Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Kruger National Park: More footage of our recent visit

GREETINGS FROM SOUTH AFRICA!
MAXMOM here...

I begin this blogpost by sending my thoughts and prayers to those folk in the USA and Canada who are affected by Hurricane Sandy.  It's hard to imagine the magnitude of this natural disaster and how it has affected thousands of lives.  But then again, it's hard to comprehend the wonder of nature as a whole.

I am hoping that this post will serve to lift you up - wherever you are.

Here in South Africa, our weather is also unpredictable, but we are never far from sunshine.
The glory of our natural environment continues to amaze me too.

Today I am including more photographs of our recent visit to the spectacular

KRUGER NATIONAL PARK.
 (Above: The mighty 'Cape Buffalo' - one of the 'Big 5')
 ( The shimmery Glossy Starling in all its feathery finery)
 (The African Elephant, another one of the 'Big 5')
 (A vulture chick - almost ready to leave the nest)
(The graceful beauty of the tall Giraffe)
 (We can't ignore the familiarity of motherly bonds when we watch the African Vervet Monkey)
 (A chamelion crosses the road...gingerly! Afterall, the tar is HOT!!!)
( A 'Terrapin' in one of the roadside ponds)
 ( A female impala eating a blade of grass.  Females DON'T have horns.  Impala are always on the alert for potential predators)
 (The Baobab tree - one of the pre-historic trees which dot the landscape of the park and provide homes for many creatures in their branches)
 (Helmeted Guinea fowl)
 (The pretty lookout from Letaba rest camp)
 (Something scared this herd of Impala.)
 (The majestic Kudu Bull and its impressive horns)
 Above:  Can you guess what this is ???
 Yes, you guessed right.  Its a colony of bees...looking for a new venue to establish their hive.  They huddle around their queen, ready to risk their lives for her sake.
 Dung Beetles never looses their entertainment value - tenaciously rolling up their dung-balls and pushing them across the landscape.

 Above: A Vervet Monkey on the lookout .

---xXx---

On one of our drives, we came across a large herd of Cape Buffalo...
 
I've prepared a short video of our encounter with the buffalo...

Enjoy!


Sending lotsaluv to my friends around the world.
...And, in particular, to my friends in the USA and Canada,
please keep warm and safe!
We are thinking of you.

12 comments:

Sue A said...

What beautiful photos of our beautiful Kruger Park! We are truly blessed to live in such a wonderful country.
I loved your book MaxDog. I have a male Golden Retriever, Enzo, who is identical to MaxDog. Your book moved me so much, and Enzo has never been loved so much in his life as a result of me reading your book! What a magnificent breed of dog - the best!
God bless and enjoy your blogging!
Sue

The Life of Riley said...

Great photos. What an amazing experience!

Love from,
Riley and Enzo

How Sam Sees It said...

Your pictures are always so pretty!

Sam

rottrover said...

Oh Caryl! What a fantastic visit you had! I am so envious :-)

Scout and Freyja said...

Of course, you know I'm gonna ♥ the elephants but all of the other animals were gorgeous, too. How wonderful it must be to live in a country that most of the world just dreams about.

Of course, looking from the outside in, I guess you could say that I live in a country that a lot of the world just dreams about, too☺.

Emily and Laura said...

Your photos are magnificent! Thank you so much for sharing them with us. I honestly can't even imagine how fabulous it must be to live so close to this amazing park, where you're able to see such a variety of animals just living their natural lives around you. Oh, I do hope I can visit it someday myself! (But my photos probably wouldn't be half as good as yours -- you really do a wonderful job of showing the various animals in such great detail!)

WFT Nobby said...

What stunning diversity.

Amber-Mae said...

Hey guess who's back?! MEEE!!! And wow, that's what you call up close & personal! These are beautiful photos!

Licks,
The Solid Gold Dancer

Mary Lou said...

MAXMOM....
What breathtaking pictures!! God's creation never ceases to amaze me!! ;-D
An elephant!! I love elephants!! As I mentioned before, I appreciate the old wives' tale that elephants never forget!! Unlike me, this crazy 28-year old who suffers from premature short-term memory loss!! It's a terrible privilege. ;)
I love the photograph of that chamelion!! Cold-blooded, scaly reptiles are one of my favorite creatures!! ;-]
I also like bees!! Just not their stingers, of course!! Hee, hee, hee.... ;op
Love, Raelyn.... And Rose, my BEAUTIFULLY UNIQUE "Mystery Dog"!!

My Dog Sam - Ruptured Disk said...

That's pretty impressive.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

all our love
xoxo
tweedles

south africa news online said...

It is great news and I think that these pictures of animals are truly admirable and lovely. I must visit the Krugar National Park soon.