I’m back. One short to make the Big 5. The leopard was a no-show. But the giraffes, zebras and many antelopes more than made up for the leopard’s absence.
Game! I was happy and content until I reviewed a blog written by my friend Shane Dallas a.k.a. Travel Camel. Shane did his first safari years back and has since gone back to the less beaten paths in Africa. You can say I’m the newbie where Shane has gone on to pursue other dimensions of travel adventures.
I may have seen enough zebras in Entabeni Private Game Reserve. BUT they were all COMMON zebras. Not the Grevy’s Zebras with white bellies and thinner stripes. I was awed by the regal giraffes with their elegant necks and luscious eyelashes, but not one I sighted was the reticulated giraffes Shane has blogged about. The ones we found in Entabeni had brown “splotches” while the reticulated giraffes have finer and more defined skin patterns. Spot the difference, if you will.
Our very first Rhino!
The rhino we sighted was the white rhino. White not because of it skin color, but WIDE lipped rhinos. Compare this with the hook lipped BLACK rhino. Smaller in size, but different. More rare, they say.
The Rare Black Rhino
And then there are the antelopes. Many impalas. Some elands. But no kudus with their spiral horns. Another friend (whose kudu photo i borrowed) suggests we do a national park next time. More animals, more natural, she says. Well, I guess there’s no “perfect safari”. There are some safari animals indigenous to a certain place. Like the springboks are indigenous to South Africa’s Western Cape while the Grevy’s zebras are nowhere to be found in Entabeni. But that’s fine. There’s always a next visit. 🙂
Kudus. I only met you on a dinner plate but NOT in person 😦
Elands. Looking like they just had their sumptuous dinner.
“Everything in Africa bites, but the safari bug is worst of all.”
Brian Jackman (2004 Travel Writer of Year )
lifeisacelebration 
yan ang gusto kong i-try next—animal/wildlife photography.And what better place to practice than Africa talaga 🙂
An experience of a lifetime. No, 2 lifetimes!
the reason why i want an African safari is to see these fierce animals in the wild. Btw, how come there is no photos of lion? hahaha
This is the blog on “what I missed” in my recent African safari. We were lucky to find a pride of lions, along with rhinos, cheetahs, cape buffaloes, etc. You may wish to read my earlier blog : https://marilil.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/just-in-luck-on-our-3rd-safari-drive-entabeni/
Just reviewed my safari photos and happily noted that we actually sighted the “reticulated giraffes” – the ones with finer, clearer skin patterns. Oh, what joy!
Amazing. I’m dying to do a safari trip to Africa! And I had no idea there was another kind of zebra!