Watching & Waiting

03/02/2013 by adeeyoyo 32 Comments

Pilanesberg – Raptor Look-out

Pilanesberg – Raptor Look-out

One morning on our way to one of the hides where we hoped to see an hippopotamus we came across an enormous herd of elephant. All sizes and all ages. They were on both sides of the road and at arm’s length from the car. I managed to get a few photo’s to show just how close they were.

Pilanesberg – Elephant

Pilanesberg – Elephant

Pilanesberg – Elephant

This particular hide was situated on stilts and was partially over the dam. The floor was made of wooden planks, laid slightly apart from each other so we were able to look through the gaps at the water below. We could see something in the water, but were unsure whether it was a turtle or even just a piece of flotsam. Then it gave a sort of loud grunt and, still mostly submerged, it floated out from under the hide. This was our best view of it and unfortunately we didn’t see it again although we went back to the hide several times during our stay.

Pilanesberg – Hippopotamus

Watching & Waiting

Blue, blue, the sky is blue
Mirrored in the surface of the water too
As they bend their heads to drink
I wonder what the creatures think
The wind sifts the sand in a giant sieve
Leaving patterns in the rock face where the insects live
The beetle rolls his dung ball with his eggs inside
While we sit as quiet as mice in the man-made hide

Image: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/animals/creaturefeature/dung-beetle/

Images (except for the dung beetle) and poetry: ©Denise G Allen, 02 February 2013 23:21