Monday, May 2, 2005

In the bush

These photos click to larger versions.

This white-fronted bee-eater is one of many brightly colored birds that have continued to amaze us here on safari.

Female lion relaxes not 15 feet from our Land Rover.

A female leopard paces silently along the road.

MALA MALA GAME RESERVE - We arrived yesterday afternoon at Mala Mala’s frontier airstrip and unloaded our gear from the plane. Mala Mala’s rangers hefted our bags onto sturdy trailers behind army green Land Rovers and secured the luggage tarps. We climbed aboard, watching our plane disappear back into the African sky. We are definitely in the bush and felt reassured that this crew of khaki-clad rangers would quickly prove to be our new best friends.

At camp, a lush oasis beside the meandering sand river, we quickly changed into safari gear, grabbing windbreakers, camera bags, and binoculars. None of us wanted to miss the first of our evening game drives. The birds and wildlife (in contrast to our Internet access) have been abundant. A birder’s paradise, we’ve seen louries, shrikes, francolins, spoonbills, saddlebills, owls, and eagles. They come hooded and hornbilled, glossy and greenbacked.

And cats! We froze as five lionesses and two cubs stalked silently past the Land Rover at dusk. This morning a pair of mating leopards ignored us as they repeated their primal rituals, sending wild cries into the African bush. They will remain together like this for three days or so before resuming their solitary habits.

Judy & Steve

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