Since Rob needed to go to Durban end of August 2003, we decided to make South-Africa our holiday destination for that year. A selection of our nature pictures coming from the different national parks we visited is shown here.
On our last safari into the Kruger park our private guide had a good eye for birds. We saw lots of little and big birds in the air, in trees and bushes, and in the grassBuffalo: one of the "Big Five" dangerous animals to huntEverywhere in Durban and in gardens around the country we came across the blossom of the Coral Tree.Drinking Giraffe: Being a large animal can be a hard life.Eagles and Vultures 1: Lots of birds flying high up in the sky, looking for prey.Eagles and Vultures 2: Lots of birds flying high up in the sky, looking for prey.An Elephant: It took a while to find the first one, but in Kruger-park they are over-populated with these magnificent animals at this time.Giraffe are not shy, and curious about what happens in the passing cars.Ground Hornbill: A rare bird and very impressive if a troup walks around your car. They come so close that you can actually see their eyelashes.Africa knows about 30 different kinds of antelope. The Impala is the one we have seen the most. Due to the resemblance of their rear-end with the logo of a well-known fast-food chain, they are also called the "fast food of the jungle".Just a lonely treeOn an evening tour we came across two lions that were walking around together in their territory. As our crossing separated the (brother?) pair, they roared to find each otherWhite rhino are abundant in Hluhluwe national park. This particular male was busy marking the edge of his territory when we passed. This was apparently a rare sighting, as these animals only pass their mark points every two or three weeksNear Tzaneen on the last day of our trip, we visited a tea plantation. Endless views of tea bushes from the restaurant at the top of the hill where we had pancakesLots of vultures in trees. Either on their nests, or in a whole troup obviously waiting for a feast beneath. We have not been able to join them on any of the parties, but even from a distance at sunrise, they form a beautiful sightOne of the guides on a tour told us a good trick to recognize a zebra: all zebra have a little black patch on the inside of their elbows.
