An auspicious beginning

 

Sunrise as we left camp

According to our guide, Omega-when one sees a giraffe first thing, it is an auspicious beginning,, a harbinger of sorts of great things to come. We did indeed spot a giraffe soon after leaving camp.

A bit further in the same open field, we encounter a large male rhino, bathed in the beautiful light of dawn-photographer's "Golden hour".

Oxpecker-checking ears for ticks.

Then Joel spied a cat track, which he thought belonged to one of the 3 lionesses belonging to the Othawa Pride. 

He & Omega tracked on foot for a bit and then Joel retook his "tracker's seat" on the front of the vehicle and guided Omega to where he believed the tracks were headed.

These lionesses had recently suckled their cubs, hidden them somewhere secure and out of sight, and were now headed out to hunt.  They was followed by another sighting of the  breeding herd of elephants we had seen previously. They were on the move, foraging for their daily requirement of nearly 300 kilos per day required by adult-sized female elephants.

Baby Ellie learning to use its trunk by grasping branches and imitating Mom.. It takes approximately 6 months for little ones to master muscular control of their trunks.

Joel continued his marvelous cat-tracking skills and we encountered a beautiful leopard.

We ended the morning seeing these 2 hippos out of water , which is rare in the daytime as they are primarily nocturnal feeders, due to their extremely sensitive skin.