Tuesday September 9th - Last day of safari at Zulu Nyala

Our morning started off watching a male cheetah thinking about hunting a small wildebeest.  The cheetah was well hidden in the grass and there was no wind, so the wildebeest had no idea he was there.  Most of the wildebeest were too large for a cheetah to take down, so he was patiently waiting for a small one to come by… no such luck so he laid down and went to sleep.

Next we found three elephants having their morning snack… what a treat to watch them pull out trees so they can eat the roots of the tree, great use of their trunk and feet.

We also ran into many giraffes - they are so beautiful!

We captured several birds hitch hiking on the back of a buffalo - they are actually getting ticks off the buffalo

There was a lot of helicopter activity today over the reserve, our guide indicated that the anti-poacher unit must have been alarmed about something, so they had helicopters fly around the reserve to observe.

Anti-poaching scout on duty...

Private reserves are constantly working and preparing the reserve, in addition to controlling the animal population they also care for the vegetation.  After the dry season (which is now) they do small controlled burns to clear away the dry brush to prepare the ground for the rainy season which will begin at the end of September. This will allow sunshine to reach the new grass shoots.

In between game drives today we relaxed by the pool and enjoyed the afternoon

For our last game drive we went out with wine and cheese and had a nice picnic overlooking the reserve.  We watched the sunset and moonrise, it was spectacular!  Had a great time with the other couples that have been in our vehicle all week, especially our new friends Larry and Betsy from Utah!  Our guide, Howard pointed out the stars in the southern sky:  the southern cross and scorpio

Tonight for dinner they were serving roast impala, I just couldn’t do it… eat something that we have been taking pictures of… then I was told that two nights ago we had roast kudu… yikes i ate that!  I must admit it was good, but won’t be eating anymore kudu! Lesson learned when they say roast you really need to get clarification… roast what?

This is where we have been for the last 6 days and the vehicle that has enabled us to get such great pictures

View from the lodge...

Our vehicle...

Fun Facts:

• Elephants go through 6 sets of molars in their lifetime, after the last set goes bad they won’t be able to eat and will die
• Nyala males are born same color as female as a defense mechanism.  Once they are big enough to protect themselves from the dominant male they change color
• Male Zebras poop on female poop in order to mark his female deterring other males from approaching