We just returned from a week in the field doing more research for my ecotourism study I am managing, so now that I have a moment I wanted to post more photos of the big animals we saw on our safari.
But before I do that I just want to show you the millipede that was crawling in the grass by our tent.. this guy actually somehow made it into our tent and was crawling up the mosquito net..that was a fun find on my end, but good thing the net was doing its job!
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Everything seems to be a bit bigger here in Africa.. you should
see the size of the cockroaches! |
So I will start with the elephants. What I didn't know is that African and Asian elephants are quite different. I had previously seen elephants and even ridden one in Thailand (that was quite the experience!), so I was expecting them to look similar, but they didn't. African elephants actually have bigger ears, rounder heads, more distinct rings in their trunks and their lips are longer so makes them look like they are smiling.
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| They are just such large and beautiful animals! |
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| aww babies.. |
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perfect pose for me- thank you! I think they might have been
saying "stay away from our babies".. but u never know.. |
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| This is called a parade of elephants. Quite fitting don't ya think. |
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Animals definitely have the right of way. This was
quite the site- Look at those tusks! |
One thing we really wanted to see were Zebras, and we were so lucky as got to see our fair share of them. I think they might be one of my favorites! We also learned that a group of zebras is called a 'dazzle' of zebras! 10 bucks says that appears as a Jeopardy question one day and know you'll know the answer :)
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| So beautiful- and I love the birds sitting right on him |
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Really enjoyed all the co-habitation. We often saw baboons
and Zebras together |
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| Looking at us head on |
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| This was josh's favorite animal |
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| I love how shiny he is, and how the hair is also striped. |
What I was most excited to see were the giraffes. Our guide Moses kept us in suspense as we didn't see them until the second day of our drive, but we were spoiled because we came literally 20 feet away from a group of 4 of them!
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Spotted! See it in the distance? This was
before we got to see them up close |
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| Amazing creatures! |
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| Loved the tail- like a black mop! |
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| Such an interesting face |
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| It was amazing to get so close to them |
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| I love this photo! |
After seeing the giraffes we were really satisfied- but then our guide got word about a lion and cubs that were just spotted- so off and away we went to go find them. I can't say I wasn't nervous being so close to the lions.. especially as by accident we drove right in between the male and 4 females.. but our guide was amazing and really knew the animals and assured us that they exhibited no signs of being in hunting mode.
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| Lion paw print spotted earlier in the day |
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| Hard not to think of Simba.. |
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| Female sleeping in the grass. |
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| Aww now this guy is pretty cute when he's sleeping.. looks harmless! |
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| hmm maybe not.. look at those teeth! |
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We spotted them again on our night drive, this time they were
looking for food. |
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They actually started walking towards us- but again we were assured
that they wouldn't harm us |
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| And then walked right between the cars.. what a crazy experience! |
We were also really lucky to have spotted a leopard. During the rainy season the grass is quite tall and they usually aren't spotted- we saw this one up in a tree. Apparently after they make a kill they drag it up into a tree so that other animals can't get to it.
We also got to see quite a few hippos- both in and out of the water. Did you know that hippos can't actually swim? These animals can also be really dangerous, and the rule of thumb is to never get between a hippo and the water otherwise they could trample you!
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During the night drive we stumbled across some just
sitting by the side of the road. I love how roley-poley they are! |
Lastly I wanted to share with you about the hyenas that we got to see during our night drives. Now I am not too keen on these night drives as they use these large spotlights to look for animals as you're driving along- seems slightly cruel- but we did get to see hyenas and wild dogs because of it.
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| The hyenas came right up to our car |
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| The night drive, and wild dogs were spotted up ahead |
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| Wild dogs- these are very rare to see in this park |
So there is the general overview of our safari. If you are ever in southern Africa I would highly recommend visiting this national park in Zambia!
I have a question. Where did you guys fly into in order to get this safari? Also, how long was the safari? We are really interested in this and it seems like it was a ton of fun!
ReplyDeleteHi Hodges Family,
DeleteThanks for the comment. We went with a company called Kiboko Safari's (http://www.kiboko-safaris.com/). The tour leaves from Lilongwe (Malawi) and drives into Zambia to South Luanga. If you are already in Zambia I think they can pick you up along the way as well. Check out their website. It was a great safari to go on and I really recommend this park!