For the Safari we flew a little charter plane up to Sabi Sands, a private game reserve in northeastern S.Africa. Only 3 nights, but over 20 hours of “touring” in a very comfortable, custom-modified Land Rover. For some reason, I had the image of a large, fenced-in park with a fixed number of animals wandering: Jurassic Park-like. But Kruger National Park (our game reserve was directly adjoining) is bigger than Connecticut. And these animals are wandering across the area at will. Most of the animals just eat grass and leaves, but the lions, cheetahs, and leopards are carnivores always looking for their next meal. Watching that dynamic makes it a bit more than a trip to the zoo.

Anyhow, I made a 20 minute “highlight reel” of our best sightings, and some funny moments. The audio’s not great, so best seen on a computer in a quiet area or with earphones.

Enjoy!

And if you don’t have time for the video, some pictures (click to see enlarged slideshow):

papa lion

defenders of the impallas

big boy

kids taking a dip

serious google eyes

bored hippo

mom and junior rhino

just outside our room

tall guy

amazing web builder

cheetah keeping an eye on us

cute lion cub?