Stories about the Big 5
Well, to be honest, I only saw 4 of the Big 5.
On the first afternoon I arrived I saw my first lions. A couple of males were sleeping. And for the first time ever I saw a white lion!
While in the Satara and Orpen areas I had 4 more absolutely epic lion sightings (1 that will include these guys), but more about that here.
On the H4-2 just before the H5 turn off 3 lions were relaxing next to the road. It was very hot, and it did not look as if they would move any time soon. 
And then I saw these 2 on my very last morning just outside Skukuza. A perfect send off.
I only saw one White rhino the entire trip.
I saw a few herds of Buffalo. Two herds were very big – one just outside Olifants and the other just north of Satara. There were also some calves in the herds.
And then there were elephants. They came in all sizes. This was the first elephant I saw after entering the Park.
And then a cute one crossed the road just inside the Orpen gate.
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Stories about my Favourite Animal
What can I say about my love for elephants that I haven’t said many times before. I just love them. From the biggest bull to the most stately matriarch and the tiniest tinyfant – I can spend hours and hours with these biggest of Kruger’s many animals.
A couple more photos of the first elephant I saw after entering the Park.
There are few things as peaceful as a relaxed elephant eating.
Girivana was bone dry, and this herd of elephants had to move on to look for water.
As I left Satara two elephants walked with me for a while.
Later that day I came across a herd with a female with interesting tusks.
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A story about Hippos – Part 1
The one thing I discovered during this trip is that mother hippos absolutely love playing with their babies. My first experience of this bond was at Nsemani dam.
It was so much fun to watch these two playing.
Every time I drove past Nsemani dam there was some sort of action between mother and child.
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Stories about Hippos – Part 2
My second experience of mother and baby hippo playing was at Sweni hide. I just love the little one’s face and that twinkly little eye as he looks at his mom. I can just imagine that he is thinking: “Wow! I will be big like mom one day!”
The little one looked as if he was smiling all the time. I loved how they would affectionately bite each other.
Again, I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two as they continued their play.
It is not often that you get this view of a hippo in water.
Watching the hippos at Nsemani Dam and Sweni hide was so much fun, and definitely some of the most pleasant hours of my trip.