We have now been sharing the 4x4 with dear friends Bob and Glo while the other guests are in another 4x4. The escort from Crystal Cruises, Eva Linn, shared our 4x4 yesterday on Monday and then on Tuesday she sat with those on the other vehicle.
We first spotted the Leopard in some bushes. We waited for awhile until it left the bush, because it was likely hot, to walk across the road. From there the Leopard rested in the open to try to cool off.
The red you will see in a couple of photos is from the red spot light that is used to have a better view of the animals when it is dark outside.
Leopard is making its way across the road to an open area.
Keith purposely didn't crop this photo so you get a sense of how close it passed to our 4x4 vehicle.
We have included a photo of a Chameleon. As we were about 20 seconds from the drop-off point for our lodge, the scout saw in a tree this Chameleon. It is amazing since it was dark outside, and there are a lot of trees, and certainly a lot of branches on each tree, and even though he has a spotlight that he was able to see this Chameleon from a distance. Our driver stopped the vehicle and asked if we could see something on the tree and we could not see anything even with the spotlight shining. So, our driver went over to the tree and brought the Chameleon over to us to see.
This is a combination post from our full day in Phinda on Tuesday and our day getting back to Crystal Serenity on Wednesday in Port Elizabeth, South Africa
We also wanted to share views from outside our Chalet.
A short while later these "guys and gals" decided to have a drink at our pool.
Tuesday had pretty much the same schedule as did Monday.
We all met at the main lodge at 6:00 AM and following a light snack and beverage (we skipped both) we went for another morning drive.
On this morning's drive it was Devon our Ranger/guide, Mr. T our Tracker and dear friends Bob and Glo.
We had an absolutely wonderful morning drive on Tuesday. We saw more than we thought we would see.
First we saw three Cheetah's; Mother and two cubs. When we saw them they were making their way to the Water Hole for water. What followed was unique.
First, we saw the Cheetah's at the Watering Hole and two Nyala's were making their way to the Watering Hole and the Mother Cheetah was getting in position to make them food for the three Cheetah's. All three Cheetah's knelt on the ground so the Nyala's would not see them. However, the two cubs decided to stand and started to charge the Nyala's and they got away.
A little while later a pack of Zebra's showed up. The Zebra is much larger and even stronger than the Cheetah. The Zebra's wanted water and were slowly making their way to the Watering Hole. However the Cheetah's would not leave the hole so the Zebra's stopped in place and it was like a Mexican Standoff which went on for awhile. Eventually the two cubs charged the Zebra's and the Zebra's pulled back. Then the Cheetah's went back to the Watering Hole. According to our guide Cheetah's normally do not have much water and can live without it getting enough liquid from the meat they eat but that was not the case today. Eventually the Zebra's started to move forward, once again, and we had a repeat where the cubs tried to run towards the Zebra's only for the Zebra's to back off. Eventually the Zebra's left.
Our next stop was to a much larger watering hole
about 30 minutes from the first one.
As we made our way over to the hole we saw a couple of Giraffe’s. When we did make it over to the Watering
Hole we saw nine other Giraffe’s and we saw one of the Big Five, the African
Buffalo. Lots of them were
quenching their thirst.
As we continued to yet another watering hole we
came across another type of Eagle called the African Fish Eagle. This one is closer in looks to
the American Eagle. We then saw
two Hippopotamus’. It is not often
that you see them out and about.
We then would see other Hippopotamus' in another watering hole.
We also saw some crocodile but had to use binoculars to see them as well as the American Spoon Bills perching atop a dead tree.
Later on we saw two Kudo which looks like a deer.
As we road back to the lodge we continued to see
other animals.
The good news is that we have seen the Big Five
(Lion, Elephant, Rhinoceros, Buffalo and Leopard.
We both had lunch at 2:00 PM. We had pre-ordered our lunch. We had a choice of four entrees two of which were salad entrees. Anne Marie went with one of the salad entrees and Keith tried the other one.
After lunch, we freshened up and we met back at the Lodge for our last drive of this Safari.
Mr. T.
Ranger and Guide Devon.
Once again, we saw several African Buffaloes.
Each Buffalo had a different look.
We also saw two more Cheetah's.
We saw a Female Lion and her four cubs and they had already gone in for a kill a few hours before we arrived. They were feeding on the animal that they had killed. We are only posting one photo.
A few minutes before we arrived back to the Lodge, we saw a Hyena which was the first time we have seen one other than the Singapore Nighttime Safari. It was an amazing site. Other than the Lion, they are the most powerful of the animals at Phinda.
Afterwards, we enjoyed dinner inside the Lodge. Both of the Rangers (our Ranger Devon and another Ranger who drove the other guests in our party) Hosted dinner for all of us last evening.
Dinner included beverages, a choice of first course (soup or salad and we took salad), a choice of entree and we had the Ostrich, and Dessert.
It was held inside and we were all together and one table decorated very nicely, including lit candles.
The discussion included what we have learned during our stay at Phinda, places around the world and we also learned about the history of Vlei and the background of the two Rangers.
We wanted to say how much we enjoyed our Safari. We saw many animals and we learned a great deal about each of them. Devon the driver was so very knowledgeable and he along with Mr. T the tracker were very friendly to each of us. We also want to commend the staff at the lodge. Everyone was so very helpful and very friendly and the food and the service was just superb.
During our drive we learned of one change. Crystal Serenity was unable to dock at Port Elizabeth due to strong winds. A decision was made for the Serenity to skip this port and to heat directly to Cape Town with an arrival schedule for late Thursday morning.
As such Crystal Cruises quickly went into action and they arranged for a flight for all of us in our group and one of the other Crystal Groups that left Port Elizabeth about 90 minutes after we arrived there. Crystal representatives were at the Port Elizabeth airport to assist us.
We arrived to Cape Town airport at around 5:00 PM and another Crystal Representative awaited us and then when we had all collected our luggage they escorted us to a bus that was waiting for us. The drive took about three times the amount of time it normally would as there is a marathon for this weekend. The good news is that we checked into the hotel at around 6:30 PM and we are staying at The Table Hotel at Victoria and Albert. Although we have never stayed here, we have visited the hotel many times on our previous overnights in Cape Town. It is a beautiful hotel.
We will get more details but we believe Serenity will dock around Noon tomorrow and we will be taken over there by bus. The drive is about 10 minutes.
TODAY'S THOUGHT FOR THE DAY.....
"Men do less than they ought, unless they do all they can." - Thomas Caryle
Keith & Anne Marie
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