October 23, Thursday. We started our last day here with another early morning drive and a small group of zebra. When they were just standing and grazing, each was turned in a different direction from the rest so each could keep watch for predators the others might not see. They prefer grazing in open savannas for this reason because they can often outrun danger. After that, we bumped and swayed at high speed for a very long time without seeing anything very exciting until at last Iggie took us to a spot where an adult lioness was devouring her share of a large zebra that had made the mistake of wandering into a grove of acacia trees that provided excellent cover for the lions. There were two adult females and three youngish cubs all sated and sleeping while mama finished her meal. Iggie said the male of the pride spends little time with the others, being busy patrolling his territory to keep out other lions. Looks like mama waited until papa went off to work and then bagged some groceries for the rest of the family. Clever lady. She finished feeding while we were admiring her ability to toss around the huge zebra carcass while neatly cleaning meat off the skin and bones. It was not all gone when she finished, so if dad shows up in time, he will get some, too. If not, the scavengers--hyenas and buzzards, will finish the job. Nature is remarkably efficient.

 We saw more zebras, a few elephants, and even a few rhinos trotting along off in the distance about the time we stopped for our tea break. Our best sighting after the lions was totally unexpected--a big ostrich standing right in the middle of the road and politely posing for a few photos before moving off into the bush. Lots of downtime this morning, but some very nice rewards anyway. I was happy to have both my fleece and my windbreaker today. 

  

We had a little visitor during our tea break.

Of the Big Five (lion, elephant, buffalo, hyena, and leopard) we missed only the leopard during our visit here, and they are so elusive that a leopard sighting is truly rare in this reserve. I really don't understand why the Big Five is made up the way it is, actually. I'd much rather see giraffes, zebras, kudu, and water buck than hyenas or even buffalo, but I guess they are not rare enough to make the list. 

A last breakfast on the terrace, just enough time for another open air shower, and back onto the jeeps for a ride to the gate and a rendezvous with our busses. A couple hours on the bus, and we are back on the train. Too bad the train drivers didn't come on the bus with us as we had a three hour wait before they showed up. It is 4:30pm and we are at last moving. Of course we have already been plied with food and wine, and now a nap is sounding like an excellent idea. Then we will have more food and wine, and bed before our morning arrival in Pretoria. We have calculated that we are drinking between 1½ and 2 bottles of wine a day EACH! We have just three more nights on the train and then we will be waddling around Cape Town. I see a diet and wine fast in our future, but not this week!

The Tau Lodge guides say goodbye to us

October 22, Wednesday. We were awakened at 5:30 this morning for the first of today's scheduled game drives. Yesterday afternoon we were comfortable in short sleeves, but this morning even a windbreaker didn't keep us warm. I will be wearing my fleece under it tomorrow morning!  We had a great drive, however. We saw a small herd of female kudu with only one young buck among them, impala, two awkwardly graceful giraffes, and finally the big catch--a male lion feasting on a little impala while his mate and cubs waited patiently for their turn, something that was unlikely to come because an impala is a mere snack for an adult male. Not quite fair since it was almost certain the female had made the kill.  Law of the jungle, however, since he needs to assert his privilege to keep the pride operating smoothly.  Next we took a morning tea/coffee break before finishing with sightings of a group of young male kudu, some impalas, a distant herd of buffalo I only identified after seeing my zoomed photos, and finally zebra. Back to the lodge by 9:30. Quite a morning!

The Tau Lodge at sunrise

kudu

impala

Hmmm. Mama found something to gnaw on!

I guess this is what is called "the lion's share,"

It's still plenty chilly at break time

kudu

impala

buffalo

After a post-drive breakfast, during which we saw an assortment of deer and birds and a big, lazy crocodile half buried in the muck, suddenly the wait staff paraded in with a birthday cake for one of our number, singing a wonderful African call-and-response birthday song, with the deep male voices calling back and forth with the high women's voices. I wanted to buy the CD! They were so professional sounding I was sure they would have one, but no. BooHoo. I would happily have bought a CD, and later told the lodge owner he was missing the boat by not producing one. Later, our South African passengers, Mdudu and Rae, told me all Africans sing like that. "You should hear us at weddings!" Sigh.

Egyptian geese

Lunch?

  

I headed to our little cottage for a most welcome shower outside in the sunshine and then an hour or so of equally welcome Internet access in the lobby.  Walking back to the room, I was surprised to see a herd of 28 elephants walking in the same direction.  I hurried inside, woke John from his nap, and we both went a little crazy watching and photographing their antics in the muddy pond just off our back deck. After some splashing around, they continued their march, and the water buck and deer returned to the pond. More photos. Went inside, thinking the show was over, but no, here came the elephants back again. More antics before they left for the larger pond at the lodge, then they returned to us one more time before finally wandering off for good. By now it was time to assemble for the afternoon drive. Imagine our surprise when a rhino was spotted from the lodge deck, heading right for our pond. About a dozen of us dashed down the path to our cottage to photograph him. So much excitement during what we had expected to be our rest time!

water buck

kudu

Is this baboon thinking about taking a shower?

rhino!

Soon we boarded our jeep, but we were sure nothing we saw on the drive would equal the excitement we had already had. Of course, we were wrong. In addition to the usual deer family animals, we soon spotted a mama rhino and her baby a mere fifteen or so feet from our jeep! That was an amazing experience, only to be topped by soon seeing seven more rhinos at a greater distance, and another large herd of elephants as well as a very large one, on his own, who entertained us from just a few yards away while stuffing wads of thorny, bare acacia branches into his mouth. Snap, crackle, and pop! We were amazed that anything could eat that stuff. Our guide told us it will go through the elephant's system almost whole, which is why they try never to drive over elephant droppings lest they end up with punctured tires. Iggie also told us how to differentiate between male and female elephants. The latter have a boxy looking forehead, where the skulls of the males are more rounded. Males have larger tusks, too, and they splay outward, unlike female tusks that are more parallel to their trunks.

Before our afternoon was over, we spotted a large group of wildebeest right next to an equal sized herd of buffalo. Both are members of the bovine family but the buffalo are much larger. Just as it was growing dark after our sundowner break, Iggie spotted a fairly rare brown hyena for us. Alas, my lone photo of him in the dark didn't turn out!  Just before that, we saw a large male lion standing in the road right in front of us. By a miracle, I think at least one of my photos of him is reasonably good. This afternoon's drive truly exceeded all expectations!