Sunday September 20 2009
On our last drive at Mashatu, we got closer to an elephant than any of us ever thought we’d be… without zoo bars in between, that is. I knew we were pretty damn close when I heard Elvis mutter something like “that’s right mama, keep going…”
We also saw another leopard, ostrich and the ever-present impala. It was so interesting to see the different species interact, something we rarely see in zoos, even wonderful ones like San Diego’s Wild Animal Park.
More pictures from the morning drive.
All too soon it was time to make our way to the airport and say our good-byes. Afke, my mom’s friend who runs the camera at Pete’s Pond, came to see us off.
(Mum on the left, Afke on the right)
A mighty good thing that was, as our charter plane to Mala Mala in South Africa ended up being delayed by about four hours. Instead of hanging around the airfield or going back to Main Camp, Afke cheerily and without hesitation invited us to come to the Pond.
So all five us, Mum, Doug, me, and our now fast friends and traveling companions Michael and Gary made our way to Pete’s Pond for a completely different and quite unique wildlife viewing experience. One that you can share thanks to National Geographic’s 24-hour webcam.
More on Pete’s Pond in my next post.