pilanesberg – Awesome wonder

Klipspringers

Another favorite: the klipspringer. Mrs. Klipspringer – without the horns – is slightly larger than her husband, and, when we saw them, also decidedly more brave. She had already crossed the road in front of our car when he was still checking us out from a nearby boulder. He decided that we were not safe and darted away – and then she had to go back as well, of course.

Klipspringers feel safe on the rocks, so that’s where you will find them. If you look at their hooves, it’s like they are walking en pointe like a ballet dancer. They are unbelievably quick when they scamper up a rock to get to safety.

Secretary bird

Our favorite bird is the secretary bird. On our recent trip to Pilanesberg, seeing a secretary bird was no. 1 on our wishlist. Our second day in the park gave us a nice sneak preview: a secretary bird far, far away. The next day got better: first we saw a secretary bird flying. Then we saw one in a field but behind a lot of shrubbery. After lunch, we tried again, and we hit the jackpot. Two secretary birds, and we were able to follow them for a while. Walk walk, stamp stamp, munch, walk walk. Beautiful creature!

Misty morning

If you follow my posts, you know that I love misty mornings. So you can imagine I was happy this morning in Pilanesberg! The antelope in the foreground is a tsessebe.

Kudu

Sometimes I think that actually I want to be a painter or good at drawing. Instead I just play with my photos till they please me!

Elephant

The first elephant we saw on our recent trip to Pilanesberg was steadfast in his conviction that the road was his – and his only – to walk on. He was right, of course!

Lions in Pilanesberg

It had rained all night on this day in January 2020. We even got up a little later to give the clouds a chance to clear up. It was still raining as we got into the park and we didn’t really expect any great sightings – we expected the wildlife to be hiding well under the green bushes.

It was therefore a huge surprise when we encountered a pride of lions in an open area, just finishing off their catch of a zebra. The males already had had enough and were lounging on the grass. One by one, the females also walked off from the carcass to lie down. After spending an hour with these magnificent animals, they leisurely ambled off and out of sight.

This is a compilation of some video material I took on this sighting.

Tag: pilanesberg