Our First Elephant

Location: Hoedspruit, South Africa
Address:  Balule Nature Reserve
Date:  October 2018
Website:  vivasafaris.com

  We travelled to South Africa in hopes of seeing as many different animals as we possibly could.  We travelled to the Balule Nature Reserve which is attached to the famous Kruger National Park.  On our first safari outing we received a big welcome from the largest land animal on the planet.

  The first animal we saw in abundance during our safari tour was impala.  These small antelope seemed to be hiding behind every bush.  Our guide shouted out "Impala!" at every single sighting.  An impala in the photo above is standing beside some evidence that elephants may have been in the area.

  Our guide stopped our Safari Jeep and jumped out.  We had been told to keep every part of us inside the vehicle at all times and intended to do as we had been told.  Our guide looked off into the distance to confirm what she had seen.  "Elephant!" she shouted as she hopped back into her seat.  There is indeed a single elephant in this photo as well as the one at the top of the blog.  If the biggest animal walking on the planet could hide so easily we wondered about lions, leopards, snakes and more.

  As we looked closer at the trees and bushes the shape of an elephant started to reveal itself.  Here is a close-up of the photo from the top of this blog.  There it was, our first wild elephant.

   Another Safari Jeep joined ours as word of the elephant sighting spread.

  As we watched in silence, the elephant slowly moved out from behind the trees and started to get closer to us.

  The elephant moved closer still and into some nearby bushes.  The grey skin of the elephant started to blend in with the plants and ground and we could see how if it stood still, it might be hard to spot standing there.

  The elephant started to trot quickly towards us and the safari jeep decided it was time to move.  A full grown elephant can weigh over 5,000 kilograms and stand about 10 feet tall.  The elephant suddenly stopped and struck a pose. We were able to admire the beauty of a truly wild elephant as we drove by.

 

 

 

     Elephants never forget and we will never forget the elephants.  Especially our first.

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Map of Our World
Balule Nature Reserve

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Post # 296