Day 18: Motswiri Safari Lodge

After getting upgraded to business class on our flight from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg, Peggy and I were on a little puddle jumper on our flight from Jo-burg to our safari lodge near the Botswana border.  It’s lovely place.  I’m writing this from the deck of my hut. 

 Like other lodges there is a 3-hour game drive at 4:00 PM in the afternoon and one at 5:30 AM each morning.   I was amazed at the tremendous number of animals we saw on our first two drives.   We were greeted with these wondrous creatures on our first afternoon drive.

There was a watering hole that giraffes, cape buffalos, white rhinos, and antelopes all using the hole peacefully together.

Here’s a mother and baby white Rhino.  They were amazing.

So were the Cape Buffalo.

This morning we were greeted by a really surprising scene.  A giraffe was down—our ranger said that lions didn’t kill it—that it probably died of old age or illness.  Two male and one female lion were sleeping by the carcass.   After a while the female came in for some food.

 The birds have been beautiful.  Here is a lilac-breasted roller.  Also a male and female ostrich.

Here’s a black-headed oriole by our outside eating area.