Vacation Time - Day 4 Part 6

The first thing I see when I get out of camp is this mating pair of lions, but it is hot and they are lazing away the day in the shade of a tree. They will spend 3-4 days together away from their pride mating about every 20 minutes.
A little way down the road is a lovely dam which I always stop at. The water in it is fairly low right now but there is enough left for this pod of hippo’s to enjoy it. If the water dries up further, they will walk up to 10 miles at night in search of another pond or dam.

To one side, I watched the zebra come down to have a drink. I liked the reflection they made in the fairly quiet water. No wo zebra have the same stipe pattern.

Poor Egyptian Geese, not much water there to swim in is there?

Nor for this crocodile!! He is still small, only about 5 feet in length so he does not need much and can still cool down in the shallows.

I am heading for Olifants (Elephants) Camp as it has a wonderful lookout point high above the river and I can find an ice cream to cool me down a bit. As you can see, even here there is not much water flowing.

WHAT A DISASTER!! I am SO disappointed I can cry!!! Some IDIOT, let me repeat, some NINCOMPOOP IDIOT has built a wooden railing all around just at the height which interferes with your view while sitting along the benches. WHY??? People used to spend hours there getting something to eat and drink while game viewing.

There is a steep drop down to the river there and a low wall so no one will climb over. What possessed them to do this?? I will never, NEVER understand the mentality of some people!! Gaelyn will remember how wonderful it was to sit there and look at what animals came down to drink. This USED to be one of my favorite stops in the park, guess it is another I have to scratch off my list!! WHAT AN IDIOT THAT CAMP MANAGER IS!! Someone please tell him what I think of him!! GRRRRRR!!!!!

STANDING UP, I could see a couple of hippo coming to wallow in the water.

Needless to say, I did not stay long. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GO AND TELL THE MANAGER HE IS A MORON!! I am so mad!! (as if you have not gathered that by now!!)

A little way down the road on the way to another camp, I came across this elephant having a mud bath. Oh what a glorious time he was having!!

He would slurp the muddy water and mud into his trunk and shower himself with it and move his foot back and forth stirring it up some more. :)

Then he would stomp in it and get it to splash all over the show. What fun!! LOL!! Now I have to ask, women have mud packs put on at the beauty parlor, now isn’t it obvious from his wrinkled skin it does not work, so why do we still try it? :)

He must have spent 20 minutes splashing about before he got out and was covered from head to foot in that mess. Okay, I will admit that one of the reasons for them having a mud bath is so that it dries on the skin and the stinging flies cannot bit him (as if he can feel it through that thick skin) then the rubs himself against a tree trunk and the ticks encased in the hard mud fall off. So is THAT why women do it? To get rid of the ticks? Hmmmm!! Now there’s a thought!! LOL!!

I have been asked to do a series of articles on our bugs for a magazine and was sent the proof to read. If you are interested in seeing it, please click here.