South Africa: Safari 3

Our third safari drive was spent looking for elephants. It was exciting and yet absolutely terrifying. 

We  took some photos outside the game lodge before we headed out. 

This is my reaction to Leigh's suggestion that we climb over the fence and go down to the river, which was known to have hippos. 

We spotted this adorable guy just outside our room.

Look took a spare moment to read and enjoy the pool, even though it was freezing. 

Wild hogs were all over the place. I just wanted to hug them all. Unfortunately, the hogs were not interested in my hugs. Lame.  

The first spot we stopped outside the game lodge area was a place with numerous termite hills. They're hard as rocks. Inside, the queen termite has all her little peons go out and return with food. She grows and grows uninhibited. A queen termite is about the size of a big man's pinky finger. Gross. 

The hills are strong enough to hold the weight of a person and then some. Leigh was the first to hop up there. A squat Irishman on his honeymoon needed a few attempts before he eventually climbed up; his new bride was still impressed. 

We all could try the termites if we wanted. They're full of protein and are a good food source for people who lived off the land. Well, I didn't come all the way to South Africa not to eat termites. 

Leigh took this picture of my reaction, which cracks me up. Termites taste like, you know, wood. It was a surprise and yet not. It made sense but was still weird.

There were plenty of beautiful things to see. 

This is an aardwolf. What is an aardwolf, you ask? I have no idea. From what I can tell, a fox and a hyena had a baby many thousands of years ago, and that baby likes to eat insects. I spotted it and shouted, "It's a ... thing! Turn around! A ... thing! With fur!" Our guide said they are extremely rare, so it was neat to get a chance to see one. I have never even heard of this animal. I seriously had no idea it existed until I spotted it and thought it was a fox-hyena, or a foxyena. 

Leigh was the best animal spotter of everyone! 

This is our guide surveying the landscape for elephants. Incredible. 

We were on the trail of the elephant herd. We spotted traces of them here and there, and our guide traveled with serious urgency. And when I say "serious urgency" I really mean "crazy speed considering paved roads were rare."

This was a moment of fear ...

... because of this "road."

But we survived! Hooray!

At the bottom of the hill we spotted this guy. Yes, it looks like a regular rabbit, but I would estimate it weighed about 20 pounds. Really. My dad's reaction: "Put that guy in a pot!"

We ended the night with a sundowners, which means we had drinks while watching the sun set. The idea is infinitely lovely, but it was so, so cold. We toughed it out, though. It was fantastic. I had hot chocolate and everybody else had grownup drinks. 

We saw a group of three zebras fighting. It was so exciting! We surmised it was the zebra version of The Maury Pauvich Show. 

We pulled up to the gate at one of the few entrances of the massive, massive park and had to actually wait to be let out. There was a sign: "I'm in the toilet. Please be patient." Leigh demanded a photo. That poor man. He eventually came out and was so embarrassed. He probably goes hours between cars, and then we pulled up. Oh well.