We have been
watching the moon wax and wane in the southern hemisphere and noticed the man
in the moon is now a rabbit. It also waxes and wanes in different directions.
Orion’s Belt is visible and we can easily identify the Southern Cross. Hluhluwe
is bringing us closer to the Tropic of Capricorn so we notice the temperature
rising. The nights do not provide much relief. This is now fall we were told,
we have missed the heat of summer!
Hluhluwe
Game Park is small, but contains the Big 5. Our first mile into the park and we
saw rhino. The horns are huge but match the enormous body. Poaching continues
to be a problem. Poachers are brazen in their attacks. Conservation officers
shoot to kill if poachers are spotted. Poachers have become more sophisticated
using drones at night to scope out the location of rhinos. The horns are a sought-after
commodity in many Asian markets and bring a hefty income to poachers. A female
and young male rhino had been killed in the night 7 days before we arrived in
this park. We could smell the carcass long before we saw the young male lion
feasting on it.
This park
was an unexpected surprise. The high hills, green, and abundance of game was
more than we had hoped for. The relaxed nature of the zebras and how close they
let us come made us hold our breath.
Other
sightings: elephant and buffalo. Now we have left to spot a leopard to complete the Big 5.
