An afternoon in the bush….

Yesterday, I talked about our first morning in the Mozambique bush.

After a wonderful lunch and a one-hour rest time that the entire camp took advantage of, we were once again in the truck and headed out to see what we could find.

The trackers saw a Nyala family group consisting of a bull, cow, and several young ones.  We followed them into the brush, stalking the group so that we could get closer.   It was fun to watch the trackers as they worked their way into the brush…..

WAY into the brush……

I kidded Julian about the “path” that we were following!!

We were able to get close to the family group and one of the younger animals walked to within 10 feet of us.   It was amazing to see them so close!!

I was always at the back of the line and kept stopping to take photos and would then have to hurry to catch up.   The trick was to walk lightly and not make noise.  In comparison to Julian and the trackers, I was afraid that I sounded like a bull moose traipsing thru dry leaves in the woods.

I loved this root…..

….it reminds me of an arm filled with bangles!!

As we drove along, various animals would scoot across the road in front of us and often I could hear them in the brush beside us as we drove.   Photos were impossible as they would run away long before the truck got there.  There were a few instances that are seared in my memory…..

There was one antelope that was running thru the tall grass and the only time you could see him was at the top of his gait when his ears would show above the grass.

We passed several troupes of monkeys that would scatter as we approached, but you could still see (and hear) them in the trees around the road.

As we headed to camp during the golden hour just before sunset, the animal sightings became more prolific.  Among other things, we saw wart hog, a female Sable and this sweet Nyala youngster….. 

Julian finally had to turn the headlights on, and a Night Jar bird started playing in the lights.   It would land in the road and wait for the truck to catch up and then it would fly in front of the lights, apparently catching insects in its wide mouth.  It was great fun to watch!!

I spotted 4 large birds silhouetted against the lowering sky and signaled for Julian to stop so I could take photos.   Unfortunately, they flew just as I put the camera up!!

But, after taking several photos, Michael leaned out of the cab and said, “did you get good photos of him?”.   What “him” I asked.   “The Eagle Owl” sitting in that tree” was the answer.   “What Eagle Owl?”. 

Apparently, he was sitting on a lower branch from where my birds were sitting!!   The light was not good for a photo, but even in the low light, I could see the distinctive outline of his ears.

Back at camp, the fire pit was prepared and ready for the relaxing to begin…..

After 30 minutes of enjoyable conversation, once again the drums sounded signaling that dinner was served.   Tonight we had Reed Buck Roast, roast potatoes, a local sauteed spinach-type of vegie and various other steamed vegetables….a good Sunday dinner!!

Dessert was magnificent, made up of rich layers of graham cracker crumbs, caramel, bananas, and cream. 

Michael and I hit the bed and were asleep before we knew it!!