Today, we saw a variety of different animals on our morning drive. It’s quite amazing how many prey and predator species live in the same area. Here are some of our drive’s highlights…

It was still a bit darkish as we started out. The morning had a light misty haze that the sun was slowly burning off.

For our trip to Africa, two animals we really wanted to see were cheetahs and wild dogs. Both are very difficult to see anywhere. Today, we got lucky and saw (briefly!) two wild dogs. They were trotting quickly, most likely on a hunt. They came out of the side bushes, trotted up the road towards us and then turned off into the bushes on the other side of the road. So it was a quick look, but it was amazing to see them.

Very soon after the wild dogs disappeared into the bushes, we spotted a couple of hyenas trotting up the road from the other direction. They came right up to our truck and kept on going.

We waited a bit to see if anything else would come out of the bushes, then decided to move on from that area. We saw this big white rhino grazing on the grass at the side of the road.

There were actually a couple of other rhinos in the brush right near this rhino. But they weren’t easy to get a good photo of. Not to worry, plenty of other animals were appearing out of the brush!

Here, a large male nyala came walking out across the road right in front of us.

The big surprise was when a small herd of cape buffalo suddenly appeared. How did they hide so well in the brush? They ended up all around us within a few minutes. Here, there is an oxpecker perched on this buffalo’s head.

You have to see the entire body of a buffalo to appreciate its size.

You also have to remember to look up to see the birds in the trees. There are so many birds in Africa! Here is an amazing photo of two lilac-breasted rollers. The colors are so vibrant!

Then, looking down again, there was this spurfowl pecking away in the grasses.

Antelopes just kept appearing out of the brush. Here is a kudu…

And then the male kudu appeared…

A little further on and we saw two elephants hanging out in the grasses.

Amazingly, this was all while we were driving along a dirt road. We saw a sign that pointed off to the various other game reserves and lodges around Mala Mala.

Looking up again, we saw this stunning tawny eagle perched on a branch. With all the birds we’ve seen, I really appreciate the great zoom lens on my camera.

Interestingly, we haven’t seen many termite mounds on this trip. Here, though, was a really large one. You can see how tall it is with that impala standing next to it on the right.

The Sand River here at Mala Mala still has water in it, although it’s low enough for us to cross.

Jacques saw some leopard tracks on the road, so he got out to see where they went.

Then, all of a sudden, a troop of baboons ran across the road right in front of us.

As we were looking around the truck, we saw a couple of slender mongooses. They were coming out of their burrow. I thought they were so cute!

This one was a bit nervous and kept standing up to look around.

We watched them for a while, then moved along. It’s interesting how we’ve seen so many single prey animals wandering around on their own instead of in a herd. Here is a zebra that was on its own.

In the distance, we spotted a giraffe drinking water in the river. It looks so awkward. Amazing that water can manage to travel up that long neck.

He drank for a while, then crossed out of the riverbed.

As usual, there were oxpeckers on the giraffe.

The bottom oxpecker had his beak open in this photo.

We saw a lioness stretched out in the shade.

Not too far from the lioness, we spotted a couple of waterbuck. I still think the targets on their behinds are funny! 🤣

And, this wouldn’t be Mala Mala without seeing a leopard!

Or two…

Finally, it was time to head back to the lodge for brunch. There is a large bridge over the Sand River we needed to cross.

This direction showed water still flowing in the riverbeds…

The clouds were building up, but we never saw a drop of rain over our entire trip.

Here were are back at the lodge.

Except for last night’s dinner, we eat out on the nice deck with a view of the river for all our meals.

Inside the main building, there’s a big fireplace with a cape buffalo skull above it.

Well, it’s time to get back to our room to go through some of the photos we took and see if we can squeeze in a nap before the afternoon game drive. 😊