Back Into Pilanesberg: Third Time is a Charm

My third trip into Pilanesberg was amazing. I went on the northeast loop and was treated to giraffe on my left and a massive bull elephant right in the middle of the road. I learned my lesson and kept my distance. I followed him  for a mile or so as he strolled along eating tree limbs. Off to my right I heard other elephants trumpeting and I figured all were headed to the watering hole up ahead.

At the watering hole observation blind (accessed by a short walk to the weighted chain link security door) were two older couples from Scotland. When the bull I followed showed up he started bathing and splashing around on the far side of the watering hole, probably 1/4 mile away. The bull moved on and so did the couples.

Almost immediately the herd of elephant began to arrive. The two zebras drinking at the watering hole retreated to the bush as the elephants took over the watering hole. Only a few hundred yards away this time, I knew I was in for a treat.

I ran out of the blind to tell the couples that more elephants arrived and the couples joined me in the blind along with a family that just showed up. For the next two hours the elephants drank, swam!, fought, took mud baths, and rolled around in the watering hole. It was an amazing spectacle. I felt so blessed to see such a unique display.

I drove around the back of the park and up a mountain in search of the elusive leopards.

While driving up a long straight paved road I noticed cars and safari vehicles parked on the side of the road where I hoped to turn. I looked left and right to try to see what was so intresting. No one in the cars pointed in any direction, nor did they try to advise me as I slowly approached. Suddenly, on my left and about ten feet in front of me stood an adolescent bull elephant. He was as surprised as I was.

I stopped immediately and sheepishly shrugged at the people in the cars who had offered no help. I slowly backed away from the elephant who now had me locked in his gaze. I was about 20 feet away when he started towards me. I made sure the road behind me was clear and began backing down the road. As I backed up the elephant began to run after me! I am glad the road was straight because I was going about 20 mph in reverse while this elephant chased me. He was not going full speed so I hoped he would loose interest quickly. After about a quarter mile he stopped and turned his attention back to food. Ikept backing up and stayed quite a ways back. He eventually cleared the road and allowed me to continue on my leopard search.

Alas, there were no leopards to be found, but I did see the hippos out at the other watering hole. After watching the hippo adult chastise the babies I headed out of the park and drove right over a puff adder! Fortuantely the snake didn't move as I straddled it with my car. I backed up and was able to grab a few shots. At the time I didn't know what type of snake it was, only that it could kill me!

The last image is the front porch of my safari tent. The Impala were frequent guests and at night they woke me up as they ran by my tent, hooves thundering before the snorting and grunting of a very "enthusiastic" male Impala.

Enjoy the virtual safari!

Hate is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Have you seen this? What do you think about it?

http://www.businessinsider.com/gay-businessman-deeply-sorry-for-hosting-ted-cruz-event-2015-4

It seems to me that more dialogue is beneficial, gracious, and humanizing. When "conservatives" do not engage people of differing ideologies they are labeled as bigots, narrow-minded, and hateful.

Here we have two homosexual men, Reisner and Weiderpass, having a dialogue with a Republican, anti-gay marriage senator, Ted Cruz. Yet the response from the LGBTQ community is a hateful condemnation of the event and a call to boycott the couples' businesses.

It seems to me this is the same sort of bigoted, hateful, narrow-minded thinking the LGBTQ community rails against in "conservatives."

Would it not be more productive to praise both parties for their desire to engage in civil dialogue in search of mutual understanding and common ground? As long as dialogue is seen as "consorting with the enemy" progress across any gulf that separates two ideologies will be hard won. As for me, I will write an email to Reisner and Weiderpass and thank them for hosting the event, encourage them to host more such events, and embolden them to call out the hypocrisy of their friends.

Here are the best shots from my next trip through Pilanesberg Game Park, truly one of my favorite places in the world. Like my other favorite place in the world, Yellowstone National Park, Pilanesberg is a caldera; a volcano crater from an ancient super-eruption. I am not sure if there is something about calderas that appeal to me but it seems there is something special aabout them.

Here are my best shots seen in the order they were taken. In a way it is a virtual safari. What you don't see is all the time spent driving around and seeing nothing! You get to see a couple minutes of highlights from 10 hours in a car in a safari park!

animals:
Yellow Horn Bill
my favorite watering hole
Impala
Guinea Fowl
Wildebeest
Lion
Rhino
in the park there are observation blinds but getting to them can be exciting
Red Hartebeest
Dung Beetle
Egret
Cormerant
Weaver nests
Warthog
Hamerkop
Wrestling Elephants
Waterbuck
Lions covered in the blood of the wildebeest they just killed
The impala is walking a few hundred yards from the lions/wildebeest kill where the cars are
Ditto the Elephant, notice in the next two elephant shots the rhino and wildebeest on the opposite shore of the lake. I didn't even see them until I looked at my pictures back here in the states!
Kingfisher
Baby crocodile
Hippo
baby Kudu

Back to the "Cradle of Humankind"

Friends, in 1996 my wife and I moved to South Africa with our 3 year old and 10 month old. It was the best 6 months of my life. For us, a highlight was a safari at Pilanesberg Park about 1.5 hrs from our home in Johannesburg. One of my pictures from Africa was my first entry to the Indiana State Fair photography competition. I got an honorable mention! During the critique the judges felt my "choice of matte color could have been better but the image was superb." I made great friends and memories while in South Africa.

After 19 years of pining and praying I finally returned to South Africa and Pilanesberg. The country has changed significantly. The infrastructure is more fragile. Jo'burg is swollen with people and now forms the lower part of a megalopolis that engulfs Pretoria to SoWeTo (South West Township). Yet the beauty of South Africa remains.

I rented a car and drove out to Pilanesberg for a few days to visit one of my favorite places in the world. I have culled my 1000 pictures to four sets of slides; one for each trip into the park. I hope you enjoy the ride.

Pilanesberg Safari Day 1

What a fantstic first day back at Pilanesberg. I drove from Roodeport in the morning and arrived around 11am. En route, I picked up peanut butter, honey, and a loaf of bread. At Pilanesberg's Manyane "Resort" I checked into my tent and immediately headed into the park. I started at this watering hole where the herd of elephant went by me. From there it seemed around every corner I found more of God's great creation.