Adventures in Africa : Part 4

DH was also in search of Plains Game. The Dande Safari Area is not known for its dense plains game and you have to look long and hard for it, but that means you actually get to hunt and the actual hunting is what DH loves.

There was so much variety to the terrain and I had to take all of my pictures on the fly because I really had to concentrate on where I was stepping. The last thing I wanted was to twist an ankle

But once in a blue moon, we stumbled into some flat country

There was no telling where Roy was going to take us. One afternoon, we were picking our way around the base of a mountain and came across an outcropping of water from the river. It was about 40 ft. across and Roy simply gauged the best route and grabbed a hold of a thick vine that was attached to the side of the mountain, placed his feet against the mountain, and shimmied across the water. Alrighty then. Again, no pictures, but I did find this picture online. Its the closest I could come. Just add water below. *Grin*

                        

 I'm fairly certain everyone was waiting for me to take a swim...me included. Success! And I was a tad disappointed that everyone didn't break out into applause. I'm sure that laughter was their first choice. LOL.

The weather was incredible during our entire stay. We were there during their winter and the temperatures were very similar to ours here in the southwest. It was about 40 F in the mornings and evening and 90 F during the day. We often donned our fleece jackets as we left the tent in the mornings and huddled around the fire before breakfast but we shucked them once the sun rose.

We logged lots of miles through gorgeous country, often stopping to glass:

And I love this photo:

On the 8th day, late in the afternoon, we spotted a herd of zebra and a zebra was high on the list.

 Here's DH on the sticks, getting ready for the shot

They are just beautiful animals.

One morning we were treated to this:

Its a female Klipspringer and she just stood there, posing in the warmth of the morning sun. And if you've ever heard anything about Africa, you have probably heard of the Tsetse Fly, known to cause Sleeping Sickness. We only ran into them twice, but they attacked DH and Roy with a vengeance. They bite hard - kind of like a horse fly and you can not just ignore them. For some reason unbeknownst to me, they didn't want anything to do with me and I was only bitten once so I spent my time shooing them off of DH and Roy. I kind of enjoyed having an excuse to pop them on the head or slap them on the back. :)

Then DH shot a pretty little Klipspringer on the 9th morning. I know he looks like a baby, but he is old:

                                      
Such a gorgeous animal with those big eyes.

Around every corner, there seemed to be something new and exciting. One afternoon we were up high and hiking through a very narrow canyon, surrounded by steep inclines on both sides. Suddenly, the air was electric and Muza turned to me with huge, wide eyes. The next second he grabbed me by the arm and was frantically pulling me up the mountainside. I didn't have any time to think. I was instantly in GO mode...go FAST mode. I just remember scrambling up the side of the hill for all I was worth with poor Muza pulling me for all he was worth. Branches and rocks and leaves were rolling off behind me and I felt as if I wasn't making any progress at all. It was all hands and feet tumbling over one another and I didn't have a clue why we were climbing so desperately. When I was finally given the ok to sit,

                                         

 I looked around and saw everyone else sitting here and there within close proximity and I glanced at Muza questioningly. He looked at me and whispered one word, "Elephant".
Apparently, some buffalo had crossed through the canyon and had disturbed an elephant who was now a tad disgruntled. All they could see was her legs and her trunk was on the ground which I was told was defensive mode and they thought she could possibly charge so they were playing it safe. That's about as close to an elephant charge as I ever want to get again.It took some time for my heart to return to its normal cadence.

While we were sitting there, the scouts uncovered an elephant snare set by poachers so they confiscated it and turned it in to government officials after our hunt was over and they had returned to their post.

Later, we did see some elephant from a safer distance:

                       
I don't think I saw one animal on this trip that didn't take my breath away:
        

                 

 We could hear them at night when we were in camp. There were a couple of villages down by the river and the elephant and hippo would often get into their crops. They built little  huts on stilts where someone would sleep at night and bang on pots and holler at the game in an attempt to frighten them from their crops.

                            

Sure am glad I don't have to do that at home!