September 11, 2012

The last of the collages celebrating my 40th visit to the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park so far this year!
We were very fortunate to find the Lions still lazing on the hill after we heard about them an hour earlier.  Although they were not very close I am quite pleased with what I managed to captured with my SX40. We could see only three Lions but were convinced that there were more just over the ridge because a female was only just visible. (lower small photo to the right) She was lying with her back towards us and an occasional twitch of her ear was all we got from her!  The one male however, was very co-operative - posing this way and that - but unfortunately did not give us the yawn that we were hoping for! It would have been great to see his teeth! 

September 10, 2012

A collage of the pack of Wild Dogs seen in Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park yesterday.
They loved the water and as you can see would even lie down in it.
I found it very strange that they took turns to urinate in different puddles
asif marking it as their property.
The number of Wild Dogs are declining and there are approximately 4 500 surviving in protected areas in Africa. The largest population of Wild Dogs in South Africa, is in the Kruger National Park, although, sadly they are one of the only three mammals in South Africa that are endangered. 

September 9, 2012

Water!!
We spent a lovely day in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park today.
As you can see there are waterholes everywhere and the Park has come to life!
The bottom left photo shows how the grass is growing after the recent fires.
We were very fortunate to see a pack of 5 Wild Dogs  soon after entering the Park.
Today was my 40th visit to the Park this year, and this is the first time I have seen Wild Dogs.
They stayed close to the road for a while giving us ample time to take photos.
While there, we received news that Lions were lazing around at the quarry below Hilltop Camp and although it was quite a stretch from where we were, we were lucky enough to still find them there when we arrived.  They were not very close to the road, but I managed to get a few nice shots.
We also saw Rhino, Buffalo, Water Buck, Giraffe, Zebra, Nyala, Impala, Warthog, Baboon, Vervet Monkeys, a HUGE Crocodile and a variety of birds. No Elephants today :(
There are so many nice photos to share that I decided to post a collage tonight. And because I really enjoyed putting it together I have decided that I will do a collage of the Wild Dogs tomorrow and one of the Lions on Tuesday. SO - this will officially be known as  'collage week' ;-)
Watch this space............