South Africa: Safari 4

We crammed one last safari drive into the day before we had to head back to Cape Town to meet our friends coming in from America. (My parents decided to delay their flight by a day so they could fit in two more drives. Excellent!) So our last drive was a continuation for the hunt for elephants.

We started off with a herd of giraffe.

Then we spotted something pretty special: a serval. It was poking its head out of some brush. I seriously have no idea how our guide spotted him. We stopped the car and then it came out in full view. Spectacular!

But what could be better than a serval? TWO servals! A friend popped out and joined him.

Our guide spotted a small herd of elephants on a nearby mountain, so as soon as the servals disappeared, we were off. Fast. So fast.

Our guide navigated as best he could, but the elephants couldn't be reached. They were in an area that was basically enclosed by thorn bushes. But, while we were poking around, searching for a way in, we saw this.

It's a kudu skull and spine, and the jawbone was nearby. It had been eaten by predators and scavengers just a day or two before. It was fascinating!

So I asked if we could get out of the truck and touch it. Because you don't go all the way to South Africa not to touch a kudu skull. Our guide obliged, and Leigh and I were the only ones interested. Weird.

As afternoon drew near, our guide decided that we'd head back toward the game lodge and hopefully spot some elephants on the way. He wanted so badly to find that for us because he said we would appreciate it. He said some people come on safari and spend all their time on their phones. Their PHONES? WHAT! Who are these people? Sick. Just stay at home, jerkfaces.

We spotted lots of amazing animals on our way back.

And then this happened.

I had to narrow down the 200 photos I took of those lions to my favorite. I was out of control. I wanted to hug them, but Leigh reminded me they'd eat my face off.

We packed our bags and got ready to go. Before we left, I decided to try achieving one last feat: hugging a wild hog.

The hogs were not intersted.

South Africa: Safari 2

Drive 2 was just as incredible as our first outing. We saw a mother rhino with her baby, which of course immediately made me miss Mia. (Clearly Mia and I were like those rhinos! Boohoo!) The highlight was seeing a female lion napping out in the yellow grass. She was incredible. I took about 100 photos of her. First of all, she blended in perfectly. We pulled up and you couldn't even see her. This is why wildebeest are so jumpy. She was napping and slightly annoyed that we pulled up. She was completely not impressed with us, though we were all obviously impressed with her. She rolled around and yawned, and that's when we realized that she really is just a big cat. A big cat that could eat our faces.

Look in this photo. Where is the world's tallest animal? Oh. Right there. Right in front of us. Surprise!

The babies were hiding. Can you see their horns poking out?

Leigh could not stop laughing about this guy. A lack of vitamins causes the horn to crook like that. Leigh was being totally insensitive, as you can tell from the animals walking away.

Giraffe tracks.