African Safari -Day 3 and Trip to Knysna

The third morning of our safari….

was beautiful!!!!

I am so glad I got these pictures of the lion family…because I don’t think anyone would have believed me!!!!

Then, we were off to the other side of the reserve to find the buffalo…

And we found one…let me just tell you they are absolutely huge!!!!!!!! But surprisingly quiet creatures.  I couldn’t get over the size of his horns.  This is a Cape Buffalo…

After that sighting…it  was back to the camp for breakfast and then to pack up and check out…I couldn’t believe that our safari was over….and the kids couldn’t either…they had so much fun with Ms. Kush, the on site nanny.  She was wonderful with the kids…but we can’t tell Happiness,,,,she wouldn’t like to hear that!:)

and another elephant sighting before we left…

The last drive out of the camp…

And then we were on the road to Knysna….

We passed the Indian Ocean…and Guy did a wonderful job of driving on the other side of the road!:)

We arrived in Knysna at around 6 p.m. and it was beautiful!!!

We are staying at the Belvidere Manor, and it is gorgeous…the kids love that there is so much grass and we have our own little cottage all to ourselves with a view of the Knysna Lagoon…

We even had oysters and champagne delivered to our cottage when we arrived….. picture of us is compliments of Jeremy.:)

We were sad to leave our safari stay, but Knysna looks like it is beautiful, and we can’t wait to explore everything this beautiful town has to offer!:)

Day 2- African Safari

The second day of our safari started out with a beautiful morning!!!

We saw an nglove (elephant) right away!!  He was beautiful.  I never thought I would ever say that about an elephant….but  seeing them out in the open and how silent and huge they are…you can’t help but think of them as beautiful!

Next, we were on to see red hartebeests….the second fastest antelope in all of Africa!

and we even got to see the mother lioness with her cubs after a morning “kill” ….simply amazing!

It was turning into a gorgeous day…

and made even better by a rhino sighting!!!  A mother rhino and her two smaller rhinos!:)  it is so sad that these rhinos are close to extinction due to poaching of these animals for their horns.  The horns are widely used in herbal remedies in the Asian markets.  When the poachers come to take the horns, they tranquilize these animals and saw their horns right off!!!! Then, they leave the rhino to bleed to death.  It is awful and sad, and the reason I am not posting where we stayed on our safari.

And a quick snap of a rhino footprint…

And a lion going in for a kill…

 and then more driving…

And then to see a herd…

And our guide, Dave, showed us a baker’s tree??  The original settlers here did not have anything to cook in and the bushmen showed them this tree with an oily bark which could be put inside a termite hill.  The fire would burn very hot.   Also, the bushmen could shave the bark and make it into rope or into a bracelet which would be beautifully decorated with shells.  If the father of the daughter the man wanted to marry thought it was beautiful enough, he would grant the marriage proposal…

Later on after lunch...

pics of kids at pool ...

We saw an elephant from our room!!!!!

 He came over to drink from the pond near our room!!!!! We couldn’t believe it!!!

I went out on the game drive with the kids in the afternoon….and Guy went out on the “big” game drive…..

We saw zebra and antelope…

our guide, Keely, showed us elephant poop.  Little known fact…elephants eat about 550 pounds of vegetation a day and their body only absorbs about 40 percent of what they eat…most of their poop is grass…

we also found some eucalyptus.  Eucalyptus is not native to south Africa, but it as brought over from Australia many years ago…

Elephant tracks…

We met Guy out in the bush from the adult game drive for drinks and food.:)

The adult game drive found giraffes…but got stuck in the mud….all part of the adventure!!!

The sunset was amazing and the Zulu dancers were just the “icing on the cake!”

It was the perfect end to another perfect day of our safari…..I just can’t believe that one of my life long dreams is coming true right before my eyes!!!!