Africa Part 2: In Search of the Big 5!

There is only one thing that can make me wake up before the 5:30am alarm on a Saturday morning......SAFARI!!!!  So after being greeted and collected by Dave (who ended up being my personal tour guide), we headed north through the sugar cane and eucalyptus tree fields, into Zululand.  Along the way, I learned about south african poltics, history of the local tribes, and many other interesting facts about the area. 

2.5 hours later we roll into Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park, the oldest game reserve park in South Africa.   Its also a leader in conservation, bringing the White Rhino back from the brink of extinction.  Lastly, it is home to all of the Big 5: elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard.  All of this gives me hope of some serious animal sightings during the day. 

Within the first half hour, I had seen rhino, zebra, giraffe and buffalo.  The most amazing thing about the park is that the animals are not segregated and hand feed.  They roam around in their natural ecosystem, hunting and intermingling in the way that they would outside of human eyes.  There is such a feeling of sneaking a peek at something that amazing.

The most amazing part of the day was as we were pulled off on a side trail, trying to figure out if the grey blob in the distance was a rhino or an elephant.  Just as we were about to move on, a movement from up the hillside grabbed our attention.  There, a few young elephants were making their way down to the waterhole.  Then a few more came down, and then a few more.  In just a few moments, there were more then 40 elephants were gathered around for a drink and some cooling off.  The herd was made up of older elephants and young calfs.  Even some babies, so incredably small, tagging along, single file with the mom. 

After a break for lunch, we set out along the south side of the park.  The midday naptime apparently applies to the animal kingdom, as there was less wildlife out and about.  Towards the end we came upon some antelope and some warthogs grazing on the side of the road, giving us a last sight before heading back to Durban.