see the cabin, we saw a millipede.
We set out on our game drive prepared to drive to the opposite side of the park to see cheetahs - the big cat we did not see in Kruger. On the way, our first sighting was wildebeest. However, these wildebeest looked different than the wildebeest we saw at Kruger. That is because those were blue wildebeest and the wildebeest at Amakhala are black wildebeest. The black wildebeest are smaller and have horns that curve forward instead of sideways. They also have a cream-colored tail which is why they are also called the "white-tailed gnu" (another word for wildebeest is gnu).
Mixed in with the wildebeest were some waterbuck.
A zebra was also visible off in the distance.
An African fish eagle was flying overhead.
Then, we were off to find cheetahs again. On the way, we encountered a giraffe and some common eland.
The eland is the world's largest antelope. Despite its size, it is quite agile and can jump a 4 foot fence from a standing position. Both males and females have spiral horns. The female's are longer and thinner than the males. The older they get, the darker their fur becomes. They start out a tawny color and become grayer as they age. A very old eland will be almost black.
Not long after, we found yet another antelope, the hartebeest. Although their horns are curved to somewhat resemble a heart, the name actually means "tough ox". This refers to their ability to run for long periods of time and reach speeds up to 70 miles per hour.
Although we had moved on fairly quickly after each antelope sighting in our quest to make it all the way to the other side of the park, we did pause for a while when we came to the elephant. It was coming up to a small tree. the guide was telling us how they sometimes completely uproot these trees and turn them upside down. The elephant must have heard him, because it proceeded to do just that.
We had just stopped to watch some giraffes, when a call came in that the lion cubs had been spotted - in the opposite direction of the cheetahs. We decided to find cheetahs tomorrow and go see the lion cubs today. We did take a few moments to admire the giraffes first though.
Do you remember how to tell which giraffe is female and which is male using their ossicones?
We did spot some different birds on the way to the lions. We saw a black-headed heron. Unlike most herons, it can often be found far from water walking slowly along looking for small animals to eat.
Next was the Eurasian collared dove.
A group of hadada ibis were on the ground. They took to the air as we drove past. The hadada ibis are the most common ibis in Africa. Farmers love them because when they hunt for prey with their long bills they turn the soil and leave holes in it that makes in easier to grow plants. They also eat insects that would otherwise hurt the plants.
An ant-eating chat flew down into the flowers as we drove past. This was a male because it was mostly black. A female is a lighter brown with a grey beak and legs. They eat termites as well as ants and will often hang out near termite mounds.
There were several termite mounds throughout the park. They looked like brown rocks dotting the landscape.
The Cape starling was the last bird we spotted before coming to the lions.
A group of three lionesses were looking after four adorable lion cubs. The carcass of a kudu was under a tree nearby. When the mother switched places with the first lioness, the cubs nursed from their mother and then one adventurous cub headed over to the carcass for a little extra snack. If you look closely at the first lioness by the cubs, you can see a radio collar that the reserve uses to keep track of the lions.
The African hoopoe was spotted in a nearby tree. This beautiful bird has a disgusting way to protect its babies from predators. It secretes a nasty-smelling liquid from the preening gland and rubs it over the babies. It smells like rotting meat and also protects them from parasites. The babies will also shower intruders with bird poop.
We stopped at a neighboring lodge for a special surprise. There was a female Cape rock thrush as we entered the lodge. She had just caught a tasty snack. We knew it was a female because males have blue heads.
We came to the small man-made pond at the lodge where our surprise resided. We saw yellow-billed ducks and Egyptian geese swimming in the pond.
We noticed some bubbles behind the pair of Egyptian geese.
A hippopotamus rose out of the water. Followed soon by a second. When the river at the reserve dried up, the hippos made this small pond their home.
While at the lodge, our guide, Sunni, showed us an aloe vera plant. The leaves are soothing when applied to sunburns and may even hasten the healing of burns.
He also showed us a tortoise shell and kudu horns.
It was now time to drive up to our sundowner.
We had a beautiful view of the reserve.
They set up drinks and snacks for us as well.
There was a memorial there to three rhinos that were killed by poachers at the reserve. Since then with the financial help of a wealthy visitor to the lodge, they have started an anti-poaching program. Each rhinoceros is equipped with devices that monitor their heart beats. If an increase in heart rate is detected, drones are sent out to see what is happening. If people are detected, the armed anti-poaching team is sent out to stop them.
As we returned to camp, we saw the three current rhinos in the distance. They still have their horns here. The anti-poaching measures are effective enough to prevent poachers so there is no need to cut off their horns to protect them.
The sun was beginning to set, but we made a quick stop at a fellow guide's house to add air to one of the tires.
There was a lesser striped sparrow and two rock martins (also a type of sparrow) were on a wire outside the house.
More rock martin were gathered in a window.
After filling the tire, we continued along and saw some ostriches. They are both the largest and heaviest bird. They lay the largest eggs. They cannot fly, but they have powerful legs and run very fast. They can maintain a speed of 30 miles per hour and get up to 43 mph in short bursts. There is a common myth that ostriches bury their heads in the sand when threatened. However, normally it will just run away. If it can't run away, it lays very still on the ground with its neck and head stretched out to camouflage itself. From a distance, it looks like its head is buried because only the body can be seen.
As we drove back to the lodge, the sky was beautiful in the wake of the setting sun.
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