Day Two in Botswana
My second day in Botswana started with a river cruise (more on that in another post) followed by a vehicle safari. I had already done the east side of the National Park (well some of it as it is huge) so now our guide was taking us to the west side. We first saw a little wild dog running along the plains. I know it has a proper name but I can’t recall what it is (my blogging friend Mavis will surely know) It was tiny and very lean.
Our guide then received a message on his radio from another guide advising of a dead buffalo or wildebeest located a little off the track. He said it had been killed by lions the day before so we immediately drove to that area to see if we could see the lions. On the way we saw a beautiful giraffe strutting his stuff on the road and others eating leaves and generally just looking around.
Then we arrived at the location of the dead animal – wow did that smell awful! We were all holding our breath firstly because of the smell but mainly as we were all so excited about seeing lions in the wild. It was a very lucky day for us. We saw a lioness and two babies (well probably teenagers) who had just eaten and were about to take a nap. We all saw three but our guide found another baby having a little sleep. My eyes then went back to mum who was yawning ready for her sleep…I guess eating a buffalo is hard work!!And looks like this little one has been fighting with the scars on its nose.We were so grateful to our guide for taking us a little off our tour to see these majestic animals but boy did that day old dead buffalo smell!! We then drove down towards the water where there were plenty more giraffes taking a drink…I love the way they bend their long legs to drink. What a sight!!And several just hanging about waiting to have their photograph taken…so kind of them.We also saw hundreds of elephants, zebra, impala and beautiful birds…it really was a magnificent day [but I will save those photos for another post] . The monkeys were plentiful and rather sweet.And as we were leaving for the day, a car with two tourists stopped us and asked about lions so our guide kindly showed them on their map where they were and in exchange they told us about a pack of wild dogs nearby…so off we went and found them under a huge bush. They were very difficult to see with their colouring acting like a camouflage but we did get a couple of photos – such lovely looking animals.
Then back to our resort for another delicious dinner followed by a good night’s sleep.
mavimet said:
Wonderful pictures Sue! I am so jealous that you saw Wild Dogs – they are endangered and I have yet to have a good sighting of them. There is a possibility that I did see one, but he was so far away, that I can’t say for sure. What you call a Wild Dog near the top is actually a Black-backed Jackal. Also what you called Monkeys later on are actually Baboons. I am so enjoying your trip!
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vinneve said:
Very good adventure of a lifetime!
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Lignum Draco said:
Wow, what an amazing experience to see all this in the wild. Are there many vehicles driving around at the same time? Does this disturb or scare the animals?
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Sophie said:
Wow, what a day! And I agree Sue, the giraffe drinking like this makes the legs movement look really aesthetic ! Even someone like me who is not all crazy about animals would have loved such a day tour!
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Gary said:
Your photographs are magnificent Sue.
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Little Miss Traveller said:
Those wildlife photos are really good Sue, I especially liked the ones of the lions. I can just imagine how bad that buffalo smelt! Hope you have a good weekend.
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The Snow Melts Somewhere said:
Oh those cute little monkeys made my day!!! ❤ The lion family falling asleep on a full tummy remind me of my twin babies, always sleepy after a nice meal 🙂 Gorgeous photos! Wish I get to see those animals in their habitat one day, too!
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JohnRH said:
Wow!
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you so much Mavis. Ah yes the Jackal. Now I remember my guide telling me that. And thank you for the correct name for the ‘monkeys’. I thought I was very lucky seeing the wild dogs. Very lucky.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Yes what fabulous memories I have Vinneve. Thank you for stopping by as always.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Hello!!! Not many vehicles. I think I numbers are limited. I probably saw three other vehicles and the driver drives very slowly as to not disturb the animals which I loved.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Lovely to hear you would have enjoyed it Sophie. X
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks for such a lovely compliment Gary.
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steveo said:
Nice pictures! And so close!!! Good thing those lions weren’t up for dessert. 🦁
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you very much Marion. Very kind.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Lovely comments. Ha ha about the similarity of your little babies and the lions. Very sweet.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks John.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Ha ha. Thanks Steveo.
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Amy said:
Wow, amazing photo captures, Sue! how close was the vehicle to these tigers? Love these photos of the mother and kids together. The monkey baby was so cute.
Thank you so much for sharing, Sue. 🙂 🙂
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Kamila Pala said:
WOW! Nice pics.
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Marta said:
The giraffes do look like they enjoy posing for pictures, ha ha. Not like my dog… she turns her head away every time I try to take her picture!
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sileas said:
Wow it looks like the animals were super close! Love these photos ❤
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Hi Amy. I would say we were two or three car lengths away from the lioness. Not too far at all. Yes those baby monkeys were too cute.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you so much.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Too funny my previous furry baby used to do the same thing. It’s hilarious isn’t it.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thanks so much J. I did use a lens but we definitely were very close.
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Nidhi said:
Hey, thanks for sharing. I love it🤗🤗
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vinneve said:
You’re welcome. Hope to see you in person in the future whenever that may be.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you so much for stopping by.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
I agree. How lovely would that be.
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Nidhi said:
🤗
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sidran said:
Beautiful, heartwarming pics. I adore those little monkeys.
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SueT唐 梦 琇 said:
Thank you Sidran. They certainly were very very cute.
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