Walking Safari, continued
The dried river beds had not seen any rain for months. The area had many holes where elephants tried to dig down to the water table to find water. At the dry time of year like this, all the animals in the area rely on the elephants and rhinos digging holes in the river bed. If they cannot get to the water, all the animals will go to anther area that has water.
We often saw kudu, impala, and zebra running away from us. Since we were walking, we were considered much more of a threat to the animals. In a car, we would have been able to get much closer. Here is a skull of a kudu.
Since we were on foot, we saw many tracks of all types of animals. We also saw their droppings. Most of the tracks led to watering holes. Here we are looking at a natual spring that gives warm salt water. The area next to it is barren because of the heavy traffic from animals who drink here.
Each day, we made camp in a new place and then had a couple day hikes from there. I estimate we walked 12 miles a day total. Most of the time, we were quiet and looking in hopes of seeing something interesting.
The elephants have poor eyesight. If you remain downwind, you can get very close to them. As soon as they sense you, they all run away. In the middle of the day, most of the animals were resting in the shade waiting for the heat to pass. In the evening and morning, we saw more.
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