Africa Day 1 (cont): Zulu Nyala - Afternoon Game Drive

Yes, there is wireless in Africa and no, it is not good. We were able to get a connection at Zulu Nyala, but the signal stretched for about 15 feet and sometimes there was only one chair outside of the reception area from which you could get any connection. We really only wanted the internet so that Lisa could post to Facebook so folks back home could follow our exploits.

Sitting outside reception after our first game drive, breakfast, and lunch, a man came and sat down next to Lisa. She recognized him as an actor and we found out he was Jack McGee, a character actor who most notably played the chief on Rescue Me but is recognizable from many small TV and film parts. We learned that we used to be neighbors in Hoboken when he was working on Rescue Me, but he lives in LA now. We had a ball with Jack, sharing stories of his time at the reserve (he had to leave the next day) and joking around.

We then met William at 3pm for our afternoon game drive, but not before checking out the crocodile pond on our property. The staff were feeding the crocs some form of venison, but they didn't seem too interested and chose sunning themselves instead. There were tiny baby crocs that were apparently only a few days old. The few that were there were the lucky ones as most get eaten by the larger crocs. Luckily for the babies, they can crawl through the fence enclosing the pond. Not so lucky for the guests that have rooms nearby as these baby crocs show up in their bathrooms.

Our afternoon game drive had a major goal...elephants. We first returned to the hippos' pond since they get more active in the afternoon. They were starting to move a bit and we saw some major yawns, but they were not yet ready to leave the water to start their nightly foraging. This was when we learned that hippos are the most deadly of the African mammals, killing more humans than any other animal, mostly because people are unaware that hippos are in the water nearby or they unknowingly get between the hippos and their spot in the water which is when bad things happen. We also saw the mother and young male cheetah again. William noted that they had empty bellies, so an afternoon hunt was possible. I believe it was at this point where Lisa's blood lust began. She was all about seeing a kill in the wild on our trip.

We also saw a giraffe start to bend down to drink, until Lisa's binoculars banged against the side of the truck and spooked the animal. We also had a spotting of a short-tailed eagle, and saw a red duiker, which is a very small, very shy antelope. But our afternoon was just about to get exciting. As we were headed back to the lodge, Our guide stopped the truck and told us to be quiet. We were stopped on the road with trees and brush to our right, then a mostly dry riverbed and a hill on the far side. William told us to listen and sure enough, we heard a strange barking sound. A male nyala was up on the hillside, issuing a warning for all to hear that their was a predator in the area. William knew immediately without seeing it...leopard.

There were no lions on our reserve--no leopards either, but they, as well as hyenas and wild dogs found ways over and under the fence around the several thousand acres that make up Zulu Nyala. A leopard was the only predator that would track a large male nyala. We all fixed our gazes on far river bank and lower on the hill and I finally spotted the leopard, on the prowl. Unfortunately with all of the brush and trees next to our vehicle, only Lisa was quick enough to catch the cat in two somewhat burry images, but regardless, we had our leopard sighting. We lost sight of the leopard quickly as it gave up on its quarry and despite William's best tracking efforts, we never saw the leopard again that day.

William kept telling us how lucky we were to have seen a leopard, but it didn't sink in until we were at the airport later in the week and a woman told us that she had been going on safari for 10 years before she saw a leopard. Two of the "Big Five" down (leopard, rhino down...elephant, lion, buffalo remaining). It wouldn't take us long to get up to three.

Since we had overstayed our afternoon game drive, it was now dark after we had spent time trying to track the leopard. So we headed back to the lodge via a shortcut, a very sparsely travelled, kidney jostling path. About half way back up the hill to the lodge, we came into a clearing and were amazed to find two rhino there in the dark just grazing. We watched them for a while and tried to get some pictures in the dark, but then as they started to move, William again hushed us. What happened next was right out of the Jurassic Park movie. We heard the rustle first and branches breaking, then a bit of silence before a loud trumpet and three elephants bursting into the clearing. They took a quick look at us, but were more interested in devouring whatever tree life was in their way. Three down, two to go. We all marveled at the fact that we had only been on the property for one day.