Morning fog over Pretoriuskop.
Keeping a watchful eye.
The group consisted of two or three adults, a few youngsters and three cute, wittle babies. One was hidden from view almost the whole time, but the other two were out and about, and the biggest one was high and low, running around from side to side, crossing the road several times and sniffing family members' private parts. Size and mental acuteness considered, it was probably a female; hyenas are the only mammals in which the womenses are bigger than the males and they're also by far the most cunning and dominant of the two.
Young Ms. High-and-Low.
So adorable.
This one was old enough to have lost most of his black fur.
Here, an older hyena has bullied food from a younger cub.
He tried to retreive it, but to no avail.
Ms. High-and-Low was also very, very curious about the car and me. She sniffed the tires and tried to bite them with her little teeth and I could hear her bumping against the car as she was walking around it. She came all the way up to me and it took every ounce of willpower in my possession not to reach out my arm to pet her. I'm sure she would have let me; she was that trusting and curious. Or maybe I would have gotten a hook for a hand; either way she was the cutestest little fur ball ever.
Big momma.
Sniff, sniff.
Sniff, sniff.
So damn cute.
Sigh.
Aw, look at her little hind paws. So cute.
Finally, the peace was broken by the arrival of another car, and since I'd already gotten a gazillion pics I decided to move on. I took pics of a water buffalo that came trundling up the road, and two little birds sitting on the back of a kudu. I swung by Pretoriuskop to use the bathroom and to stock up on soft drinks, then drove to Skukuza for lunch.
Half a ton of bad mood on the move.
Kudu w/birds.
After lunch, I took a trip up to Lake Panic, where I saw a crocodile try to imitate a log, as is their wont. This one had a small box fastened to its back, and a woman told me some of them were radio marked. There were also some vervet monkeys playing along the lakeside and some hippos off in the distance.
Nom, nom.
Drinking with the utmost care.
More nom-nom.
Hippos off in the distance.
Fish eagle.
Croc w/box.
A ridiculous attempt at camouflage.
I then went back to my beloved S65, but there were no cats out today. At the waterhole, I first watched three ellies drinking, then a fourth came through the woods and in a completely unwarranted display of might makes right, he scared off one of the three who took a little round before he started drinking again from the other side. Then three more came from the other side, but again I watched, as the smallest one was very careful and submissive when drinking next to the bully.
Might makes right.
I also watched a couple of them sucking up water in their trunks and spraying it over their heads or under their bellies to keep cool. For some reason it was just one of the big bulls and the little newcomer who did this. I don't know if they do this naturally or if it's learned behavior and the little one was just copying the big one; one would think the former.
The site also contained a family of warthogs, who all kept a respectful distance to the seven giants. Naturally, there were innumerable impalas around and one solitary gnu, who was rolling around in the mud seemingly very content all by his lonesome.
At the junction, I then took the paved road all the way back to Numbi gate. The only thing interesting was a couple of rhinos lying in the shade of a tree, quite close to the road. As with so many other animals in the park they didn't seem much bothered by cars and humans at all, something I found to be part endearing and part sad. On the one hand, I instinctively and emotionally like the idea that animals can feel safe around humans; on the other hand, these animals should be wilder, hence more afraid of us than they currently are. Thoughts to ponder, I guess.
Back at the hotel, I was the victim of a prank that was so unusual for South Africa that I took a double take. You may remember that when I'd stayed in my hotel in Hazyview on Saturday, I was given a room somewhat inferior to my expectations. It wasn't by any means a bad room, it just wasn't what I'd expected (and hoped for). I'd asked for an upgrade, but they were completely full that night.
When I checked in this afternoon, the lady at reception, who I'd noticed on my first stay as very cheerful and bubbly, said "we put you I the same room as before". At first, I suspected the all too common African incompetence was at play, but then she said, "We downgraded you, since you liked it so much". Then she burst out laughing and explained that they'd noticed my request last time and decided to poke some fun this time around. It was such an un-African display of wit, I can only assume the English owner has rubbed off on them.
The joke was somewhat ruined when it turned out that even though I'd gotten a superior room, it didn't have a detachable showerhead, which was what I'd been wanting and was what the picture on the webpage had shown. This "superior" room was therefore completely wasted on me. She went to check, but everything of the type with a detachable showerhead was already booked.
I spent a few pleasant hours talking with Shirley, as she was named, and the rest of the staff. They really are the nicest people, friendly and helpful. I learned a lot about the local living conditions and about the various nations that make up this big country. She also explained some of the language differences and the insane ts, zs and clicks-sounds that make up the local dialects.
I feasted on one of the best chunks of beef I've ever had, then as I was about to leave for bed, a thought struck me. Earlier on, I'd shown Shirley a couple of my pics and she told me she'd only been to the park once, years ago and hadn't really seen any animals. So I asked her if she wanted to come with me as I made one last venture into Kruger on Thursday morning. She immediately accepted and we agreed to meet in the reception at 5:45.
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