Pilansberg wildlife... a few shots...

Here are some of our wildlife shots - I cannot wait for our holiday to sunny South Africa in January - taking in the sun, the air, the smiles. More photos are found at this flickr link!

Wildlife in South Africa photos

This gorgeous hornbill was in the tree right next to our bungalow, in Pilansberg Game Reserve.

A lone elephant bull... not too phased by us. We are always wary around lone bulls, they might be in musk! This one was... and we kept a safe distance away...

Pilansberg Game Reserve is a neighbour of Sun City
and the Lost City. A good idea is to live in one, and visit
the other. Two vastly different experiences! The park has
over 200km of good dirt roads, so one feels confident as
a driver to self-drive. They have guided day and night
tours too.

The park is actually in the setting of an extinct volcano...
with many rare types of plant life and rocks structures, with
some minerals found too, it is studied by scientists and
geologists from all over the world.

In the park you will find a number of Iron and Stone Age sites...
very exciting! The whole park is bordered by 3 ridges/rings
of hills. This structure of the park is named the 'Pilanesberg
National Park Alkaline Ring Complex'. Its vegetation is
'bushveld', settled inbetween the dry Kalahari desert and the
more lush 'lowveld'.

There is a vast bird presence in the park. They have over 300
recorded species. There is a walk you can do where you learn
all about them and the environment you are in. There is also an
aviary you can visit where you can see about 8 different species
of birds. Whatever you do, do not forget your binoculars, and its
always a good idea to have a South African bird book on hand.

The hides are a wonderful way of viewing the birds. They are
hardly aware you are there as you are under cover, and it is
sheltered, with seating. The floors do creak alot though, so be
careful to walk as quietly as possible, so as not to frighten the
birds away.